C.K. Brooks (Author of A Captive's Portion)

Chendall Brooks wants to read A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament (Quiet Times for the Heart) by Michael Card	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jan 24, 2026 08:35PM · 1 like · like
Chendall Brooks rated a book really liked it Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This has been on my list for a good long time. I knew I wanted to return to Steinbeck after East of Eden. Of Mice and Men is a short read and was easy to knock out in just an hour or two. This brevity in some ways makes it difficult to really connect ...more
Jan 24, 2026 08:01AM · like · see review
Chendall Brooks rated a book really liked it We the Living by Ayn Rand	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Classic Rand. Philosophically blunt with her signature engaging voice and writing style. It is unlikely that We the Living is a person's first exposure to Rand's body of work, but it carries much the same tone, styles, intonation, storylines, and pur ...more
Jan 23, 2026 08:44AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of We the Living by Ayn Rand. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — We the Living by Ayn Rand <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chendall Brooks wants to read The Torah Mosaic: Introducing the Pentateuch in Its Complex Unity by Tracy J. McKenzie	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Chendall Brooks and 1 other person liked Autumn Scott's status update Autumn Scott is on page 11 of 928 of The Brothers Karamazov
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Chendall Brooks made a comment on their review of White Fang " Yes, definitely the same one. I was a bit jealous when he got that gift last year and saw it "
Jan 18, 2026 05:00AM · see review
Chendall Brooks rated a book did not like it Nice Girls Don't Win: How I Burned It All Down to Claim My Power by Parvati Shallow	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I read this, perfectly aware that I'd disagree on some things that are fundamental. The quotations used on the blurb of the book were enough to nearly dissuade me, saying, "Do I really want to engage with this?" I decided to read it because I'm a Sur ...more
Jan 16, 2026 03:06PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Nice Girls Don't Win by Parvati Shallow. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Nice Girls Don't Win by Parvati Shallow <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chendall Brooks rated a book it was amazing White Fang by Jack London	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I remember sitting in Barnes and Noble as a kid, reading the great abridged classic of this book. I remember the artwork, the feeling of the pages, and the oft-sought magic of reading a really engaging text. It became among my favorite childhood book ...more
Jan 16, 2026 03:06PM · 1 like · like · see review
Chendall Brooks rated a book it was amazing White Fang by Jack London	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I remember sitting in Barnes and Noble as a kid, reading the great abridged classic of this book. I remember the artwork, the feeling of the pages, and the oft-sought magic of reading a really engaging text. It became among my favorite childhood book ...more
Jan 16, 2026 02:33PM · 1 like · like · see review
Chendall Brooks liked Wynter Brooks's review of First Rider's Call (Green Rider, #2):
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Chendall Brooks wants to read

A Sacred Sorrow: Reaching Out to God in the Lost Language of Lament (Quiet Times for the Heart)
by Michael Card

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Of Mice and Men
by John Steinbeck

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This has been on my list for a good long time. I knew I wanted to return to Steinbeck after East of Eden. Of Mice and Men is a short read and was easy to knock out in just an hour or two. This brevity in some ways makes it difficult to really connect This has been on my list for a good long time. I knew I wanted to return to Steinbeck after East of Eden. Of Mice and Men is a short read and was easy to knock out in just an hour or two. This brevity in some ways makes it difficult to really connect with the characters in the same way a five-hundred page novel allows. You have time to consider and sit with the characters. George and Lennie's story, not so much. It reads briskly and follows the unremarkable story of two guys looking for a better future.

The novel begins with George and Lennie fleeing the town of Weed, their reason for fleeing not immediately communicated to the reader. Goerge is small, smart, and Lennie's caretaker. Lennie is large, stronger than he can possibly control, and mentally handicapped. It is immediately apparent that Lennie, for all his physical might, is incapable of functioning in society. George scolds him for picking up a mouse that he later killed because he petted it too vigorously. Lennie is obsessed with petting things, but, most unhappily, is unable to exercise that desire because of his tendency to kill those objects of his affection. This theme is the central conflict of the story and the vehicle of Mice and Men's tragedy. Soon, George and Lennie make it to work on a ranch, and after fleeing Weed, they romanticize the future, George retelling Lennie about the ranch and land that they will one day own.

These ideas setup the narrative of Steinbeck's novella, and for such a small novel, it packs a punch. It's a story of conflict and oxymorons. George loves Lennie yet hates the difficulty of life with him. Lennie loves his animals, loves pretty things, yet he destroys whatever he touches. Lennie is portrayed as harmless yet acts selfishly, much like a child. Crook wants friends yet tries to push people away. Slim is good, yet hard and principled. Curley fancies himself a fighter but cannot fight. Candy wants to be useful but cannot. It's a story where nobody gets what they want even if they know what it is.

