The Axe, by Sigrid Undset

I'm liking this series as much as <i>Kristin Lavransdatter</i>.  Like <i>Kristin</i>, it is the life story of a person in medieval Norway, a man this time, named Olav Audunsson.  The book is separated into two parts, the first primarily concerning Olav and his experiences; the second primarily about his fiancee Ingunn.  Olav's parents having died early in his childhood, he becomes the foster son of Ingunn's parents and the children grow up with the knowledge that they are betrothed to each other.  Their betrothal was not carried out with all the formalities as it ought to have been, leading to problems for the couple and their families.  It's set in an earlier time than <i>Kristin</i>, so Norway has become a Christian country, but in the people have still not fully transitioned from their old ways.

Marx and Satan, by Richard Wurmbrand

This is a very convincing book, written by a Romanian victim of Marxism, that brings forward the hypothesis that Karl Marx and some of his most infamous followers may have been strongly influenced by Satanism.  Wurmbrand cites excerpts from Marx's books, poetry, and correspondence that point in that direction, such that further research into the possibility is warranted.  I also did not realize that a very large portion of Marx's writings have been sitting in Russian vaults and kept from being disseminated, translated, and discussed. Very surprising for a thinker whose work has made such a huge, albeit negative, impact upon the world.

The Death of Ivan Ilyich, by Leo Tolstoy

This is a short story or novella about a man's last days. It realistically portrays how easy it is to get completely preoccupied in the details of day to day life as if they were all-important...and the shock when something reminds you that one day it will end. Ivan Illich is a moderately well-to-do, very ordinary middle aged lawyer employed somewhere in the government bureaucracy. He has a wife, a grown up daughter, and young son, and until he contracts a serious illness, he was concerned with such things as upward mobility, promotions, office politics, his daughter's engagement, and the details of renovating and moving into a bigger, better apartment. Despite reassurances from the doctors, none of whose treatments help, Illich goes into a slow physical decline and experiences the isolation of the end of life, which he is not in the least prepared for, whose approach he can do nothing about, and which none of his worldly family and friends can understand.

Plato's Republic

Any freedom loving person will hate this book if he reads it as a straightforward exposition of how to achieve the ideal state, because the ideal state Socrates describes in the book (the "Republic" of the title) is a terribly tyrannical place.  But it doesn't seem to me that Plato intended it to be read that way.  It is more like a thought exercise, where Socrates poses questions, and depending on the answers of the person he is speaking with, takes ideas further, step by step.  Some of his dialogue partners have real input; others seem more like yes-men--sometimes reluctant yes-men--and Socrates's exchanges with them read like cautionary tales showing the crazy places where lazy thinking or gullibility can take you.  And of course, nowhere is lazy thinking more dangerous than in politics, where a lot of harm can result.  There is a part where Socrates describes the three different kinds of acceptable government, the three evil kinds (which are the three acceptable ones taken to extremes), and the three different personalities that tend to be produced by each type of government, and also this is the book where Plato describes his famous "Cave" analogy.

All in all, a very rich book--one that deserves to be read multiple times, because you won't get everything it has to offer in one reading.  It's definitely a book that is best read at leisure, because there are a lot times when you will have to stop and think about whether you agree with what you just read or how you would have answered Socrates differently from his dialogue partner.

Peter Kreeft did a great series of lectures that serve as an introduction to Plato and his work--very useful if you haven't read any Plato before.  I think I'd have gotten more out of this book if I'd heard the lectures before reading it.

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Coleridge

This poem is impressive in how the wording and the meter are so evocative that the scenes described by the Mariner seem real. It's the story of gratuitous evil: the Mariner kills, for no good reason, a beautiful Albatross who seems to be a benevolent presence around his ship. The horrific events that follow are like a supernatural retribution for his idle deed.

The poem is even better listened to than read. Check out Richard Burton's rendition available on YouTube. It's great!

The Mortal Danger, by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

This book consists of a long essay Solzhenitsyn wrote in 1980 for <i>Foreign Affairs</i> magazine, some reaction letters from readers (mostly university professors) and Solzhenitsyn's rebuttal to the letters.  I liked the format because it shows both sides of the issue and you get the back-and-forth of a debate.

