Most Read Reviews in March

First, I want to thank everyone for their patience in the transition from MrShields.com to Bookwi.se.  I made some mistakes and broke the RSS feed for most people for two weeks.  But in spite of the problems, this months traffic will be about 20-25% higher than my best month at MrShields and I have about … Read more

Overdrive Android App

One of the big complaints about electronic media is the lack of support of library systems.  Because libraries lend at no cost and an electronic copy is the same as an original copy, many media (whether music, video or print) have been reluctant to give lending rights.  One of the few players in the electronic library world is OverDrive.  Over the past year they have really expanded their software to allow for much more and much better access.  I reviewed the iPhone app last year.

I thought the iPhone software was ok, but I was using it on an iPad and there was not native iPad app.  Since that original review an iPad app was released.  In addition, you can now check out ebooks, not just audiobooks.  So the iPad can be a fairly basic reader that allows library checkout of books.  The iPad reader is basic, but usable.

For audiobooks, I really prefer using my phone because it is the device that I am more likely to have with me all the time.  So when I bought an android phone a couple months ago I found that Overdrive had an android app.  Primarily, I am interested in the audiobook functions.  The android app also allows for ebook reading, but I already have a kindle account and do not really need ebook library functions (I have literally hundreds of unread books on my kindle account).

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The Gospel According to the Son by Norman Mailer

Gospel According to the Son, TheSummary: A fictional re-telling of the Gospels from the perspective of Jesus. Sort of like Christopher Moore’s book Lamb, but much less funny.

Purchase Links: Hardcover, Paperback, Audible.com Audiobook

I know Norman Mailer only by reputation.  I have not read anything else by him.  The Gospel According to Jesus is fairly short and I thought it would be  interesting to see what a 20th century fictional account would be like.  In many ways, it was much what I expected.  It is a first person account told through the eyes of Jesus.  Mailer is respectful of Jesus as a character but does not seem to think that much of Jesus the actual person.

Fictional accounts of the bible are fraught with difficulty.  If you have heard some of the controversy over The Shack, then you know some of the trouble one can get into when you try to write a fictional account of God.  Mailer was not the first to attempt it and I am sure will not be the last.  I most want to compare this with Christopher Moore’s book Lamb.  Although Lamb was not first person Jesus (it was instead first person from the point of view of Jesus’ childhood friend Biff), it has much the same struggle of Jesus trying to understand who he is, and whether he really is the son of God.

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Pulpit Fiction by Dan Mayhew

Recommendation: Buy this short book of light church humor.  Everyone needs some humor in their weekend. Purchase Links: Kindle Edition, Other Ereaders I am not going to really review this because the author Dan Mayhew is a friend.  I saw on his blog this morning that he published one of his books on Amazon and … Read more

Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years by Diarmaid MacCulloch

Christianity: The First Three Thousand YearsTakeaway: It is hard to discuss 3000 years of history.

Purchase Links: HardbackPaperback,Kindle EditionAudible.com Audiobook (The price has dropped in all formats so it closer to reasonable).

You may have seen the first 8 posts I made about this book (see bottom of review for links).  It is a very good book for the most part, but it was exhausting to post mini reviews and probably more exhausting to read them.  So about half way through I gave up reading the book and gave up writing posts about the book.

After a couple months I have come back and finished up the last 15 hours of the book and am ready to be done.  Not that it was not a very good book, but a book of this length and depth is not one I want to attempt again soon.

I appreciate the goal, placing Christianity in a historical context and then using the tools of history to give understanding to the whole of Christianity.  MacCulloch is not a theologian (or even a practicing Christian.)  But he does have a very wide and deep understanding of Christianity that he pushes to new depths.  In general, I think the goal was a good one.  Too often we want to look at bits and pieces of history and not look at it as a whole.  But with any attempt, there will be weaknesses.  And I think, some of MacCulloch’s tools were one of his weaknesses.  He is a historian and while using the tools of a historian gave some very impressive insights in some areas, his treatment of pre-Christian influences I thought seems needlessly antagonistic toward faith in general.  And unfortunately, that is the very beginning of the book.  Several Amazon reviews said they stopped in the first couple chapters, which is unfortunate.

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RSS problems

I had a problem with the RSS feed.  It seems to have been caught in a loop with the MrShields.com and Bookwi.se but not actually getting the any of the RSS subscribers.  So here are the posts that you may have missed. Book Reviews Night by Elie Wiesel When Two Become One: Enhancing Sexual Intimacy … Read more

When Two Become One: Enhancing Sexual Intimacy in Marriage by Christopher and Rachel McCluskey

When Two Become One: Enhancing Sexual Intimacy in MarriageTakeaway: Sex is too important to ignore and too important to just read about.  We need more mentors for couples.

Purchase Links: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle Edition

My wife and I have been leading a small group for newly married couples for the past seven months.  We are just finishing up 8 weeks of discussion on sex in marriage.

I have read through several books on sex and marriage recently and this is one of the better ones I have read.  That is not to say it is perfect.  I still have yet to find a book that I can strongly recommend on the topic of sex in marriage.

There are several things I like about this book.  One, it has a clinical background.  So there are lots of stories of people seeking help.  And I think that saying that it is OK to seek out help is very important.  Second, there are many Christian books that do not really get into the actual activity of sex.  This book does in an appropriate way.  There are five chapters on the stages of sex (atmosphere, arousal, apex and afterglow).  These five chapters were the meat of the book and what we focused on in our small group.

I do appreciate the attempt at a big picture of what Christian sexuality is all about at the beginning of the book, but I think the book missed it.  Partially the problem is addressing a diverse audience.  You are going to offend or turn off someone no matter what you say, so I think it is hard to address sexuality in modern Evangelical world.  Honestly, I thought Washed and Waiting (an perspective on celibate homosexuality within the church) did a better job talking about the big picture of sexuality.

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Free Books, Paper Ones!

I love my kindle in large part because I do not need shelves for the books.  Part of my commitment to myself when I bought the kindle was to not build up a paper library.  So I give away almost all of my paper books once I have read them.  I also get a few, … Read more

Twice a Spy by Keith Thomson

Takeaway: Spy Thrillers are about the chase. Purchase Links: Hardback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook Twice a Spy is a sequel to Once a Spy, one of my favorite books last year.  The basic premise is that Drummond Clark, a retired appliance salesman, with middle stages of early onset Alzheimer’s, is actually a super spy.  Charlie, his … Read more

3 Free Kindle Books on Money

Some of the books from previous Free Book posts are still available for free. If you want to see all free books as they come out you should follow Books on the Knob on their RSSor Twitter Feed. As always please check to make sure the books are still free before you “œbuy” them, especially from Amazon. Prices can change quickly. … Read more