Suggestions: June 2006 Book of the Month

[nomadic myth]

I'd like to second Out. Its a great book and came very close to being discussed last time so I think it should be given another chance.

I'll third it. I wanted to read it for May, but June will do.

 

[Dogmatix]

Egyptologist!

 

[abecedarian]

I second This Thing of Darkness by Harry Thompson.

 

[DiscoDan]

C. S. Lewis - The Screwtape Letters​

Amazon.com
Who among us has never wondered if there might not really be a tempter sitting on our shoulders or dogging our steps? C.S. Lewis dispels all doubts. In The Screwtape Letters, one of his bestselling works, we are made privy to the instructional correspondence between a senior demon, Screwtape, and his wannabe diabolical nephew Wormwood. As mentor, Screwtape coaches Wormwood in the finer points, tempting his "patient" away from God.
Each letter is a masterpiece of reverse theology, giving the reader an inside look at the thinking and means of temptation. Tempters, according to Lewis, have two motives: the first is fear of punishment, the second a hunger to consume or dominate other beings. On the other hand, the goal of the Creator is to woo us unto himself or to transform us through his love from "tools into servants and servants into sons." It is the dichotomy between being consumed and subsumed completely into another's identity or being liberated to be utterly ourselves that Lewis explores with his razor-sharp insight and wit.

The most brilliant feature of The Screwtape Letters may be likening hell to a bureaucracy in which "everyone is perpetually concerned about his own dignity and advancement, where everyone has a grievance, and where everyone lives the deadly serious passions of envy, self-importance, and resentment." We all understand bureaucracies, be it the Department of Motor Vehicles, the IRS, or one of our own making. So we each understand the temptations that slowly lure us into hell. If you've never read Lewis, The Screwtape Letters is a great place to start. And if you know Lewis, but haven't read this, you've missed one of his core writings.

AMAZON.COM LINK​

 

[Erica]

The Suspect ~ Michael Robotham


Joseph O’Loughlin is a clinical psychologist who has it all.
A brilliant career, and a wonderful family. However, things begin to go decidedly wrong when he is asked by the police to help investigate the murder of a young woman. The woman is someone he used to know and while he believes that one of his other patients may have killed her, the police suspect someone else. Soon Joe is in a sinister position where not only his life but also all he holds dear is in Jeopardy.

The Suspect is an exciting fast paced novel with layers that have not only been ingeniously but expertly laid, but have also been interwoven seamlessly into the novel. As you progress, the more multifaceted the novel becomes. The various hidden depths of the characters are sharply, but skilfully exposed and the central character has to overcome change that would surely intimidate a lesser person.

With some very sharp observations and an ending that’s not to be sniffed at, The Suspect is a first rate thriller and the author is someone to keep an eye on...
Has some great reviews ...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos...50605/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_3_1/202-6159025-7711030