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

Chendall Brooks rated a book it was amazing Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury	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
Fahrenheit 451 is equal to all its praise, a concise and entertaining narrative that proves to be contemporary to the issues facing a world of social media, short form content, and entertainment. Much is propagated about the narrative thematically, r ...more
Apr 11, 2026 03:17PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chendall Brooks and 2 other people liked Michael Brooks's review of Irresistible Beauty: Beholding Triune Glory in the Face of Jesus Christ (Reformed Exegetical Doctrinal Studies series): "This book will go down as one of the most formative works in my reading. It will enrich my reading of God's word. It has grown my mind and heart for my prescious Lord. Dense. Challenging. Yet, rich with praise and mediated beauty through God's word r" Read more of this review »
Mar 18, 2026 08:21PM · see review
Chendall Brooks rated a book liked it Fate of the Jedi: Conviction (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi, #7) by Aaron Allston	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
My reviews on Allston's other books in this series generally remain consistent, as I approached this one with significantly less enthusiasm. It wasn't bad, but it underwhelms. The final conflict felt rather flat, and although it had its moments, much ...more
Mar 16, 2026 08:46AM · 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 Fate of the Jedi by Aaron Allston. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Fate of the Jedi by Aaron Allston <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chendall Brooks rated a book really liked it Animal Farm by George Orwell	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
Orwell's short allegory of revolution, corruption, and the power of language, Animal Farm distills his critiques of the U.S.S.R. into a memorable and clear narrative. Orwell's 1984 states in clear terms the power of language and the unparalleled fear ...more
Mar 15, 2026 01:24PM · like · see review
Chendall Brooks liked Autumn Scott's status update Autumn Scott is on page 198 of 340 of The Worst Hard Time: Just an incredible book! Reading this makes you sad because these people's stories are forgotten amongst the larger economic tradegy experienced by the world at the time. The endurance and tenacity of those that lived through the dust storms of the 1930s is jaw- dropping.
Feb 05, 2026 03:28AM · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Chendall Brooks liked Michael Brooks's review of Contemplating God with the Great Tradition: Recovering Trinitarian Classical Theism: "A fantastic book that lays out the Biblical and historic case for orthodox classical trinitarianism. It drove my worship and opened my eyes to the beauty of classical theism, Christian metaphysics, and the beauty of our God."
Feb 05, 2026 03:28AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Contemplating God with the Great Tradition by Craig A. Carter. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Contemplating God with the Great Tradition by Craig A. Carter <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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
Jan 22, 2026 08:02AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Torah Mosaic by Tracy J. McKenzie. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Torah Mosaic by Tracy J. McKenzie <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

Chendall Brooks rated a book it was amazing

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Fahrenheit 451 is equal to all its praise, a concise and entertaining narrative that proves to be contemporary to the issues facing a world of social media, short form content, and entertainment. Much is propagated about the narrative thematically, r Fahrenheit 451 is equal to all its praise, a concise and entertaining narrative that proves to be contemporary to the issues facing a world of social media, short form content, and entertainment. Much is propagated about the narrative thematically, ranging from censorship to tyranny to disinterest, although if we look at the narrative thoughtfully, it becomes clear that Ray Bradbury sought to communicate one very specific idea: that the danger facing a society is a disinterest in knowing. This is perhaps the most urgent issue facing many today (perhaps especially teens), a disinterest in knowing.

Bradbury's work highlights not the fireman, Guy Montag, who burned books, nor Beatty for being complicit in a scheme that sought to keep books hidden from public interest, but in the character's fundamental lack of desire to know. The narrative emphasizes this through conversation, highlighting the differences between those who ask questions, those who want to know why, and those who don't, those who merely accept the world as presented. For Bradbury, this is the message, and he puts up a critical mirror to a world that grows increasingly disinterested in asking the question "Why?"

Montag, our hero, a decidedly common man, becomes one of those people. He is no longer content with accepting things as they are, but becomes one who wants to know why things are the way that they are. Montag speaks with Clarisse who detects something different about him, and then, through further shocking events, Montag begins to question the significance of books (and by extension, learning).

Why can't people read them? Narratively and thematically, the question is more importantly encapsulated this way: why don't people want to read? Bradbury's four-walled televisions with scripts communicate this. Millie doesn't want to learn, she wants to be entertained. Beatty's tirades against knowledge of books surrounds their apparent contradictions, highlighting his own unwillingness to grapple with reason, his own unwillingness to weigh and contemplate. How often do we play party to this today? For him, the books were undecipherable and incomprehensible, demonstrating only the most elementary understanding of these concepts, through which he would practice ridicule. The fools are the ones who ask why, according to Beatty. How often do we see that today? He cites that books serve no purpose. How often do we hear that today? The answer is, "Far too often." Bradbury's brilliance isn't found in censorship which, although used as a plot point in Fahrenheit 451, misses the point thematically. It centers around the common person's lack of interest in learning, remembering, and applying, setting these aside for cheap entertainment.

