Puss Reboots: A Book Review a Day

Unholy Domain

Sarah Sammis — 19 Jul 2008 21:47 PST

I remember in mid 1998, businesses were being warned about the upcoming chaos that would be caused when the computer clocks ticked over to 2000 and all those older programs that only had two digits stored would assume it was 1900. We were told to expect a mortgage meltdown (that came later but not from computer error), massive power outages and other chaos. None of that materialized except maybe in small isolated cases. Y2K as it came to be known was a source of stories, including a funny episode of Sports Night for those last couple of years.

Unholy Domain by Don Ronco feels like a bit like a Y2K story even though the year 2000 is never mentioned. It has many of the same themes: our dependence on computer technology, the potential dangers if our modern technology suddenly failed, how dependent our economy is on technology to name the three main ones. There is truth to all three of those observations but what's missing is just how much legacy technology we still have in our day to day lives. The world of Unholy Domain, though terribly broken, is too far advanced to be only twelve years in the future.

In fact, the book's timeline its biggest flaw. For a world with AIs, human looking robots, lasers, pocket computers and holograms to be fully developed and destroyed between now and 2020 requires a huge suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader. Had the book taken place in 2120 instead of 2020 (much as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fast Forward takes place in 2105 and has all of the same technology and urban problems), I would have spent a lot less time shaking my head and saying "No way!" every time a date was mentioned.

Take away the unbelievable time line (where the hero, David Brown is only 3 years older than my son) and Unholy Domain is an entertaining techno-thriller set in a world struggling in the middle of a new great depression brought on by a destructive and deadly computer virus known as PeaceMaker. The son of man blamed with unleashing the virus goes on a quest to clear his father's name after receiving a mysterious message from him. In his search he finds himself in the middle of a three sided tug of war. Ignore the improbable set up and enjoy the ride.

Unholy Domain is the second in the series. The first is PeaceMaker. I am giving away my copy of Unholy Domain on July 22. Read more about the contest.

books | scifi | 2008 | dan ronco | contest

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Borders of Infinity

Sarah Sammis — 18 Jul 2008 23:12 PST

I can't even begin to describe in this short entry how much I enjoyed Borders of Infinity by Lois McMaster Bujold. This limited edition novel is actually made up of three novellas previously published in science fiction magazines. Then a few extra pages were written to wrap the stories together as a series of interviews between Miles Vorkosigan (the protagonist) and Simon Illyan.

The first story: "The Mountains of Mourning" was published in Analog in 1989. It covers Miles time back home after graduating from the military academy. He is sent by his Prime Minister father to investigate an infanticide case in a rural village 4 days walk away. It's a heart-wrenching story that also serves to build Miles as a character and to introduce readers to the world/universe in which he lives. There are spaceships, hover cars and other high tech conveniences. But there are also areas still living in extreme poverty who rely on horses and primitive technology to eke a living.

The second story: "Labyrinth" shows Miles as a mercenary. Although a lieutenant , he works under the pseudonym of Admiral Miles Naismith. He's sent to recover some data that's been implanted in what he's told is a medically enhanced soldier-monster. What Miles finds is nothing at all what he expected.

Another fantastic story!

The final story is the cover title "Borders of Infinity": Here Miles is a POW and must work the other POWs to gain his freedom. The prison, a dome, meets all the criteria to the letter for the IJC's rules but it's hell and inhumane nonetheless. In the process of figuring a way out, Miles lets himself be mistaken for a prophet.

So what does this mean for me... it means I must now read every Bujold book, especially the Vorkosigan Saga, that I can find.

Check out the author's website and her myspace page.

books | scifi | 1989 | lois mcmaster bujold

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Blue Hat, Green Hat

Sarah Sammis — 18 Jul 2008 22:08 PST

Harriet is a bit of a prop comedienne. Her favorite joke involves putting something unlikely on her head and asking innocently, "Hat?" So when she saw Blue Hat, Green Hat by Sandra Boynton at the library, she had to check it out.

With many of Boynton's books, there is an animal who just doesn't fit in. In the case of Blue Hat, Green Hat, that animal is a turkey. All the other animals can get themselves dressed but not the turkey. He tries but somehow things never seem to end up on him correctly.

