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

Chendall Brooks is currently reading The Vision of Ayn Rand: The Basic Principles of Objectivism by Nathaniel Branden	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
Jul 24, 2026 01:50PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Vision of Ayn Rand by Nathaniel Branden. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Vision of Ayn Rand by Nathaniel Branden <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chendall Brooks rated a book really liked it Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (Goodreads Author)	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 is interesting to rate. Narratively, Where the Crawdads Sing is strange, moving from what feels like a fictionalized memoir or romance with ruminations on variations of a naturalistic/materialistic worldview to a courtroom thriller. The writing ...more
Jul 10, 2026 06:58PM · 1 like · like · see review
Chendall Brooks rated a book liked it The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger	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 could go deeper into this novel and its themes, perhaps explaining why it might be considered a classic, but due to a general disinterest and lack of time, I will keep this review short. The novel follows a teenager named Holden. He is expelled from ...more
Jul 10, 2026 06:42PM · like · see review
Chendall Brooks rated a book liked it The Selected Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer	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
Due to the immense workload I currently find myself under, this review will be short, although due to the influence and magnitude of the story, it probably deserves a fuller discussion than what I will provide here. In short, Fischer's translation, if ...more
Jul 10, 2026 06:30PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Selected Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Selected Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chendall Brooks rated a book it was amazing Ayn Rand and the World She Made by Anne C. Heller	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
Every year, I select one of the books that I read to be book of the year, and as of the writing of this review, this is the frontrunner. I was first introduced to Rand through Atlas Shrugged. For all my philosophical disagreement with the author, I l ...more
Jun 19, 2026 06:54AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Ayn Rand and the World She Made by Anne C. Heller. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Ayn Rand and the World She Made by Anne C. Heller <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chendall Brooks liked Michael Brooks's review of Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church: "I read this book knowing that Gupta would probably take positions I may not agree with. But, I practice reading widely and critically for the following purposes: 1) For my own personal educational benefits. 2) To hear opposing views and better wrestle " Read more of this review »
Jun 17, 2026 05:50PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Tell Her Story by Nijay K. Gupta. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Tell Her Story by Nijay K. Gupta <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chendall Brooks rated a book liked it The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson and the Comedy Those Extraordinary Twins by Mark Twain	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
Pudd'nhead Wilson is very Twain, I guess that's where I begin. As one of the realist writers, Twain always sought to emphasize writing in the dialect spoken and to depict reality as it was, and in this, Twain always uniquely succeeds. Pudd'nhead Wilso ...more
Jun 11, 2026 07:42AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson and the Comedy Those Extraordinary Twins by Mark Twain. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson and the Comedy Those Extraordinary Twins by Mark Twain <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chendall Brooks rated a book really liked it The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway	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
The Sun Also Rises is better than The Old Man and the Sea, by a longshot, first off. Hemingway says something here, and while his enigmatic style of writing, the iceberg theory (where much of the narrative goes unspoken), it provides the story with a ...more
Jun 11, 2026 07:38AM · like · see review
Chendall Brooks and 1 other person liked Caiti Brooks's review of The Deal (Off-Campus, #1): "This book sucked. 🤮 i read it because of the new show. I hate immature banter in a book and it was endless and cringy. The way the characters talk is gross. That’s about it. "
Jun 10, 2026 05:51PM · see review
Chendall Brooks rated a book really liked it The Wilder Way: A Memoir of Adventure, Freedom and an Uncharted Life by Eva Zu Beck	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
Eva Zu Beck is a female adventure Youtuber, and The Wilder Way is her memoir. The strength of any memoir is going to be based upon the writing of the author and the presentation of the content. All of us have a life story, and for many of us, that st ...more
Jun 09, 2026 03:33PM · 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 The Wilder Way by Eva Zu Beck. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Wilder Way by Eva Zu Beck <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

Chendall Brooks is currently reading

The Vision of Ayn Rand by Nathaniel Branden

The Vision of Ayn Rand: The Basic Principles of Objectivism
by Nathaniel Branden

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Where the Crawdads Sing
by Delia Owens (Goodreads Author)

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This is interesting to rate. Narratively, Where the Crawdads Sing is strange, moving from what feels like a fictionalized memoir or romance with ruminations on variations of a naturalistic/materialistic worldview to a courtroom thriller. The writing ...more

Chendall Brooks rated a book liked it

The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger

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I could go deeper into this novel and its themes, perhaps explaining why it might be considered a classic, but due to a general disinterest and lack of time, I will keep this review short.

