"The Road" By Cormac McCarthy

Title: The Road
Author: Cormac McCarthy
Published Year: 2006
Pages: 287

Those that do not deal well with struggles and the darker side of humanity be wary of this book. It is sad and depressing but draws you in to continue reading. A story of a man and his son (no names are provided for either during the entire novel), the story takes place in the United States at a time where the world seems to be coming to an end. There is no structured government and everyone is out to fend for themselves. The story covers the trek of the two as they follow a road from the northeast to a hopefully better place in the south. Neither knows if the place they seek actually exists and they are constantly in danger along the way.

The drive to go to this place relies on the love that the man has for his son and the protectiveness he feels for him and demonstrates throughout the book. Not knowing who are the "good" guys versus the "bad" guys makes the trek even harder as well as the search for edible food and safe places to stay. The weather is cold and the road is a dangerous place to be, but in this post apocalyptic environment the two have no choice but the do what they can to survive and hopefully find a better place for the two of them.

"The Return of the Indian" By Lynne Reid Banks

Title: The Return of the Indian
Author: Lynne Reid Banks
Published Year: 1986
Pages: 179
Genre: Young Adult fiction

"The Return of the Indian" is the sequel to Banks' book "The Indian in the Cupboard". It continues from the first book a year from when the first one ends. For those of you that are not familiar with the series, in the first book the main character Omri, finds a magical cupboard that brings plastic toys to life. He brings to life an Indian Chief named Little Bear and the book follows the adventures of the two for the duration of the book.

In this installment of the series Omri decides to bring Little Bear back to life after not using the magic of the cupboard for a whole year. Many things can change in the course of the year not only in Omri's life but in the life that the Indian comes from as well. During the time that the plastic figures are turned back to plastic, they go back the time period in which they come from and have their own lives in that period.

Adventure is the theme of this book as many conflicts arise throughout the book not only in the lives of the plastic figurines but also in the lives of the "giants" that bring them to life in the modern times. The series continues after this book, and I am excited to see where the story turns next.

"Rule By Secrecy" By Jim Marrs

Title: Rule By Secrecy
Author: Jim Marrs
Published Year: 2000
Pages: 467
Genre: Current Events

Jim Marrs is (to me at least) a classic in the modern era of conspiracy theory books. He has even appeared on television shows to debate ideas regarding aliens, ancient mysteries and secret societies just to name a few.

In "Rule By Secrecy" Marrs goes into these topics, primarily dealing with the secret society aspect and how the secret societies that are known to exist have shaped the history of not just individual countries but the world as a whole. These thoughts and explanations are not just rants by the author, but perspectives based on documented history and other outside sources many of which do not come from other conspiracy books and authors but other authoritative sources as well.

Not only does it show how money and lending practices were developed by many of these secret societies over time, but that they helped shaped who is in office and various seats of power. Some of these for me where a stretch but worth the read just to learn where these ideas come from.

Also included is theories of how religion came to be and how these secret societies and ancient mysteries have helped shape the different religions that are found throughout the world. If you are set in your religious ways you will not enjoy this section of the book as it seems to tear apart the backings of different religions.

"The Princess Bride" By Williams Goldman

Title: The Princess Bride
Author: William Goldman
Published Year: 1973
Pages: 414

For 2011 I decided to start a book club as I have wanted to be part of one for a very long time, just didn't know how to go about it and get it done. So in one bold step, I created one and picked this book for the first reading selection. Thankfully I have great friends that were willing to jump in with me and love books as well, even though some don't quite as much.

I remember the first time I ever saw the movie version of this book, I did not even know it was based off of an actual book. It was in 1996 and i was in 7th grade. My literature teacher selected it as a treat for the class to watch. I instantly fell in love with the movie and have continued to love it and watch it over the years since then. I did not find out about the book version until a couple years ago when I was walking through Borders at the Everett Mall on my way to my office there, and it was sitting on one of the center tables just calling out my name. I picked it up and immediately decided to buy it that day. However with time and other things going on in my life, the book continued to sit on my shelf unread. When I decided to do the book club, I picked this book because it was one I really wanted to read and needed to encourage myself to read. I think that's part of the whole reason I started the book club: to read books I have meaning to read but I need the motivation to read them. Don't get me wrong, I love books but sometimes I need a bit more motivation to read some. Now on to my thoughts of the actual book.

Adventure, struggle, and love abound in this book and they all come together nicely. Surprises also are common and you never know what the author will come up with next. After reading the book I have come to the conclusion that I see it as a fairy tale full of satire. It does have your traditional love story running throughout the book, yet at the same time the author pokes fun at this love story many times. I agree with him that not all love stories are happy go lucky and its not part of real life for most people out there. One other thing I love about the book is that the author not only wrote the book but also the screen play for the movie so as I am reading the book I am able to visualize the things happening in the book based off of the movie.

Another awesome thing about this is that it is not just for people looking for a love story, there is plenty of other action in the book to interest people. I had some of my friends reading it and they were surprised at how quick they were reading the book. I know I laughed out loud at various points throughout the book. My dog did give me strange looks during these times.