The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

Ah. The Chronicles of Narnia.

Through Aslan, C.S. Lewis has a way of describing what God might be like in a way that my human mind can understand a little bit better:

"Aslan threw up his shaggy head, opened his mouth, and uttered a long, single note; not very loud, but full of power. Polly's heart jumped in her body when she heard it. She felt sure that it was a call, and that anyone who heard that call would want to obey it and (what's more) would be able to obey it, however many worlds and ages lay between."

Sometimes The Magician's Nephew is ordered as the sixth book in the series, but I prefer reading it first. It explains how Narnia was created and the significance of the lamp post and the wardrobe. What a delight...There's something timeless about how these books manage to connect with my heart and sense of adventure. Plus, they do help me think more about what God is like. Maybe this is why, every so often, I experience the urge to pick them up yet again.

The Promise by Chaim Potok

"Almost everything of importance that a person does is a gamble, isn't it? Every crucial decision is a gamble." --Abraham Gordon in The Promise

This novel picks up where The Chosen left off. Reuven is in graduate school, studying to become a rabbi and his friend, Danny, is studying to become a psychologist. One of the themes that strikes me from this book is: What do we do with our knowledge? These boys fight for what they believe in and take risks. Again, as with Chaim Potok's books, the novel is beautifully written and very rich in description and character development. He writes so flawlessly that the writing is never a distraction. It's just the story and the lives of these young men that draws me in and keeps me interested.

The Myth of You and Me by Leah Stewart

This book tells the story of Cameron and Sonia whose friendship abruptly ends after college. The story goes back and forth between the present day and their time of being best friends until we find out what exactly happened (of course, it involves a boy). Some of the themes explored are reconciliation, choices we make, protecting ourselves, loss, and moving on. For the most part, the book was engaging (I read it all in one day), and although it is kind of more in the "chic-lit" genre, it's well-written enough to not be annoying. A good kick-back easy read book.

The book made me think about my own "best friends" from the past, especially those from high school, that I am no longer in contact with. What have they chosen to do with their lives? Are they married? Do they have families? How did we manage to lose touch? Have we changed so much that we wouldn't be friends anymore? And how much do I still care?

Hum. I guess this book also struck something inside of me since my ten-year high school reunion is coming up later this month. I am not going, but within the last couple of weeks, I've heard from my only two high school friends that I still talk to. None of us is going. Yah, I'll pass on that walk down memory lane.