Besides being a charming story about the troubles of learning how to get dressed (or prop comedy 101 for preschoolers), the book teaches colors, animals, parts of the body and clothing. It's also charming and very funny. The turkey, by the way, looks charming in his purple socks.

books | childrens | 1984 | sandra boynton

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The Dark is Rising

Sarah Sammis — 17 Jul 2008 23:27 PST

I'm really terrible at reading series in sequence. That's why I like books that stand alone even if they build on an larger story sequence. The Dark is Rising (and the series of the same name) is an excellent sample of a book that stands strongly on its own and contributes to an entertaining series.

Will Stanton gets a warning just before his 11th birthday (which happens to fall on Midwinter's day) that he must help defeat the Dark as he is the last of the Old Ones. Over the next many days he must collect the necessary signs to fend off the growing Darkness manifesting in the form of an endless blizzard.

The Dark is Rising brings together a mixture of Norse, Celtic, Arthurian legends along with time travel and contemporary fantasy. Cooper manages the blending of these elements well and the time travel is especially well done.

I read this book for the Herding Cats Challenge.

Read other reviews at Bibliophile Baker, Lacer's Life, For the Love of Reading, The Book Bag.

books | fantasy | 1973 | susan cooper | herding cats

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Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself

Sarah Sammis — 17 Jul 2008 22:00 PST

Last month I read and enjoyed Never Have Your Dog Stuffed (2006), Alan Alda's first memoir. I eagerly dove into his second book, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself. Unfortunately it didn't hold my attention as much as the first.

Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself starts with Alda contemplating his life after nearly dying from a bowel obstruction. So it begins promisingly as a sequel to the first book. Rather than following on the path of how he has continued to live his life, the book becomes a collection of speeches he has given and the reasons behind them. I suppose that's where the "talking to myself" part of the title comes into play.

As his speech giving is part of his public life, he also tries to discuss his role as a public figure and how disconcerting public perceptions versus his own internalized self are.

Had the book been more focused on the stories behind the speeches and less on the speeches themselves, Things I Overheard... would have been just as enjoyable as Never Have Your Dog Stuffed. Instead, the speeches, break up the natural flow of the memoir. The speeches, are by their very nature, very formal and very crafted. They lack the warmth and spontaneity of the first memoir. They are also typeset in a heavy calligraphic script that is hard on the eyes in long blocks of text.

Read other reviews at Window Washer 88 , Read Warbler, Books Galore, The Hot Books Library.

books | nonfiction | 2007 | alan alda

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Win El Tigre

Sarah Sammis — 17 Jul 2008 11:27 PST

It's time to announce a new book giveaway. I'm giving away my review copy of El Tigre by John H. Manhold.

The rules for the contest are as follows:

Contest runs from today through August 18th at 11PM Pacific Time
Winner will be notified via email at 11PM on August 6th and will have 3 days to respond with a mailing address. If no response is received in that time, a new winner will be picked.
Open to the entire world.
To qualify your comment must include a historical fiction recommendation.
For extra credit you can:
a) include your blog's URL
b) blog about the contest and link back here.

The Amazon product description:

EL TIGRE! For many years these words were the source of intense fear and respect throughout the southwestern territories of the growing United States. It was the name by which the jaguar was known. This incredibly fast, strong, fearless, resourceful animal was of almost mythical proportions because its deadly actions seldom were seen until it was too late. It was with great respect and awe that Johann Heinrich von Manfred became known as El Tigre. Johann's saga begins in Prussia in the time when that small kingdom was the most powerful military force in Europe and it follows his journey from boyhood to maturity through half of the world. His entry to the Prussian Military Academy shortly after the Napoleonic Wars was, as all Prussian Junker children, at 10 years of age. There follows an account of how his militaristic abilities and youthful audacity, along with a little misfortune, lead to his departure to engage in conflicts in France, Spain, New Spain, Texas, Mexico, and finally Old California. It is a tale unlike that of most Europeans who migrated to America. It follows through his efforts to aid a simple band of gypsies in the Pyrenees followed by efforts on behalf of Carlos, the Royal Pretender to the Spanish Throne, and continues with his involvement in the establishment of the Republic of Texas and the State of California, while finding a love that he never could have thought possible with the militaristic training and life he had lived. His abilities in all of these activities were such that, especially to the inhabitants of the southwestern territories of his later endeavors, only one name was sufficient to describe this, and only this, one person. He was El Tigre.

books | historical fiction | contest | 2007 | john h manhold

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Child of the Owl

Sarah Sammis — 16 Jul 2008 22:01 PST

Laurence Yep has been a favorite author of mine since my teens. I have been reading his books when I've had the opportunity. My local library has a huge collection of his novels and I've decided to work my way through them as time permits. Child of the Owl (1977) is my first revisiting of Yep in about a decade and I'm currently reading Sea Glass (1979).

