Dabbling in Non-fiction

I’m driving down the road on my way to the orthodontist with my fourteen-year-old. The book is lying between us and she picks it up. Mind you, I’ve started reading it, but am only 1-2 chapters in. She starts reading from the beginning. I steal it back while she has her braces adjusted, and then she reads it on the way home. And after we get home. And through the entire afternoon and late into the night when I make her close it so she can wake up for driver’s ed the next day. She finished it by lunchtime. And then I got my chance.

I’m addicted to fiction. When there are ten fabulous novels waiting for me to read them, it’s difficult to stray into the realm of non-fiction. But this post documents a departure from my norm.

Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burpo. Before I read the book, I already believed it. I’ve studied many Biblical references to heaven and I can’t actually remember a time I wasn’t certain I’m going there after I die (or possibly before, but that’s a whole other blog post). This book gave me chills. Made it even more real.

The story is engaging. Fascinating. And it makes you think about everything you ever knew about Heaven. It’s not that it changed my view, but it confirmed several things I thought would probably be true, but didn’t have scripture to back me up.  It also confirmed several things that are in scripture. What’s cool about that, is this  four-year-old boy would not have heard what’s in scripture on those topics. And he couldn’t even read at that time in his life. He told his story to his parents piecemeal, and things he said were exactly what scripture describes.

So I didn’t need proof of Heaven. But it’s way cool to receive confirmation. It’s like making up my own recipe for something and my family loves it. Then, I read in a magazine a similar recipe created by a professional chef. I knew it was good, but when I see it printed in a magazine, I know other people know it’s good.

I highly recommend Heaven Is For Real. There are delightful surprises within. Plus, you get to know a wonderful family and a little boy with a remarkable experience. Don’t avoid it because it’s popular. This one’s popular for a reason. It strikes a chord, and that’s a good thing.

Have you read it? Do you avoid non-fiction? What will induce you to pick up a non-fiction book?

Do you know what a pimpernel is?

It’s a wild flower, in the primrose family. I’m sad to admit I only just learned it this summer. Of course, you must know, I can now say I’ve read the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Were you forced to read it for school? Have you seen the stage play? Have you (like me, before this summer) heard about it your whole life and always wondered what in the world a pimpernel is but didn’t wonder enough to pick up the book and read it?

It’s short. It’s swashbuckling. And it’s good! If you’ve been thinking you should read some classics to feed your brain, but when it comes to actually picking one up, you yearn for something more modern, I beseech you (the language kinda gets stuck in your head J) read this one!

The story takes place during the French Revolution when the lower classes ousted the aristocracy via Madame Guillotine, watching the proceedings like sport. The author was herself, a baroness from Hungry who was forced to flee her country, losing all the family lands.

The politics from the French Revolution written from an author sympathetic to the aristocracy in France is a fascinating read in light of our current political climate. I will not opine here, but suffice it to say, there was much food for thought.

More than that, the story clips along at a good pace, the hero and heroine are wonderfully opposed to each other at the beginning and though it is a romance, the intrigue, mystery, and general adventure held my interest all the way through.

Baroness Orczy may not have been a professional writer when she wrote it, but she knew the life of an ex-pat in England and she knew how to swashbuckle. (Sorry, I just had to use that word twice – it’s so much fun to say!) Give it a whirl. You’ll find out why the pimpernel matters. And you’ll sound really smart at dinner parties when this book is mentioned and you know all about it. (FYI: you might have to be the one that brings it up. But you’ll still sound smart. J)

Have you read any great classics this summer? Do you have any classics on your "to be read" list?