Well, I have been on the read since my last blog. I have found four books that I read in the last month - and thought I would capture my thoughts before they were lost in the fog of bookland.
I called this blog promising authors for a couple of reasons. Two of the books are from Australian authors: one from Katherine Howell (Silent Fear) who has a few books under her belt now; and the other from Tony Cavanaugh - a first novel (Promise) from a writer and producer of Australian drama. The third book was by Felix Francis - who has finally come into his own after co-writing a few books with his late father - the rather famous writer of novels about every aspect of racing that you can imagine! The last book in this group was by another relatively new author (one previous book) called Mohsin Hamid (The Reluctant Fundamentalist). All books - and all authors do show lots of promise (and of course, one of the books is called "Promise").
Starting with Katherine Howell, I have been very impressed to see the depth of her writing grow with each book. This is her 5th (I think) - all based in Australia and around the lives and traumas of women in the police and emergency services. She weaves in their private lives and relationships around work dramas and does it so well. Silent fear follows paramedic Holly who attends a shooting death in a park and is confronted by her brother - who she has been avoiding for many years. Holly is an ex-addict and prostitute and, while she is coping with the murder and avoiding her brother, a work colleague - an ex client - threatens to expose her. Ella is the police woman who ends up on the case and tries to get past the avoidance by Holly to crack the case and protect her as well. The story works well and does Australia proud.
So too does the book by Tony Cavanaugh. I bought the book for a number of reasons while searching for a good read to take on my holiday to Noosa. It had a compelling cover, it was Australian, the hero was likened to Harry Bosch - my favourite Michael Connolly detective - and.... it was set in Noosa!!! Not just Noosa, but the very street that we were to be staying in in Noosaville - Gympie Terrace! The book was about an ex Melbourne homicide cop who couldn't take it any more and ran off to seclusion in Noosa. However, a serial killer was on the loose in the Sunshine Coast and he ended up caught up in the events - and at odds with the local cops. He has this long paragraph about why the Sunshine Coast was the perfect place for a serial killer...awash with tourists...little villages with art galleries and lattes...vast areas of bushland...calming sounds of waves...waiters and bartenders with Canadian passports and Swedish innocence... Some mixed messages there to promote the Sunshine Coast! It is a good read - though living up to its description of being "top-noch Aussie noir" with the serial killer appearing in the first person within the pages.
Now, beyond our shores....The Reluctant Fundamentalist was a fascinating read - about a Pakistani who studied in the US and got a job with a high class American asset valuation company - around the time of September 11 - and how it brought back his sense of self and culture. Intermingled was a love story - but a hopeless one - sweet but tragic. What was fascinating was that the whole book was a "conversation" between the narrator and an American seated in a cafe in Lahore. I say conversation, but it was really a monologue. It was a diverse that was excellent and worked well. A true find!
Finally to Felix Francis. Another first person story - an ex-jockey, now financial advisor finding himself caught up in a mix of murder and fraud while he manages his relationship with his mother and girlfriend - all with some fascinating twists. I think Felix has done it - captured the essence of his father's legacy and added in elements of his own. Now if only David Gammel's wife would continue to write in his style after being so excellent with finishing the Troy series!
So there is the latest quartet of books! All good reads and recommended. I am now edging back into some books on theology and even new age. So I shall report in due course. Meanwhile, happy reading!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Science of God
Sometimes, the New Scientist comes in with fascinating articles and some very unexpected takes on things. The latest edition (17 March 2012) is one of these gems. The article features a scientific look at God and religion and there are some interesting studies and conclusions.
Rather than take you through a scholarly analysis of the various articles, I will jot down what I took away from it.
First off, there is an argument (which is not new) that humans have an innate wiring to see God in the world around us - a greater cause-effect than randomness or just natural laws. Children, one author points out, can outgrow Santa Clause - but still retain their belief in God into adulthood. It is said that the "militant atheists" are bound to get frustrated because its not just a matter of appealing to people's rationality re the "silliness" of believing in a deity - because it is part of the very make up of who we are.