Child of the Owl is told in the first person perspective of a 12 year old girl named Casey. She's a native born Chinese American but doesn't even think of herself in terms of her Chinese heritage. Like many first generation native born Americans, she only speaks English. Just as Yep describes in his autobiography The Lost Garden (1996), Casey is "too American to fit into Chinatown, and too Chinese to fit in anywhere else." In fact, that turmoil of balancing cultures is a recurrent theme in Yep's books.

The book, though written in the 1970s, takes place in 1965. When Casey is forced to move in with her Grandmother, Paw-Paw, in Chinatown (San Francisco) we get to learn about Chinese culture as Casey does. All of Yep's descriptions of San Francisco have a delicate balance of Western and Chinese details. The Beatles, old time radio shows, and hamburgers coincide with Chinese opera, Kung fu movies and dim sum.

Read other reviews at Book Mice, LME518.

books | childrens | fiction | 1977 | laurence yep

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Dresses (TT 67)

Sarah Sammis — 16 Jul 2008 10:11 PST

For the last two weeks I tried a different format for my bookish TTs. They didn't seem to be as popular so I'm back to talking about cover art.

1. At Her Majesty's Request by Walter Dean Myers
2. Girl Genius Omnibus by Kaja and Phil Foglio
3. Still Hot by Sue Mittenthal and Linda Reing
4. Expecting Adam by Martha Beck
5. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
6. Take a Stand, Rosa Parks by Peter and Connie Roop.
7. Olivia Counts by Ian Falconer
8. Arabella by Georgette Heyer
9. Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis
10. Bleach Volume 3 by Tite Kubo
11. Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir
12. Black's Beach Shuffle by Corey Lynn Fayman
13. All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor

thursday thirteen | books

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Bye-Bye, Big Bad Bullybug

Sarah Sammis — 15 Jul 2008 22:46 PST

As a child I was nuts about drawing (still am) and one of my favorite authors was Ed Emberley. He has written a number of drawing books that make drawing just about anything simple. I spent hours of my childhood pouring over his books at my grandmother's dining room table.

I have bought copies of some of his books for my kids but Bye-Bye, Big Bad Bullybug! was Sean's choice. As you can imagine, I was thrilled when he picked that book out.

The book is part story and part drawing how-to. The bully bug describes to a smaller bug all the different ways he's equipped to eat the bug. In the course of his description he is drawn, shape by shape just as all Ed Emberley drawing books teach drawing from basic shapes.

Sean and I enjoyed reading the book and even drew our own bully bug for one of his Friday lunch bags. I've included a photograph to show our result.

books | childrens | art | 2007 | ed emberley

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Havana Letter

Sarah Sammis — 15 Jul 2008 21:19 PST

With this entry, I conclude my jaunt through Havana: Tales of a City. The book closes with an 1849 letter by William Cullen Bryant that he later included in his Letters of a Traveller (1850).

Like Maturin M. Ballou, Bryant was fascinated by the ladies of Havana. His description of the ladies in their volantes matches Ballous, though he takes more time to describe how they used them in their day to day activities. He shows how the women would wait in their carriages for vendors to bring their wares out to them, somewhere between modern drive through and the street side service that posher places offer on Rodeo drive.

Of the recent pieces I read in Havana, Bryant's letter and Wallace's poem seemed the most genuine. I think much of that authenticity stems from them being intact, rather than being excerpts lacking the necessary context. Bryant's Letters of a Traveller is part of the Google Books but I think sometime I would like to hold a copy in my hand and curl up in a comfy chair to read it.

Here is the complete list of reviews from Havana: Tales of a City.

