Adam Shields

4 Kindle Tools You Should Use: Dictionary, Wikipedia, Translation, Content Errors

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Obviously I am a fan of ebooks.  But I am a fan, not just because they are portable, are sometimes cheaper, or because they don’t take up shelf space.  I am a fan of ereaders because of the tools that they bring to reading.

There are three in particular that most ereaders have that everyone should use.

bDictionary – almost every ereader now has a built in dictionary.  For kindle all you need to do is touch the word (on touch screen kindles) or move the cursor to the word on non-touch screen kindles.  That will either pop up a dictionary or bring up an entry along the bottom of the page.  Everyone needs a dictionary at some point, so you might as well get used to using it.  The new Kindle Paperwhite also has a flashcard game that uses the words that use lookup in your dictionary to help teach vocabulary.

Wikipedia – Everyone knows that Wikipedia should not be used to write papers.  But it is a good enough system to give a good overview of almost anything.  On the new Kindles the wikipedia is a tab on the dictionary popup.  So if there is not a good definition in the dictionary then you should try wikipedia.  It is particularly helpful with names and places.

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Is the Reformation Over? An Evangelical Assessment by Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom

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Is the Reformation Over?: An Evangelical Assessment of Contemporary Roman Catholicism

Summary: A very clear and balanced look at how the Evangelical and Catholic churches are moving closer but still have theological issues that hold them apart.

I have read a lot of Catholics (or Evangelicals that have converted to Catholicism) lately.  So Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom’s book is a different take at Catholicism.

There are some great parts of this book and some weaker parts of this book.  The weakest part is the back and forth discussion of the many discussions between Protestant denominations and Catholics.  This was interesting, but repetitive; it seemed to just keep going on and on.  Many of the issues between Protestants and Catholics keep coming up again and again.  However, I do not know a better way to present the data, and it needed to be presented.

The discussion of the Evangelicals and Catholics Together statements were more interesting.  For one, there were a number of interviews with the participants.  These were mostly high profile and interesting people.  I was disappointed that Noll did not speak specifically of his involvement narratively.  (He was one of the original signers.)

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Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism by Molly Worthen

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Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism by Molly Worthen

Takeaway: The strength and weakness of Evangelicalism as a movement is its attachment to culture and it flexibility around authority.

Evangelicalism is my tradition.  I grew up Baptist, often going with a friend to an Evangelical Free Church youth group.  I participated occasionally in Young Life.  I went to Wheaton College and I now attend a non-denominational mega-church.  I am solidly Evangelical.

Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism is a history of modern Evangelicalism. And like hearing about your family as an adult, you hear things you thought you knew about, but from a different perspective than what you thought you understood as a child.

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Playing God: Redeeming the Gift of Power by Andy Crouch

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Takeaway: Power is too important for us as Christians to not think deeply about.

This has been a hard review for me to write.  I finished Playing God nearly three weeks ago now, but have been unable to bring myself to write up the review.

This is an important book, whether you agree with the basic thesis or not.  Power is part of the order of the world.  Some have more power than others, some are given it easily and others struggle with it.  Some use their power wisely and others use it to abuse.  But we all have power.

Andy Crouch suggests that the highest power is creative power.  And the best use of power is creating in a way that empowers others.  This is power in God’s image.  He created us and through that creation gave us the ability use our own power.

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Allegiant by Veronica Roth (Divergent #3)

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Short Review: I wanted to like it more than I did. But not nearly as bad as many of the reviews.

Allegiant is the highly anticipated third book in dystopian trilogy.  Starting with Insurgent and then Divergent, Allegiant tells the story of a post-apocalyptic Chicago.

Five factions (essentially small tribal groups) formerly to ruled the city.  But after Tris and Four released a video at the end of the last book, everyone realizes there is something outside the border, something that is influencing how the factions work.

Tris and Tobias leave the city as part of a larger group to find out what is outside the city.

Early reviews of Allegiant have not been good.  As I started writing this review on Friday the 25th, just 3 days after it was released there are already 746 reviews on Amazon, 300 of them are 1 star reviews. (Monday morning the 28th, 6 days after released there were 1311 reviews with only 502 of them being 4 or 5 stars.) The fans that have been waiting more than 18 months for this third installment are not happy.

I think some of the criticism is valid.  The beginning was a bit rough.  It took me a good quarter of the book to get into the real groove of the story and be invested in the characters again.

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Ender’s Game Alive (Full Cast Audioplay)

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Summary: Interesting as a new version of the classic, but not as good as the full book.

I am not an objective listener to Ender’s Game Alive.  I have read Ender’s Game more than any other books (I would guess around a dozen or so times.)  I usually say it is my all time favorite book.

So when Orson Scott Card started promoting a full cast audioplay (an old fashioned radio drama) I picked it up. (Of course it was timed to release right before the new Ender’s Game movie which released Nov 1.)  Orson Scott Card got his start writing as a playwright.  And as a stand alone play, it is well done.

Stefan Rudnicki (who is my favorite narrator) performed and produced the audioplay.  So he was a familiar voice (he narrators and produces almost all of Orson Scott Card’s audiobooks.)  And there are very good (and familiar) other voices that are a part of the audioplay.  The production values are very good, this is just like the best of the old fashioned radio plays.

But there were two things apparent to me almost immediately.  First, this is a book that is mostly about children. But all of the voices were adult.  I don’t know what I expected.  It is not something that I thought was odd when I have listened to the regular audiobook or other children’s audiobooks.  But audiobooks are narrated by one or two voices and I don’t have an expectation of hearing children’s voices.

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The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield and the Wesleys by Mark Noll

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The Rise of Evangelicalism: The Age of Edwards, Whitefield and the Wesleys by Mark NollTakeaway: Evangelicalism seems to keep having the same battles while trying to achieve the same successes.

I try to read pretty much anything that Mark Noll writes that I come across.  So when Intervarsity Press re-released this series in paperback and offered me a copy to review I picked it up.  The Rise of Evangelicalism is the first of a four book series by various authors.

The early history of Evangelicalism is not unknown to me.  I have read a number of accounts (primarily through biographies or brief retellings as part of other arguments.)  But reading all of in together focused on telling the whole story several things rise to the top.

First, the initial revivalism that gave rise to the movement of Evangelicalism was led by very young men (primarily it was men that were the preachers and leaders, but the movement used the religious power of women to influence families and communities to a great extent.)  Whitefield, Edwards and the Wesleys were all 30 or less when they were getting started (except for John who was a little older, but still single.)  Whitefield traveled throughout the US on a ten month revival tour when he was just 26.  Edwards was about the same age when revival broke out in his church.

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The Sword of Six Worlds by Matt Mikalatos

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Reposting the review of The Sword of Six Worlds because the the kindle edition is on sale for $2.99

The Sword of Six Worlds (The Adventures of Validus Smith)

Summary: A girl discovers she is the protector (Paladin) of Earth and other worlds need her to save them.

Hello, my name is Adam and I like to read children’s and young adult literature.  (Hi Adam).

Lots of adults read children’s books.  I saw one number that suggested nearly 80% of children’s and young adult books were purchased by adults. (Of course it is the adults that have most of the money, so this is not incredibly surprising.)

Most adults that I know that like reading kids books have told me that they read because they still love the classic kids books that they read as children.

The Chronicles of Narnia are probably the most frequently cited books that sparked a desire for kids to become readers. (Followed and maybe now surpassed by Harry Potter).

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