Adam Shields

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.

First Person Narrative in Books and Movies

July 6, 2013 by Adam Shields

I am not a movie reviewer. I am a not an expert in literature. I read books and what I enjoy, I enjoy. What I do not like, I do not like. Sometimes I know why, sometimes I do not.

This week I decided to watch the movie Remains of the Day because I wanted to compare it with the book. I enjoyed the book and I knew I had previously enjoyed the movie when it came out. But I wanted a closer comparison (since it has been almost 20 years since the movie was released.)

My short description is that the movie sucked. It was slow, boring and lost most of the power of the book because it rejected the intentional first person narrative style of the book. I know lots of people do not like first person narrative in books. And in movies, first person narrative is difficult unless the character directly engages with the camera or there is a lot of voice over.

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.

The Art of Letting Go: Living the Wisdom of St Francis

July 1, 2013 by Adam Shields

Summary: Series of lectures on spiritual development.

Over the last couple months I have come to the conclusion that Evangelicals (of whom I am one) are good at sharing the gospel and keeping the importance of conversion squarely in their sights.

But I have also come to see that groups that assume the large scale Christianity of their communities (those that have been state churches) have done much more thinking about how to live as a Christian.

It is cliche (and I think at least partially true) that Evangelicals are interested in you up until your conversion. After that I think we fall into the Paul problem of continuing to feed one another spiritual milk. We are still trying to save one another. But I think those that theologically are more oriented toward infant baptism and Christendom have thought more about living as a Christian. (The negative for them is that they also now need to evangelize their own as Christendom has broken down.)

Hungry for God: Hearing God’s Voice in the Ordinary and Everyday by Margaret Feinberg

July 16, 2026June 28, 2013 by Adam Shields

Hungry for God: Hearing God's Voice in the Ordinary and the Everyday

So how do you review a book that you were supposed to review 2 years ago? I received a copy of the book from Amazon with my first Amazon Vine review. And I put it aside to read later. (It is one of my problems that I tend to have a problem getting to actual physical paper books that I am supposed to review. I am much better about reviewing books if I have a kindle version.)

Eventually I gave away the paperback and bought a kindle version when it was on sale. But it still took me over a year to read it.

And once I have read it? It is a perfectly good book. It is short, well written and about hearing from God and orienting yourself to hear from God.

It is good. There isn’t anything particularly original about it. There are lots of books that are essentially about spiritual disciplines, trying to focus on God, in the end, how to be a Christian.

Offsite: 14 Books Becoming Movies

June 27, 2013 by Adam Shields

Obviously I am a fan of books. But I am also a fan of books being made into movies. In part because I like to see things from a different perspective. I love listening to musical covers. I prefer re-reading books in either audio or print (the opposite of whatever I read the first time.) … Read more

Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

August 23, 2025June 27, 2013 by Adam Shields

Summary: Good writing, mixed storyline.

I picked up the audiobook of Where’d You Go, Bernadette from the library because I thought it has been nominated for an Audie Award.(It was not, I was thinking of Beautiful Ruins).

I am very mixed on the book. Where’d You Go, Bernadette is a satire about the problems up the top 1% in Seattle. The problem is that it fails as satire.

As a story it isn’t bad. But the attempt at satire pushed the characters into a place where they were unlikable for much of the book. Bernadette is an architect, former winner of a MacArthur Genius Grant, wife and mother of Bee. Elgin, her husband, is a genius in his own right. Microsoft bought out his company 20 years ago and he is now the head of a big robotics research project and fully invested in the Seattle lifestyle.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

July 15, 2026June 24, 2013 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Fairytales are important, especially for adults.

We need more fairy tales in the world. And I don’t mean either vampire paranormal tales or moralistic children’s stories. I mean stories that show the world we see as part of a greater world. Stories that get at the real meaning of life. Stories that you can lose yourself in. There are lots of great authors, but few people that write fairy tales.

Gaiman is the best modern fairytale writer that I know of. The Ocean at the End of the Lane is either my second or third most favorite book by Gaiman. I think Stardust is his best (also a great fairy tale for adults). And this vies with Neverwhere as his second best book.

Offsite Review: Words for Readers and Writers: Spirit-Pooled Dialogues

June 22, 2013 by Adam Shields

I am a big fan of beautifully written words. It is not just a good story, good stories are important and necessary for good fiction. But there is something else about the richly written phrase. Carolyn Weber is one of the masters of this craft.

James Matichuk has a review of Word for Readers and Writer: Spirit-Pooled Dialogues by Larry Woiwode that evokes the kind of love I have for Weber’s writing. Looks like a book worth picking up.

When I picked up Word for Readers and Writers: Spirit-Pooled Dialogues I had no idea who Larry Woiwode was. I had read his bio and knew he was an award winning novelist (William Faulkner Foundation Award, John DosPassos Prize, plus a finalist for the National Book Award and Book Critics Circle Award), recipient of the Medal of Merit from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Poet Laureate for the state of North Dakota since 1995. But I had not read any of his works, much less heard of them until I picked up this book.

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