Cuba Revisited by Martha Gellhorn
Dreaming in Cuban (excerpt) by Christina Garcia
What to Wear by Consuelo Hermer and Marjorie May
Cuban Childhood by Fidel Castro and Frei Betto
The Cuba Journal by Sophia Peabody Hawthorne
Our Man in Havana (excerpt) by Graham Greene
Chronicle of the City of Havana by Eduardo Galeano
The War with Spain (excerpt) by Henry Cabot Lodge
Marlin off the Morro by Ernest Hemingway
Cuban Sketches (excerpt) by James Steele
Singing to Cuba (excerpt) by Margarita Engel
Creole Ladies, Marti the Smuggler, Bullfighting by Maturin M. Ballou
Academic Discourse at Havana by Wallace Stevens
Havana Letter by William Cullen Bryant

books | havana | 1850 | 1996 | william cullen bryant

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Academic Discourse at Havana

Sarah Sammis — 14 Jul 2008 22:07 PST

I have two pieces left in Havana and I am glad to be nearing the end of my endeavor to review everything from this book. I have left out one, a excerpt from the screenplay of The Godfather. The omission was an accident but I've decided not to go back and add in a review of it.

The penultimate selection is the poem "Academic Discourse at Havana" by Wallace Stevens. He visited Cuba in 1923 and published the poem a year later.

As I am unqualified to review his poem beyond saying I enjoyed it as a mood piece about a restless night of looking for inspiration while in Havana, I will instead share this reading of the poem.

books | havana | 1924 | 1996 | wallace stevens

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Arabella

Sarah Sammis — 14 Jul 2008 21:36 PST

Three years ago I enjoyed The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer and I expected to like Arabella as well but I didn't.

In fairness to Heyer, I have to point first to the copy I was reading. It's an old, cheap paperback from 1971. The pages are yellowed which mae the tiny font harder to read. Tiny, faded text combined with Heyer's lengthy paragraphs and elaborate language made for difficult reading at my usual pace.

Then there's the plot. From reviews I've read Arabella is sometimes compared to Romeo & Juliet. I was reminded more of LoveHampton by Sherri Rifkin and both, if I were to pick a Shakespearian play, remind me of The Taming of the Shrew. Having so enjoyed Rifkin's novel, I just wasn't in the mood for such a similar story.

Read the reviews by Between the Covers, Miscellaneous Mumblings, Tenemet.

books | romance | 1949 | georgette heyer

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Sin in the Second City

Sarah Sammis — 13 Jul 2008 23:05 PST

"I'm getting Everleighed tonight." (p. 22) That quote, part slogan and part red light district slang sums up Sin in the Second City by Karen Abbott best.

This well researched book with an ample bibliography and notes section covers the rise and fall of the Everleigh Club in Chicago. As there are so many people of interest on both sides of the issue (those running the brothels and those trying to close them down) that the Abbot includes her own three page cast of characters.

At the start of each short chapter, Abbott includes a photograph or illustration from the time period. They are all captioned: either with the original caption or with relevant information for the upcoming chapter. These old pictures were my favorite part of the book. I wish the cover art could have been taken from one of these instead of being a stock photo of an unknown woman.

The strength and weakness of Sin in the Second City stems from the same source: its abundant information. As the timeline progresses and I'm guessing source material becomes more reliable and readily available, it becomes more difficult to keep track of the events while reading. As a source of research material Sin in the Second City will be very valuable. As pleasure reading, it needs to be taken slowly and passages reread for full comprehension.

If you haven't read Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser, I suggest reading it as a companion book to Sin in the Second City. Although fiction, it helps fill in the gaps of what Chicago was like during the Everleigh sister's stay.

If you are interested in winning my review copy, please see the original announcement. The contest ends on July 17th.

Read the reviews by Of Books and Women, Goodbye California, Mrs. S's BiblioBlog.

books | nonfiction | 2007 | karen abbott | contest

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Salt

Sarah Sammis — 13 Jul 2008 21:52 PST

I can remember sitting in my car listening to a review of Salt: A World History and an interview with Mark Kurlansky. Four years later I have finally gotten around to reading the book. Perhaps I should have read it sooner because the book didn't live up to expectations. I think part of my disappointment stems from having just enjoyed The Zen of Fish by Trevor Corson.

Salt is broken into three parts: the first covering why we need salt and how that need affected early civilizations; the second part focuses on the fishing industry; and the final part looks at how salt continues to affect society. Kurlansky has also written The Basque History of the World and Cod and he's clearly still interested in both topics. Large portions of Salt focus on both the Basque use of salt and the history of cod and salt. I am not all the interested in Basque history and The Zen of Fish is a more interesting take on the history of fish (and salt).