The various authors aren't arguing for the reality of a God as such - but rather recognising the part played by this characteristic of people in our development on the planet - and saying that its not just because were were indoctrinated as kids. Interestingly, taught religious creeds are seen as different from the 'people's religion' within us. A statement is made that while people might say that they see God as per the creeds - all seeing, in everything etc - that often, the actual image individuals have is a type of "super-human" out there looking after us. [Maybe that's why the figure and image of Jesus is so powerful. It allows people to identify with this superhuman a lot more than a more remote less tangible, all powerful Creator of the universe!].
Theologians are likened to scientists - both groups test and reflect and come up with complex laws and rules about how life works. Some if this isn't intuitive to people - as is the inbuilt draw towards god and this people's religion. So the proposition is put that, over time, this inbuilt religious belief is more likely to survive in human kind that theology or science!
I found this fascinating - obviously! Another interesting point was that people with a strong religious faith don't quite trust atheists - a reason why an atheist President of the USA is considered unthinkable [of course a more secular Australia has an atheist Prime Minister!]. Apparently if someone says they don't have a notion of God looking over their shoulder to keep them accountable, then there is a question mark in the mind of many people who do have that image! I have seen video clips where Richard Dawkins is asked by some religious leader how come he doesn't steal, rape and lie etc if there is no God! He rightly says that such a view is silly and that atheists and humanists can have very high moral values when it comes to taking care of the people and world around them and be in awe of what has developed naturally. But this article gives a clue as to why some of the strongly religious can not see this.
One of the articles also presents some of the scientific experiments that have been done to test for God - for example, using "double blind" experiments to see if prayer gives better results than no prayer..... All a bit silly really. One could say that it means that science takes it seriously!
So, an interesting series of articles - which doesn't answer any of the big questions of the world about why we are here etc or whether there really is a God - but it does explain a little about the "god gene" within us and why so many people are open to religion and a belief in God, and why some can follow some quite bizarre beliefs - and why we can have a religious bent even if intellectually we reject formalised religion!
Rather than take you through a scholarly analysis of the various articles, I will jot down what I took away from it.
First off, there is an argument (which is not new) that humans have an innate wiring to see God in the world around us - a greater cause-effect than randomness or just natural laws. Children, one author points out, can outgrow Santa Clause - but still retain their belief in God into adulthood. It is said that the "militant atheists" are bound to get frustrated because its not just a matter of appealing to people's rationality re the "silliness" of believing in a deity - because it is part of the very make up of who we are.
The various authors aren't arguing for the reality of a God as such - but rather recognising the part played by this characteristic of people in our development on the planet - and saying that its not just because were were indoctrinated as kids. Interestingly, taught religious creeds are seen as different from the 'people's religion' within us. A statement is made that while people might say that they see God as per the creeds - all seeing, in everything etc - that often, the actual image individuals have is a type of "super-human" out there looking after us. [Maybe that's why the figure and image of Jesus is so powerful. It allows people to identify with this superhuman a lot more than a more remote less tangible, all powerful Creator of the universe!].
Theologians are likened to scientists - both groups test and reflect and come up with complex laws and rules about how life works. Some if this isn't intuitive to people - as is the inbuilt draw towards god and this people's religion. So the proposition is put that, over time, this inbuilt religious belief is more likely to survive in human kind that theology or science!
I found this fascinating - obviously! Another interesting point was that people with a strong religious faith don't quite trust atheists - a reason why an atheist President of the USA is considered unthinkable [of course a more secular Australia has an atheist Prime Minister!]. Apparently if someone says they don't have a notion of God looking over their shoulder to keep them accountable, then there is a question mark in the mind of many people who do have that image! I have seen video clips where Richard Dawkins is asked by some religious leader how come he doesn't steal, rape and lie etc if there is no God! He rightly says that such a view is silly and that atheists and humanists can have very high moral values when it comes to taking care of the people and world around them and be in awe of what has developed naturally. But this article gives a clue as to why some of the strongly religious can not see this.
