little compass tour!

this is the second descriptive installment, and while i'm aware nobody is reading this, i take pleasure in writing. so, call it masturbation, but onward i write.

the last sin eater, francine rivers (dede/SC --> pj/NJ --> renee/AL)
i will be completely honest, i was not completely looking forward to this book. dede is one of the sweetest people i have ever met, and i love talking to her, but after previewing this book, i had a feeling it was going to be a bit to religious for my liking; however, i was gladly proven wrong. the main idea here is that a group of settlers in the late 1800's revived on old custom from ireland, in which a man known as the sin eater could take on the sins of someone after the died, allowing the deceased to sleep peacefully. throughout this story, a 10-year-old girl named cadi realizes this doesn't make sense, mainly due to the unrest she feels after her grandmother dies. eventually this story does lead to jesus and christianity as a whole, but there are a great number of ideals and learnings in it that hold up on a spiritual/non-denominational end. i am not one for religion, but love to think about and explore all avenues available that may lead to enlightenment. overall, this novel is suspenseful, exciting, thought-provoking and a rather quick read. i appreciate that dede gave to me, and rather enjoyed it, and on top of it all, it gave me many things to think about; so, i'm quite happy.

the motorcylce diaries, ernesto 'che' guevara (neil/NJ --> pj/NJ:greg/NJ)
this is the story of ernesto guevara before he became 'che,' the man of the people. this is another great travel narrative, in that it is a first person account of two young men taking on south america with just a motorcycle, and later, their feet. this is beautifully written, though one can't help but assume it was originally a series of journals that were later revised to exist in their current, floral state. i don't want to delve too much into this, because i think, in a way, it speaks for itself. two friends, a motorcycle, an adventure, beautiful writing. get into it.

the once and future king, t.h. white (nathan/SC --> pj/NJ)
this is a king arthur book. i don't mean to cut it down at its knees, i'm merely stating the truth. my personal view is that it is an enjoyable romp along with arthur, or the wart as he is known, in his younger days. well, at least that is how it starts. you meet all of the characters: merlyn, kay, lancelot, gawaine, etc., throughout the novel, so fret not. the interesting thing about this, is it is a great book for those of us that have little to no knowledge of arthur beyond 'the sword in the stone,' or other similar cartoons. we come to find that guenevere is an adultress, that gawaine is a jerk, that there is quite a bit of incest involved, and most importantly, how heavily the crown weighs on its wearer's head. while i do not wish to exit so quickly, i again feel that explaining that this is a rather full tale about king arthur should suffice. so, while it can be a bit too descriptive for its own good at times, and perhaps may lag a bit at others, for the most part, this is quite an enjoyable read, and very much one worth pursuing, if only for the basic overview of a man so many know of, yet so few know about.