I have not been posting these lately but, I find it interesting that the top book reviews this month are all from this month.  And the most read book review of the month, was posted the last day of the month.  I can tell I have been on a fiction kick.

In order:

The Magicians, And Both Were Young, A Brief History of the Doctrine of the Trinity in the Early Church, The Last Thing I Remember, The Truth of the Matter, Shadows in FlightDietrich Bonhoeffer 1906-1945: Martyr, Thinker, Man of Resistance, An American Spy

The Magicians: A Novel

And Both Were Young

A Brief History of the Doctrine of the Trinity in the Early Church (T&T Clark)

The Last Thing I Remember (The Homelanders)

The Truth of the Matter (The Homelanders)

Shadows in Flight (The Shadow Series)

Dietrich Bonhoeffer 1906-1945

An American Spy

Kindle Fire: Out of the Box

Kindle Fire: Out of the Box (Photo credit: Brian Sawyer)

Today Only, The Refurbished Kindle Fire is Amazon’s Deal of the Day. This means you can get a refurbished Kindle Fire for $139 ($60 off) with the same as new warranty. I personally always buy refurbished electronics when they are available. This is a very good deal.

Still Available: You can also buy the refurbished Kindle with Keyboard (3G version) for $129 (not special offer version) or the Kindle with Keyboard (wifi only version) for $89 (special offer version). If you want eink, I still think the Kindle With Keyboard is the best kindle model right now.

It is a little more questionable to buy refurbished covers and cases, but I have had good luck. To see all refurbished kindle accessories go here. There is a leather case made by Marware for the Kindle Touch for only $6.38. And the Amazon Leather case for the Kindle Keyboard (no light) for $14.87

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Now You're Speaking My Language: Honest Communication and Deeper Intimacy for a Stronger MarriageSummary: 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.).

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FreefallFreefall by Kristen Heitzmann

465 pages, 26 of 29 reviews are 4 or 5-star, Lending Enabled

When a young woman stumbles out of the Hanalei Mountains on the island of Kauai with no memory of who she is or how she got there, Cameron Pierce reluctantly agrees to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding her arrival. As pieces begin to fall into place, he suspects her injuries were no accident, but he’s far from convinced she’s an innocent victim. And there’s that nagging feeling he’s seen her somewhere before….Now known as Jade, the woman begins to recall fragments of what led her to this place, and she realizes the danger isn’t over. Jade and the cynical Hawaiian investigator attempt to reconstruct the threads of her identity, but the stakes are far higher than either expected

Heaven Is Now

Heaven is Now: Awakening Your Five Spiritual Senses to the Wonder of Grace by Andrew Farley

224 pages, 10 of 11 reviews are 5-star, Lending Enabled

What if heaven wasn’t just meant to be experienced after we die? What if heaven can be enjoyed here on earth–right now?

Bestselling author Andrew Farley shows us how to take in the beauty of heaven no matter what our circumstances. Firmly rooted in the reality of pain and suffering in his own life, Andrew assures readers that heaven is not some pie-in-the-sky dream for the future–it is now. He shows us how to awaken our five spiritual senses in order to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel the grace of heaven, even in the midst of trouble here on earth. He says the heaven we can experience in this life lies within us, far beyond the reach of the world–but well within our grasp.

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Love and Honor (The Chevalier d'Argentolle)Love and Honor by Harry Samkange

318 pages, 27 of 29 reviews are 4 or 5-star, Lending Enabled

Nicolas de Montferraud, Chevalier and Vicomte d’Argentolle was born into a world in turmoil. Shunned by the court because of his father’s scandalous marriage, he is determined to restore the greatness and honor of his family’s proud name. Sérolène, Vicomtesse de La Bouhaire is beautiful, headstrong, willful, irresistible. She is the spark of passion that ignites the torch of Nicolas’ destiny. Defying age-old customs, they pledge themselves irrevocably to each other. All that stands in their way is family opposition, blood vendettas, a secret brotherhood of assassins, English frigates, a murderous psychopath and a disapproving King and court. Can their love survive these challenges? Can they?

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You Lost Me

You Lost Me: Why Young Christians are Leaving the Church and Rethinking Faith by David Kinnaman

256 pages, 26 of 27 reviews are 4 or 5-star, Lending Enabled

More than half of all Christian teens and twentysomethings leave active involvement in church. 

David Kinnaman trains his researcher’s eye on these young believers and reveals the factors that contribute to the dropout problem. You Lost Me shows why Christians ages 18 to 29 are leaving the church and rethinking their commitment to the faith.

Based on new research conducted by the Barna Group, You Lost Me exposes ways the Christian community has failed to equip young adults to live “in but not of” the world–to follow Christ in the midst of profound cultural change. This wide-ranging study debunks persistent myths about young dropouts and examines the likely consequences for young adults and for the church if we maintain the status quo.

The faith journeys of the next generation are a challenge to the established church, but they can also be a source of hope for the community of faith. Kinnaman, with the help of contributors from across the Christian spectrum, offers ideas for pastors, youth leaders, parents, and educators to pass on a vibrant, lasting faith, and ideas for young adults to find themselves in wholehearted pursuit of Christ.

