Isabella Warrior Queen - Book Review

For the past two years I have printed out Tim Challies "Reading Challenge Book List". Last year I read a total of 17 books off that list and it was so much fun trying to find "new" books I wouldn't normally read. This year, so far, has not let me down!

The first option on the reading list is to read a biography. So I chose a book on Queen Isabella of Spain. I had never read on her and the few things I did know about her were indirectly because I am an absolute fan on all things relating to Henry VIII's wives. (Queen Isabella's last daughter was Katherine of Aragon and she became King Henry VIII's first wife.) 

The book "Isabella The Warrior Queen" covered everything about her and it also provided mini-biographies on other major people influenced by her like Christopher Columbus, Mehmed the Conqueror, Pope Alexander VI, Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba, Henry VII of England and other very interesting people. 

The author - Kirstin Downey - did a very great job in providing first hand account information on both sides of history. The war accounts given in the book are bloody. The slavery, kidnappings, rape, torture, disease and outright hopelessness mentioned in this book really gave me a sense of gratitude that I live in the day in age I do. 

The Spanish Inquisition is covered extensively, but new insights of how many actually died in it were given.  And some of Isabella's thoughts on leniency in this matter are evident in her letters to her Inquisitors.

There is also a rather big section on the degeneration of the Catholic church. She boldly reprimanded Pope Alexander VI for his lascivious behavior and simony. She even imprisoned his son Cesare (yes, they are supposed to be celibate) for murder. Another large section on Christopher Columbus and the Americas was also surprising. She expected both these men to represent Christ (especially the pope!!) where they were at and she did not shy away from pointing out their many faults in their representation - always reminding them where their money came from. 

I was also very surprised by how well Isabella knew war and strategy. Even when her husband Ferdinand didn't think she could win, she proved him wrong several times. It was with her campaigning and insight that Spain was able to stop the Muslim expansion into her kingdom and because of her that they conquered even more ground. She truly was a warrior queen! It is even believed that the queen piece in chess was given more "power" in the game due to Isabella's prowess in war.

She loved her husband passionately and her children also. But she did not let that love hinder her from making sound decisions on all aspects regarding her kingdom.

I also couldn't stand King Ferdinand throughout the book. On Isabella's death bed, Isabella begged Ferdinand not to marry after she was gone so as not to jeopardize the inheritance of their children and grand-children destabilizing all they had worked for.  Ferdinand promised her he wouldn't, but less than a year later, he was married again. Throughout the book he is a conniving man that really got on my nerves.  Ferdinand died several years later due to a bad concoction of bull testicle juice that supposedly would help his vigor in producing a male heir.  Very fitting I thought.

There is so much more to her in this book that makes for a great soap opera and what is amazing is that it is true! She really existed! She really was a fascinating woman in a time when the only fascinating thing about women was their beauty. She was a great debater and protector of women and children. She was a learner, a warrior and a reader and she loved her God. The faults she did have, the whole world can judge for themselves on her motives. Regardless, I do not believe it takes away from what she accomplished. 

To the Christian: This year marks the 500 year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. I was very pleased to read in this book that Isabella was reading material that Martin Luther read as a young man and that influenced him later to nail his 95 thesis. She defended men who called out the outright debauchery of the Catholic church. I wondered a lot about where she would have stood during the times of the Reformation due to other opinions she had about the way the Church was going. This book also gives us plenty of  history of what was going on in the church and I shudder at what many did in the name of Christ. But there were glimpses of light still there during such a dark time. Some things to ask ourselves is how do we twist Scripture to enhance our fleshly agenda? How and when do we call out behavior that paints the Church or Christ in a bad light? How best can we exemplify Jesus in a world that is so divided and dark? With many flaws, Isabella did it in a way she thought best, having effects that still impact us today. For example, I speak Spanish and most of my family is Catholic even though we live thousands of miles away from her kingdom and it is because of her. What we do as Christians can also impact generations from now. 

May all we do bring glory to God.  


 

The Alchemist - Book Review

If you are looking for a good book on audio, then this is a great book!  I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it! I had never read a Paulo Coelho book, but had heard of him. This book came as a recommendation from some of my family members, and I am so grateful to them for it.

The book is about a young man who is looking for his treasure and his personal legend. Throughout the book the reader is unaware if the treasure is actual gold and jewels or if it's a person or if it's some form of knowledge. The young man sets off to find this treasure and meets several very interesting characters along the way. The story is set in southern Spain and North Africa and there is a lot that I learned from that part of the world in regards to their culture and customs. The book also provides a bit of magic in the book that is just enough to make for a great story. 

The book is easy to understand and at the same time it is very deep and profound philosophically. There are a lot of life lessons and positive perspectives that could be learned from this book. The boy in the book is a natural optimist and that was very attractive to me. He learned a lot on his travels and we learn with him as he journeys to find his treasure. 

Recommendations: I recommend this book to the wanderer or traveler at heart, to the person who loves stories about wonder and adventure, and to those who may want something easy and fun to read. I also recommend it to anyone who has an unfulfilled dream that they may still aspire to accomplish one day.