Steinbeck's Mice and Men explores opportunity as he sets his writing in the 30s, the economic poverty of the depression enhancing this idea that groups of people suffer under the reality that the future will not hold promise for them. This is the central point, then, of Mice and Men, that the plans and dreams of some will never come to fruition. Steinbeck writes a story of tragedy that highlights the grief and sorrow of such a scenario. The conflicts within the characters emphasize the confusion of functioning in that society.

It is short, easy to read, and the conclusion hits hard even if you are aware of it. However, due to how short it is and how simple the narrative is, I can still only give it 4/5. ...more

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We the Living
by Ayn Rand

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Classic Rand. Philosophically blunt with her signature engaging voice and writing style. It is unlikely that We the Living is a person's first exposure to Rand's body of work, but it carries much the same tone, styles, intonation, storylines, and pur Classic Rand. Philosophically blunt with her signature engaging voice and writing style. It is unlikely that We the Living is a person's first exposure to Rand's body of work, but it carries much the same tone, styles, intonation, storylines, and purposes found in her later works. Rand's incisive perception and philosophical sharpness layer atop the story elements in a generally pleasing and engaging manner. The philosophical heart of We the Living is powerfully interesting, however it does suffer from some weaknesses that degrade the overall experience.

We the Living is Rand's first novel, written in 1933, and serves as a tell-all about the state of Soviet Russia. Exercising her voice, Rand's We the Living shouts the political and personal oppression, social division, and widespread poverty as a result of the philosophies of Karl Marx. It is a declaration of the result of such a society upon the human spirit, documenting importantly the evils of communism worked out in the real world.

We the Living documents not only the reality of Soviet Russia, but also the philosophies of Rand, principally highlighting her ideas on the human spirit, egoism, and life. The state, wars against these ideas, consuming them in favor of collectivist ideology which places the individual as existing to serve the state or the group. Rand's We the Living is titled as a direct counter to this, Rand demonstrating throughout the narrative that those who live are the egoists, the ones who commit themselves entirely to their own desires and ends; for Rand, to do any less would to enter the land of the unliving. Who are the Living? They don't stay in Soviet Russia or in any other oppressive collectivism, and the thesis arrives at the certainty that they cannot remain in that oppressive collectivism; it destroys the human spirit. For Rand, there are only three solutions for the living soul, the empowered human spirit, in such a society: death, escape, or debasement. This is the philosophical heart of the work. For Rand, communism destroys the very thing that makes people alive.

Throughout the novel, you see shades and themes that she fleshes out in greater detail in her later novels, less obviously in the Fountainhead and most narratively engaging in Atlas Shrugged. However, although the ideas are clearly delineable, the "heroic" characters are so Randian that unless you line up with her egoism, the characters are almost all utterly detestable. Leo has zero redeeming qualities save for the Randian virtue that he is entirely selfish and self-assured. Kira is better, demonstrating her competence, but is largely empty aside from the Randian virtue of an indomitable, unbreakable human spirit. Andrei is the most heroic in western eyes, but according to Rand, the least virtuous. The heroes of the story are only heroes of Rand, and although lessons of human spirit remain instructive, there is nothing to admire about the main cast of We the Living.

We the Living, consistent with Rand's other works, has copious amounts of side characters that play important, philosophically charged roles. Pavel stands as the image of the collectivist, he who exists but does not live. Victor demonstrates that parentage doesn't determine a man's quality of spirit. Irina and Sasha shows how this collectivist society seeks to destroy Rand's human expression. Lydia is signaled as weak due to her dependence on religion. Tonia and Sonia are women of the new order. Morozov and Alexander Argounav highlight the idea that respectable businesses cannot flourish under these corruptions of human society. Each is used to flesh out the greater pillars of the work, and Rand uses these masterfully, however much I disagree with her thesis.

On a personal level, my biggest issue with the novel is not in the writing, which is masterful, nor in the story itself, which holds its quality as somewhere better than the Fountainhead and worse than Atlas Shrugged. I can't root for Kira and I certainly can't root for Leo. There is no reason to root for Andrei. There are numerous places where the characters are intensely unlikable, and although they serve a deeper philosophical purpose, I found myself hoping that they'd all die, even if that comes as a result of an evil government. That isn't necessarily enjoyable in the traditional sense. However, as I sit here, it occurs to me that perhaps that is the meta-narrative going on in We the Living: the human spirit as put forth by Rand cannot persist under collectivist ideals. It either perishes or escapes. It cannot do either. Something must give, and in We the Living, something does give. The characters are broken by the end, the Randian virtues stripped down to an ugly hulk that barely resembles man, and maybe, for Rand, that is why the characters are so detestable, because society broke them.