The novel follows a teenager named Holden. He is expelled from I could go deeper into this novel and its themes, perhaps explaining why it might be considered a classic, but due to a general disinterest and lack of time, I will keep this review short.

The novel follows a teenager named Holden. He is expelled from his boarding school for bad behavior. After some conversations in which he mostly internally ridicules everyone else (and talks about literature), he receives some money from his grandma which he uses to run off and do what he wants. He visits and talks to girls from his past, attempts all sorts of wretched business in town, spends time in bars, and generally behaves as a delinquent before the novel closes in a sort of ambiguity.

Thematically, The Catcher in the Rye wrestles with the idea of the child, in this case Holden, distrusting adults. He views them with a certain disdain. Ironically, Holden himself is perhaps the most vindictive character in the novel who is least trustworthy. Most of the action of the story happens internally, Sallinger seeming to put an emphasis on the internal world of people, in particular tweens and teens. Holden is working out how to interact with a world he generally holds a disdain for, his plans often great fantasies of moving away, starting over. The book is most effective in commentating and narrating on the internal life and experience of the youth and their relationship to authorities in the culture, explicitly revealing the corollary between youth who thinks that adults are stupid only to find themselves making the same mistakes.

Sallinger writes from the mind of Holden by way of narrative realism, emphasizing the closeness to Holden's thoughts by narrating the story in his particular dialect and colloquialisms. I understand why he did this, but that doesn't make me like it any more. It reminds me of reading Twain. That is probably a complement, but personally, the strong presence of dialect, particularly of the 18th and 19th centuries grates on me.

I understand what Sallinger was trying to do, but it isn't necessarily my cup of tea. At some point I will probably read through it again for further study, but as of today, 3/5. ...more

Chendall Brooks rated a book liked it

The Selected Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer

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Due to the immense workload I currently find myself under, this review will be short, although due to the influence and magnitude of the story, it probably deserves a fuller discussion than what I will provide here.

In short, Fischer's translation, if ...more

Chendall Brooks rated a book it was amazing

Ayn Rand and the World She Made
by Anne C. Heller

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Every year, I select one of the books that I read to be book of the year, and as of the writing of this review, this is the frontrunner. I was first introduced to Rand through Atlas Shrugged. For all my philosophical disagreement with the author, I l Every year, I select one of the books that I read to be book of the year, and as of the writing of this review, this is the frontrunner. I was first introduced to Rand through Atlas Shrugged. For all my philosophical disagreement with the author, I loved the writing and I appreciated the philosophical nature of the work. I went to read the rest of Rand's most famous books, not disappointed. It was only logical that I'd put myself to the task of better understanding the events that shaped the author of these most unique works of fiction. I looked around and settled on this one, and it did not disappoint. I chose Heller's specifically because it seemed to balance both sides of Rand's polarizing philosophy and character.

I have read some good biographies, my favorite prior to this one being Kai Bird's The Modern Prometheus, a bio of the life and work of Robert J. Oppenheimer. I am a different and more adept reader now than when I first read that bio, but Anne C. Heller's bio seems to me excellent in every way, surpassing even my highest expectations. She does the hard work of untangling the life of her subject, someone who was secretive, with a history cloaked behind the iron curtain and self-deceptions around the Objectivist community. This was by no means an easy task.

In the words of somebody from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (whose name escapes me; the movie adaptation): She "has been thoroughly unriddled". Heller absolutely provides a full, complete, fair, and honest picture of Ayn Rand and her followers.

Heller's biography goes into great care and depth exploring the people surrounding Ayn Rand, how her most famous works came to be (and what they were about), the schisms rampant in her and Nathaniel Branden's movements, the movements founded by her ideas, and the particulars that make all of those interactions extremely human. She masterfully paints a picture of the movements associated with her, giving us not only a deep understanding of her life (and her psyche), but of Nathaniel and Barbara Branden, Leonard Piekoff, her husband Frank O'Connor, and many others that would become influential figures in political and economic movements. Heller, above all, gives you a sense of the facts. Rand certainly would not have appreciated the facts that Heller presented, but as an Objectivist, she should, because Heller does not represent Rand as either more or less than what she is, but exactly as she is. Heller stands back from making judgments or providing commentary on the personalities, letting those who knew Rand make those distinctions.

