Read Again – Page 3

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (Read Again)

June 30, 2014 by Adam Shields

I am reposting my review of Neverwhere because it is the Kindle Daily Deal and on sale for $2.99.
Takeaway: Is comfortable better?

After I reviewed Neil Gaiman’s latest novel (The Ocean at the End of the Lane), I started having friends ask for recommendations of other Gaiman books. So I decided I should go back and re-read some of those books that I keep recommending.

My traditional advice with Gaiman is that is you like the adult fairy tales, then you start with Stardust, then read Neverwhere or The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Then read his creepy kids book Coraline.

But if you like Gaiman’s alternative takes of mythology, then read American Gods, Good Omens and Anansi Boys.

Neverwhere is the story of a man (Richard) that has a comfortable, but plain life in London. When he stumbles on Door (a young woman that is bleeding on the sidewalk in front of him). He is introduced to the world of London Below. And suddenly his life in London Above is not quite the same.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

June 28, 2014 by Adam Shields

Reposting this 2011 review because the kindle edition is one of today’s kindle deals of the day (June 28th only) and on sale for -$1.99 Takeaway: America is a difficult land for the gods. American God’s is a classic postmodern fictional look at religion. All of the Gods are here. If someone once worshiped them … Read more

A Passion for God: The Spiritual Journey of AW Tozer by Lyle Dorsett

June 3, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: AW Tozer is one of the great spiritual writers of the 20th century, and a prime example of God using less than perfect people.

I read A Passion for God first about three years ago. It is one of those books that has stuck with me more than most.

The main reason is that Tozer is a perfect example of something that theologically I don’t really have a category for. Tozer, by nearly everyone that knew him’s estimation, was a real and passionate man of God. But at the same time he was distant from his family (especially his wife), personally lonely and probably leaned toward clinical depression.

It is not that I don’t think Christians can be depressed or lonely. I certainly think they can. But Tozer, like several other pietistic leaning pastors that I have read or read about seemed to lack many of the interpersonal tools of relating to those closest to him (while pouring forth energy on others.)

As with the first time I read the book, the most damning sentence in the book is a quote from Tozer’s wife who remarried after Tozer died. Her standard answer when people asked how she was doing after re-marrying was a variant of: “˜Aiden loved Jesus but (her new husband) loves me.’

The Civil War as Theological Crisis by Mark Noll

September 23, 2013 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Cultural blind spots affect our reading of scripture far more than we realize.

There are very few books I have recommended more over the past year or so than Mark Noll’s The Civil War as Theological Crisis. It has been about over a year since I originally read and reviewed it, so I thought it was a good time to read it again (that and the price dropped.)

One of the clear takeaways from this book is that we often do not see our own cultural blind spots. For instance, an argument that most pro-slavery Christians did not hear or respond to is that the main difference between American Slavery and the slavery of biblical times was that American Slavery was racially based. Because civil war era White Christians were so convinced that Blacks as a race were inferior it was inconceivable to most that there could be non-racially based slavery or that free Blacks could or should be considered equal to Whites. And this was true for the vast majority of Christians whether they were from the North or the South, and whether they were for or against slavery.

Earthen Vessels: Why Our Bodies Matter

October 24, 2012 by Adam Shields

Summary: Our bodies are important not just to life, but to our faith as well.

Reading book again is an under-valued exercise. I try to re-read at least one book a month. For many books, it is not possible to catch all of the nuances and points on a first reading.

So it has been my tradition the last couple years to, when available switch the format of my second reading. So if I start with an audiobook, I will move to paper or kindle. If I start with paper, I move to audio. In this case I read it in kindle version the first time and in audio the second. I find that there is enough different between the different formats that you get something else out of the change that is more than just re-reading in the same format.

In this case I enjoyed Earthen Vessels just as much as the first time. Read the first review, because I am not going to deal with any of the same content on this one.

Now You’re Speaking My Language: Honest Communication and Deeper Intimacy for a Stronger Marriage by Gary Chapman

May 2, 2012 by Adam Shields

Summary: A wide ranging book on communication in marriage.

