Wow. It's been awhile since I've updated my journal. So, I guess for this update I will do some short book reviews.

If you enjoy a well done Young Adult novel then you might want to give the one I just finished a try. The novel is called, "Impossible" and is written by Nancy Werlin. This book is a fantasy and a fairy tale, literally. Yet, the fantastical elements are woven in a story that seems real and possible. This novel is a scary story and a love story combined. It deals with real world issues, like mental health and teen pregnancy. Still, there is a moral vibe to this book that feels refreshing. People really love and care about each other. This is a story about good people striving to keep love intact in the face of supernatural evil. Sometimes the writing leaves a little to be desired but overall it's a well conceived story that swept me up and caused one late night of binge reading.

After reading the Harry Potter series and the Twilight series it was refreshing to read a book that dealt openly with words like insanity, rape and abortion. Don't get me wrong, I love the two series mentioned above but this book was about some very real things. Harry and Bella didn't have to face any or most of these things. And yet, this book is mostly a fairy tale love story. The true love which evolves between the two main characters is perhaps as fantastical and somewhat unrealistic as any fairy tale; but still it sweeps you up. Even with all the dark elements running through it, "Impossible" manages to ultimately be a love story. A love story about many different kinds of love. This book shows us that the words, "true love" have different meanings and that true love really is shown in the way we treat, believe and fight for each other. The solutions to some of the real world problems that are present in this novel can be too simple or too fantastical, but then again it is a fairy tale.

If you're interested in a pretty good adult, non-fiction novel I would recommend, "Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art" written by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo. This novel gets inside the hearts and minds of many of the people involved in an art forgery that forever changed the art world. It is also a well written mystery novel if you don't already know the outcome. I would have liked the book to have had a middle section devoted to pictures, especially photos of the art pieces that are mentioned again and again. The ending wasn't as strong as the beginning and middle of the book and the authors were a little too infatuated with some of the people involved, but overall it was a fascinating look into one of the sleaziest and most destructive art forgery operations in modern history.

Lastly, I am in the process of reading "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis. This book is so enlightening and relevant that I am amazed it was written so many years ago. I try to be an intelligent and informed Christian but this book is taking me to new levels of understanding in my faith. I recommend it for anyone, even non-Christians because it is smartly written and gives genuine reasons why we should try to live as better people. Lewis contends in this novel that it is not our job to judge others but to strive to make ourselves whole. He begins the novel with frank discussion of the problem with evil. He lays out what Christianity believes versus what other faiths believe but he does this not to judge but to better help us understand. He tackles difficult question after difficult question with intelligence, kindness, bravery, straight forwardness and intelligence. As a professor and former atheist turned Christian his perspective is fascinating. This novel is strikingly intelligent. I wish every pastor and priest would read this.

Well that is all for now. I hope all my watchers are well and happy. I can't believe it is already winter here. Where did the summer go? Guess I at least have another reason to curl up with a hot beverage and open another book...that is until my baby needs me!

PS I did a DA search for, "Impossible", "Zach and Lucy" and even, "The Elfin Knight." I came up empty. Come on amazing DA artists where is the love for this book? Can't you at least make one drawing of the happy family for me? Heck, I'd even take a pic of the frightening Elf...maybe.