The narrative concludes with what appears to be Bradbury's advice to his readers, and he highlights that those who know shouldn't be proud nor haughty, but that they should use their learnedness, their understanding of books and history, to teach and to bring about a generation that can learn. He emphasizes that learning enables us to pass on our knowledge to those around us. The next generation must inherit the lessons of the generation before, lest we become fools, doomed to fall prey to the same mistakes, to revert to common savageries, to forget the mistakes and never think of them again.

Fundamentally, Bradbury condemns a world in which we don't learn, and that makes Fahrenheit 451 a contemporary masterwork that should be read by all. ...more

Chendall Brooks and 2 other people liked Michael Brooks's review of Irresistible Beauty: Beholding Triune Glory in the Face of Jesus Christ (Reformed Exegetical Doctrinal Studies series):

Irresistible Beauty by Samuel G. Parkison

"This book will go down as one of the most formative works in my reading. It will enrich my reading of God's word. It has grown my mind and heart for my prescious Lord.

Dense. Challenging. Yet, rich with praise and mediated beauty through God's word r" Read more of this review »

Chendall Brooks rated a book liked it

Fate of the Jedi: Conviction (Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi, #7)
by Aaron Allston

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My reviews on Allston's other books in this series generally remain consistent, as I approached this one with significantly less enthusiasm. It wasn't bad, but it underwhelms. The final conflict felt rather flat, and although it had its moments, much ...more

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Animal Farm
by George Orwell

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Orwell's short allegory of revolution, corruption, and the power of language, Animal Farm distills his critiques of the U.S.S.R. into a memorable and clear narrative. Orwell's 1984 states in clear terms the power of language and the unparalleled fear Orwell's short allegory of revolution, corruption, and the power of language, Animal Farm distills his critiques of the U.S.S.R. into a memorable and clear narrative. Orwell's 1984 states in clear terms the power of language and the unparalleled fear of a government without limits or accountability, and that is seen in the most unheroic or heroes, Winston Smith. Animal Farm takes many of the same kinds of metaphors, and although the world mirrors the one Orwell saw, it does it through the curious allegory of farm animals rising up against their leaders, mankind.

The reason Orwell does this becomes evident upon reading the narrative, for populating the story's classes into two groups, man and animal, makes clear the Marxist dialectic that undergirds the narrative: there are two groups, ever at war, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Orwell uses animals vs. mankind to quickly and effectively setup a class divide to the reader. Even the most hardened of atheists recognizes that there is some difference between men and animals, and for the reader this becomes evident: they are not the same. Animal Farm principally deals with the fundamental issues of an eternal class warfare and of the inevitable end of absolute and unmitigated authority in governance: tyranny.

Upon the defeat of mankind as the proletariat animals overthrow their masters, those with the means of production, the animals rename Manor Farm to Animal Farm. The animals are unified under a single banner, that mankind is bad and that animals are good. Orwell masterfully highlights the danger of vilifying whole groups of people without exception, and like it, the danger of trusting wholesale other groups of people. It would be this distrust of man and this trust of animal that would eventually lead to the exploitation of the animals under a new regime that looked no different than the men who ruled prior. Like other modern works, Orwell approaches this system of governance critically, emphasizing the dangers of Marxist thinking, although this could be applied similarly to fascist governments in a broader sense.

Perhaps more than anything else, Orwell spends his time narrating the power of language and words. He teaches that how one says something makes a great deal of difference, and he applies this to the Animal Farm. Slowly, over time, like a frog boiled in water, what is said is changed, what is written is altered, and because nobody was paying too close of attention, the past was forgotten and freedoms became eroded. Language was used as the principal tool of exploitation against the lower classes, and by the time those around realized what had happened, it was too late. If you don't understand the power of language, according to Orwell, you're halfway to being one of the so-called useful idiots.

Finally, Orwell highlights the distinct nature of individuals within a larger group, commentating on their unique identity by the different animals that occupy the farm. Sheep are used as sheep typically are, as parrots and yes-men who follow those leaders. Horses are used emphasizing both hard work, laziness, and an appreciation for beauty. Dogs are used primarily as progenitors of violence and scare tactics. The pigs become the humans, no different, emulating the behavior of those they claimed abused their authority. Orwell makes many clear parallels to real history throughout this narrative, but his meaning is clear regardless of one's awareness of that history: the U.S.S.R. was the result of leaders who through the use of language and then force, became far worse than the leaders before them.

Animal Farm is a quick read, so you should spend that time on Animal Farm, exploring the warnings that Orwell was making to the world. ...more

Chendall Brooks liked Autumn Scott's status update

Autumn Scott is on page 198 of 340 of The Worst Hard Time: Just an incredible book! Reading this makes you sad because these people's stories are forgotten amongst the larger economic tradegy experienced by the world at the time. The endurance and tenacity of those that lived through the dust storms of the 1930s is jaw- dropping.

Chendall Brooks liked Michael Brooks's review of Contemplating God with the Great Tradition: Recovering Trinitarian Classical Theism:

Contemplating God with the Great Tradition by Craig A. Carter

"A fantastic book that lays out the Biblical and historic case for orthodox classical trinitarianism. It drove my worship and opened my eyes to the beauty of classical theism, Christian metaphysics, and the beauty of our God."

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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Chendall Brooks rated a book really liked it

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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