Category Archives: books

5
Apr

Tolkien bio, a rewarding read

As anyone who has ever read The Lord of the Rings knows, reading Tolkien’s masterpiece requires a huge time commitment, one that is, of course, well-rewarded.  Horne’s biography, on the other hand can be zipped through in an evening or … Continue reading →

Posted in Tolkien | Leave a comment
20
Feb

On Gene Wolfe

In the early 90s a friend gave me four paperback volumes of “The Book of the New Sun”. He’d said that he’d never heard of this guy, but he’d made three unsuccessful attempts to start the books and had finally … Continue reading →

Posted in Gene Wolfe | 2 Comments
19
Dec

Not liking Erasmus that much

A Man is then a certain monstrous beast compact together of parts two or three of great diversity. Of a soul as of a certain goodly thing, and of a body as it were a brute or dumb beast. For … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible & Theology, Goodreads.com, History | 3 Comments
8
Dec

Oh, those poor rich people forced to offer us such low prices…

The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow My rating: 4 of 5 stars I haven’t finished this book yet, but I have gotten far enough (up to WWII) to see … Continue reading →

Posted in Goodreads.com, History, political-economy | 3 Comments
8
Dec

Stuff I forgot to mention: Bruce Gordon’s biography of John Calvin

Bruce Gordon’s biography of John Calvin » Mark Horne. Calvin by Bruce Gordon My rating: 5 of 5 stars Calvin would name his political enemies (and there really isn’t any other kind of enemy available in Geneva) from the pulpit. … Continue reading →

Posted in Goodreads.com | Leave a comment
7
Dec

Bruce Gordon’s biography of John Calvin

Calvin by Bruce Gordon My rating: 5 of 5 stars I keep wanting the time to get my thoughts together and write a review worthy of this book. Not going to happen (Happily, Sean Lucas wrote a short but worthy … Continue reading →

Posted in Goodreads.com | 3 Comments
7
Nov

Aldous Huxley was an aspiring Saruman trying to talk the Shire into industrializing

One fascinating aspect of J. R. R. Tolkien’s story is how much his books were despised simply for being heroic sagas. Perhaps that is not quite right. There were pulp swords and sorcery stories that the intelligentsia simply ignored rather … Continue reading →

Posted in Goodreads.com, J. R. R. Tolkien | 3 Comments
8
Sep

Wish I could be sure of this off the top of my head…

… since I did write a book about him and all! The Top Ten Books That Influenced J.R.R. Tolkien | LitStack. Off the top of my head, I wonder why she didn’t include the Kalevala.

Posted in J. R. R. Tolkien, Tolkien | 1 Comment
8
Sep

Christian Encounters: J.R.R. Tolkien by Mark Horne « beauty in the mundane (offsite)

This was a pleasurable biography well written and extensive in its scope. It is easy to read and draws parallels between emotional and historical happenings that impacted Tolkien which then shaped how he wrote and what he chose to write … Continue reading →

Posted in J. R. R. Tolkien, Tolkien | Leave a comment
8
Sep

Sound Off: Book Review: J.R.R. Tolkien by Mark Horne (offsite)

If you pressed me to think about it, I would probably say my all-time favorite fiction author is J.R.R. Tolkien. Last year I read a biography in the Christian Encounters series about Winston Churchill. In the last pages of the … Continue reading →

Posted in J. R. R. Tolkien, Tolkien | Leave a comment