"Prince Caspian" by C. S. Lewis

"The Art of Intrusion" by Kevin Mitnick & William L. Simon

One would think that a certified computer geek like myself would be a huge fan of the myriad of action movies and novels depicting supra-intelligent hacker-types breaking into all sorts of high security corporations. Unfortunately, most media is so absurd and devoid of any reality that I can hardly even sit through it. For this reason, I am forced to turn to non-fiction for my fix of high tech stories. "The Art of Intrusion" relates the stories of numerous hackers. There is an attempt in each chapter of giving some security advice with regards to the chapter's exploit. But clearly the purpose of the book is more to entertain than to inform, which is the opposite of their previous book, "The Art of Deception." Kevin Mitnick's knowledge of the subject and hackers' willingness to share their stories with such a prolific name, make for a lot of very interesting stories. And while William L. Simon clearly attempts to speak to a wide non-techie audience, he does not do so at the expense of alienating his more informed readers. All in all, I found this book even better than the previous. I look forward to Kevin Mitnick's planned memoirs in the next year or two.

"The Horse and His Boy" by C. S. Lewis

As with his other books, C. S. Lewis is not afraid to get preachy and allegorical.  The main Christian message I felt coming from this book was one with which I am a little hesitant.  I’m never sure how far I’m willing to go with the whole “God is in charge” thing.  At the end we see that everything fell into place largely because Aslan (i.e. Christ) made it happen that way.  Though I do believe God is involved in our lives, I’m not sure how often he leaves the advisory seat and becomes an active participant in our lives.  He obviously does it at times, but I think his main help is in the council, comfort, and strength he provides.  If God really is directly all of the events that occur down here on Earth, then I would find it difficult not to agree with those who claim that God is a monster because of all of the things he allows to happen here on Earth.  I don’t mind that he allows them to happen; I just don’t want to believe that he causes them to happen, which would be the natural conclusion if God is directing everything.

"How Wide the Divide?" by Craig L. Blomberg & Stephen E. Robinson

There is a lot of misunderstanding and confusion between Mormons and other Christians, especially Evangelicals. It’s quite surprising how much we all have in common with regard our doctrine. Unfortunately these similarities are generally overshadowed by our preconceived notions of the other party. This book attempts to address the similarities and differences between the Mormon and Evangelical faiths in a respectful and informed manner. Stephen E. Robinson (author of Believing Christ) joins doctor of biblical studies, Craig L Blomberg, in an effort to discuss the two faiths. The discourse is highly informative and very cordial. Though neither back down on their convictions, the authors do so in a respectful manner which shows that they are truly attempting to understand the counterargument rather than find another scripture with which to counter. It gives one hope that some day we can put aside our differences long enough to just be friends and fellow Christians.

"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by C. S. Lewis

Just like everyone else in the world, I'm reading the Chronicles of Narnia. I'm almost regretting reading this one though. I throughly enjoyed the movie before reading the book. Now that I've read the book, I don't like the movie quite as much. It bothers me that movies have to focus so much on action. If action is important to the story or you're making an action flick, then by all means make it action-packed. But this was not an action-packed book. I was surprised to find that the 30 minute battle of the movie comprised only two pages in the book. Are we really so mindless that the only way we can enjoy a movie is if computer animated monsters are killing each other? I certainly hope not.

"The Magician's Nephew" by C. S. Lewis

For Christmas my father gave me the Chronicles of Narnia. I had never read them and, like everyone else in this lemming society, I wanted to read them. It was a brilliant gift.

I love how short the books are. With only 200 pages and the print being larger than normal, I was able to blast through this book in a matter of just a few short hours. The Magician's Nephew was quite good. As should be expected from C.S. Lewis, the moral underpinings of the story were in no way obscured. The best was when Aslan tells the hero, "That is what happens to those who pluck and eat fruits at the wrong time and in the wrong way. The fruit is good, but they loathe it ever after."