I just recently finished reading Whatever Happened to Justice? by Richard Maybury, the sequel to Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by the same author. In Whatever Happened to Justice? Mr. Maybury takes a good look at our crazy political system, explaining the origin of democracy, the American legal system, and common law. While some of his ideas about the origins of government and other subjects are rather ridiculous and sometimes non-Christian, Whatever Happened to Justice? answers many questions about government and our legal system. Another thing I enjoy about the book is that Mr. Maybury includes quotes from people like the Founding Fathers and others well versed in the old Common Law. This quote from Thomas Paine caught my eye because it reminded me of something I said myself near the end of one of my blog posts here.

Man cannot make principles, he can only discover them.

Thomas Paine

On my reading list this week (Lots of Random Fantasy Edition):

Eldest by Christopher Paolini—Speaking of Paine, this book is turning out to be rather painful. While Eragon was fast paced and interesting enough for me not to notice the rather bad writing and annoying characters, Eldest lumbers painfully along for a whopping six hundred and eighty-one pages, almost as long as the last Harry Potter book. Unlike the last Harry Potter book, which I read in one day, this book has completely failed to grab me at all, until maybe half way through, where it got slightly more interesting (slightly!). And my favorite character, the only interesting character, who made the first book ten times more bearable, is apparently dead. There is also some questionable content which I really do not like. I will endeavor to read the rest of the series, because I like to finish what I start, but I do not have high expectations.

Auralia’s Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet—Unlike Eldest, this fantasy book actually interests me. It’s a little bit strange, but in a pleasant, inventive way, with lots of weird fantasy creatures and wild magic. I am actually looking forward to finishing it and reading the rest of the Auralia Thread.

Scarlet by Marrisa Meyer (assuming I can get my hands on a copy) —Scarlet is the second book in the popular sci-fi series the Lunar Chronicles, which kicked off with a spectacular bang in Cinder, the first book. This series is probably going to become my new obsession. Its one of very few (or the only?) ‘popular’ young adult series that I actually can say I have read and thoroughly enjoyed. I really want to read Scarlet, but unfortunately none of the library’s copies are due back until next month (though I’m hoping somebody will return one early…) You can read my glowing review of Cinder here.

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