The Age of Will

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["Maybe You Should Look A Little Closer"][bookdetail] is a memoir written by Terri Miller about 100 years of her family’s history. The timeline begins in the early 1900′s as she recounts stories she has heard about the days when her grandparents settled in Limestone, Pennsylvania. It continues through her grandchildren’s childhood in early the 2000′s. The historical aspect of the story is really interesting. We get a glimpse of the post World War II years in rural small-town America through this family’s life. The majority of the memoir tells the story of Terri Miller’s life with her parents and her siblings.
Terri Miller’s father kept a very sketchy journal. It was just a few thoughts hastily scribbled on January 1 of the highlights of the previous year. Terri includes that journal and expands on it.
We are granted quite an intimate look at Terri herself. She boldly shares personal dreams and ambitions but also fears and failures. In fact, she is quite open about the positive and negative personality traits of herself and of her family members. That’s the thing she wants us to see–that we all have strengths and weaknesses. It’s what we do with situations that matters. And…It’s how we treat family members that have made poor choices or are facing difficult times that matters. If you have family that you know cares about and loves you…even though you’re not perfect…that’s what matters. You know they will stand by you, because you stood by them during their difficult times.
The title of the book is for the beloved younger brother, Tracey…something he said as a child…”Maybe you should look a little closer.” In other words, “Don’t jump to conclusions.” Or “Things are not always as they appear.” Or “Look beneath the surface. There may be reasons you don’t know anything about.”
Terri’s mother often wrote poems and words of encouragement to others. This is something she wrote in one of Terri’s birthday cards.
>”You can’t know today all the roles you’ll be playing, can’t preview the years you’re about the begin–and yet you have all the resources to go there, the power to choose and the courage to win. You may not know how the years up to this one have ripened your wisdom and sharpened your skill. You’ve yet to unfold all the promise within you but daughter, believe this you will…oh, you will.”
Terri makes a point of saying that she played the role of daughter well. Her own words say it best:
>”I’ve traveled the role of daughter to its end. I played that part with more confidence than any of the other roles in my life, and I miss it deeply. Hopefully the future carries with it new roles in which I will excel. I am now the older generation!”
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/2135

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[King Author and Merlin][bookdetail] have returned. Not that they really went anywhere, but they are back, in New York and running for public office.
King Author is running for Mayor of New York. Author is again armed with Excalibur and ready to make the world a better place. After retrieving the sword from the Lady in the Lake (in central park), Author is convinced he can help man-kind.
Morgan Le Fey is not happy with Arthur and Merlin’s return. Morgan and Modred (Author’s son by his half sister Morgan) conspire to end Author and Merlin once and for all.
[Peter David][author] has created a very entertaining world with magic and chivalry. Well written and humorous.
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/781
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/Peter%20David

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From reading the back cover of this book, I thought it would be a really crazy and not too enjoyable fantasy book. I was wrong, on both accounts.
I suppose it could be called crazy, but the premise of [Realm Shift][bookdetail] is no different than the premises of several other fantasy books. In [Realm Shift][bookdetail], deities are real, given their reality by the belief of humans. Of course, the opposite is also true: the devils of each religion are real as well, again given their reality by the belief of humans. The deities can nudge believers, but non-believers cannot be given divine inspiration to do or not do a particular act. This is where our protagonist comes into the story: he reports to “The Balance,” an entity which tries to keep the balance in the universe.
Sound complicated? It’s not really. And the story is fast-paced and engrossing. A good editor might be handy, though, as not every character should say, “Indeed.” And some of the word choices struck me as odd. But these are little issues with a book that was thoroughly enjoyable. I look forward to reading the sequel!
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/1414
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/Alan%20Baxter

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[The Sword and Laser](http://swordandlaser.com/) website is an online Sci-Fi/Fantasy book club and podcast hosted by the internet super celebs, [Veronica Belmont](http://www.veronicabelmont.com/) and [Tom Merritt](http://www.tommerritt.com/). The forums are lively and the podcasts are interesting and well produced.
The [recent podcast](http://swordandlaser.com/?p=40) reviews/discusses Mark Del Franco’s, ["Unshapely Things"](http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/2618). Check it out.
This is a great site for picking up new reading ideas. Enjoy!
[bookdetail]: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41QBCPGVX2L._SL160_.jpg

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If you have recently read all six of the prior books, you might catch everything that [Rowling][bookdetail] puts in this book. Lacking that, or a fabulous memory, you will certainly miss some of the ends [Rowling][bookdetail] ties together.
Many of those things that don’t make sense from the prior books are explained here. And the pace is fast; it’s a quick read, for all that it is over 700 pages. The books is satisfying in that we finally find out so many things, including which side Snape is on. I don’t want to give away anything to those who want to read the book, so let’s just leave it at the ending is appropriate to the tone that the books have taken. And, yes, beloved characters die. But the battles between good and evil are more between some shades of gray, which those of us in the real world appreciate.
All in all, a wonderful ending to a fabulous story.
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/1984

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[All Creatures Great and Small][bookdetail] is a classic written in 1972, but I just discovered it. It is now an all-time favorite.
The [author][author] is the main character. [James Herriot][author] (a pen name) evidently kept a journal through the years about his experiences as a country veterinary surgeon. Each chapter tells one of his experiences. They follow in chronological order, so it reads like the story of his first year in practice. It is at times hilarious and at times tense as he deals with difficult cases.
[James Herriot][author] had the good fortune to be hired as assistant to a vet in Darrowby in Yorkshire Dales. He fell in love with the highland countryside. We learn quite a bit about what a country vet deals with—the real danger in working with large farm animals, the weather, being on call 24-hours-a-day, etc. I was surprised at how much detailed information was given about the actual care of the animals. I was even more surprised that it was actually interesting.
I highly recommend this very entertaining book.
[bookdetail]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/bookdetail/book_id/1772
[author]: http://books.clubreading.com/book/browsebook/pagenum/1/author/James%20Herriot