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Severance is one of the most unique books I’ve ever read. In fact, it’s a little creepy. The premise is based on two scientific theories: 1) that a person’s head remains conscious for one and a half minutes after decapitation and 2) that humans speak at the rate of 160 words per minute when they’re in a heightened state of emotion. These two theories indicate that a person who is decapitated might think 240 words before they’re completely dead. Based on this figure, Butler has written a series of short (240 words each, to be precise) monologues of decapitated people, fictional and non-fictional. These monologues are presented in chronological order, starting with Mud (“man, beheaded by saber-toothed tiger, circa 40,000 B.C.”) all the way through the author himself (“writer, decapitated on the job, 2008”). Fortunately, Robert Olen Butler was not decapitated in 2008—that would’ve just been too weird.
The book is interesting especially because of the glimpse it gives you into the lives of famous characters you’ll recognize: Medusa, John the Baptist, George (AND the dragon), the lady of the lake, Marie Antoinette, and so on. I’m mostly intrigued by the format of these monologues. I’ve never heard of a book quite like this and I’m always impressed with books that are out of the norm.
I doubt, however, that I’ll read the book again. It was entertaining and engaging, but not something I would gain insight from by reading it another time. I definitely think it’s an interesting read, but I’d suggest borrowing it from the library rather than buying it.
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I recently finished reading The Lightning Thief, the first book in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. To be completely honest, I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I thought I would. I would definitely say my favorite book genre is fantasy, and I would also say that I love young adult literature, but this book didn’t really do it for me.
I felt like the invention of this new world, this world that involves gods and monsters and magical weapons, seemed very forcibly created. I also felt disconnected from the characters for the same reason. Everything was very pushed. Rather than showing the reader that a character was experiencing something through that character’s actions, Riordan would outright tell the reader. I find that this makes this new universe pretty unbelievable and not very engaging.
I do think, however, that there are people who would find this book enjoyable. I also think the story has enough potential that the movie might be pretty awesome. :) But I’m disappointed to say that I have no interest in reading any more books in this series.
Sorry to write a bummer review. Hopefully the next book will be better!
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Lost in a Good Book is the second in the Thursday Next series (Thursday Next is the name of the main character) by Jasper Fforde. I read the first book in the series, The Eyre Affair, when I was in college and just loved it. The series is full of literary references—you’re sure to notice tons of them, and probably miss a few, just because there are so many! In Lost in a Good Book, Thursday dabbles in Jurisfiction work, going in and out of literary works that many people will recognize (Great Expectations, “The Raven,” etc.). In this second book, there’s an unpublished play by Shakespeare in question, and Thursday gets to meet the Cheshire Cat. There’s also some time travel, a pet dodo, and even some zombies!
Everything about the way Fforde writes is engaging—he uses wordplay effectively, throws in so many literature references you can’t keep up with them, uses entertaining yet easy-to-follow dialog, and creates believable characters in whom you become immediately invested when you begin to read about them.
I would recommend this book to any English or literature student and anyone who has an appreciation for either of those things. I would, however recommend starting with The Eyre Affair. I enjoyed the first book in the series more than this one, and it also helped me understand a lot of what was going on at the start of this second novel. Definitely worth the read!
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I finished reading Blue Like Jazz last Sunday evening, and I’m pleased to say I loved it. I’d heard some pretty interesting criticism of this book (sorry, Don, if you’re reading this) that made me a little nervous. But the things I heard also made me excited to read it. People were talking about the controversial ideas, or about the author and his “strange” beliefs. Me? I’ve struggled with “Christianity” as a religion all my life. That’s not to say I haven’t been a Christian for years—I have. It’s not the faith I’ve toiled with, it’s the religion. So when I saw the subtitle of this book, “Nonreligious thoughts on Christian Spirituality,” I was immediately intrigued. This sounded fresh to me. I didn’t recognize any of the names on the back of the book singing Donald’s praises, nor did I understand the title. I didn’t get the cover imagery. And I wasn’t sure what these “nonreligious thoughts” would turn out to be. But something about it, about the things I’d heard and what I felt in that subtitle made me want to read it. So I did.
I was right—the perspective in Blue Like Jazz is fresh. It feels raw. It feels honest. It feels like all those questions you’ve always wanted to ask but were always afraid to, because you knew your parents or your pastor would question you questioning your religion. It feels like all those times when you were frustrated that you didn’t understand God or the way this world works. It feels like somebody looking at you in the eye and telling you that you aren’t the only one who has these thoughts.
Here are the three most important takeaways I got from this book:
1) I am worth loving, and I know this because Jesus loves me. I have believed in Jesus for years. I accepted a long time ago that He is God’s son, that He died on the cross for all sinners, and that I believe in Him. I asked Him years ago to come into my heart and save me, and He did. But it wasn’t until Sunday night, after finishing this book, when I went to pray and think on the things I’d just read, that God revealed to me that I am worth loving. No matter what mean things I might say or think, no matter what terrible things I might do, I am still worth loving, and Jesus is proof of this. I felt so relieved and joyful when I realized this.
2) Christianity’s history is pretty ugly, and I’m not the only one who thinks so. In Blue Like Jazz, Donald writes about how he and his fellow students set up a “confession booth” on their college campus, not to take confessions from others, but to apologize for all the wrongs that Christians have done to humanity, from the violence of the Crusaders to their own lack of caring and loving of their fellow students. I’ve always felt defensive in the past when someone would address the evils in Christianity’s past, and even in its present. But it never occurred to me to face these problems and let people know that Christianity isn’t and never will be perfect. After all, this is why we need Jesus in the first place.
3) It is not my responsibility to change people, just to love them unconditionally. I felt so free when I realized this (and it sounds like Don did, too). God has taken the responsibility of changing people off of my plate! I don’t know why I ever thought it was mine to begin with. I’m such a judgmental person. I get it from my father. I’ve always grappled with it and, frankly, never liked it about myself! I want to be someone who can have her opinions without judging people who don’t share them. Instead, I will just love people, and leave the changing up to God.
I realize not everyone who reads Blue Like Jazz will have the same revelations I’ve had. I realize that many people probably already had all this together. But reading a book that is honest and that addresses Christian issues is refreshing and empowering. Many thanks to Donald Miller for his candidness, and to God for dropping this book in my lap. It has changed me.
