Book #3: Girl with a Pearl Earring

The third book I've finished this year is Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. It's a pretty short novel and very easy to read.

I found the story subtle and realistic. I could imagine myself in the scenes where the fictional tale takes place. There wasn't a lot of action or suspense. It is a coming of age story of a girl, Greit, living in Holland in the 1600's. In concequence of an accident her father suffers she becomes a maid for the famous painter Johannes Vermeer.

I was able to read through the book in 2 days. It is perfect for anyone looking for a little escape.

Book #1: From Jesus to Christianity

I have finished my first book of the year. I thought I would keep track here just for fun.

The book I read was From Jesus to Christianity: How Four Generations of Visionaries & Storytellers Created the New Testament and Christian Faith by L. Michael White. I thought it was well written and balanced. He took the time to present several different beliefs from Bible scholars on some of the controversial topics. He doesn't make his bias obvious he just presents what is known. Sometimes that is not very much! There was so much information presented in this book that it took me awhile to read it.

It was very exciting to learn more about what the world was like leading up to the time of Jesus and for the first few hundred years. I learned more about the culture than I knew previously. I enjoyed learning more about Paul and his writings and the forgeries. It is also fascinating to see the likely order in which the gospels were written. The author is able to show what types of beliefs and other writings that helped shape what we now call the New Testament.

This is a great book for Bible scholars, historians, students of religion or anyone who wants to learn more about one of the world's largest religions.

Some Books are Expensive!

I'm putting together my list of books I'd like to read this year. Well, I found a list of books written by Albert Einstein.

COOL!

I totally didn't know he wrote some actual books that weren't all scientifical.

I thought the titles sounded good-yes, I judge books by their names!

Why War? was the first one I looked for on Amazon. HAHAHA! Here it is in collectible form for a mere $950! Don't you wish you had a copy?

Of course, there is a newer English version on half.com that retails for $11.99. BUT, they don't have any copies available.

I might need to check the library...