Popol Vuh / Anonymous / 388 pgs

I read this book in preparation of a presentation I had to give in my Spanish 102 class on ancient Mayan mythology. As mythology goes, I think I still prefer Greek mythology, but as someone who has a degree in religious studies, I found that my knowledge of Central and South American religion and mythology is sorely lacking, so I'm glad I got to read this. The book is divided in four parts, and it's a bit tricky to understand exactly what is going on at all times, but essentially, the first part concerns the creation of the universe and the different deities that played a part. It took several tries to get the creation of humans right. The first time, they were made of mud, then wood, and then flesh and bone. The second part concerns twins who were tricksters and clever enough to get themselves out of sticky situations. It's a common enough motif among Native Americans. The third and fourth parts concern the K'iche Mayans and how their tribe was formed, how they got a patron god, and how they found their capital in Guatemala. The stories themselves are quite short but there are a LOT of footnotes to help explain what is exactly happening in the stories.

Dune Messiah / Frank Herbert / 256 p.

Dune Messiah is the 2nd novel in the Dune Chronicles series.  The first novel left the reader feeling that the Atreides were perhaps the only family with morality or basic decency in the entire empire.  This book immediately calls that belief into question.  The dreaded jihad has begun and hundreds of thousands have been killed in the name of Muad'Dib - the name Paul Atreides chose for himself when he meets the Fremen in Dune.


Dune Messiah focuses on the feelings of Paul as he is caught up in his own legend and forces beyond his control.  As the empire aligns against him, can he forge a path for himself and Chani that enables them to live peaceful lives and raise children?

Dune / Frank Herbert / 412 p.

This sci-fi epic novel includes treachery and politics, love and loss, novel inventions and familiar motivations.  Having seen the 1984 movie several times, I found this novel comfortingly familiar.  The harsh desert planet of Aracus is all-encompassing, ever-present, and water always in the thoughts of its people.  The members of the House of Atreides seem to be the only honorable people in the entire universe created in Herbert's novel.  The Harkenons are a scheming people only after power and willing to do anything to get it.  The emperor plots to have any dissenters killed.  Meanwhile Duke Leto, Lady Jessica, and their son Paul have loving relationships and the respect of their people.  Unfortunately the schemes of the larger court are determined to unseat them from the newly acquired fief of Aracus.  Has Jessica's teachings prepared her son for the challenges that await him?  Will they be able to hold this fief and give its people the paradise so long prayed for? 




Dune is the first in the Dune Chronicles series.  The next book in the series is Dune Messiah.

Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology / Leah Remini / 228 pgs

This is my second autobiography by an actress in the last couple of weeks. I can't quite compare the two because Carrie Fisher's newest and last book The Princess Diarist was short and only focused on her time making Star Wars and afterwards, mainly focused on the new revelation of her affair with Harrison Ford.

However, I think Troublemaker was so much better. I've been meaning to read this book for a while, but it was her new docuseries, Scientology and the Aftermath that made me actively put a hold on the book and I finally got a chance to read it. I finished it over the course of this weekend. First, I must admit that I listened to the audio book while at home doing cross stitch. Ms. Remini narrates her book and does a wonderfully hilarious job with it. She's a girl from Brooklyn, and so Brooklyn salty language abounds, but I got over it pretty quickly. Ms. Remini goes over her childhood, her family, her introduction to Scientology, her time in the Sea Org, her trials in trying to get cast in 80s and 90s sitcoms, her fame, and her years slowly coming to the realization that Scientology was not all she thought it was. If you are a Scientologist, you will not care for what she has to say about her former religion. However, I loved listening to every minute of it and find that I admire Ms. Remini more and more. She begins the book with acknowledging all of her flaws. I admire her for that as well.

If you're interested in learning more about Scientology. If you like funny ladies. If you want to learn about how crazy Tom Cruise really is. If you want to read an honest account of a flawed human being (and we are all flawed human beings), then get this book and read it, or better yet, listen to it. Highly Recommended!

The Armageddon Code / Billy Hallowell / 224 pgs

I really enjoyed this book so much. I have read a lot on end times prophecy over the years, to the point where I became oversaturated, and had to cut back, so it has been quite a few years since I've delved back in again. I'm so glad I did with Mr. Hallowell's book.

Unlike most books that concern the Tribulation, the Rapture, Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel, et cetera, Mr. Hallowell's book is not one man's best educated guesses on the subject. Rather, Mr. Hallowell interviewed multiple Christian theologians and compared and contrasted their views. Except for a couple of short pages at the end of the book, Mr. Hallowell is careful not to reveal his own opinion on whether the Tribulation is going to be a real event, or it is only allegory, or whether there will be a Rapture; and, if so, when.

