Crazy Love

Crazy Love
by Francis Chan
paperback, 187 pages
2008

I have heard about this book for a while, in fact, a house church, different from ours, chose to study it together when we lived in Thailand during our 2009-2011 time.  One of our kiddos left it in the closet when they went back to college so I decided to give it a read.

The good of the book: it is so practically familiar.  The bad of the book: is is so practically familiar.  Francis Chan is a public speaker as a pastor, a conference guest, and although I have only heard him once (on the video he recommends his readers to watch in the opening chapters of his book), I feel that he does a great job in verbally holding the attention of his audience and effectively communicating his views.

The book is broken down into 10 readable chapters and is devotional as well as seeks to inspire Christians to put to action their faith due to God's great love through Jesus.  Filled with Biblical quotes, quotes from heroes of the faith, and glimpses of lives lived well, Francis Chan combines these with his own personal convictions to convey what really following Jesus could lead to.  I like a quote he shares at the end of the book by Annie Dillard, "How we live our days... is how we live our lives" (pg 165).

This book is a wake-up call.  And when we wake up to the goodness of Jesus we can not help but want more of Him and be more like Him and this will change our thinking and our actions for good.  Crazy Love is about both individual revival as well as the renewal needed within the church universal.  We do not need to remain lukewarm.  Abundant life is available, just like Jesus says, to all who trust in Him.  Here is a somewhat radical idea to ponder tucked away on in a paragraph on page 166: "I urge you to consider and actually live as though each person you come into contact with is Christ."

In the last pages there is a brief interview that gives further insight into Francis Chan concerning the book, the church and life. Even if you do not read the book, (which I would recommend for not yet Christians, for new believers and for those mature in their faith, and I think it would be beneficial to read with a friend or in a group), then take a few minutes to read the interview.  It was worth my time to consider what seem to be well thought through replies to good questions.

My Little Afternoon Tea Book

 My Little Afternoon Tea Book
More than 80 Irresistible Recipes
editor: Liz Malcolm
2012
255 pages, hardback

The recipes in this cookbook are each beautifully illustrated and look delicious.  I like how it is set up for bakers in several different countries by the way the ingredients are measured by weight (both grams and ounces) and by cups.
I have already tested one recipe (Chocolate Mud Biscuits on page 171) and the results have been wonderful!  A great gift to receive, a great gift to give.  Thank you Joy...fun baking with you!  If you would like the recipe for the Chocolate Mud Biscuits please go to http://minickmenus.blogspot.com/ 

The Bone People

The Bone People
by Keri Hulme
1983
450 pages, paperback

The Bone People is the third book now that I have read about New Zealand.  As the first two books were more about New Zealand facts, I was ready for a novel that combined facts along with a story that I found hard to put down.  This is a griping novel that is meant to be read slowly, in my opinion, slowly enough to take the time to look up the Maori meanings to words and phrases in the glossary at the back of the book. 
Kere Hulme does an incredible job of character development, bringing to life on the page, three people whose lives intersect to form a type of a family.  Abuse is a major theme throughout the story and because of this, I was unsure if I would be able to read it, but it was also filled with devoted love, a fascinating description of the New Zealand wild country, birds, trees, sea-life, food, and a wide range of language (poetic imagery, profanity, slang, and Maori). 
Kerewin, the main character, is a poet, artist and somewhat of a hermit.  She is intellectual, brave and drinks way more than is healthy.  She is a pale-skinned Maori, very independent, quick-witted, and gets great pleasure from playing the guitar.  Her home is a tower by the sea. 
Joe, a Maori with dark skin, is a young widow, works in a factory, rides a motorcycle and spends lots of time in the local pub.  His extended family live near-by and they are woven into the story just enough to provide more texture.
A young boy named Simon brings Joe and Kerewin together.  Simon is a sole survivor of a boating accident, has golden-white hair, green eyes, a small frame and is mute.  Joe becomes his foster father and devotes his life to caring for Simon's many unique needs yet disciplines Simon far beyond what is good. 
The book is not an easy read for many reasons; the punctuation is challenging, the use of Maori words add depth yet makes one need to concentrate more on the flow of story, thoughts are recorded as if they were conversation, poetry is intertwined, and the Maori belief of the spiritual realm shows up at various times. So the reader really needs to stay committed to keeping everything straight. 
However, I really liked the book (it was winner of 1885 Booker Prize). I did find the ending to be a bit too abrupt.  I would have liked a few more of the novel's questions answered more fully.  I'm not sure who to recommend this book to.  It gave me plenty to think though concerning how people think, respond and interact to each other, to crisis, to loneliness, to life, to death.  A friend from the Grove loaned me her copy of The Bone People and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to read it, especially after time in New Zealand.  Thanks Leanne!