One of the articles also presents some of the scientific experiments that have been done to test for God - for example, using "double blind" experiments to see if prayer gives better results than no prayer..... All a bit silly really. One could say that it means that science takes it seriously!
So, an interesting series of articles - which doesn't answer any of the big questions of the world about why we are here etc or whether there really is a God - but it does explain a little about the "god gene" within us and why so many people are open to religion and a belief in God, and why some can follow some quite bizarre beliefs - and why we can have a religious bent even if intellectually we reject formalised religion!
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Three delights
My wife gave me a Dymock's book voucher with the added requirement that "I choose something I would not normally read". This started a roll of 3 (hardopy!) books that, for my money (or hers!) were a delight to read. Each is quite different in story line and plot - but each share a freshness and a whimsy that was captivating.
The three books are: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer - a one off, older author & Annie Barrows - her niece who finished the final bits for her aunt who became too ill to complete the final edits and then died); The Messenger (Markus Zusak - he also wrote The Book Thief!) and The Berlin Crossing (Kevin Brophy - a new author that I had not previously been aware). So three quite different books.
First to Guernsey - a coincidence - as we are now planning on visiting Guernsey and this book has whetted the appetite. The book is written as a series of letters between Juliet - a writer for the paper during WW2 now seeking to write a novel; her publisher and good friend (a 'gay' Sidney); her long term friend (now married with babies); a well known tycoon who is who suitor; and a rich number of residents of Guernsey who survived the war. You would think that a series of letters would be disjointed and awkward to read - but this was not the case. The book flowed as you gained a sense of people, place and their stories - and how they were interwoven. It is a story about how Juliet finds herself and place - as an outsider at first - in the hearts and lives of the people she is writing about. I think its the style of the writing that I really liked. It had a 'lilt' in it - but not at the expense of the pain and the drama that people went through. You really wanted the story and the writing to go on - not wanting to lose your now friends.
Then on to the Messenger. Again it was the style that spoke to me. The Book Thief was an incredible journey of words and emotions and capturing the place and moment. The messenger was perhaps a little more contrived, but there as something about the way Jimmy wrote in first person about what he encountered in others - in the apparently dysfunctional friends and family - and in the people that he was "sent" to help. It could have been too sappy - but the confusion within Jimmy stopped that happening. At one level, there is a simplistic underlying moral about looking out for people and 'spreading the love'. On another there was something deeper about the way we see ourselves - and others. I liked it. It took me on a plane from Brisbane to Darwin (4 hours) nicely - I finished the last sentence as the wheels bounced on the tarmac!
Finally, to The Berlin Crossing. It was a surprise. Having enjoyed the messenger on my way to Darwin - and even though I have a number of fresh books loaded onto my kindle, I opted to buy a book at the airport for the flight back to Brisbane. I saw this book amongst some of my more regular authors - glanced at its writing style - and then went for it. An unknown to me. It is about a young man living in East Germany after the wall comes down. As the "wessies" come into the east to take over and enlighten the people, he loses his university job because of his previous party membership (and the old Russian car that he drives!) and is with his mother at her deathbed when she tells him where he can find out about his 'real' father. This starts a search for significance (hence the link with the other books I think!). The book switches to the story about how his Irish German father was coerced into spying for Britain, met his mother and died to save her. An underlying issue - and the trigger for the book - was the difficulty that many East Germans faced once the wall was down - how they felt un-valued and looked down on. The clash between the austere and socialist approach of communism and the new capitalism was brought out - as too was the paradox between his loyalty to the system that made him - and seeing the ruthlessness used to maintain its status. But again, it was a story of understanding yourself and finding your place in the world.
