A History of the World and Science

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

My rating on a 100-point scale: 92

     I read this book about a year and a half ago, I estimate. I took pages and pages of notes, since this is nonfiction and most of it was a grand learning opportunity. But looking back over those notes, I can't decipher what is actually from the book, and what came from my mind as I read it. I developed theories about the earth and human origins because of this book. I've been meaning to research them more to see if they hold up against what is already known that is not included in the book, but I haven't yet. 

Image borrowed from www.jyi.org.

     Personally, I usually prefer fiction to historical non-fiction works, and that may be why I wasn't too crazy about this book, but there were also some pet peeves in it that I must mention here. First, the author is very obviously an atheist; I don't have anything against atheists, but when it comes to scientific works, I don't care how you feel about God or what you do and don't believe - I just want to know what you know, not your personal choices. Second, this book does have profanity, specifically the sh-word, and though I don't usually care, it's worth mentioning I feel. Third, and I find this very often in written works so it's not that big of a deal I guess, the author uses now in his past tense writing, which I personally find annoying. Another common mistake that writers of all genres make and editors don't seem to bother to fix before publishing, is the use of till where until is meant - the first is what one does to the ground when wanting to start a garden, and the other 'til is a shortened form of until, which is not even in the same word category. Sorry, a little bit of a rant I know - I guess I'm just in a bad mood today or something. Another of my pet peeves that this book brings to mind is double words like "that that" and "had had" - if you have to do this, I think you need to expand some part of your writing, like your vocabulary or sentence structure, or something. Rearrange the sentence or something, just don't repeat a word like that. And oh, on the subject of using more words than necessary: "ten-thousand trillion" is a quadrillion and "one-hundred thousand million" is 100 billion - the latter is shorter and a whole lot easier to understand than Bryson's choices. I'm tempted to say the author did this to belittle his audience, but I hope not. I'm going to leave alone the round versus around right now, since I don't want to alienate my readers. -Thank you for reading, by the way!

One for Adolescents

Image via amazon.com

The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass
The His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman

My rating on a 100-point scale: 98

     This trilogy is a masterpiece. The first time I read it I was in the sixth grade, and I have read it another two times since. These books are very-well written and very-well thought out, and I personally love the adventure they provide their readers with.

     When I first read them as an adolescent, the end of the trilogy shook me as a Christian. I wasn't technically a Christian yet, according to the current definition I claim, but I was trying to find my place in Christianity. The ending makes the author's atheism very evident, and either makes or breaks the story for the reader. For me, I'm not sure whether it made or broke the story (the first time), since I don't know where I was then in relevance to my religion. But now, being solid in where I stand (as a Christian), I can look around the implications of this fictional story and see the amazing piece of work Philip Pullman has created. It's an amazing story, and despite whatever religion you claim, you should read it, especially if you enjoy reading, adventure, and thought-provoking material. However, if you are a fundamentalist Christian parent who's wondering whether they should allow their child to read this work (from an atheist author) or not, I suggest you read it for yourself before you decide (though I believe you will probably decide to advise against your child's reading of it). Though I encourage you to keep an open mind, I know that "narrow is the gate," and you must do what you must for your child's security of mind. But realize that your child will come into contact with the world and the people in it sooner or later, and you can't stop that (no matter how much you may try). 

      This story is brilliant. It's fiction at its best. If you have any questions concerning it that I may be able to help with, please email or comment below. 

These are meant to be children's books, but I would recommend these books for no one below the age of 8, since the writing and storyline can be complex at times. There are also mythical, mystical, and war-like elements. The bear battle is a bit gory and the main character is a liar, for example; there are things of this world and those of another included in the story (witches, talking bears, spirits, magic, science, daemons, etc.). As always, if you question whether your child should read these books, read them yourself and determine with your own standards.