Where Heller would draw conclusions and make commentary would be in regard to Rand's philosophy and the point and plot of her books and essays, making the book eminently accessible to even the laymen (I, however, do recommend coming in with a basic understanding of Objectivist philosophy). One does not need to be an expert on Rand or Objectivism to learn a great deal. In fact, reading Heller's biography may be enough to grasp Rand and her philosophy better than most (among those with an interest in the author). Although the focus of the bio is on the people, she does a fantastic job of weaving in the philosophical purpose and point of Rand's novels, an essential aspect of any biography on Rand.

It is a biography of the highest quality. At no point while reading did I lose interest or get annoyed by either a lack of detail or too much extraneous ones. In fact, I said out loud upon realizing I was at the bio's last chapter, "Oh man, it's almost done?" Rand's life was fascinating. This biography gives you the grand narrative of her life, the fear and the anger, the deceptions and betrayals, and the philosophy and publishing, concluding with a picture both reverential and sad as she narrates Rand's final moments. The woman who praised the so-called indomitability of the human ego was perhaps the most broken person of all, giving us a complicated and important examination of human joy and purpose.

I cannot recommend this highly enough to those interested in Rand. I will likely be reading Barbara Branden's biography to get a more Objectivist perspective on the matter. 5/5. ...more

Chendall Brooks liked Michael Brooks's review of Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church:

"I read this book knowing that Gupta would probably take positions I may not agree with. But, I practice reading widely and critically for the following purposes:

1) For my own personal educational benefits.
2) To hear opposing views and better wrestle " Read more of this review »

Chendall Brooks rated a book liked it

The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson and the Comedy Those Extraor... by Mark Twain

The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson and the Comedy Those Extraordinary Twins
by Mark Twain

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Pudd'nhead Wilson is very Twain, I guess that's where I begin. As one of the realist writers, Twain always sought to emphasize writing in the dialect spoken and to depict reality as it was, and in this, Twain always uniquely succeeds.

Pudd'nhead Wilso ...more

Chendall Brooks rated a book really liked it

The Sun Also Rises
by Ernest Hemingway

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The Sun Also Rises is better than The Old Man and the Sea, by a longshot, first off. Hemingway says something here, and while his enigmatic style of writing, the iceberg theory (where much of the narrative goes unspoken), it provides the story with a The Sun Also Rises is better than The Old Man and the Sea, by a longshot, first off. Hemingway says something here, and while his enigmatic style of writing, the iceberg theory (where much of the narrative goes unspoken), it provides the story with a mystique that it otherwise wouldn't have. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, much to my own surprise, because on the surface it doesn't appear that much is said, however the issues that The Sun Also Rises grapples with are similar to those we face today, 100 years later.

The Sun Also Rises follows the narrator, Jake Barnes, following a fictionalized account of a trip that Hemingway himself took in Europe. Jake is alongside friends, and for much of the narrative, it feels like following these friends on their vacation. The story is infused with relational drama, sports, drinking, gambling, and more, giving us an exposition of people searching. What are they searching for? They don't know. Maybe some sense of happiness, joy, or purpose?

The story frustrates the characters, demonstrating it's point by way of presenting an absence of purpose or defined conclusion from a narrative perspective, slipping story after story, no major ties and without any unifying goal. This reflects the characters themselves, drifting aimlessly from place to place, avoiding responsibility and grappling with the reality of living in a post-WWI world. The narrative is aimless because the characters reflect the Lost Generation--a term coined by Gertrude Stein to Hemingway following WWI. This lostness is cerebral and a reaction to a disenfranchisement people felt following their experiences in WWI. Hemingway reflected that with his own narrative, describing a hedonistic lifestyle that many employed to cope with the losses, both esoteric and literal.

The characters reflect this idea. These characters, between 30 and 40 years old, should be in the most ordered and purpose driven portion of their lives, yet they exist, aimless and purposeless, driving towards some vague sense of fulfillment in the eternal present.

Jake Barnes feels the best adjusted, however he is defined by physical scars that the narrative implies as robbing him of his future and his love. Brett sabotages her own relationships, returning once again to a wicked lifestyle of hedonism, moving from person to person, place to place, aimlessly. Mike turns to alcohol and gambling as a means to cope. Bill does much the same, although Bill appears to be the most virtuous character in the entire narrative. In sum, Hemingway is addressing a general sense of the lostness of himself and his readers, highlighting the self-sabotage and dangerous coping mechanisms of his time.

