November Books Read

This month was great, and I got to read alot of books I really enjoyed.

I finished the Mysterious Benedict Society Series. I really enjoyed this series. No magic involved, not really. Only the power of exceptional minds. I really enjoyed as these children learned that being smart individually gave them an advantage against most, but it wasn't until they learned how to truly work together that they found their real potential. Just a really good story.

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey - 440
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma - 391

Then I needed a break from new stuff and since the new movie was coming out, I reread the Twilight Series. I love this series for very personal reasons, that don't need to be put here. It's sufficient to say that when I'm really bogged down in crap, I enjoy reading these.

Twilight - 498
New Moon - 563
Eclipse - 629
Breaking Dawn - 754

It's been a long time coming, and I guess I've finally just figured I have nothing to loose anymore, but I am on a road to put into words the things that I believe. I've always inherently had a problem with religion, a problem I've never really been able to find the right words to express, not exactly anyway. The best way I can put it is to say that all "organized religions" place everything in a box and hand it out saying, "here, this is truth. It's all contained here. Put aside logic, embrace faith, listen to this or that higher power, they know more than you. Sure you can question for yourself, but if you find an answer that is contrary to what is in this box then you are merely being influenced by 'Evil.'" I believe truth is in all of us, if we just have the forthwith and the strength to seek after it, and then to not be afraid to pursue those things we know to be right. It's just easier to be told and follow, then to truly seek. Anyway, in this seeking, I've decided to learn as much about all other "religions"/belief systems that I can. I began with Wicca because it is something that I've always wanted to learn more about, so you will probably find that I read more on the subject. I really believe that much of what they believe is truth; my main problem is that pledging yourself to Wicca, you must first caste off your former religion. I find that personally offensive, because I believe that we do not have to caste off the past in order to embrace the future. No matter how much we claim to want to change our own pasts (and I don't think I know of a single person who doesn't wish they could change something), then we wouldn't be who we are today. There will always be something we wish we could change, but it is only in truly embracing who we have been, that we can be what we want to be.

Wicca 101 - 213

The next book by Steve Berry, I read because Joe had read it in Afghanistan and thought I would enjoy it. I really enjoyed the history it contained. This is a book alot like Dan Brown writes. I will give Berry that he is not arrogant in the way that he writes like Brown, but there are things about their characters that just really get on my nerves. I guess I get frustrated because of how I read. I literally place myself in whatever I read. I live it, I expound on everything--creating my own story lines from that current book. I've always read that way. I don't know how to do it any other way, so when I am irritated with a character, I get very irritated. It's like that person is truly a living, breathing, being and not just a figment of someone's imagination that does what he does because that's the way it's written. If you like Dan Brown, you'd enjoy this book, we'll leave it at that. If you kind of like Dan Brown but find him offensive, I think you would enjoy this book better.

The Templar Legacy - 480

This would be another "religious exploration" book for me. It SUCKED!! Leave it at that. (But at least it only took an hour to read)

The Sixth Book of Moses and the Seventh Book of Moses - 101

The next series by James Owen, is one that's been on my wish list for awhile. It was nice to finally get to read them, especially because I absolutely LOVED them!!! I was truly amazed at how they were put together. The skill and the knowledge base that it took this author to write this was exceptional and extraordinary. It takes famous authors, places them as caretakers of an "imaginary geography," an atlas of maps of places that apart but part of our world all the same. In this world, they find the seeds for much of what they will write throughout their lives--in essence "fictionalizing" non-fiction so that the world doesn't find out too much but needing a way to express all they have lived. The amount of authors involved is extensive, and in that I find myself wholly impressed. The fact that the book in and of itself is a really great story only makes it better.

Here, There Be Dragons - 324
The Search for the Red Dragon - 368
The Indigo King - 372
The Shadow Dragons - 414

**Now, as always if you have any questions, just ask. If I don't have your email, put it down so that I can respond to you personally. And Happy Reading!!!

Total for November - 5547 pages
Total for 2009 - 38,241 pages