The Mermaid in the Basement - Summer 2010 - Genre: Gentle Reads

Genre #8 -- Gentle Reads
The Mermaid in the Basement by Gilbert Morris
read 6/22/2010 - 6/28/2010

It's been a while since I've read a Gilbert Morris book. Unfortunately, I was quite disappointed. I definitely enjoy meatier, more literary writing. I suppose the storyline was okay; though, I did predict the ending of this who-done-it. Mostly, however, it was the drab writing style that dragged for me. Morris does a lot of telling and explaining, when simply showing the reader would suffice. The dialogue in this book also seemed a bit forced, especially when the characters talk about faith. Why is it so hard to find quality Christian fiction?

 

This book was part of my 2010 summer reading program.

The Screwtape Letters - Summer 2010 - Genre: Fantasy

Genre #1 -- Fantasy
The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
read 5/28/2010

I love C.S. Lewis's unique perspective in this book (writing from the perspective of a devil). There is a lot of food for thought for Christians (live in the present, it's the "little" sins that cause us to stumble, one of Satan's primary goals is to cause us to be self-focused, etc.). At times I got bogged down by the reading; it seemed to drag a bit--could be partially due to Lewis's academic-type sentence structure and vocabulary. The chapters, however, are very short, so it was easy to take a break when I needed one.

This book was part of my 2010 summer reading program.