Book Update

I've been reading a few good books lately, thanks to book club, which has a generally uncanny ability to pick great reading selections. Every once in a while, somebody will pick a strange book about axe murderers, but generally they pick out interesting books I wouldn't necessarily find on my own. Last month was "Peace Like a River" by Leif Enger. It is such a beautiful book -- highly recommended. The storyline follows a family in search of a missing brother, but includes a lot of Christian allegories and thought-provoking themes of faith, miracles, and salvation. A beautiful book that instigated some pretty incredible disucssion in book club, which was even more fascinating because of the myriad faith systems present in the room. With Jewish, agnostic, Catholic and Protestants in the room, it was unanimously loved. Highly recommended.

Now on to "The Known World" by Edward P. Jones. It's a Pulitzer Prize winning story about a freed black slave who goes on to find financial success and then becomes a slave-owner himself. So far, it's a fascinating book that reads a bit like a historical soap opera, with a cast of thousands and a large variety of compelling storylines detailing the characters' lives and how they intersect. So far, a lot of thought-provoking ideas about "what enslaves us" -- from money, to giving in to voluntarily loving somebody else, to violent love where you don't have much choice. Another high recommendation.