To the Christian: The book is clean and at its center it reveals a God in control of His creation. Knowing the history of southern Spain and northern Africa, you would assume that there is a lot of mention of the Muslim faith, and there is. There is even mention of some Hebrew practices. I had a slight problem with God and Allah being interchangeable in this book, but I took all this very lightly due to the magical and fantastical subjects found in the book. For example, one of the characters found a way to change any metal into gold; and the sun and wind can literally speak. There is also transfiguration and immortality is attainable. So I didn't take his interpretation of God too seriously. The alchemist in the book does cite Jesus' words several times as words of wisdom, and unlike a devout Muslim, he even mentions Jesus as the Son of God. There are also dreams and visions that are important within this book and the author references back to Joseph the son of Jacob and his ability to interpret those dreams and visions. My only caution would be that Mr. Coelho does have a universalist leaning, but again, to me that wasn't a problem due to the fantastical prose of the book. There are some beautiful things written about God. If you have a young reader this would be a good book for them to read. You could discuss with them later about who God truly is and what God's Word has to say about man and the nature of his heart. Mr. Coelho believes that God can be found if we look within ourselves. I would argue that we, ourselves, are found if we look within God. 

You can get the book here. 

The Doctrine of Repentance - Audio Book Review

This book was published in 1668 and written by Thomas Watson. When reading older books, I am always a bit hesitant in reading them because I am fearful that I will not understand some of the details because of the older English vernacular. Thankfully, this wasn't the case in this edition. 

It never ceases to amaze me just how much we still have in common with people throughout the generations. The spiritual struggles Christians had in the 1600's are the same ones that we have today. As an "old soul" I tend to think that people were nicer in previous generations, but I have found that people are people and there is nothing new under the sun. 

In this book, Mr. Watson is very organized. He makes out different lists on how to identify an unrepentant spirit, or how to apply repentance daily and even how to combat sin.  He also uses every day life to help the reader understand the point he is trying to make, and his word usage to compare and contrast is quote worthy. 

I also appreciated all the Bible citations he gave after many of his sentences. He made his case for what he was saying by going back to the Bible. The opinions and advise he gave were founded not on his own wisdom, but on Scripture. Many times, I remembered a citation and went back to read it and it was as he had said.

Because of so many citations and so many quote worthy sentences, I do not recommend this book to be listened to as an audio book. This book is meant to be read and highlighted. Maybe, from now on, I will only use Audible for fiction. Thankfully there is a "bookmark" link on Audible where if I hear something I like, I can "bookmark" it and then go back to it later.

Here are some of those compare and contrast quotes I was talking about:

The more regret we have first at our conversion, the less we'll feel afterwards.

Speaking about the Apostle Paul: He had persecuted saints to death before, now he preached sinners to life. 

Someone who can believe without doubting should suspect his faith, and someone who can repent without sorrowing should suspect his repentance.

On temptation: Is he not a fool who would believe a temptation and not a promise.

So as God has two places where He dwells - Heaven and a humble heart. So does Satan have two places where he dwells - Hell and a hard heart.

And here is a quote that explains repentance with word pictures:

Blessed repentance that has so much sugar at the bottom of the bitter cup!

 The key to personal awakening and revival is repentance and the elation of forgiveness. Believe it or not it is also the key to joy. For when I am truly repentant because I have offended God, I find joy in His forgiveness. When I am repentant I can't judge hypocritically, for I too am a sinner. I can't hate what is done to me, for I have done far worse to the most Holy One. I can't sit idly by and do nothing for my neighbor, for He has done so much for me to be able to grant me forgiveness. I can't hate, for I am loved. I can't complain, for I am grateful.

Thomas Watson

So much in my Christian walk would change if I would just practice repentance daily. This book has helped me to see that. Mr. Watson has so many illustrations and breaks down what he is trying to say so well. His examples of how to apply this and why we should apply repentance are so helpful and clear. He just makes logical sense throughout the whole book. I remember several times just being astounded when he made a point and then clarified it with a reasoned analogy. 

The book is actually about 128 pages, so it could be read in one day. And as I researched more I found he wrote several other small books about different topics.  If you would like a list of the books he has written click here.  

I recommend that every Christian read at least one book by Thomas Watson. This was a beautifully written book. His grasp on the English language and his thoughtfulness in regards to Scripture is profound. 

As I read more on him, I found out that he died suddenly while in private prayer. What a way to die! A thought that came to mind when I read that was that I don't even pray that much to be caught dead doing it. What are the odds of that for me, much less than Mr. Watson's or many other strong Christians?

The book is available free here.  Or you may also buy it here. 

 

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

I have a confession to make. This is my first C.S. Lewis book. I cringe to write that, but it is true. I have had the best of intentions to read Lewis, but never got around to it. Countless of times I have read so many beautiful quotes from him. So many pastors who I admire have quoted Lewis in their sermons. The quotes being full of wisdom and intellect in their distinctly-Lewis way. I loved the Narnia movies (well the 1st one and 3rd one, not the 2nd one so much) and fell in love with Aslan and Mr. Tumnus. But unfortunately, I had never read an entire book by him.

