And now a word from Plato...

The Island of Dr. Moreau - H.G. Wells

For being a very short novel (a novella I guess) this story was very good and felt complete. I very much enjoyed the story as mere entertainment as Wells is a good writer who can pique the imagination without being overly verbose. There is a lot to consider in the philosophy of Wells that comes through the story as well; such as, the meaning and origin of humanness, and the basic equality in humanity, what governs human behavior and so forth. I think I would wholly disagree with Wells on the answers to those questions but the story is a great way to stimulate the ideas and conversation on the topic.

More Than Words

Matt says: This is an interesting book because it is about authors who have had profound influence on current writers. There were a hand full of authors that appealed to me. Some of the best essays were about authors that brought alive the mundane and ordinary to show God's common grace. Some of the essays were disappointing (esp on Dostoevsky). Overall a pretty good book.

Dana says: My second time with this book. It was interesting to note which parts struck me the first time reading it and which parts struck me this second time. Over all I got more out of this second reading because I read much more literature now than I used to. This book includes a wide variety of writers from different denominations within Christianity (both in the authors who write the essays and the writers they are writing about) and some can be challenging depending on what denomination you come from but all are thought provoking. I wish essayists coming from a Reformed background would have been included, such as Leland Ryken and Gene Veith.

My favorite chapters this time were the ones on Kierkegard, Thomas Merton, John Milton, Hans Christian Andersen, and Tolkien. But just as in my first reading my favorite of of all essays again was the one by Yancey written on John Donne- worth the price of the book alone.

A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor

Dana says:  I don't get her.