A book review

So I thought that since there isn't a lot of "newsworthy" events going on right now, that I would start writing reviews of some of the books I am reading, hopefully, this will be something I can keep up once I do find my call. And, I will do the best I can, to review it, without spilling the beans on major plot developments as to not spoil the book for those who might want to read it.

The book for today's review is entitled "Interred with Their Bones" written by Jennifer Lee Carrell (published in 2007 by Dutton). It is a novel that, like the Davinci Code, plays with the mystery of certain historical facts, or lack of facts. The main character, Kate, finds herself on an adventure to solve a riddle given to her by her mentor. While Dan Brown dealt with DaVinci's art and the lineage of Jesus Christ, Carrell tackles Shakespeare. The story starts out with Kate at the historic Globe theater in London getting ready to direct Hamlet. While working out a scene an old friend comes to visit and drops a mysterious gift off and tells Kate that if she opens the gift, she has to follow it where it leads. Where it leads is on journey to uncover some of the mysteries of Shakespeare that takes Kate from London to Boston, Utah, Arizona, DC, back to England, Spain, England again and then back to the states.
Carrell is knowledgeable on her subject matter, and she blends the truth (or at least historical documents) well with fictional characters and story she has created. And there were certainly a couple of surprises that I didn't see coming, which, I am always thankful for- I hate predictability in novels/stories that are supposed to keep up the suspense. The novel took me a little longer than I would have liked to get into the story and care about the characters, in some sense, there needs to be more development into the fictional people which made certain relationships hard to follow.
All in all its a decent read. It's not terribly long (407 pages) and moves at a good pace. My biggest frustration I have with a lot of these books, like this one and the Dan Brown novels is that they are preposterous, not so much on the topics they explore, but in the whole time line of events, legality and financial freedom that makes them work- of course the main characters are experts in their fields, of course only they can solve the hidden clues that have been there for hundreds of years, of course they are well connected to other authoritative witnesses and of course money is no object. BUT, if you can accept all these exceptions, then you will find a fun and even slightly educational book.

But that's just my take on it. If you read it or going to read it let me know what you think.

C

August, really???

Hi all-
So, the neglectful blogging (or therefore lack of blogging) continues... This weekend was untypical- it started out with going to a wedding- at Duke Chapel- hadn't been to one there before- beautiful place to get married I think- the couple, John and Wayne, are a part of the choral group there, so they had 66 choir members singing at their wedding- very beautiful. Today- I was set to fill in and teach Sunday school for two and three year olds- something I have actually never done before- however, it being August and all- no little children showed up... so yeah. This afternoon my mom and I were curtain callers for the NC theater and got to see the Sound of Music performed- very, very good job. All in all, not a bad way to spend a weekend. Still searching for the whole call/job thing... makes things interesting.
That's it for me.
Take care!

Has it really been a month?

Hi all-
I can't believe it has been a month since my last post--- so let's see, what's happened since then? Well, I have taken a little vacation with my mom down to Florida and back up the coast through GA and SC. We spent time in Bushnell, Florida- there to visit the tombstone of my grandparents, then we headed to St. Augustine and chilled out at the beach for a day/night then we spent the next day sight seeing as we traveled to Savannah- spending time in St.Simmons and Darian- and then spent the night in Savannah- the next morning we toured around the city, had lunch at the Pirate's House then we were back in the car to spend the fourth of July with family in Charleston. Headed back to NC the next day. It was a good trip... other than that I have just been hanging out in Cary, looking for work/a call. Interesting/slow process.
I did have a good day Sunday- played on the lake with some friends from TAPC- went tubing and tried (unsuccessfully) to wake board. But it was fun.
So that's it really- once something changes in the whole call process, I am sure that the updates will be more frequent and hopefully more interesting.
Hope you are doing well--
Take care. C

Back from Big Tent

Hi all-
So it's been a while since I have updated the blog- sorry about that, but, I just needed to have something to write about I guess. Last Wednesday I headed down to Atlanta, GA on a road trip with a couple of the Drakes for the PCUSA Big Tent conference and to hang out with some of my family. Part of the conference was a Face-to-Face event to help people who are searching for calls meet with some of the churches looking for a pastor. It was an interesting experience I guess. I talked with some really nice people from a few churches and am hopeful that something more might come from it. Other than that, I spent the rest of the time hanging out with friends at the conference and participating in a little of the rest of the Big Tent event. Came back yesterday to NC and spent today primarily power washing the driveway- very exciting- I know you are all very jealous. So that's it for me- just hanging out in Cary, seeking my first call and hoping for some sort of employment in the mean time to carry me through... cause I am brokety broke broke... and that's no joke... wow, even I can't believe I just typed that one...
Take care all,
c

Back in NC

Hi all-
So, as you know, I have now graduated from seminary. Kind of weird really- I am still in the midst of the call process, which is moving very slowly. I have moved to Cary, NC and am staying with my mom while I search, and starting tomorrow will begin looking for a regular job in the mean time. yay-master's degree.

Anyways- I rented a U-haul and my mom, cat and I made the 1,420 mile trek across the southern united states to here in three days with a stop in Marietta, GA to visit some family. It was a good trip considering and KoKo did an awesome job at being a good road kitty.

Going to a wedding later this afternoon- should be a good time.

That's it for me.
Hope you are all well.
C