With that being said, it was with great joy for me to get this audio book. I really do not like fantasy that much, but this particular book was fairly short and I thought it would be a good start where I could cut my teeth in regards to this genre. 

The book was okay. It had some good quotes here and there, but the story was just too fantastical for me. At the beginning of the book there is a warning that the story is not meant to be theologically accurate, and it wasn't at all. And I think that is where most of my problems were with the book. It's not like Narnia, where everything is a fantasy. Everyone is made up and certain characters allude to Jesus or to God. In "The Great Divorce", the ghosts are experiencing Hell and working to get to Heaven whilst being in Hell, and I just couldn't get past that as I read. I know the story is meant to help the reader understand sin and repentance and ultimately the joy of Heaven, but I just couldn't stop thinking about how death didn't seem so final in this book and that all were technically given a second chance after it. But I continued with the story despite my reluctance. 

Lewis did have some good imagery regarding ghosts who struggled with sins we tend to overlook like: manipulation, gossip and vanity. But I just wished they would not have been "dead already" dealing with these sins.

A quote I really liked from this book was:

 There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ 

I do believe I am a bad judge when it comes to the fantastical. I usually don't read it. I wanted to like this book, but I really didn't. I do want to say though that Lewis was still profoundly effective in explaining sin and the ugliness of it. His word imagery to analyze and clarify the problem with man and the love and joy of God was paramount. (SPOILER ALERT) And then it was somewhat compensating at the end when all of it was just a dream for the narrator of the book. Somewhat . . 

Recommendations:  I recommend this book to those who like metaphors and allusions. Also those who are more philosophical in their theology and who do not mind thinking "what if" on things dealing with the afterlife. 

To the Christian: The book does well in further explaining what sin does to us and how repentance leads to joy. The recurring sin in our lives affects us and those we love more that we could ever imagine, and Lewis does a great job in portraying that with the different characters the narrator meets on his way to Heaven. 

You can buy the book here.

Carol Wallace's Ben Hur - Book Review

I recently joined Audible and the first fiction book I purchased was Carol Wallace's "Ben Hur, A Tale of the Christ". Mrs. Wallace is related to the original author of "Ben Hur", Lew Wallace and being an author herself, modernized the book written by her great-great grandfather. I do not think Mrs. Wallace's intentions were to change the story, but to simply make it less burdensome to read for this generation. I cannot completely compare between the two books because I didn't finish the original written by Lew Wallace. His form of writing was meticulously descriptive of the Middle East and I found myself reading pages and pages of him trying to give the mind an idea of what this part of the world looked like. I understand why since he wrote this book during the time of the American Civil War and most of his audience could never imagine the panorama or culture Jesus lived in. But for me, it was a bit exhausting, so I found myself skimming a lot of the book since I know what a camel looks like, or I know what Arab nomads in the 1st century wore. Needless to say, I didn't get far in the book, but learned of the "new" book by Mrs. Wallace and decided to listen to it on my walks.

To make things clear, I absolutely love the "Ben Hur" starring Charlton Heston. The chariot scene in this movie will forever be a part of American movie culture. Saying this, I did go into Mrs.Wallace's book with my biases, but I can safely say that both movie (1959 version) and book are good. The movie is a classic but does exalt Judah Ben Hur in a way the book doesn't. In the book Judah's thirst for vengeance and war is insatiable. Messala is a scoundrel. The horrors of Rome and the pain suffered by Tirzah and her mother made me silently weep for them. What abhorrence! And then comes the contrast. Jesus. Judah expecting a Messiah to come and save his people from Rome doesn't realize that He has come to save them from something more. He has come to not just save them from death, but to also give them eternal life. What a beautiful story!

Mrs. Wallace is a wonderful author! Her word usage is superb and throughout the book there are appropriate times of lightheartedness that made me laugh out loud. The characters in her book are well developed and even if you've seen the movie (again I'm talking about the 1959 movie), she has added a climax I didn't expect. I actually gasped!

About the new movie that came out starring Morgan Freeman and Jack Huston, I really don't plan on seeing it. Frankly, after watching several trailers, I really don't think their acting is the greatest. And by "their" I mean the dialogues that happen between Judah and Messala throughout the trailer. Even Morgan Freeman seems a bit dampen. Also, the scene on the boat makes it appear that Judah was still chained to the boat, an imperative difference in both the book and the 1959 movie. I may be wrong regarding that part though. In other words, I just don't think I will be able to handle the poor acting and the director's artistic freedoms with this story.

I personally have heard mixed reviews on the movie though.

About Carol Wallace's book though, read it! There is fighting, violence and death. There are insinuations of sex and debauchery, but Mrs. Wallace leaves most to the imagination and isn't descriptive at all in these scenes. The scenes involving the lepers are fairly graphic, but necessary.

Recommendations: I believe older teenage boys would really enjoy this book as would any historical fiction lover. I bought this audio book for my father and he absolutely loved it!

To the Christian: The redemptive climax of the book is elating! Although, there are small glimpses of Jesus throughout the book, and the book focuses a lot more on Judah and those around him, Jesus is the hero in this book. He is the true champion that saves at the end of the day. I truly recommend it.