Jack Reacher vs Mitch Rapp Fistfight Part Two

A few years ago I posed the question "If Mitch Rapp and Jack Reacher got in a fistfight, who'd win?" It prompted quite a few replies and since both Vince Flynn and Lee Child have new books, I figured it was worth revisiting. I just finished Child's newest Reacher book Worth Dying For, and for me the verdict is in. Jack Reacher is the ultimate tough guy. I am still waiting for the new Mitch Rapp thriller American Assassin. But it would have to completely blow me away to surpass Reacher.

I know I complained about the last book and how it ended with a cliffhanger, but I have no complaints about this one (my wife might complain after I completely neglected her and the kids for a few days with my head stuck in the book). I love how Reacher describes every minute detail of every fight. You never question if he will persevere, but you are dying to know how.

The original blog was about how real we like our characters. One commenter noted that Mitch Rapp is more pragmatic but also more of a jerk, whereas Reacher is more irresponsible and being a drifter was bothersome. I think Reacher being a nicer guy makes me like him more, and his hobo ways make him more mythic and mysterious. Rapp, being more real and human makes me not like him as much.

There are a lot of other tough guys out there. And though I think Reacher and Rapp are the best, many others are good too. Let us know who else you like and why. I have listed a few tough guys I have liked below.

Dave Robicheaux by James Lee Burke
Scot Harvath by Brad Thor
Jack Ryan by Tom Clancy
Bob Lee Swagger by Stephen Hunter
Alex Hawke by Ted Bell
Elvis Cole and Joe Pike by Robert Crais

(And what is it with all the author's one-syllable names?)

FREEDOM is Overrated

The book Freedom that is. The one by Jonathan Franzen that had tremendous media coverage this fall. Saying it was over-promoted rather than overrated is probably more accurate. The usual suspects like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Oprah promoted Freedom, but also GQ, Esquire, four periodicals in the UK and newspapers in Kansas City, Portland, Minneapolis and Cleveland. And this is far from an exhaustive list.

The content of the reviews varied but many used the term "Great American Novel." That's a tough phrase to ignore. Freedom went on my reading list.

I'm two-thirds done with the novel and I'm feeling uncomfortable with it. Not with the style or the prose, but the characters and the social commentary. I don't even care how it ends. Though reviewers have hinted at a surprise ending. I just want to discuss it with fellow readers. Why did this book get so much attention? Will it be read in future generations? Are comparisons to Tolstoy and David Foster Wallace accurate? And what about those sex scenes?

Read it and let's talk. By the way, Freedom was shortlisted for the tongue-in-cheek "Bad Sex in Literature" award distributed by Britain's Literary Review magazine. This year's prize went to Alastair Campbell for his novel Maya. Read more on BBC News.

For a good selection of reviews - go to Bookmarks Magazine

Have a Little Faith

In the beginning, there was a question. "Will you do my Eulogy?"

That is where an eight year journey of faith began for Mitch Albom, a journey that would culminate in the book Have a Little Faith . When a rabbi from his childhood synagogue asked that he deliver the older man's eulogy, Albom began visiting Rabbi Albert Lewis in order to learn more about him. At the same time, he met another, very different religious leader. Pastor Henry Covington of the I Am My Brother's Keeper Ministry was an former drug dealer and ex-convict shepherding his congregation out of a decrepit church in downtown Detroit. It was hard for Albom to fit Henry into his image of what a man of God should be.

The truth was, while I tried to be a charitable man, I still drew mental lines between "my" side and the "other" side - whether cultural, ethnic, or religious. I had been taught, as many of us are, that charity begins at home, and helping your own kind should come first. But who was my "own kind"?

As Albom came to know these two very different men, he began to realize that what they had in common transcended their differences. Both men seemed to live the idea that "faith is doing, you are how you act, not how you believe." And that idea led him to ask another question, "What if our beliefs were not what divided us, but what pulled us together?" That is a central theme in the book, and it challenged the author's own core beliefs.

In the video below, Mitch Albom reads an excerpt from his book and talks about what inspired him to write it.




This book lacks the fluid style and poignancy of Albom's earlier book Tuesdays With Morrie. However, it is touches on issues of faith and community that have great relevance in modern society and are too often ignored. Moving between two very different religious worlds, Albom came to realize that the basic, heartfelt desires of all people are what can unite us. "When the world quiets to the sound of your own breathing, we all want the same things: comfort, love and a peaceful heart."

We'll be talking about this book at the next Thursday night book group.
Join the discussion on Thursday, December 9 from 7:30 to 8:30 PM in the Rotary Heritage Room on the 3rd floor.

Check out more by Mitch Albom here at DPPL:
Tuesdays With Morrie
The Five People You Meet in Heaven
For One More Day