There are some interesting bits of Salt. I liked best the chapters about Italy that discuss prosciutto and Parmesan. I also liked the discussion of salt in China post revolution and the bit about how sugar is traditionally thought to balance the taste of salt. I had never heard of this old wives tale but it helps to explain why salt is always an ingredient in dessert recipes.

Read reviews at Mikko Reads, Chanelstory, Fred and Valerie, Needs More Demons?.

books | nonfiction | 2003 | mark kurlansky

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Nana Volume 1

Sarah Sammis — 12 Jul 2008 22:33 PST

Nana Volume 1 by Ai Yazawa is a shojo manga and quite a departure for me from my usual manga choices. I saw this volume reviewed on my of favorite book blogs but it was months ago and I can't remember where. Anyway, the cover art appealed to me as did the title and I was looking for a change.

There are actually two young women named Nana: Nana Komatsu, who is introduced on pages 3-104, and Nana Osaki who is introduced on pages 105-176. The first volume comes to a close with a coda dedicated to a character named Junko but her role here is more as a source of "coming attractions" than anything else. Both Nanas are drawn to Tokyo but the paths they take are very different.

Nana K. is an emotionally scarred girl who is looking for love in all the wrong places, including having an affair with an older married man. She goes to Tokyo to follow a pair of men: the married one and a young artist who has transferred to a university there. Her time in Tokyo will probably be a rough one; she's unprepared for the big city and lacks the confidence to make the move work.

On the other hand, Nana O., a member of rock band, goes to Tokyo to follow her lover when he is offered a better gig. Although she is hurt by the break up she is strong enough and stubborn enough to charge into Tokyo and claim her piece of it.

The two Nanas will obviously meet in the future but in this volume they lead separate lives. There are enough similarities in their lives and in how they look that it is easy sometimes to accidentally confuse one for the other. In this regard, their parallel lives reminds me of a wonderful French/Polish film: La Double vie de Veronique / Dvojnaja zhizn Veroniki (1991).

Read review at Super-Gaijin '76.

books | manga | 1999 | 2005 | ai yazawa

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All-of-a-Kind Family

Sarah Sammis — 11 Jul 2008 22:37 PST

Back in April I read and reviewed All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown by Sydney Taylor. Having so enjoyed it I went back to read the first in the series, All-of-a-Kind Family.

This first novel introduces the family, five girls, who jokingly call themselves an "all-of-a-kind" family since they don't have any brothers. As with the Uptown novel, the is told as a series of vignettes over the course of a year. One can track the timeline by following the Jewish holidays they celebrate: Passover, Purim and so forth.

The book is more than just a primer for American Jewish culture and religion. It is a heartwarming story of a family facing the day to day struggles that any family faces: illness, finance, emotional upheaval and just the general chaos of parenting children.

The mother plays a more active role in this book. She comes up with an ingenious way to make the girls do their cleaning chores (something I plan to implement with my two children when they are a little older), the frustration of a child who suddenly refuses to eat (another thing I have in common with her), the personal sacrifices a parent will make when a child is ill and finally the exhaustion of parenting while pregnant. I really enjoyed getting to know her better.

All of these threads are woven through the fabric of Europe on the verge of WWI. Reading All-of-a-Kind Family will give one an appreciation for what life was like more than 90 years ago.

Read reviews of the book at Disco Mom Takes on the World, Coming Up for Air, Mt. Hope Chronicles.

books | childrens | 1951 | sydney taylor

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Creole Ladies, Marti the Smuggler, Bullfighting

Sarah Sammis — 11 Jul 2008 21:08 PST

The next piece in Havana is a hack job from Maturin M. Ballou's History of Cuba published in 1854.

This three part selection is made up for pages 77-9 (the Creole Ladies section), 108-115 (Marti the Smuggler) and 132-135 (Bullfighting). As they are jumbled up together in this presentation they provide nothing more than a bizarre "local color" sketch of life in Cuba in the 1850s.

There honestly isn't enough here to write a review. The women of Cuba are simply described by their fancy shoes; Marti the Smuggler is shown making a deal with a former governor, and Bullfighting is briefly but inaccurately described. Taken out of the context of the full text Cuba comes across as a strange backwards place with naive designs on being an outpost of European high culture.