That pulls us back into 2026. The crisis of lostness seems to be returning, albeit for entirely different reasons and with a different set of responses. The Sun Also Rises is contemporary to the modern American because there is a general sense of lostness that appears to be approaching those of the younger generation. In Hemingway, it's a response to their future being robbed from them, but for us it's a search for meaning that seems to be lost within the entertainment driven culture and lifestyle of the 21st century. There is little enthusiasm for the future; there is little direction for many today. These characters ignore the greater questions and underlying needs they have; instead they drink, they gamble, they sleep around. I worry that the social media driven world that we live in full of cheap entertainment, self-isolation, and mindless comfort will lead to its own lost generation with nowhere to anchor themselves to nor any goal to aspire to.

There are answers to this question for those willing to look. ...more

Chendall Brooks and 1 other person liked Caiti Brooks's review of The Deal (Off-Campus, #1):

"This book sucked. 🤮 i read it because of the new show. I hate immature banter in a book and it was endless and cringy. The way the characters talk is gross. That’s about it. "

Chendall Brooks rated a book really liked it

The Wilder Way: A Memoir of Adventure, Freedom and an Uncharted Life
by Eva Zu Beck

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Eva Zu Beck is a female adventure Youtuber, and The Wilder Way is her memoir. The strength of any memoir is going to be based upon the writing of the author and the presentation of the content. All of us have a life story, and for many of us, that st Eva Zu Beck is a female adventure Youtuber, and The Wilder Way is her memoir. The strength of any memoir is going to be based upon the writing of the author and the presentation of the content. All of us have a life story, and for many of us, that story may be profoundly interesting, or theoretically, boring, regular. Eva's life is certainly unique, but the strength of The Wilder Way must be found in the presentation of her unique life.

Eva's writing is of a quality higher than what you'd expect from the average internet-famous person. She has a knack and a gift for it. Her descriptions are economical yet entrancing. She pulls the reader into the narrative and has great voice, her own style and flare evident immediately. I also appreciate her honesty, and at times, even some of her self-reflection and the mistakes she admitted to. Her life is by no means clean and clear, but messy, and she embraced those mistakes (I have read other memoirs where the author failed to own up to any mistakes, a most insufferable read). She spent much of her time searching for meaning and purpose in the narrative, and it was really that quest which gave form to the narratives she chose to include in this memoir. In total, it worked and it was enjoyable.

Eva talks about her various relationships at all sorts of different levels of detail. She talks about her time becoming adjusted to wild living in Socatra. She dictates her history with the Catholic church. She explains her experiences traveling as a woman, putting a particular lens on dubious or downright obsessive men. Eva narrates her own personal journey toward singleness. She spends a great deal of time describing the outworking of her own personal philosophy (which, at its center, is selfishness, that as a Christian misses our design under God--and much more, but I digress). She considers the land, her connection to it; and the search for safety, comfort, and companionship; landing on an optimistic and future looking view of growth.

It has everything that a memoir should have, although perhaps not as deep as the average reader might hope for (but, I mean, it is a memoir). For me in particular, that was somewhat disappointing based upon the content I am aware that she reads.

There are, however, some weak points or areas of disappointment.

I had hoped there would be more time spent talking about the land and places she visited, highlighting her adventures in a less esoteric sense and more concrete sense, bringing the details to the reader and immersing them into the longer form content that writing enables. An example of this is in David Quammen's more scientific and/or culturally focused literature. I am happy to read about Eva's life as it is a memoir, however I had hoped she would step out of that genre somewhat and into naturalist musings. She has the ability to do so.

Similarly, spending more time outlining her philosophical musings where appropriate (however much I might disagree with them) would have been beneficial from a reader's perspective, instead of merely relegating descriptions to some form of becoming "wild", "a witch", or "alone". These are sufficient descriptions, yes, and while they communicate the overall thrust of the narrative that there is a "Wilder Way" to do life in the 21st century, it would have added some meat to the work overall.

Eva will most likely find success as a writer, although I do wonder where she will draw inspiration from and what she will write next.

All-in-all, I can't complain. I wasn't devouring it but I never got bored either; that is a win for a book of any length, so therefore it deserves 4/5. ...more

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