Fifth Gospel/ Ian Caldwell/ 431 pages

The Fifth Gospel is the second book written by Ian Caldwell.  The Fifth Gospel traces the lives of two Catholic priests.  Brother, one followed in his father's footsteps to become an Easter Orthodox Catholic priest while the other became a Roman Catholic priest.  They become embroiled in the murder of a friend and the mystery of the friend's discovery.   When Simon is found with Ugo's body his first instinct is to call his brother Alex.  Together the brothers try to discover what Ugo was doing that could cost him his life.  But one brother already knows the truth.  The Fifth Gospel opens up the country of the Vatican to the reader in a way not usually seen.  Caldwell unveils the lives of the people who live within the Vatican and how the country operates within Rome, Italy.  This book will appeal to readers who enjoyed Dan Brown's books, the Crusades and Templar fiction.  For more information and read a likes see the SCCCLD website

Under the Banner of Heaven / Jon Krakauer / 372 pgs.

I picked this book because I needed a book on religion for Book Riot's #ReadHarder challenge. After reading The Bishop's Wife around Christmas, I was curious to read more about Mormonism. Granted, Krakauer's book is a bit one-sided in his commentary, but I have since researched and found a lot of the historical facts he presented were correct. I've liked a few of his other books, like Into Thin Air and Into the Wild and consider his writing to be pretty trustworthy. However, although Krakauer does present a history of the beginnings of the Mormon church, a lot of the current information he presents is on a breakaway sect of the Mormon church known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, whose leader was in the news a few years ago and is currently in prison. Most mainstream Mormons would disavow that polygamous sect. My chief complaints are that although the book was informative, it was difficult to finish. It was plodding and Krakauer's penchant for going back and forth from present day to the 19th century and back again was a bit too much this time around.

The Cleaner of Chartres: A Novel/Salley Vickers/298 pgs

What a sucker I am for fiction set in a foreign country - especially France. I was walking by the New Fiction table and this jumped into my hand. We are introduced to a young baby, a girl who has been left in a wicker basket wrapped in a white tablecloth. The farmer who found her names her Agnes (after the saint) and Morel (after his favorite mushrooms). He realizes he can't take care of the child and so gives her to the nuns. They take her in and find over time that Agnes is smart but not outstanding, sweet but not overly gracious and secretive, in a dangerous way.
  As a teenager Agnes had something happen in the apple orchard and as the book progresses we find out in bits and pieces what happened and why her life took such a sharp turn. We meet people who truly are her friends and others who are her direst enemies. Agnes is the cleaner of the title with all its connotations. I was drawn in by this haunting story and cheered for Agnes' victories and booed when the need arose. I feel as if I can walk down the streets of Chartres and find these people living there right now.
 The chapters alternate between present and past in the different cities in and around Chartres. For those in the know, Chartres is where the Notre-Dame cathedral is located. This edifice plays a significant role in the story, almost a character itself. There isn't any harsh language and a sweet love story. I heartily recommend this for someone looking for a fascinating tale that takes it's wonderful slow time to tell.
Sue D.

Six Degrees: The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro; The Lavender Garden by Lucinda Riley; The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian.

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress: a memoir of going home/Rhoda Janzen/257 pgs.

This is Rhoda Janzen's story of returning to her Mennonite family home to "regroup" after her marriage of 15 years fell apart, and being seriously injured in a car accident. With insight and humor, Rhoda gives the reader a glimpse of Mennonite community. It's a thought provoking book, and highly recommended!

Life of Pi / Yann Martel / 319 p.

Life of Pi, is a story about a teenage boy named Pi, who was in a shipwreck and spends 227 days aboard a life boat and survives to tell his tale.  What actually happens during those days in the Pacific is left up to the reader to decide.  Pi tells two versions of his story, and its my guess that the truth is somewhere in between.  
The point of the story is to ask the reader which version do they personally want to "believe" and hence is a reflection on how they view religion and the world.  I found the novel to be ploddingly slow and I was left feeling frustrated and saddened by Pi's suffering and detachment through his survival ordeal.  If anything, instead of feeling like this book proved "the existence of God" I felt as the movie reviewer, Jonathan Kim, stated in the Huffington Post "[the book] would confirm that if there is a God in control, he's a cruel, sadistic jerk."

Life of Pi / Yann Martel / 319 p.

Life of Pi is a novel that is sometimes hard to wrap your mind around.  The main premise is that a young man, Pi, and his family decide to move to Canada via ship, taking along some animals from the zoo they owned in India.  Once aboard, the ship has mechanical trouble and sinks.  Pi is tossed into the only successfully launched lifeboat.  Unfortunately, the lifeboat is also occupied by part of his family's zoo-a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan, and Bengal tiger.

Although the synopsis makes the title sound like a survival story, it is anything but.  Along Pi's journey, you are given clues as to the real meaning but it isn't until the end that you truly understand Pi's struggle.

The challenge with this book is that when you DO get to the end, you realize that you need to reread the entire novel.  So much of the book is written with symbolism in mind that determining what really might have happened takes work on the part of the reader.

But even with the extra work, the storytelling from Martel is well worth it.