Authors, Fiction

My top 5: Mysteries and thrillers

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Late posting tonight. I had to usher for Advent services.

Dale requested in Comments my list of the best mysteries/thrillers written in the past twenty years.

I’m reluctant to produce such a list, for a couple reasons.

One, my knowledge of the field is highly limited. I read authors I like and trust, and there are dozens (at least) I’ve never even tried. The mystery field in particular is dominated by female writers, many of whom have feminist agendas, and I just don’t cruise that side of the street. And there are a number of very popular writers whom I avoid either because I simply haven’t tried them yet, or I’ve tried one book and didn’t care to read any more. There’s a good chance there are several out there whom, once I discover them, I’ll be tugging at your (metaphorical) sleeve and boring you about. It’s also possible that an author I’ve weighed and found wanting in the past may surprise me with his/her growth and win me over (this has already happened with Dean Koontz).

But having said that, I’ll list my favorite books of the last twenty years. They’re all from two authors whom I consider preeminent in the field. They are books that not only entertain, but educate the heart, making the reader want to live more generously and courageously. Continue reading My top 5: Mysteries and thrillers →

Fiction, Reviews

A couple reviews

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I read a couple books over the holiday, but I don’t think they’re really worth separate reviews. I’ll take a few superficial swipes and move along.

Strangers by Dean Koontz appears to me to be a transitional work for the author. First published in 1986, it shows considerable improvement in character development and dialogue from much of his other early work.

It follows the adventures of a group of people, scattered all over the country, who begin to have similar anxiety symptoms (but not identical symptoms—there are interesting variations and contradictions). Most of them are suffering nightmares. Some of them develop obsessions. The moon, in particular, becomes the focus of more than one. Continue reading A couple reviews →

Blogs, Socials

How very odd

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The strange things you discover while looking at your Sitemeter statistics. I checked somebody in Denmark who visited our page, and found they’d been referred from this Wiki page in Denmark. We’re reference note number [13], in relation to the Fairy Flag of Dunvegan. It’s lovely to be a citation, but I’m not sure I’ve really earned it.

Uncategorized

Postmortem on a turkey

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Thanksgiving was good, thank you. As usual, the family gathered in my CBBS* house. Everything went according to programme. It goes without saying that, being me, I drove myself nuts anticipating disasters (forget propagation of the species; a man needs a wife mostly in order to have somebody competent on whom to shove these responsibilities), but either everything went fine, or my family kindly overlooked it and kept me in the dark.

The turkey might have profited from ten more minutes in the oven, I think, but I also suspect that’s a matter of taste. And I could have bought a larger one (those leftovers, I now see, are there for a purpose).

Now, on to Christmas. Tree decorating is for me a gradual process, but the thing’s up and lighted. Only the ornaments remain to be hanged, together or separately. I have tea lights to burn (in pine scent). Last night I watched my videotape of Sissel’s Christmas concert with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

And tonight I’ll begin the Christmas Letter. I wonder if I took any pictures this year worth including in it. Probably not.

Come to think of it, the whole letter may be no more than a couple paragraphs.

Not such a bad thing, actually.



*Clean By Bachelor Standards

Religion

Why Does Prayer Work?

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Naturally, I’m assuming prayer works and that we understand what it is, so stepping over those questions, why does prayer work?

  • Does it work because of the words we use or the way we pray? Do select terms or phrases give our prayers a power they wouldn’t have without them?
  • Is it the passion we put into it? If we work ourselves up, do our prayers ring louder in heaven?
  • If we repeat our prayers often, does that increase their priority in heaven?
  • Does prayer work because we mention specifics instead of generalities?
  • Does it work when we have removed every trace of doubt that God will answer?
  • Or is it when we approach the Lord in personal righteousness, confident he is pleased with us and will hear us?

I don’t believe prayer works for any of those reasons. It works only because our Heavenly Father is sovereign over all heaven and earth. “For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?” (Isaiah 14:27 NIV) Continue reading Why Does Prayer Work? →

Book Reviews, Creative Culture