A solid read all-in-all. 4/5. Boatlods of philosophy and drama. A great exploration of what was actually going on in Soviet Russia at the time. ...more

Chendall Brooks wants to read

The Torah Mosaic: Introducing the Pentateuch in Its Complex Unity
by Tracy J. McKenzie

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Chendall Brooks and 1 other person liked Autumn Scott's status update

Autumn Scott is on page 11 of 928 of The Brothers Karamazov

Chendall Brooks made a comment on their review of White Fang

" Yes, definitely the same one. I was a bit jealous when he got that gift last year and saw it "

Chendall Brooks rated a book did not like it

Nice Girls Don't Win: How I Burned It All Down to Claim My Power
by Parvati Shallow

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I read this, perfectly aware that I'd disagree on some things that are fundamental. The quotations used on the blurb of the book were enough to nearly dissuade me, saying, "Do I really want to engage with this?" I decided to read it because I'm a Sur I read this, perfectly aware that I'd disagree on some things that are fundamental. The quotations used on the blurb of the book were enough to nearly dissuade me, saying, "Do I really want to engage with this?" I decided to read it because I'm a Survivor fan, and a fan of her gameplay on the various shows that she has appeared, although I was very aware that I'd fundamentally disagree with her on every major issue. Upon reading it, how right I was. I even wondered if I should write a review because I so abhor the ideas presented around the details of Parvati's life.

But I digress, as here we are, review written.

The memoir was simply written, short, and easy to read in a day. It was best when offering details on her past and her life prior to Winners at War. In terms of lore for one of Survivors great and most iconic players, definitely worthwhile in that sense. I legitimately enjoyed these parts of the book, as well as the gaps between that help explain these things.

However, the current that runs through the memoir is dangerous on so many levels. It is filled with spirit of the age 'wisdom' and deeply harmful ideas. She describes open hedonism, manipulation (in real life; I have no issue with her Survivor gameplay), faithlessness, and more, blaming her behavior on past trauma (the nature of which is very debatable). I don't think the critics were right about what they said all those years back, but Parvati has turned and rationalized that into explaining away her behaviors, thoughts, actions, and words. She admits that her actions were wrong, it seems, but she then cuts the knees off that and turns back to say that was all okay and she embraces it. She follows this idea to its logical end: I live my life for me and for how I feel. She sheds all traditional morality in favor of self-love, self-acceptance, and self-ruling (or autonomy). These ideas are extraordinarily dangerous.

This quotation about vows she made to herself properly encapsulates this idea:

"The truth will set you free.
I am creating myself new inside of this.
I choose to stay engaged and present within this great challenge.
I will allow myself to change and I will accept the changes.
I am choosing to live a life free from resentment and free from overwhelm.
I am committed to discovering and honoring my boundaries.
I will give and say yes to the things that feel aligned and correct.
I will say no to things I do not want to give.
I will trust my inner guidance to show me the truth.
I will express the truth with love and compassion.
I trust that what I choose to give is enough.
I will allow others to have their own experiences and feelings and I will not make that mean anything about me."

This is a worldview centered around self. It's called egoism. It's hedonistic. It is the worldview of our day in full force, and while I like Parvati's gameplay, the ideas of self-help found in this book are dangerous because they are so in vogue. People will read this and come away believing that they hold the answers to truth, morality, and worldview within themselves; that their own feelings have primacy when the opposite is true. We are not the arbiters of truth. We are not the standard of good and right. Only one can claim that, and He died on a tree.

If you must read this, read it for the information presented as fact, not the 'self-help' offered in this book. It is on these grounds that I give this a 1/5. ...more

Chendall Brooks rated a book it was amazing

White Fang
by Jack London

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I remember sitting in Barnes and Noble as a kid, reading the great abridged classic of this book. I remember the artwork, the feeling of the pages, and the oft-sought magic of reading a really engaging text. It became among my favorite childhood book I remember sitting in Barnes and Noble as a kid, reading the great abridged classic of this book. I remember the artwork, the feeling of the pages, and the oft-sought magic of reading a really engaging text. It became among my favorite childhood books and remained to this day a landmark text for me. It is fitting, then, that I finally read the entirety of the original, unabridged version. It didn't disappoint.

London's language is superb, as usual. The pacing of his writing is fantastic. His writing feels newer than the dates of his writings, and I think it is in large part due to the fact that London doesn't sit on scenes. His descriptions are entirely sufficient without being stuffy, elaborative without being wordy, and vivid without being overdone. He transports readers into the world; he does that by the skill of his craft. White Fang has that in spades.