Last night we finished discussing this book in my small group. My wife and I lead a small group through our church for newly married couples.

This is the first time we have used this book for discussion, although I read it last year.

As we evaluated the newly married curriculum last year most of the group leaders thought that the biggest weakness of the curriculum was that we did not have anything on communication. So this book was added (and it replaced a couple other books) as the center of the curriculum.

It is not a long book only 268 pages, but it feels really long because it has 23 chapters. Most weeks we covered 2 or 3 chapters and we took a break in the middle.

At the end my evaluation as a discussion book for a group is a little mixed. I still think that for most newly married (and long term married for that matter) couple, communication is one of the biggest issues that we face. And this book gives entry to many other areas because it discusses communication around them (communication around sex, spiritual intimacy, defensiveness, etc.).

Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Read Again)

March 23, 2012 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Still a great book. Violence came through even more in audio format.

This is a review of the book, not the movie.

Yesterday I finished listening to Hunger Games. This is my second run at this book. (Original Review) I like to re-read books in a different format. So the first time I read the hardcover at the beach. This time I listened to the audiobook.

Pretty much everyone knows the basic story by now. Katniss chooses to participate in the Hunger Games to save her little sister.

The Hunger Games is an annual fight to the death contest that the government runs to exert its authority over the outlying provinces in a post-apocalyptic North America.

Together in Prayer: Coming to God in Community by Andrew Wheeler

October 20, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Small group prayer is fundamentally different than individual prayer or pastoral prayers.

Prayer is an important part of the growth of any Christian. Small groups or community groups are a significant part of the discipleship strategy within most churches. Unfortunately, prayer within small groups is not usually given the attention that it needs.

Prayer, more than most spiritual disciplines is something that is caught more than taught. Most people learn to pray either as small children at bed time or by listening to pastors or other church leaders pray in large group setting. Neither of these two styles of prayer lends itself a small group setting well.

Read Again: Scripture and the Authority of God by NT Wright

July 8, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: I do not know any book that takes the reading, study and importance of scripture more seriously than this book.

Normally I do not read a book so quickly after I read it the first time. But I am going backpacking next week, and the group decided to read two books in advance so we can discuss them as we are hiking. This group of guys has been going on a trip together since spring of 1995 (17 trips total). We are all in quite different places since we started, we have all graduated from college, completed 5 masters degrees, a PhD and an MD between the six of us. We are all now married and have 16 children between us. We now live outside of Chicago, Toronto, Paris, Minneapolis, Atlanta and Dallas. We work as a nanny, a family practice doctor, a Hebrew/Old Testament professor, a missionary, a trader and a computer consultant for an HR firm.

Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

April 28, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: This is one of the classics that everyone should read.

Over the past few years there has been renewed interest in Dietrich Bonhoeffer. There is a very good documentary (available for streaming on Netflix). Then two biographies of Bonhoeffer have been published in the last two years (I reviewed Eric Metaxas’s and have now read ~~but have not read~~ the Ferdinand Schlingensiepen biography, which has been much better received in the academic world and I think is a better biography.)

Much of the interest and resources for Bonhoeffer study is a result of a new 16 volume series of Bonhoeffer’s works. Previous, to this series that is published in English by Fortress Press, there were only limited editions of Bonhoeffer’s books that had significant translation issues.

I have purchased three of these volumes (they are not cheap, so many people are still purchasing older editions.) The volume that includes Life Together (Bonhoeffer’s most read book) also includes his book on the Psalms (Prayerbook of the Bible). I am not reviewing Prayerbook of the Bible here, but will later. There is a significant amount of extra material in these books to give context and understanding to these two short books. Life Together is only a bit over 100 pages, but page for page I think is one of the most useful books I have ever read about spiritual growth and the role of community within the church.

The book has only six chapters (Preface, Community, Day Together, Day Alone, Service, and Confession/Communion.)

One of the most useful things that I heard on this reading (I have read this at least twice previously, but not in the last 10 years) was Bonhoeffer’s understanding of the limits and strengths of community. These are two long quotes, but I think shows that Bonhoeffer is not being idealistic about his view of Christian community:

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