Book Reviews

Tell It Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers by Eugene H. Peterson

July 16, 2026July 26, 2013 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: If theology was taught like this more often, it would not be such a bad word for so much of the church.

I am a fan of Eugene Peterson. I think he is the best living narrative theologian out there. Others write about narrative theology and using story to communicate the gospel. Peterson writes as a pastor and doesn’t just write about theology, but shows us how to read scripture and how to understand the gospel. He does theology.

Tell it Slant is another in Peterson’s recent series of books. I listened to this one on audio as I have the others. Peterson is best, at least for me, on audio. Grover Gardner is a great narrator and give just the right voice to Peterson.

New Bookwi.se Category – Book and Movie Reviews

July 25, 2013 by Adam Shields

A couple weeks ago Emily Flury (regular contributor at Bookwi.se) suggested a new category for Bookwi.se: Book and Movie Reviews. These reviews will review both the book and the movie adaptation. Or at least compare the way they different mediums tell a similar story. The first official post is tomorrow post about Peter Pan. But … Read more

Westmark by Lloyd Alexander

July 15, 2026July 22, 2013 by Adam Shields

Summary: A young adult coming of age book in a fictional 18th century setting.

Lloyd Alexander is known for his Prydain novels (The High King, Book of Three, etc.), but he has written a number of other books. Some of my favorites were the Westmark series. I read them several times as an early teen and was feeling nostalgic and decided to track them down. They are not available on kindle, so I found an old paperback copy.

Westmark is a fictional monarchy in a world that seems very much like 18th century europe. It is a relatively small kingdom. But it has seen better days. The king, since his daughter disappeared (and presumably died), has become despondent and reclusive. In the eight years she has been gone, one of the king’s advisors has slowly taken over the kingdom and turned it into a tyranny.

The Other Wind by Ursula Le Guin (Earthsea Cycle #6)

July 19, 2013 by Adam Shields

Summary: The final book of the Earthsea Cycle.

Urusula Le Guin is one of the classic authors of young adult fantasy. I read the first three books in this series as a teen, but the later books were not published until I was older. This last book was published 33 years after the first in 2001.

I re-read the first book in the series last year (The Wizard of Earthsea). The last book in the series (The Other Wind) was on sale a while ago and I decided it would be a good beach read.

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

July 15, 2026July 17, 2013 by Adam Shields

Summary: “The World is Not A Wish-Making Factory” (a frequently used line from the book that quite adequately sums up reality.)

The Fault in Our Stars is narrated by Hazel, a 16 year old with cancer. Her cancer is terminal. But she has gained a few years with the help of a (fictional) trial drug that has slowed the growth of the tumors in her lungs. It is only with her ever-present oxygen tank that she still manages to stay alive.

Free by Chris Anderson: a post about the church

July 11, 2013 by Adam Shields

This is one of the first reviews I wrote on what eventually became Bookwi.se. I am reposting it because Noisetrade is giving away the MP3 version of the audiobook. It is also available for free as an ebook or an audiobook from Audible.com (see links below)

I am a fan of Chris Anderson’s writing. I really like his first book “The Long Tail“. This second book is good as well. The central idea is that fundamentally the price point of Free is changing the way that we interact.

He believes that free is the common price on digital good, not because all digital good are free or should be free but that most digital goods will be free and the paid versions will support the free in inverse relationship to goods that have atoms. In other words, free goods in the physical world are supported by paid good in a relationship of around 5% or less free to 95% or more paid.

The Last Battle by CS Lewis (Chronicle of Narnia #7)

July 11, 2013 by Adam Shields

Summary: For many, this is an early introduction to eschatology.

It has been years since I have read the Last Battle (probably close to 25). I know it is a book that I read several times. And it definitely influenced my eschatology (theology of the end times).

Lewis was not universally loved for this book. In fact, there are probably few books that generate more frustration from Evangelical readers than the Last Battle.

Lewis always claimed he was not writing Christian Allegory, but it is pretty hard to resist that claim when Lewis clearly is writing an eschatological story. If you write about the end of the world and where the story ends up in ‘heaven’ then you cannot complain when people treat it as a theological work about eschatology.

Once a Spy by Keith Thomson

July 15, 2026July 6, 2013 by Adam Shields

Once a Spy is today Kindle Daily Deal and on sale for $1.99. Well worth reading at that price.

Takeaway: An original take on the traditional spy novel.

I originally heard about Once A Spy from Books and Culture Magazine podcast and then an article. The premise is too good to pass up.

Drummond Clark, age 64, is a spy and he has advanced stages of early onset Alzheimer’s. This leads to a problem for the spy masters. How much does he know, who will he tell. Enter Charlie, his estranged son that is in debt to a Russian loan shark over some gambling debts.

Charlie has no idea that his father is a spy. He thinks is father is a mediocre sales manager for a mediocre appliance manufacturer. Turns out Drummond Clark is a super spy that would shame James Bond or Jason Borne. It is just that he believes the best spy is one that no one pays attention to and no one remembers. Drummond Clark fits that mold perfectly.

Most Read Reviews in June 2013

July 3, 2013 by Adam Shields

The most read book reviews in June 2013:

From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming

July 15, 2026July 2, 2013 by Adam Shields

Summary: Bond knowingly walks into a trap and still manages to get caught.

Just over a week ago all of the James Bond novels were on sale in kindle format. So I decided to pick up two more. I was frustrated with the last James Bond novel I read, Goldfinger, because it was so cartoonish in its story line.

But I thought maybe an earlier novel will be better. So I borrowed the kindle version of From Russia With Love from Lendle.me and then used promotional Audible credit to get the audiobook.

The story line is that SPECTER, the Russian black ops group, wants to kill a western spy to teach the west a lesson. Bond is the one that is chosen and a young female agent is trained to seduce him and a British turncoat is chosen to kill him.