Perhaps most underrated about London is the influence of his worldview and beliefs. London writes on naturalist topics; he uses that to expand his ideas on nature, humanity, and deity. The text is filled with this. Using the vantage point of White Fang, London explores Darwinian thought, providing an unfiltered extrapolation of living out the Darwinian worldview and its ensuing ethic: the law of club and fang. When London isn't moving the plot forward with brisk action scenes and melodic descriptions of the Yukon, he's exploring worldview, morphing the relationship between dog and man to provide a commentary on his idea of "god" and man's relationship to that. However much I disagree with his worldview, London's mastery of this artform is intellectually compelling and provides a raw perspective that I can appreciate for its unflinching admittance of the problems of naturalism.

Besides the narrative serving as a playground for London's writing talent and philosophical examinations, White Fang also plays party to a central theme of knowledge that is a priori (what is natural and instinctual to White Fang) versus a posteriori (that which comes through experience). Counterpart and reversed of White Fang, Call of the Wild explores a domesticated dog entering the wild, discovering a nature it could not fully understand, whereas White Fang explores a wolf that becomes domesticated, and, through hardship, learns both hate and love, selfishness and selflessness, killing and mercy. An old dog can learn new tricks, but no dog can change its nature.

White Fang remained the wolf-dog, and through hardship became strong, through abuse became hateful, and through love became loving. London's sum message seems to be a balanced point between nature and nurture, implying that both are important to being and must be understood to make accurate judgments of people. A corollary to this is that people are no different, that our human nature must be understood, and that in some way, we are violent and bestial in the same way White Fang is, perhaps even more so.

London's books are uniquely written to be both philosophically minded and widely accessible to a large audience. Although I do not stand with him philosophically, London should be read as an important example of a truly Darwinian ethic. It remains, in spite of this depth that might turn others off, an entertaining book, even for children, and in my reading of classics, that makes it unique. 5/5. ...more

Chendall Brooks rated a book it was amazing

White Fang
by Jack London

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1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

I remember sitting in Barnes and Noble as a kid, reading the great abridged classic of this book. I remember the artwork, the feeling of the pages, and the oft-sought magic of reading a really engaging text. It became among my favorite childhood book I remember sitting in Barnes and Noble as a kid, reading the great abridged classic of this book. I remember the artwork, the feeling of the pages, and the oft-sought magic of reading a really engaging text. It became among my favorite childhood books and remained to this day a landmark text for me. It is fitting, then, that I finally read the entirety of the original, unabridged version. It didn't disappoint.

London's language is superb, as usual. The pacing of his writing is fantastic. His writing feels newer than the dates of his writings, and I think it is in large part due to the fact that London doesn't sit on scenes. His descriptions are entirely sufficient without being stuffy, elaborative without being wordy, and vivid without being overdone. He transports readers into the world; he does that by the skill of his craft. White Fang has that in spades.

Perhaps most underrated about London is the influence of his worldview and beliefs. London writes on naturalist topics; he uses that to expand his ideas on nature, humanity, and deity. The text is filled with this. Using the vantage point of White Fang, London explores Darwinian thought, providing an unfiltered extrapolation of living out the Darwinian worldview and its ensuing ethic: the law of club and fang. When London isn't moving the plot forward with brisk action scenes and melodic descriptions of the Yukon, he's exploring worldview, morphing the relationship between dog and man to provide a commentary on his idea of "god" and man's relationship to that. However much I disagree with his worldview, London's mastery of this artform is intellectually compelling and provides a raw perspective that I can appreciate for its unflinching admittance of the problems of naturalism.

Besides the narrative serving as a playground for London's writing talent and philosophical examinations, White Fang also plays party to a central theme of knowledge that is a priori (what is natural and instinctual to White Fang) versus a posteriori (that which comes through experience). Counterpart and reversed of White Fang, Call of the Wild explores a domesticated dog entering the wild, discovering a nature it could not fully understand, whereas White Fang explores a wolf that becomes domesticated, and, through hardship, learns both hate and love, selfishness and selflessness, killing and mercy. An old dog can learn new tricks, but no dog can change its nature.

White Fang remained the wolf-dog, and through hardship became strong, through abuse became hateful, and through love became loving. London's sum message seems to be a balanced point between nature and nurture, implying that both are important to being and must be understood to make accurate judgments of people. A corollary to this is that people are no different, that our human nature must be understood, and that in some way, we are violent and bestial in the same way White Fang is, perhaps even more so.

London's books are uniquely written to be both philosophically minded and widely accessible to a large audience. Although I do not stand with him philosophically, London should be read as an important example of a truly Darwinian ethic. It remains, in spite of this depth that might turn others off, an entertaining book, even for children, and in my reading of classics, that makes it unique. 5/5. ...more

Chendall Brooks liked Wynter Brooks's review of First Rider's Call (Green Rider, #2):

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