The essay addresses an important question, especially for those who think real Communism hasn't been tried yet because it's always been adulterated by the local history and traditions of the countries where it was implemented.  Did the mass murders, oppressive policies, and other negative features of the Soviet government have their roots in some evil tendency from Russia's tsarist past which re-emerged under Stalin, or does the evil reside in Communism itself? Solzhenitsyn argues the latter position, pointing out the intellectual roots of Bolshevism and misconceptions about both 19th century Russia, often presented as worse than it really was, and Lenin's government, often presented as the antithesis to Stalin, when Stalin was just continuing the same policies.

The letter-writers cite, among other things, Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, and some of the features of Nicholas II's reign as providing precedent for oppression, and Solzhenitsyn shows why their arguments are implausible or based on a mistaken interpretation of historical facts.

Very interesting reading for those interested in the Cold War and for those who are puzzled about how an economic system with an awful track record every place it's been tried still attracts supporters.

Marta Oulie, by Sigrid Undset

** spoiler alert ** This is Sigrid Undset's first novel, published when she was 24. The novel is written as a series of entries in a diary, which outline the thoughts and feelings of Marta Oulie, a woman in her thirties, the wife of Otto, a successful businessman and mother of four children, who allows herself to fall into an affair with Henrik, who is her cousin, her husband's best friend and business partner.

For such a young writer with no similar life experiences, Undset does a very convincing job outlining Marta's thoughts and feelings--her reminiscence of how she and her husband met, the happy early days of their marriage, her dissatisfaction with her role as wife and mother, the creeping (though undeserved) condescension in her attitude towards her husband, and her attraction towards the more sophisticated and educated Henrik. After she has her fourth child, (Henrik's), she comes to her senses and realizes how spoiled and selfish she has been, but her newfound appreciation for her family, husband, and comfortable middle class life comes too late. Otto's TB has been discovered to be terminal, and, like it or not, she's about to lose it all.

This early short novel is obviously not as complex as the historical series she is most famous for, like Kristin Lavransdatter, but it's very realistic and believable. Undset has already started to explore themes that appear in her later work: family relationships, sin, repentance, and redemption.

The Complete Guide to Fasting, by Dr. Jason Fung & Jimmy Moore

Excellent book that clearly explains the science behind why fasting works more efficiently and with fewer negative effects than calorie reduction and why it's particularly good for type 2 diabetic s and insulin resistant people. The book also gives practical guidelines on how to implement a fasting regimen in your life and what to expect while you're on it. I bought this because I want 2017 to be the year when I finally lose the weight and improve my health.

The Lady with the Little Dog, by Anton Chekhov

This is the first Chekhov story I've ever read. He has a spare style--not too much description, dialogue or psychological analysis. The details he does give about the characters and their interactions are suggestive enough so that you can get a really vivid sense of the personalities and what they're thinking out of what he does tell you. This story had an unresolved ending, so it came across as a "slice of life" type sketch rather than a complete story where you know exactly what happened to everyone.

The Judgment of the Nations, by Christopher Dawson

This book is my introduction to British historian Christopher Dawson, and I think it's brilliant. Definitely going to be reading more of his work. He finished this in 1942, so he was working on it when WW2 broke out and in those tense and depressing years leading up to it. His purpose in writing it was to offer some reasons why the countries of the West, whose culture and values were formed by Christianity and the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome ended up fighting two horribly self-destructive world wars. 

He discusses the tensions that began to develop between nations as their styles of government diverged (constitutional vs. autocratic monarchies, nation-states vs. multilingual multiethnic empires, fundamentally civilian vs. military states), and as Christianity splintered into multiple denominations. Differences in belief do cause differences in worldview, which have practical ramifications. He also expounds on the Enlightenment, the scientific materialist world view that came with it, the impact of the Industrial Revolution, and of the Socialist movements of all stripes that aspired to bring the rapidly growing economies under state control.

Eugénie Grandet, by Honoré de Balzac

This is a tragic story about a young lady living in a French town in the Loire region with her miserly father, patient long suffering mother and faithful servant.  Being of a rich family, she is courted by the sons of other well to do families in her town, when one day her handsome young cousin from Paris comes to live with them for a while. Which suitor succeeds in winning her heart, and will he win her hand as well?

  Balzac clearly meant the story to criticize the too avid pursuit of wealth, to the point where more precious things are sacrificed for its sake and where even the enjoyment of the wealth (presumably the main why reason one wants it) is forgotten in the desire to possess it.