Ryan's Book Blog – Page 67 – I read therefore I am.

Victoria the Queen

November 14, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Julia Baird’s biography of Queen Victoria was published in late 2016 and was named one of the best books of the year on Amazon but I couldn’t find the reference. I did find this though. Not every monarch has a whole era named after them but Victoria was ruled for a long time and over a time of great change and expansion. This book takes us from her birth to her death and gives the context through those years.

My Thoughts

I guess the biggest revelation was that she was short and plump. I knew about her being linked to hemophilia but didn’t know she was in as good of health as she was purported to be. I also didn’t know how devoted to her husband she was. I don’t recall the name Albert being linked to her at any point before. I had heard to John Brown though and I had no idea of how much of her life was edited by her daughter.

Reading about the royal families is difficult. I wish I had started with this before I read Elizabeth II’s autobiography. It would have made a lot more sense having this background.

Recommendations

An interesting read. I would recommend it if you are interested in the Queen.

The Silver Chair

November 12, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

The Silver Chair was published in 1953 and Decades have passed in Narnia since the Voyage of the Dawn Treader and now King Caspian is an old man. Eustace Scrubb, now in boarding school and having learned not to be such a selfish jerk, finds his way back to Narnia with his school mate Jill Pole. They quickly find themselves on a quest with a “marshwiggle” named Puddleglum.

My Thoughts

The marshwiggle character was interesting. Why not make up your own creature and put him in the middle of everything. Part mud, part Eeyore, part superhero, Puddleglum is interesting to say the least. He would be a much more fun character if it wasn’t for his worldview. I found I couldn’t connect with the humans very well as neither were that likable.

The story seemed to have a lot of inspiration from Jack and the Beanstalk. (There is a whole giant section…) The whole story seemed to meander around. When we finally meet the missing Prince, the story seems to go very quickly.

Recommendations

Though I enjoyed it more than the last and it was still a good read, it is not my favorite.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

November 11, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the next book in C.S. Lewis’s Narnia Series. Published in 1952, it distinguishes itself by being the only book in the series that doesn’t have a main villain. The Dawn Treader is a ship commissioned and sailed by Prince Caspian. They are trying to get to the far East (Aslan’s county). It brings in a new character, Eustace Scrubb. He is the cousin of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. Eustace is nuisance and ends up learning a great lesson.

My Thoughts

This was an interesting book. I’m not the fondest of boats and the like so it wasn’t my favorite setting. However, the islands were interesting. This book reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. Not my favorite but a good read none the less.

Recommendation

My least favorite of the books thus far but still worth reading.

Prince Caspian

November 10, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

The next book in the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis is Prince Caspian. It was published in 1951 and once again involves children from our world being brought to Narnia to help out the rightful heir to the throne of Narnia. Prince Caspian must rise up against the man who took his rightful place as King.

My Thoughts

A good read as was the others. This volume was a little contrived and it took a while to build to the climax. Emotionally, we are still connected to the 4 kids introduced in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe but their presence kind of muddles the protagonists. Still I enjoyed it.

Recommendation

A good read and a good story.

A Horse and His Boy

November 9, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

A Horse and His Boy was written after several of the Narnia books were released and chronologically occurs after The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. It is largely the tail of Shasta, a boy who is raised as a slave and ends up on an adventure.

My Thoughts

I quite enjoyed this book though it wasn’t the epic which was The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I also hadn’t read it before or at least I didn’t remember it… It was like reading a new book either way and I really enjoyed it.

It is a quick read and it took a while to get moving. However, it had a lot of C.S. Lewis hallmarks; the horse was arrogant and humbled toward the end, the boy thought he was nothing but turned out to be the lost prince and later the king and so on… It had plenty of the archetypal stories we love to hear.

Recommendations

Great book. I would recommend it to anyone and my boys are reading it now.

Leonardo Da Vinci

November 8, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Walter Isaacson‘s biography of Leonardo Da Vinci was released in 2017 and sat on the #1 best seller’s list. It is 600+ pages all compiled by Leonardo’s notebooks and what we know of him from others.