All of these books are well worth the read! None are a grind - and all leave you feeling like you gained something personally from the experience. They talk to "what is life about"? And in these books it seems to come out as: having this sense of place; being able to contribute to those around you; and the importance of relationships. And this all resonated.
Happy reading!
The three books are: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer - a one off, older author & Annie Barrows - her niece who finished the final bits for her aunt who became too ill to complete the final edits and then died); The Messenger (Markus Zusak - he also wrote The Book Thief!) and The Berlin Crossing (Kevin Brophy - a new author that I had not previously been aware). So three quite different books.
First to Guernsey - a coincidence - as we are now planning on visiting Guernsey and this book has whetted the appetite. The book is written as a series of letters between Juliet - a writer for the paper during WW2 now seeking to write a novel; her publisher and good friend (a 'gay' Sidney); her long term friend (now married with babies); a well known tycoon who is who suitor; and a rich number of residents of Guernsey who survived the war. You would think that a series of letters would be disjointed and awkward to read - but this was not the case. The book flowed as you gained a sense of people, place and their stories - and how they were interwoven. It is a story about how Juliet finds herself and place - as an outsider at first - in the hearts and lives of the people she is writing about. I think its the style of the writing that I really liked. It had a 'lilt' in it - but not at the expense of the pain and the drama that people went through. You really wanted the story and the writing to go on - not wanting to lose your now friends.
Then on to the Messenger. Again it was the style that spoke to me. The Book Thief was an incredible journey of words and emotions and capturing the place and moment. The messenger was perhaps a little more contrived, but there as something about the way Jimmy wrote in first person about what he encountered in others - in the apparently dysfunctional friends and family - and in the people that he was "sent" to help. It could have been too sappy - but the confusion within Jimmy stopped that happening. At one level, there is a simplistic underlying moral about looking out for people and 'spreading the love'. On another there was something deeper about the way we see ourselves - and others. I liked it. It took me on a plane from Brisbane to Darwin (4 hours) nicely - I finished the last sentence as the wheels bounced on the tarmac!
Finally, to The Berlin Crossing. It was a surprise. Having enjoyed the messenger on my way to Darwin - and even though I have a number of fresh books loaded onto my kindle, I opted to buy a book at the airport for the flight back to Brisbane. I saw this book amongst some of my more regular authors - glanced at its writing style - and then went for it. An unknown to me. It is about a young man living in East Germany after the wall comes down. As the "wessies" come into the east to take over and enlighten the people, he loses his university job because of his previous party membership (and the old Russian car that he drives!) and is with his mother at her deathbed when she tells him where he can find out about his 'real' father. This starts a search for significance (hence the link with the other books I think!). The book switches to the story about how his Irish German father was coerced into spying for Britain, met his mother and died to save her. An underlying issue - and the trigger for the book - was the difficulty that many East Germans faced once the wall was down - how they felt un-valued and looked down on. The clash between the austere and socialist approach of communism and the new capitalism was brought out - as too was the paradox between his loyalty to the system that made him - and seeing the ruthlessness used to maintain its status. But again, it was a story of understanding yourself and finding your place in the world.
All of these books are well worth the read! None are a grind - and all leave you feeling like you gained something personally from the experience. They talk to "what is life about"? And in these books it seems to come out as: having this sense of place; being able to contribute to those around you; and the importance of relationships. And this all resonated.
Happy reading!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Finally a New Post! and a "Beautiful Place to Die"
It has been a long time since I have posted an update on my reading and thinking. Life just got a bit busy and the log-in got changed and it all got too hard for a few months........
But I was not idle in this time - I read a lot of books including..... "Luther: the Calling"(Neil Cross); "The Abby" (Chris Culver); "The Drop" (a favourite author - Michael Connelly); "In search of Africa" (Frank Coates); "African Dawn" (Tony Park); The Pacific (Peter Watt); A Place called Armageddon - Constantinople 1453 (CC Humphreys); Rivers of London (Ben Aaronovitch); and have just started "The Litagators" (John Grisham).
