Book Reviews

Takeaway: An example of what one person, with help, can do to change the world.

Paul Farmer is one of the heroes of the modern medical world.  A man of boundless energy, he started his Haitian medical clinic while in medical school (flying back and forth between Boston and Haiti).

Over time the work expanded and Farmer has become known as much for his work with AIDS and TB in Peru and Russia as his original work as a doctor in Haiti.

The early parts of the book read almost like Hagiography because of the author’s, Tracy Kidder, devotion to Farmer. But this was not a short term relationship between Farmer and Kidder. Kidder knew Farmer for over a decade when he wrote the book and they spent a lot of time together.

So Kidder is a character in the book and the later parts of the book where he is writing about things he directly observed are better written, more balanced and nuanced.

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Yesterday, I posted part one of my recommendations for summer beach reads.  Today is part two of great fiction beach reads.  Thursday I will post great non-fiction beach reads.  And Friday I will post about books that are not out yet that look to be good summer reads.

Be sure to leave some of your own suggestions in the comments.

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger – Bookwi.se Review

546 pages, 1797 of 2474 reviews are 4 or 5-star

The Time Traveler’s Wife is one of my favorite novels ever.  You may have seen the movie.  The movie is fine, but a great example of a movie that gets the basic story right, but misses all of what makes the book great.

The story is about a man that spontaneously time travels.  And the woman who will eventually become his wife.  When they first meet she is 6 and he is 38.  When he first meets her she is 21 and he is 26.  This is a great book.

This is a book that is only available as paperback or audiobook (the author is opposed to ebooks)

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell – Bookwi.se Review

335 pages, 142 of 156 reviews are 4 or 5-star

I am a fan of good young adult novels.  A good young adult novel can encourage teens to look at things differently, can encourage adults to remember their youth and can encourage everyone to dream of what can be.

Eleanor and Park is set in the mid 1980s, when I was a teen.  Eleanor is poor and abused by her mother’s boyfriend.  Park is the only (half) Asian kid in a small Iowa town.  Neither is what you would call ‘cool’.  But together they forge an unlikely friendship and eventually a romance.  It is one of the better young adult novels I have read in a while. (Still has sex and language and is not for all young adults themselves.)

Wool Omnibus by Hugh Howey – Bookwi.se Review (part 1, part 2)

550 pages, 5107 of 5426 reviews are 4 or 5-star, Lending Enabled, Audiobook is discounted to $1.99 with purchase of Kindle Book 

Wool is an independent author’s phenomenon.  It is not at the number of sales of the 50 Shades series.  But 50 Shades really took off once it was picked up by a major publisher.

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Summary: Short Introduction to the Trinity.

Last week RC Sproul and his publisher (Reformation Trust) released the entire Crucial Questions series for free on kindle (list and links here.)

I have read Sproul’s Holiness of God and ,with a few reservations, thought it was good. But that has been the only of Sproul’s books I have read.

I read this introduction to the Trinity in bed after my wife had gone to sleep.  It is not long (63 pages) and even then it felt shorter.

But Sproul included a lot of content in that short book.  He looks at what the Trinity is not, by looking at some of the Christian heresies that forced the church to clarify it teaching.

Sproul made a distinction between paradox, mysteries and irrationality and concludes that the Trinity is not a paradox or irrationality but a mystery. (A more complete look at this idea is in the very good book Mystery of God.)

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Summer is a traditional time for reading.  Vacations, beach, pool all give us time to relax, unwind and read.

I have three posts of books so far (Fiction Part 1, Fiction Part 2 and Non-fiction).

Below I have listed books that I have read, a short description, a link to my review and an Amazon link.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – Bookwi.se Review

384 pages, 1603 of 1830 reviews are 4 or 5-star

Ready Player One is a great science fiction book for people that do not normally like science fiction.  It is set in 2044 when the whole world spends most of their lives in an immersive internet, the Oasis.  The real world is falling apart, but what everyone is interested in is the finding the puzzle in the Oasis, while will give the winner ownership of the Oasis.

Wade (online name Percival) is 18, an orphan and in poverty.  The race to win the Oasis is his only chance to make something of himself.  This was recommended to me first by my sister in law (not a science fiction fan) and later my wife really enjoyed it (also not a science fiction fan).  I have read both on kindle and listened on audiobook.  I recommend both.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett – Bookwi.se Review

352 pages, 544 of 826 reviews are 4 or 5-star

I love beautiful lyrical writing.  Patchett knows how to do that.  This is a story that from the beginning you know is going to end badly.  A number of dignitaries are taken hostage by revolutionaries in a fictional South American country.  The story progresses as one woman and 57 men are held for a long time.  People on both sides begin to see one another as human.  But they are stuck in a situation where there is no good way out.  It is a tradegy (and reading by the beach can help offset the sadness).  But there is also several love stories and wonderful insights into the human condition.  (I originally listened to this on audiobook and the narration is excellent.)

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green – Bookwi.se Review

337 pages, 3114 of 3319 reviews are 4 or 5-star

This book was on a number best books of 2012 lists.  It is a young adult novel.  It is about two teens with cancer that fall in love.  I have finished almost 90 books so far this year and it is the best fiction book I have read this year.  I am planning on re-reading it this summer. (I originally listened to this on audiobook and the narration is excellent.)

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Summary: The final of the second series.

Hugh Howey is an independent author phenomenon.  Most authors do not make $15-20,000 a month and decide to turn down a 7 figure advance on a book contract after selling the rights to their books to Ridley Scott.

But Hugh Howey, after a little over a year gets an article in the Wall Street Journal about his writing/marketing prowess.

Third Shift (Pact) follows the same basic mold.  This is the third (and last) of this second series.  Donald (who was sort of tricked into working in the Silo initiative) is again woken up to deal with a problem.

And Solo’s back story is finally revealed.

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Summary: A young woman recounts her affair with the Dean of Starbridge.

One of the things I have enjoyed about reading the Church of England series is learning more about the actual Church of England.  A Dean of a Cathedral is essentially the pastor of the Cathedral.  In Scandalous Risks, Neville (Stephen) Aysgarth has risen from his role of Arch Deacon (assistant to the Bishop that oversees a geographical area of Churches) to the Dean of the Cathedral.

As Dean of one of the most prominent (fictional) Cathedrals in England Neville has risen to become one of the most powerful clergy in the Church of England.  Unfortunately for him, the Bishop of Starbridge is now Charles Ashworth, Neville’s conservative rival.

But Scandalous Risks is not simply a continuation of Ultimate Prizes (#3). It is narrated by Venetia Flaxton.  Young Venetia is 26, wandering around trying to find purpose in life.  Her best friend, Primrose (daughter of Neville) draws her to Starbridge and Venetia finds a number of friends, a job working for the Bishop and eventually an affair with the Dean (Neville).

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Takeaway: Erickson focuses on how to disagree well and evaluate different Christian positions. 

As I have been reading about the trinity over the past two years I have realized that it is actually fairly small questions that are at the root of the big debates.

This makes sense because Christians agree about the vast majority of Christian theology. There is very little debate about the fact that the Trinity has three members.  That all three members of the trinity are God. Or that the Trinity is made up of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

But a relatively small debate has gained importance over the last 30-50 years because of another debate within the church, the role of women.

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