Books in 2012

Last year I wrote about the books I read in 2011. In 2012 I managed to read more books – 31 books in total. Which doesn’t feel like a lot at all, but it’s quite fun setting this little goal for me each year. Now armed with a kindle (thank you lovely husband) my hope is that I will read more books and more classic books at that! But let me share with you some of my favourite books of this year! Here they are in no particular order:

1. The Hunger Games Trilogy – I thought these books were a great adventure and I enjoyed the film. The second book wasn’t fantastic but I liked the fact the ending was different to how I expected it. This is a great book for those that like suspense!

 

2. Game of Thrones – I quite enjoyed this book and book 2 of this series (only 3 more to go!). It’s a good fantasy series, although slightly heavy going if you’re not normally into the fantasy genre. But I love the plot twists and the character developments in this story. Its got lots of fighting, romance, dragons and mystery! Brilliant

 

3. If God, Then What? – This book by Andrew Wilson was probably one of the best apologetic books I have read and a book I would gladly give to my non-Christian friends. Its thought-provoking, great at asking questions and leads you into a story that really makes you question what you think. Good stuff.

 

4. The Good God – This is a book about the Trinity written by Mike Reeves. Most books I read on the trinity can be quite off-putting and boring, but the Good God is one of the best books on the Trinity. It is heart warming, easy to read and it draws you in to see how our relational Triune God is Good news for all of us compared to a one person God. This is one to read for 2013!

 

5. A New Name – A wonderful and heart wrenching book written by Emma Scrivener. I have recommended this book to so many people. Emma shares her story and her battle with anorexia. Although this book is about anorexia and Emma’s life, it also speaks to the heart about the human problem and how our hearts run after idols. This is a challenging book.

 

 

6.The Hobbit – I read the Hobbit this year, mostly because the film has come out and I wanted to finally get round to reading it. I loved it, I forgot how much I enjoy reading Tolkien’s books. It’s a great fantasy adventure with all your favourite characters!

 

Well 2013 is upon us and I have a list of books brewing for me to read. But I am open for recommendations. What do you think I should read in 2013?

 

The Hunger Games, Identity and Saviour

I haven’t long finished reading The Hunger Games trilogy, which some people have loved and some people have not enjoyed at all. I rather liked it though, it has a gripping story and some great characters that you connect with.

The themes of the story are quite typical ones of power, hope, love and sacrifice. But the setting is rather gruesome with children having to fight to the death in an arena for the pleasure of the rich and wealthy.

There are also so many resemblances between the capital and the west and between the districts and the third world countries. There are questions about identity and what makes us who we are.

My friend wrote a brilliant post on the Hunger Games which was a response to a chap at the Gospel Colition website. 

Emily writes:

“I think she [Collins] accurately captures the uncertainty and lack of conviction that people really have  (particularly in our teens!) and takes the reader on a journey with Katniss as she struggles to reconcile the warring convictions she has- giving all she has to look after her little sister, the desire to live, her inclination to both trust and doubt others around her, choosing to let someone live or to let them die…”

Emily is right, with Katniss we are taken on a journey as she tries to figure out who she is, where her identity lies and how she is going to survive. Where as Peeta knows who he is and knows that he doesn’t want the capitol to change him. I think Peeta is the true hero of this story, he is the rock – sturdy for Katniss and never forgetting who he is even when the Capitol distorts his memories he still fights to cling to his identity.

You might think at first the saviour of this story is Katniss as she sacrifices herself for her sister, yet as she goes into the arena she quickly reverts to saving herself and loses herself in the trauma of the events. But Peeta is the one that remains pure, he never kills intentionally in the first book and his objective is to save Katniss, he never forgets his identity. In the second book you realise that everyone else in the area thinks the same thing as they acknowledge that Peeta isn’t one of them and that really he shouldn’t even be there. He seems an unlikely saviour figure, but as I mentioned above he is the rock for Katniss that keeps her going until the end. Its his deep love for her that enables him to forget himself and save her on multiple occasions.

Like most human saviours he makes mistakes, he gets distorted and doesn’t live up to the saviour title all the time. But as my friend Emily ends her blog post she reminds us that there is a better saviour:

“there’s only one person who ever lived who can give us a true definition of a self-sacrificing hero; one who sees the world as it truly is and offers answers to the questions that we barely even manage to ask… A hero who is like a devoted friend who lays down his life for others, or a good shepherd who lays down his life for sheep who are oblivious to their peril. Many of us never recognise him for who he is.  If you’re curious, why not find out more about him here.”