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Each month Amazon has sale of 100 Kindle Books that are offered for $3.99 or less.  This sale will last for the whole month of May.

The only book on this list that Bookwi.se has reviewed is Karl Schroeder’s young adult science fiction book Sun of Suns (link to the review).  I have also had several people recommend to me John Dickson’s Humilitas:  A Lost Key to Life, Love and Leadership

Also the May free christianaudio.com audiobook is Resolving Everyday Conflict by Ken Sande.  It is very well reviewed and I am looking forward to reading (listening) to it.

Click through to see the list.

Power Down The Year the Music Changed The Hand That First Held Mine Blood Harvest Cracked Up to Be
Power Down
by Ben Coes

Price: $2.99
The Year the Music Changed
by Diane Thomas

Price: $1.99
The Hand That First Held Mine
by Maggie O’Farrell

Price: $3.99
Blood Harvest
by S. J. Bolton

Price: $2.99
Cracked Up to Be
by Courtney Summers

Price: $2.99
Fast, Fresh, and Green As Seen On TV The Price of the Stars: Book One of Mageworlds The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential...in Business and in Life Six-Legged Soldiers : Using Insects as Weapons of War
Fast, Fresh, and Green
by Susie Middleton

Price: $3.99
As Seen On TV
by Lucy Grealy

Price: $2.99
The Price of the Stars: Book One of Mageworlds
by Debra Doyle

Price: $2.99
The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential…in Business and in Life
by Leo Babauta

Price: $3.99
Six-Legged Soldiers : Using Insects as Weapons of War
by Jeffrey A Lockwood

Price: $1.99
Our Holocaust The Living End Jewball Before, After, and Somebody In Between Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking (The Hippocrene International Cookbook Library)
Our Holocaust
by Amir Gutfreund

Price: $2.99
The Living End
by Stanley Elkin

Price: $2.99
Jewball
by Neal Pollack

Price: $1.99
Before, After, and Somebody In Between
by Jeannine Garsee

Price: $1.99
Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking (The Hippocrene International Cookbook Library)
by S. H. Fernando Jr

Price: $1.99
Inventing Modern : Growing up with X-Rays, Skyscrapers, and Tailfins What Color Is My World? Stravaganza: City of Masks Ruling Passion (Drake Chronicles) Humilitas: A Lost Key to Life, Love, and Leadership
Inventing Modern : Growing up with X-Rays, Skyscrapers, and Tailfins
by John H. Lienhard

Price: $1.99
What Color Is My World?
by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Price: $3.99
Stravaganza: City of Masks
by Mary Hoffman

Price: $1.99
Ruling Passion (Drake Chronicles)
by Alyxandra Harvey

Price: $1.99
Humilitas: A Lost Key to Life, Love, and Leadership
by John Dickson

Price: $2.99
Pray for Silence: A Thriller (Kate Burkholder) Peace from Broken Pieces: How to Get Through What You're Going Through Belle the Birthday Fairy (Rainbow Magic Special Edition) Ship of Souls Easily Amused
Pray for Silence: A Thriller (Kate Burkholder)
by Linda Castillo

Price: $2.99
Peace from Broken Pieces: How to Get Through What You’re Going Through
by Iyanla Vanzant

Price: $3.99
Belle the Birthday Fairy (Rainbow Magic Special Edition)
by Daisy Meadows

Price: $2.99
Ship of Souls
by Zetta Elliott

Price: $1.99
Easily Amused
by Karen McQuestion

Price: $2.99

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PulledPulled by Danielle Bannister

230 pages, 28 of 29 reviews are 4 or 5-star, Lending Enabled

Pulled is a love story of Twin Flames connecting. When college freshman, Naya walks into her first acting class two years after the freakish death of her parents, she becomes consumed by a mysterious pull coming from a facially scarred classmate named Etash. When he is cast as the Romeo to her Juliet, sparks fly. These star crossed lovers discover that fate has other plans for them. This is not the first time they have been ‘pulled’ together, nor will it be their last.

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The Magicians: A NovelSummary: An adult look at what it would be like to be a magician, and get everything you could possibly want, and still not find meaning or purpose in life.

I tend to buy audiobook in groups at Audible.com.  They often have sales where you buy two and get one free, or buy four and get $10 off a future purchase.

In April it was a buy 4 and get $10 off a future purchase sale.  So I purchased, Shadows in Flight, And Both Were Young, Ready Player One and The Magicians.  Unusually for me, in less than two weeks, I have finished three and started the fourth.

In general, I don’t like to read much about fiction books before I buy them.  I want to know if they are mostly well reviewed and if people that I know liked them.  I have heard a lot of good press about The Magicians.  It is often compared to Harry Potter.  (Probably unfairly to both books.)  But other than that I did not know anything about it.

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Each month Amazon has sale of 100 Kindle Books that are offered for $3.99 or less.  This sale will last for the whole month of April.

The only book on this list that Bookwi.se has reviewed is Brennan Manning’s memoir All is Grace.  It is highly recommended.

Click through to see the list.   Continue Reading…