New Zealand

New Zealand

Photographs by Graeme Matthews
2001
128 pages, hardback

A charming photo collection of a variety of places throughout the North and South Islands of New Zealand was given to us upon our arrival from good friends whom we had the joy to visit.  I have enjoyed looking at the scenery and reading the captions and getting a better visual idea of vastness of this stunning country.  I especially liked the photos of Queenstown from where most of our memories of New Zealand are formed.  Truly a majestic-type place and the air, so fresh, i wish we could breathe it in with each page turned.  I will be happy to share this book with anyone who wants to hear of the good time we had in New Zealand! (October 2013).

Slipping into Paradise

Slipping into Paradise

Why I live in New Zealand

by: Jeffrey Moussaifeff Masson

2004

248 pages, hardback

With the hopes of learning about the land we were to visit, I asked on facebook if anyone had a novel about New Zealand that they would recommend.  Unfortunately, it was late in the game, and the books I requested to be mailed to our local library arrived after my ability to collect them for our journey.  I did however have a successful trip to the downtown Library where I checked out three books and very happy that I chose Slipping into Paradise as the first one to read.  The author loves New Zealand!  At the time of writing the book, Jeffrey Masson was not yet a citizen of the country yet his enthusiasm for his new "home" is apparent with each page.  The book is a great resource. It is written from a personal point of view of a man who had lived in many diverse places and in his sixties, with a young wife he adores and two young children, he describes a land that Jared Diamond claimed is "as close as we will get to the opportunity to study life on another planet" (page 132). Masson is a journalist who has written several books and I can tell he likes words, and detail and story.  Intertwined with his own history and present, he gives chapters to the two Island's intriguing history (some things that stood out to me: c.1000 arrival of first people but they did not remain, but the rats they brought with them did, perhaps the first mammals, other than bats that are indigenous to New Zealand, to live on the Island.  c.1350 about 200 people arrived with coconut plants, sweet potatoes and a pregnant dog.  First missionary arrived in 1814 along with horses and cattle.  Sheep and the imported grass they needed to graze came from England in 1834.  Lots of history is covered in a readable way and there are also chapters dedicated to trees and birds (the national bird is the kiwi.  Kiwi fruit is also grown here and New Zealanders are present-day called Kiwis) and a chapter on Maori people and a brief glossary of both New Zealand words and phrases as well as a glossary of words in the Maori language, which now along with English are the two official languages of New Zealand. The book also mentioned two other books that I'm interested to read about new Zealand one being the Bone People (I have it with me) and the other is The Whale Rider (which is waiting for me at the Heights Library).  After just a few days in New Zealand, I too can see why it could be very easy to slip into this paradise.  I would recommend this book to those like me who have the wonderful opportunity of visiting what is known by  locals as "Godzone". 

Come on Shore and we will Kill and Eat You All

Come On Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All

A New Zealand Story
By Christina Thompson
2008
260 pages, hardback

This is my second book about New Zealand.  The first was written by a man, who in his 60's, has made New Zealand his home and he is ecstatic to tell his readers why, and along the way he shares a bit about how he sees New Zealand's history, its landscape and people and a general sense The book is called Slipping into Paradise.  And now this one is from the view point of a white, privileged, intellectual woman from Boston, who while studying in Australia visits New Zealand, charmed by its differences, marries a handsome Maori man and from that perspective continues to research the history and customs of the land.  It is only when I came to the end of the book that I realize to whom the book is primarily written: to the three young sons that will one day grow up to see that the gift their parents have to offer is their interesting history that will become the heritage for each of the boys.  

Christina Thompson does a good job at using narrative to breathe life into people who have long ago lived, fought and have died from both the perspective of the conquers and of those being conquered.  Although most of the Maori people alive today are living on the Northern Island, and we have spent our time in New Zealand on the Southern Island, I experienced enough rustic hikes in which I tried to image what life here was like before sheep, electricity or a vast variety of delicious restaurants.  What was it like for the Maori to first come to this land, perhaps as the first people to inhabit these beautiful and yet harsh mountains?  What did the Maori think of the first "others" to come and how have their lives changed drastically since those days?  And how do the assimilation and the mixture of ideas, culture, dreams, and opportunities continue to play out many years later in the lives of the author's family in particular?  

The book covers a wide range of topics including history, development, the growth and decline of a particular people, and how the change for good and for bad continues to effect the physical land.  

As I read Come on Shore... what also stood out was the process of how some children grow to adulthood; some move about and take on bits from the places they have been and the people that have influenced them. All along choices are made and each choice directs the next path and consequently the next choice. Although many of the book's pages seem remote from how life is lived presently, the very thought that life is lived in certain ways today is because of the choices made by others years ago.  Whether with Europeans inhabiting New Zealand and displacing the Maori or Europeans doing the same to those first living in the Americas, personal and societal choice affect the generations living in these lands today.  Just as the choices I have made affect the lives of my children and so will it be with each generation yet to come. This book did not come to me through a personal recommendation, but when I looked on the internet for options to read about New Zealand, the title caught my attention and then later I saw it in the library so I chose it as a good option for our trip.  The title actually is explained on page 112ff about the voyage of Charles Darwin aboard the Beagle and how he formed his initial opinion of the Maori from a misunderstanding of what was written about what Cook (an early explorer) had written years before.