I recently became aware of a mystery that lies deep in the human mind— a mystery I’m only aware of because of the bizarre behavior it produces. You see, I was in a casual conversation with a couple of my female classmates, and they mentioned that they’d watched a vapid and cliched chick flick recently. Because they’d hoped for a good movie and were disappointed? No! To my horror, I realized they’d turned on this movie fully aware of its awfulness. At first, I thought this must be a bizarre form of self-flagellation associated with occult rituals, and wondered if I should inform the faculty. Fortunately, my classmates clarified that it was perfectly normal, saying “sometimes you just want to turn off your brain for a couple of hours, you know?” I prefer books to film, but I feel the same way. Sometimes I don’t need a masterpiece. I don’t always look for complex themes or characters a dozen layers deep or exquisite prose. Sometimes a good story is good enough. There are few transcendental masterpieces in this world; there are many good stories. Enough that you should never have to read a truly bad story, even if you’re just looking to relax. Relaxation is good. Relaxation while reading a good story? Even better. When a random author emailed me out of the blue and asked me to review her novel, I wasn’t sure what to expect. But I had some time to fill in between homework assignments, and E.B Roshan is a fellow Christian as well as a fellow author, so I agreed. She sent me a mobi file of her story, For Better and Worse, and I dove into it. And... It was a good story. Not life-altering, but good. At 50k words, it’s in the gray area between novella and novel— short enough for me to read in an evening. Which I did, enjoying the relatable characters and well-paced plot. Boris and Anna are a married couple running a catering service in the midst of a war-torn city with their first child on the way. They struggle to love each other despite the conflict building between them— Anna wanting to flee to a safer city, Boris wanting to stay. Things only get worse when Boris rashly stands up to injustice and draws the attention of the local mob boss. The worldbuilding is weird— we get a couple brief mentions of World War 3 ending, so it’s set in an alternate universe, but not one with any distinctive features. Dor is a generic war-ravaged city. But unless you’re looking for an intricate, well-thought out alternate history, this won’t be a big problem. The setting doesn’t explore many interesting questions because it never raises them in the first place. It’s a romance— the relationship between Boris and Anna serves as the story’s emotional core. But it has the distinction of featuring an already married couple, which I enjoyed. Oh, it’s also the fourth book in a series. I read it without having read the other three, and it stands alone just fine. Conclusion: Next time you feel the urge to watch a chick flick, read For Better and Worse instead. The title says it all. Better: this book. Worse: super dumb movies that somehow people still pay money to see. Why would you want a worse thing when you could have a better?
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Last week, I witnessed the biggest torrential downpour of my life. The sky broke open and vented the full force of its fury. At times, the world seemed to be at the bottom of a waterfall. At others, the rain stopped, but the gray clouds kept constant watch, ready for the next outburst. Lightning flashed from the east to the west. Thunder hearkened back to the Civil War, echoing the artillery shells that exploded on Franklin’s battlefields. Or, if you prefer a more peaceful analogy, think of it the way my friend Emily desired it: God was rearranging the furniture. And he broke the plumbing in the process. I’d seen rain before, but not like this. In California, the sky holds a grudge. Its rain comes slow but steady, drizzling for as long as a week straight. The world becomes grey and damp. The rain falls and falls, but almost never heavily, until the storm finally peters out. Not so in Tennessee. Here, the sky lets its anger out all at once. Clouds darken, thunder booms, and it pours. Great sheets of rainwater pelt the ground. Then just as quickly as it started, the storm relents, and the sun emerges once more. This storm came in fits and bursts. When I went out for my morning run on Saturday, I thought I’d be fine because it wasn’t raining. By the time I got back, I was so soaked you could’ve wrung me like a dishrag. But by the next day, the last of the clouds had cleared— and left behind a wondrous sight. So. Much. Water. This time, I had to alter my morning run because my typical route was flooded. But it was worth it. I loved seeing the park in a totally new way. I saw some very happy ducks This bench would form the perfect scene for two lovers— just sitting together, bare feet dangling in the water, enjoying the rich scent of a world reborn. Trees rising over the water like sentinels A new peninsula is formed. Imagine if the entire park were ruled by various nations of tiny people… how would the drastic changes in geography wrought by the flood force them to change? Sunlight gleaming off the water… it looks like fairies could live here. Perhaps the tiny people will have the seek the help of magical creatures to in order to learn the ship-craft they need to survive in this strange new world. Those two little tiny black dots sticking up out of the water are turtle-heads. I tried to get a picture of one closer to the shore but they always swam away when they saw me coming. I didn’t make it to church Sunday morning because the country issued a flash flood warning, advising against driving anywhere. I decided to stay home rather than risk getting stuck in something like this: Since I couldn’t attend church, I spent a couple hours in the park, praying and reflecting on God’s goodness. Then I went on a long walk and explored new parts of my neighborhood. It turned out to be incredibly refreshing. My social life is now more active than ever before, so it was good to spend some time alone. The biggest storm I’ve ever seen thus far has passed, and I ended up grateful for it, even though getting soaked was annoying. I’m thoroughly enjoying spring in Tennessee. The fresh air and longer days invigorate me like nothing else. -Zachary Holbrook |
Progress on Doombear, Rough draft:10%
Progress on The Lore of Yore, third draft:
100%
"In truth, by leaving, I was seeking only one thing. A journey."
-Oathbringer, pg 981 Types of blog posts:
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