If you're not interested in buying the book to read the full text, it is also available online through Google Books.

books | havana | 1854 | 1996 | maturin m ballou

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Win The Fourth Watcher

Sarah Sammis — 11 Jul 2008 13:17 PST

It's time to announce a new book giveaway. This time it's The Fourth Watcher: A Novel of Bangkok by Timothy Hallinan.

The book's description from Amazon:

Travel writer Poke Rafferty is ready to let go of his Looking for Trouble series of travel books and the dangerous lifestyle that goes with it, and settle down in Bangkok with his fiancée, Rose, and his newly adopted daughter, Miaow. But trouble isn't ready to let go of Poke. Enter the one person Poke least wants to see in the entire world—a person whose emotional hold on Poke is absolute. With him come a box of rubies, a wad of fraudulent identity papers, and—in pursuit of those things—one of the most dangerous gangsters in China.

Add to that Rose's innocent involvement in a North Korean counterfeiting operation and an off-the-tracks agent of the American Secret Service who's dying to put Poke behind bars, and Poke and his family find themselves in a complicated and potentially deadly situation. Getting them all out alive will take every skill Poke has.

Once again, Hallinan has created a complex, emotionally satisfying thriller with edge-of-your-seat suspense and a cast of characters so real you'll feel you know them. Sharp as a razor and full of heart-pounding surprises, The Fourth Watcher firmly establishes Hallinan as a brilliant new voice in the world of suspense.

About the Author
Timothy Hallinan is the author of nine widely praised books, seven novels and a nonfiction work on Charles Dickens. His most recent book, A Nail Through the Heart, introduced Bangkok-based rough-travel writer Poke Rafferty, who is also the central character of The Fourth Watcher. Hallinan divides his time equally between Los Angeles and Southeast Asia

The rules for the contest are as follows:

To qualify your comment must include a suspense or thriller recommendation. It can be a book, film, graphic novel, manga... just something thrilling or suspenseful.
Contest runs from today through August 13th at 11PM Pacific Time
Winner will be notified via email at 11PM on August 13th and will have 3 days to respond with a mailing address. If no response is received in that time, a new winner will be picked.
Open to the entire world.
For extra credit you can:
a) include your blog's URL
b) blog about the contest and link back here.

books | contest | mystery | timothy hallinan | 2008

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Native Tongue

Sarah Sammis — 10 Jul 2008 23:19 PST

I've now read just over half of Carl Hiaasen's novels. I've come to the conclusion that I prefer his more recent work and always his juvenile fiction. The cut off point seems to be about 2000, although I did enjoy most of Lucky You (1997).

Native Tongue being one of the earliest of his novels (#4) has many of the same themes as his later ones: environmentalism, corruption, animal rights, and big business. The big business in this case is a mob run amusement park with a desire to be bigger than Disney no matter the cost.

On the other side of the fence are a pair of thugs working for a crazy environmentalist. Her cause may be just but her methods aren't much better than head of the Amazing Kingdom.

The book suffers from too large a cast of characters and too many side plots. I ended up skipping around to the characters who interested me the most.

For more information check out Carl Hiaasen's website and the Miami Herald.

books | fiction | mystery | carl hiaasen | 1991

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A Grief Observed

Sarah Sammis — 10 Jul 2008 21:16 PST

Until I read A Grief Observed, C. S. Lewis was only an author who I knew through his Narnia series. As it's not one of my favorite series by far Lewis hasn't been on my radar when I'm looking for books to read. He did though have a long scholarly career and I think as time permits I would like to read more of his nonfiction.

Lewis wrote A Grief Observed as an emotional response to his wife's death. He and (Helen) Joy Davidman had a short and at the time unconventional relationship due to her status as a divorcee. It was clearly a loving and healthy relationship from the way he writes about her. The emotion are raw: anger, grief, depression, and despair.

In the final chapter Lewis describes how he wrote the book as a series of hand written notebooks, each one filled with his thoughts. Although by the close of the final notebook he feels the need to write more, he says that he has promised his family to set them aside and get on with his own life. What the four chapters don't say (how could they?) is that Lewis later died in 1963 after a lengthy illness.

To learn more about C. S. Lewis, please see the Wiki, Into the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis Foundation, and the HarperOne site.

Read the review at Trying to Find my Way.

You can also read the book online through Google Books.

books | nonfiction | n w clerk | c s lewis | 1961

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