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this. Leonardo is a fascinating figure. It really is amazing what he was able to do and, even if half the things attributed to him were true, he is still one of the most influential people who ever lived. I knew some of what he was and what he did but not really the half of it. The biggest surprise was how the work was done. How collaborative he was with his students and others.

Recommendations

There are some adult themes so I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone but it was a great read and I didn’t get bored the whole time.

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

November 6, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

Catherine the Great was the Empress of Russia during the time of the American Revolution. Robert Massie details her life from birth to death in just under 700 pages.

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

My Thoughts

This was a much better read than that of Elizabeth the II but the lives of the royals are pretty messed up. Maybe just from my perspective as a middle class American…

She led a pretty interesting and full life given the attitudes toward women. It seemed she played a good hand and things fell into place during her life. Oddly enough, there was a parallel with her daughter in law (Paul’s 2nd wife) and it makes me wonder what would have happened if she had been engaged to Peter instead of Catherine. By the account of the book, this other Sophia (later Maria) was well loved by everyone who met her.

It was an interesting read. I didn’t know so many things were going on in the world at that point. My education was mostly in the West so I knew about the French Revolution and, of course, the American Revolution but I didn’t know much about the rest of the world and how they viewed it.

Recommendation

I would recommend it!

The Lion the Witch and Wardrobe

November 1, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

CS Lewis’s classic “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe” came out in 1950 and has been a classic and required reading in schools all over the world. It has reached every medium (written, video, audio, theater) and has even sunk into the mainstream culture.

My thoughts

Loved it! It was even better than I remembered though it has been a number of years. I listened to it as an audiobook read by Michael York which was fantastic. Particularly after the last read I was so happy to have a short fun novel.

The first time I read this story was in 3rd grade which would put me at about 8 to 9 years old. I didn’t understand the strong Christian overtones or really even think about what was being said. It was a good story and that’s all I cared about.

It is still a good story but the allegories are very apparent. The sinless sacrifice, the humiliation before such, the rumor of his return and so on. It is my understanding that CS Lewis denied it being intentional but it seems pretty heavy handed when you read it.

Recommendation

I really enjoyed the story and will be coming back. I would recommend it to just about anyone. In fact, it is on the shelf in my living room if you need a copy….

Elizabeth The Queen

October 31, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

This biography of Queen Elizabeth II was done by Sally Bedell Smith in 2012. It is 663 pages long to mirror the long life of Queen Elizabeth II who is currently 92 years old. This work takes her through her girlhood all the way through the wedding of her grandson William highlighting many of the events along the way.

My Thoughts

While I was interested in the life story of Queen Elizabeth and I was keen on understanding more about the monarchy in general, I was pretty bored by the story. It was very long and felt formal and stuffy. I guess that was appropriate given the subject matter. It was a chore to get through it…

I did learn a lot and found I have more respect for the Queen as a whole.

Recommendations

I won’t be reading it again any time soon but I do have other royals to read up on. I can’t say I would recommend it.

12 Rules for Life

October 29, 2018 by Ryan Leave a Comment

Background

12 Rules for Life started when Dr. Jordan Peterson (a clinical psychologist and a professor of psychology at the University of Toronto) answered this question on Quora, “What are the most valuable things everyone should know?” His first answer spanned 40 lines. He had since distilled it to 12 and described each in this book. His answers are below.

Stand up straight with your shoulders back
Treat yourself like someone you are responsible for helping
Make friends with people who want the best for you
Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today
Do not let your children do anything that makes you dislike them
Set your house in perfect order before you criticize the world
Pursue what is meaningful (not what is expedient)
Tell the truth – or, at least, don’t lie
Assume that the person you are listening to might know something you don’t
Be precise in your speech
Do not bother children when they are skateboarding
Pet a cat when you encounter one on the street

My Thoughts

I follow Dr. Peterson’s podcast and have been watching his work over the last 6 months. I can see why some folks bristle at his advice and why he rubs some the wrong way. However, I am deeply sympathetic to the ideas he puts forth. I like the list he put together and I like the rationalization behind it even better. It’s not a bad place to start and I wish I could keep the tenets of the list everyday of my life.

My Recommendation

Very dense subject matter and the content requires a lot of supporting information. I really enjoyed it and I believe anyone will as well.