Adam Shields

The Niebuhr Brothers for Armchair Theologians by Scott Paeth

July 15, 2026November 5, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: A short book that felt longer than it was because it felt like a book report.

I like the idea of introduction books. Short books that are able to give an introduction to an idea or a person can be very helpful, but also very hard to write.

I have read a number both the Armchair Theologian books and the Oxford Very Short Introduction Series. They are a very mixed bag. The best of the Armchair Theologian series that I have read is the book on Aquinas by Timothy Mark Renick.

This book by Scott Paeth is definitely on the weaker side. I am still glad I read it because I did not know much about the biography or context of the Niebuhr brothers. Their context and history is important to their writing. I have read at least one book by each of the brothers. So I was not coming into the book blind.

The Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker

July 15, 2026November 4, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: An arson on a remote (and illegal) genetically modified research farm leads to a crisis. And it might be related to a potential new investment by a large winemaker. Bruno as chief of police and lover of his small town seeks to preserve the community.

Martin Walker has created a small French village and a cast of characters that feel to me like a French version of Wendell Berry’s fiction, but with a modern thriller twist.

The Dark Vineyard is the second in the series and included all that I loved about the first. It is as much about the setting and the long descriptions of life in the French countryside as it is about the mystery. And that is what most of the complaints are about in the Amazon reviews.

This is not a fast book. But it is a delicious one, both in literary description and its description of all of the food and wine consumed. It is a book that seems to have been written with the slow food movement in mind.

Christians followers of the “˜slow church’ movement or those that are rediscovering the parish concept might also enjoy this series as an illustration of the value of slowing down and valuing the local.

Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship and Direction

November 3, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: A guide for giving and receiving Spiritual Direction.

I have been interesting the concept of spiritual direction for several months now. As with many things I need to read through a number of books and spend a lot of time thinking through things before I am really ready to move further. ~~So I still have not actually found a spiritual director yet.~~ (I have been going to a spiritual director for about a year now.)

But I am getting closer to understanding what Spiritual Direction is all about. For David Benner, spiritual direction is mostly about prayer. The Spiritual Director is praying for and helping the person receiving the spiritual direction to pray and connect more fully to God.

Benner is a counselor. So he spends some time differentiating Spiritual Direction from counseling.

Most Read Bookwi.se Reviews in October

November 2, 2014 by Adam Shields

This month I am a bit broader and including my reviews of the Kindle Unlimited after Three Months and the new Kindle Voyager and Kindle Basic Touchscreen since by page views, they were among the most read reviews of the month. The most read reviews at Bookwi.se: Discovering Your Heart with the Flag Page Test … Read more

Click-Clack the Raddlebag by Neil Gaiman

July 16, 2026October 30, 2014 by Adam Shields

Note: Neil Gaiman has been accused of sexual assault and abuse. I am a big fan of Neil Gaiman. I like his writing style, the sense of wonder that he brings into books and his literate references. But he has a dark, but romantic side. So nothing ends quite as you think it will, but most … Read more

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

July 27, 2026October 29, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: The children’s classic story about running away, living in a museum and solving a great mystery all the while finding the important things in life.

Children’s books are great for adults to read occasionally. In addition, to just being a change of pace, I find that the simple straight forward stories get to the essence of so many things. Children’s book don’t have to have multi-layered plots with anti-heroes or twists and turns.

Instead children’s books tell simple stories that often do a great job of getting to root meanings of life.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler is one of the classics that I think has held up fairly well. Claudia, a 12 year-old oldest child that feels like she is underappreciated by her parents and decides to run away. Her younger brother, Jamie, comes with her mostly for the adventure. Most kids would identify with one or both of these reasons for running away.

For Calvinism by Michael Horton

July 15, 2026October 27, 2014 by Adam Shields

Reposting this 2011 review because the Kindle Edition is on sale for $2.99 Summary: A moderate Calvinism explained. One of the comments on the review of Against Calvinism, objected to the title. I noted in the review that Olson was not objecting to Calvinism as a whole, but particular extremes within Calvinism. Well Michael Horton, … Read more

The Good and Beautiful Life by James Bryan Smith

July 15, 2026October 27, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: We are saved by grace but by grow by discipline.

I am very supportive of the Spiritual Formation work of James Bryan Smith and his mentors Dallas Willard and Richard Foster. Theologically I really do agree that a theology or spiritual practice that focuses on conversion but stops there without leading into the grace that is spiritual formation is a crippled faith.

The difficult work of spiritual work is not a straight line or the easily transferable from one person to another through ‘five simple steps to…’ types of writing.

The most important thing that I got out of the book is that Smith talked about becoming wise, not creating rules. Rules bind people, but wisdom frees people to act with the other in mind.

As I was thinking about this book I kept thinking about those that I think of as both wise and holy. I realized that all of them are old. One of the problems of a youth obsessed culture is discounting the wisdom of our elders. And one of the most important parts of that wisdom is that there are no short cuts.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

February 15, 2024October 24, 2014 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: The classic 1973 book, which was made into the 1987 movie, is still worth reading.

Like most of my generation and later, I was introduced to the movie before the book. The book was written the year I was born. And the movie came out when I was 14. So, the characters have always been the movie characters in my head.

I first read the book pretty soon after the movie came out. I expected a movie novelization, but while the movie was closely based on the book, it was clearly not a novelization. I remember it as a book where I literally laughed out loud often at the time.

I have not read it since but have maintained my appreciation of the book and movie. I usually watch at least a few minutes of the movie every time I notice it is on TV.

I do not always want to re-read books that I have fond memories of. I have re-read too many books that do not hold up on a second or third reading, a decade or two later. That is probably true here, although I still really enjoyed the book (it just felt a bit too long.)

The book jokes that it is an abridgment of a classic novel and William Goldman puts himself into the book and makes lots of comments about why he is abridging a section. But also the “˜original author’ S Morgenstern also is continually making aside comments as well.

Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan

July 15, 2026October 24, 2014 by Adam Shields

Summary: Funny, but read more like a series of jokes than a cohesive book.

I am not sure who introduced me to Jim Gaffigan, but I thank whoever it was. I have a tendency to be a bit overly serious and so I have to be intentional about adding humor into my world. Jim Gaffigan is my favorite stand up comic right now.

I read his Dad is Fat right after it came out last year, and bought the audiobook of Food: A Love Story on Tuesday, the day it came out.

If you are going to read a comic’s book, you should get the audiobook if they are narrating. Comics understand delivery, even if they are not professional narrators. There were a few places were it was clear that Gaffigan was reading, but most of the time the delivery was good and more similar to a stand up show than a narrated book.

That is also part of why I did not enjoy the book (and Dad is Fat) as much as I thought I would. Yes, there were lots of funny moments. And I still definitely recommend it if you are a Gaffigan fan.