Well, summer is just around the corner and, even though i’m pretty distracted with the up and down frustrations of the current circumstances, it’s important to remember that my occupation, like everything else, is just a small part of who i am and i can’t let it dictate the other aspects of my life… or whatever it is i’m babbling about…

Anyway, summer means summer reading and i’ve got a big old stack of books that i’m eyeing for this summer…

now, i realize that the odds are probably not in my favor – especially since i still have a bunch that i’m finishing up with now that will prevent me from getting a head start… to that end, here’s a handful of reviews on some of the books i’ve recently found myself finishing up…

now playing: Bird of Paradise – Charlie Parker


Squawwwk! by Thomas Rockwell

this is a book that i remember reading and re-reading several times as a youngster… as such, as i was reading through the well-worn pages, sharing this tale with my two boys, many of the scenes were still very familiar… As we worked through the book, however, i wasn’t entirely sure what it was that drew me back again and again…

It’s a charming story, filled with what would now be considered political incorrectness – comments about weight and foolishness, for example – but at the heart of it, it’s a statement about how we react to things that we don’t understand… it’s an intriguing social commentary that’s pretty fun to read and, if you’re a fan of How to Eat Fried Worms, you may want to check out Thomas Rockwell’s lesser known book… the one about the giant, electric-blue bird that grew out of a book… the one called Squawwwk!

now playing: It’s Magic – Fenders


The Secrets of Droon: The Magic Escapes by Tony Abbott

My son likes the Magic Tree House book series and for some reason, on his last visit to the school library, this book was recommended to him… now, i’m not the kind of dad who’s immediately opposed to a book based on the cover (though it looks like a cheap Harry Potter knock-off), and i’m not afraid of books about magic and things of that nature…

that said, i did decide to read the book before sharing it with little boy and found the book to be incredibly pointless… though i wouldn’t recommend judging books by their covers, i do have to admit that this book seemingly lived up to my initial assessment based on the cover art… i haven’t read any of the Harry Potter series, i imagine that those books are everything that this book would like to be, but isn’t… the only message i could ascertain from the book was something about being able to do anything when you do it with your friends… the story itself was fairly bland overall with just a few interesting moments that were never fully developed… i suppose you could write that off because it’s part of a series, but i just wasn’t impressed at all and have no interest in the rest of the series…

now playing: Different – Jackson Waters


Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

This is a book that i really struggled with while i was reading it… it’s a really good read with an absolutely compelling premise, weaving two entirely separate storylines into one threaded connection… if the book had another subtitle, it could apprpriately be “A Cord of Three Strands,” referring to the verse in Ecclesiastes that explains the strong bond that is created when God connects two people together…

Though it was really a challenging book for the obvious reason of broadening one’s perspective on issues like prejudice, homelessness, and materialism, the most powerful message from where i sit was – not surprisingly – one of love… particularly as the book shared in great detail the painful story of Ron and his wife, Debbie… I’ll leave it at that so as not to ruin any of the unknowns, but it might make sense to keep some tissues handy when you read though this one…

now playing: Betrayal – Fiction Family


Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl

Okay, so i had no idea who Lis Wiehl was before reading this book and i’ve still never knowingly seen her in action, but clearly she’s more than qualified to write this book, having served as a federal prosecuter and currently as a correspondant for Fox News… and i say that because two of the three main characters in this well-told novel wear those shoes… the third, a special agent at the FBI, is drawn from the pages of Wiehl’s father’s career in the FBI…

The premise of the story has a “ripped from the headlines” feel and follows the search and investigation of a missing Senate page… i guess what i didn’t realize going into the book was that it was intended for a female audience and, fortunately, there were only a few brief parts where that was really obvious… call it Law and Order meets Murder She Wrote in print and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the book…

It will keep you guessing, it will keep you connected, it will certainly hold your attention and it will go by quickly… i do recommend the book and expect that you’ll enjoy it as well…

MORE IN A BIT

i’m going to take a quick breather here and come back in a little bit to talk specifically about three publications of the Bible that i’ve recently gotten and explored… and then i’ll do a general rundown of the books that i’m still finishing up before diving into the big list for the summer…

peace… love… bdg…