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Books with a Beu
Jamie Beu, owner and co-author (with his wife) of CatholicFamily.info, is a "cradle Catholic", devoted husband, and father of two girls. He is a regular contributor to his parish newsletter, as well as an impassioned defender of the faith who is able to both support and challenge others as necessary -- all in an effort to build-up Christ's Kingdom on Earth. To this end, he does a lot of reading - not just of religious books (for education and research), but also of secular books, both to decompress as well as to keep a finger on the pulse of pop culture (the better to relate to others, as well as to help restore the culture).
Currently reading
Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know
Hyperion
Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life
Boundaries Face to Face: How to Have That Difficult Conversation You've Been Avoiding
Jesus of Nazareth
Permutation City
Truth and Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions
Is Jesus Coming Soon?: A Catholic Perspective on the Second Coming
Prelude to Foundation (Foundation: Prequel, #1)
Autobiography of a Saint: Therese of Lisieux
Perelandra
An amazing book.I was a little concerned about how I'd like this book, since I was kind of ambivalent about Out of the Silent Planet. Rarely do you see a sequel that is better than the first in the series. This sequel, however, was not like the difference between "The Empire Strikes Back" and "A New Hope" - it was more like the improvement of "The Empire Strikes Back" over any of the Star Wars prequels!
The description of Perelandra has you guessing for a while - until you realize that what he is describing is from first impressions to dawning comprehension of reality. The novelty of the lands of Perelandra (if they can truly be called that) are enough to write a whole sci-fi book about (much like how in Ringworld the planet's setting is the central focus of the story). However, for Lewis, this is merely an imaginative setting - he's got bigger fish to fry.
And what a fish it is! The story of the Garden of Eden, retold with a fallen human being there to try to avert it! Lewis's dialogue of the temptations thrown at the "Eve" of Perelandra are so cunning and so intricate that there is a real tension of not just "how will they get out of this one?" but "is it even possible to get out of this one?" Truly an amazing job that puts that whole serpent and apple business to shame.
Highly recommended for anyone who loves sci-fi and is serious about their Christian faith. Even if you are not a devout Christian, you will be intrgiued by what is presented, philosophically and fantastically, in this book.