First Time, Legend of Garrison Fitch by Samuel B. White

What a ride!  And I don't mean in a DeLorean.  This first in a series is one of my favorite time traveling books.  Interestingly enough I stumbled upon it because I was looking for a book to discuss during a sailing ministry at church.  


You know that I have pretty strong feelings about Christian Fiction.  I have been delighted by some but worry when people try to box God into a single genre.  It can  feel forced or caned. How dare one dictate where the sacred can be found.  So I googled "The Best Christian Fiction"  (because who wouldn't want that?) and a review of  "Lost Time" came up. It was the third book in a trilogy so I immediately ordered the first in the series which was appropriately named "First Time, The Legend of Garrison Fitch"




Mr. White has woven a fascinating tale of Garrison Fitch a scientist who grew up geographically in what we know as the United States but it is Soviet ruled. The United States as we know it only lasted for a few years in the 1700s. But then, through a time traveling experiment/accident he winds up back in the 1700s. When he returns it is to a United States that has been altered to what we know as reality today.  Should he stay?  Should he go back?


All time travel authors need to make decisions about time travel.  
1.  Do the travelers need some sort of device to travel or is it spontaneous.  
2.  Can they control the travel
3.  Can they alter the future by traveling to the past


White chooses vehicular, quasi controlled travel with obvious alterations, and that's where the fun begins.  This is such a great choice for book clubs because there is so much to discuss.  I would happily provide a brief discussion guide upon request but don't want to include any spoilers here.




Sam White is a minister, writer and cartoonist living in the Texas panhandle. He is married, has two teenage boys, as well as a cat and a dog, and prompted me to get about my blogging!

Time Travelers Wife

I can't wait for book club in a few weeks! (My grandma would say, "quit wishing your life away!") I have loved this book for years and can't wait to share it with you Chapter Chatters. Of course I have a deep love for all things "time travel" and when I figure it out I will come back to book club from some future date to tell you all how it works!

I will throw one question out now....If you could time travel (and safely return) A. Would you do it? and B. if it could be to only one place/time...where and when?

So Audrey Niffenegger. Endlessly fascinating! Her bio can be found at this link http://audreyniffenegger.com/about She has an interesting Q& A session and I am going to include just one of her answers re: e-books Why can’t I find e-book versions of your books? I am not opposed to the existence of e-books; I know lots of people are wildly enthusiastic about them. But I have spent my life working with books as an art form and I am devoted to physical books. E-books in their current incarnations are still imperfect and they threaten the arts of book design and typography. As a book conservator I am also nervous about the digitization of books: will they be readable one hundred years from now? Or will thousands of books simply vanish as platforms and programs change? E-books have certain advantages (they are searchable) and disadvantages (they are not beautiful objects in themselves and don’t display images very well). I’m sure they will improve over time, though. I don’t know when or if my books will become e-books. Writing me hostile e-mail about this will not hasten my desire.

Ms. Niffenegger lives in Chicago; has another book coming out; "Her Fearful Symmetry" A ghost story set in and around Highgate Cemetary in London. (Clip included below) She also has a serialized graphic novel, titled "The Night Bookmobile" which ran in the London Guardian, but will be coming out in book form in 2010.
You may remember I have been wanting to read a graphic novel but they are all either so foreign to me that I'm not comfortable, or so violent I have no interest. Mostly I am turned off by how literally and literarily dark they are. (My foray into comic books never went past Archie and Jughead) But this looks fascinating. It has a Jasper Fforde air about it. Can't wait to discuss, and I have a surprise for April 8th for all of you!