Finished OUR ENDANGERED VALUES

Though I don't agree with everything Jimmy Carter believes, it is amazing how similar our proposed compromises are.  Everything he'd like to see accomplished, he makes gentle, world protecting, people protecting proposes for.  I agree with all of his proposals...  They won't accomplish perfection, but they would go a long way to improving things.

Overall, he approaches world problems with the Christian values of peace, love, and charity.  Though he does not question the Christianity of those who don't (he thinks they are misguided), I certainly do.  The miracle of this man's thinking is that seeing what is happening in the world clearly as he does with us as the instigator of much of it (the world sees us as an example, but they tend to do as we do, not as we say, which explains much of the recent genocide in primitive countries--wasn't that what we were trying to do when we invaded Iraq?), he continues to propose optimistic, loving, peaceful, and charitable solutions which just might work, if we could move ill-meaning and ridiculously judgmental "fundamentalists" out of DC.



I am now about to start Dark Visions, by L. L. Smith (the author of The Vampire Diaries.)  This book is actually three books put together and I am looking forward to it.

Finished LE MORTE DARTHUR

I suspect some of those who have been following me on Goodreads and Facebook may have thought I'd never finish this.  I broke it into three sections and read each like a book, leaving it for two cycles of piles on my "to read" shelf (maybe a little less than a year between each section.)

OK.  It was dry.  There was no character development.  It read like a history textbook.  But I had wanted to read something as close to the origin of the story as I could get.  There are texts closer, much closer.  But I can't (or don't want to) read Old English and certainly not Old French, so this was it.  I did read a lot of stories I had not heard before as well as how Arthur, Mordred, Guenevere, and Lancelot died...which I had not really gotten before.  I will now proceed to read The Once and Future King (which the book I just finished says was the epitaph on his tombstone) to see how it compares.  But not immediately.



I have now started Our Endangered Values by Jimmy Carter.  He is definitely addressing Christian Values, but in a more rational way than we usually hear them addressed politically today.  Usually someone picks and chooses sentences from the Bible to beat us into hating whole groups of people with.  To prove to us that some human beings (belonging to different groups from that of the person doing the preaching) should not have human rights.

But, who was our most Christian president?  Really?  Who, of our presidents, most exemplifies (then and now) the values of Love and Charity that we grew up with?  If I am going to read a book, written by a politician about values, this is the author I will go with!   And he is refreshing!  A person who truly loves and respects people--all people.  In this day and age!

Finished NANO by Robin Cook

Well, it is obvious that I can no longer trust Robin Cook.  Oh, I can trust him for edge of my seat reading and a great thrilling yarn, but I can no longer trust him to  be satisfying.  I'm not sure that was ever his intention--I think he wants to scare us to death with the medical possibilities out there...



I've gone back to Le Morte Darthur.    This is still not the exact edition I am reading as I am reading a hardback, but at least the number of pages and the editor are correct.  I have a few less than 200 pages to go and should finish it this time....I've read it in three sections like it is three books because I have a low threshold for boredom.  I want the information in here, but the style is dry and character development is nearly nil, so I need a break periodically.

Finished THE KEY

Finished and loved The Key by Simon Toyne, the second book in the Santos trilogy.  One main character now appears to be safe while a second has been left quite possibly dying.  So, the third book, The Tower is a must.  I very much doubt that it is out in paperback as yet, so I have a while to wait for it.



Simon Toyne has been compared to Dan Brown, and I agree with the comparison, but there are differences.  The challenge is there as well as the thrill ride.  I have enjoyed this a lot.

I am now about to start Nano by Robin Cook, but I haven't even opened the book as yet, so, so far, no report.



I finished The Key just after midnight last night, so I guess Goodreads has it right--it really does count as read in 2014....I was hoping I could get it under the wire, but the good side is I have a head start on next year.  I challenged myself to read 50 books in 2013 and only read 43...I read a lot of long books and have no intention of changing that, so...I'm only going to challenge myself to read 45 this year--that will match the number of books I read in 2012...and the books I read do seem to be getting longer.

Watched Moneyball--took me two days to do it...Finished it yesterday.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Applying nerd thinking to a sport!  What fun!  And whoa--I guess Brad Pitt CAN act!  It was a great "upper" after Saving Private Ryan.