There were other books - kindle and hardcopy mixed (eg some more Dean Koontz!!)... you would think each would just merge into one over the years - but they each become a pearl on the literary necklace (not sure of the manly equivalent!). Having just cleaned out a spare room - which now sports most of the bookcases, I was running my eyes over the many books I have gathered over the last decade (not as visible on the kindle!) working out what I could give to Lifeline - and what I wanted to keep (and why). Somehow, all of those words in all of those books are stored somewhere in my brain/mind and, maybe like dreams, help to sort out what I make of the world and my take on life. Some books I would never read again - but still would find it hard to part with - like a photo from the past. Others form parts of series and I toy with the idea of starting on the first book again and reading through (like the Hornblower or Sharp series). And how could I give away any David Gemmell - such an excellent writer of "heroic" fantasy!!!
But a brief take on a book I just finished - by a new author Malla Nunn - "A Beautiful Place to Die". Malla wrote about a murder investigation in South Africa in the early 1950s - just as the apartheid laws are starting to shape the country. She explores the implications and fall out of these laws through this investigation. She writes very well and has that touch and talent to capture the moment and tension and keep you reading - and you get as much caught up in the historical significance of the era as you do of the crime aspects. I read it in 24 hours - even giving myself a morning off work to finish it! And that is rare for me.
I hope to keep the blog up now - look at all those books I mentioned above that I could have had something to say about? For example the Rivers of London takes an interesting twist as focuses on the moods of London. But I now have the follow up book "Moon over Shoho" and will give more on this series when I read that! I hope there are lots of books in heaven - whatever heaven happens to be - and particlarly if it goes for ever and ever..........!
But I was not idle in this time - I read a lot of books including..... "Luther: the Calling"(Neil Cross); "The Abby" (Chris Culver); "The Drop" (a favourite author - Michael Connelly); "In search of Africa" (Frank Coates); "African Dawn" (Tony Park); The Pacific (Peter Watt); A Place called Armageddon - Constantinople 1453 (CC Humphreys); Rivers of London (Ben Aaronovitch); and have just started "The Litagators" (John Grisham).
There were other books - kindle and hardcopy mixed (eg some more Dean Koontz!!)... you would think each would just merge into one over the years - but they each become a pearl on the literary necklace (not sure of the manly equivalent!). Having just cleaned out a spare room - which now sports most of the bookcases, I was running my eyes over the many books I have gathered over the last decade (not as visible on the kindle!) working out what I could give to Lifeline - and what I wanted to keep (and why). Somehow, all of those words in all of those books are stored somewhere in my brain/mind and, maybe like dreams, help to sort out what I make of the world and my take on life. Some books I would never read again - but still would find it hard to part with - like a photo from the past. Others form parts of series and I toy with the idea of starting on the first book again and reading through (like the Hornblower or Sharp series). And how could I give away any David Gemmell - such an excellent writer of "heroic" fantasy!!!
But a brief take on a book I just finished - by a new author Malla Nunn - "A Beautiful Place to Die". Malla wrote about a murder investigation in South Africa in the early 1950s - just as the apartheid laws are starting to shape the country. She explores the implications and fall out of these laws through this investigation. She writes very well and has that touch and talent to capture the moment and tension and keep you reading - and you get as much caught up in the historical significance of the era as you do of the crime aspects. I read it in 24 hours - even giving myself a morning off work to finish it! And that is rare for me.
I hope to keep the blog up now - look at all those books I mentioned above that I could have had something to say about? For example the Rivers of London takes an interesting twist as focuses on the moods of London. But I now have the follow up book "Moon over Shoho" and will give more on this series when I read that! I hope there are lots of books in heaven - whatever heaven happens to be - and particlarly if it goes for ever and ever..........!
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