Book Review: The Kite Runner

Five out of five stars for this one.

I admit that I never read bestselling, blockbuster novels. I wait a few years, and especially since I’m a little low on money these days it’s hard to afford the $15 shiny books in Barnes & Noble (that I never go to anyway because the one closest to me went out of business right around the time Borders did; go figure). Anyway, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini was my first borrowed library ebook, and the process was smooth and wonderful. Two weeks is more than enough time for me to absorb books like this.

Anyway, on to the actual review! Because I stink at summaries, I’ll simply give you the book’s blurb:

The first Afghan novel to be written in English, The Kite Runner tells a sweeping story of family, love, and friendship against a backdrop of history that has not been told in fiction before, bringing to mind the large canvases of the Russian writers of the nineteenth century. But just as it is old-fashioned in its narration, it is contemporary in its subject-the devastating history of Afghanistan over the last thirty years. As emotionally gripping as it is tender, The Kite Runner is an unusual and powerful debut.

Amir grows up in a pre-war Afghanistan with his servant and best friend, Hassan. The two are inseparable. But when Amir, desperate to become worthy in his father’s eyes, and Hassan fall victim to abuse and retribution, things fall apart. From there, it’s a tale of finding what it means to be honorable and loyal as well as truly “good.” On top of that, you get a lot of Afghan culture and tradition woven into the plot, which is something I personally enjoyed, as I never knew about Afghan lifestyles and idiosyncrasies. It also tells of an Afghanistan history I never knew about — all I knew of the place was that we’re currently fighting there, and this was an interesting eye-opener to their culture as well as what the people there struggle with.

The story itself is not happy, but it’s truly brilliant in that solemn way. You walk away pondering things. Also, the ending is very satisfying (because to me that’s something important to know about a book). I recommend this and give it a five out of five stars.

Short Post: An Ironic Fact About the Pre-Civil War South

I’m keeping this one short again because I’m a little behind on homework at the moment. Tuesday and Thursday posts are going away for now because short posts might take over my normal three posts a week until I get the hang of college.

The pre-Civil War South was mainly under the Democratic party until they lost the Civil War and Reconstruction began. One Andrew Johnson (not Andrew Jackson) made it so that the white rich of the South could never vote or hold office again, crippling their ability to influence the politics they had dominated for so long. Thus by the end of the Reconstruction, with the Compromise of 1877 (and people like carpetbaggers and scalawags), most states slowly became Republican and have stayed so to this day.

One of these is not like the other.

This is something I find incredibly ironic, given how staunchly Republican the South is currently and how desperate the current Republican nominees (I’m looking at you two, Gingrich and Romney) seem to be to prove their Republican roots.

What do you think? Did you know this about the South? Because I sure didn’t until yesterday. History classes are fun, yes?

Some Photos Taken at the Houston Science Museum

A really, really good friend of mine came from out of town to see my husband and I this weekend, and we’ve been showing her all around Houston (or at least as much of it as you can in two days). It’s been fun. Now back to college, and my brain’s having a hard to recouping.

In the mean time, here’s a pretty rock from the Houston Museum of Natural Science:

I think this is quartz

Of course what’s a science museum without a T-rex fossil?

It really was a huge beast

Also, the Houston Museum of Natural Science has the Butterfly Center. It’s basically a simulated rainforest area where butterflies roam about in huge quantities. It’s really pretty. Here’s one of the better shots (all of these were taken with my iPhone because I forgot the better camera at home. Woops).

I don't know what type of butterfly this is though. Anyone care to guess?

So tell me, y’all, how was your weekend?

Religion Vs Science: Don’t Shoot Me Yet, Please

Sometimes I feel like there are two personalities rattling around in my brain. One loves space and planets and learning about how the Earth was formed and what the heck the lithosphere is, the other loves God and thinks the world revolves around Him, that everything I have gained is because of Him. But so many people seem to think religion and science can’t live in the same house. You have the creationists verses the evolutionists, the scientists verses the church members, and so on. There are a ton of examples.

But why can’t God be the meaning behind the Earth’s place in our solar system while science explains and studies logically what’s going on to make our Earth rotate around the Sun?

God is the reason I wake up in the morning. My faith in him gives me an optimism I wouldn’t have otherwise. Science tells me, logically, that I sleep at night because of my body’s functions and processes. Science tells me that I wake up and am able to process what I see, hear, feel, and smell because of other various processes. But that doesn’t change the fact that, as far as my meaning in life is concerned, God is at the end of my path in life regardless. All I do is to try and find my meaning. I feel God gave me the gift of writing, so I pursue that. Science might tell me that I just have a higher proficiency in the side of my brain that processes words and is responsible for creativity. Nothing more. But that doesn’t give that process meaning. It just explains it logically, by what we can study and define.

So I think it should be religion and science, a separation of both but still coexisting within a sort of system. Sort of like the separation of church and state. By allowing the state to be the lawkeepers, it gives individuals a broader religious freedom. By allowing logic to be defined by science, it gives me the right to pursue meaning through God and my faith, as I choose, not as science logically dictates. Because having an explanation doesn’t give it value any more than, to some people, God is worth having faith in. And that’s perfectly okay. So long as you give me room to be who I want to be.

Sorry, this has been on my mind since yesterday and I wanted to get it out here. You can shoot me now if you want; I promise you won’t get too many more religious posts here.

What do you think about science and religion? Please be aware that any rude or otherwise derogatory comments will never be approved and will be deleted.