Book Reviews – Page 146

The Stephanies by Lexi and Kevin Hendricks

November 7, 2012 by Adam Shields

Summary: A cute early reader books about two girls that do not like one another because both of them are named Stephanie.

One of the things I have most enjoyed about book blogging is getting to know authors (at least on line) over time.

Kevin Hendricks and I met online after I read his book Addition by Adoption. Over the past couple years I helped format two of his books for ebook release (Open Our Eyes and Outspoken: Conversations about Church Communication)

This summer Kevin and his 6 year old daughter wrote a book together. Kevin used a Kickstarter Campaign to get the book published and yesterday the book officially launched.

The Stephanies is a early reader book about two girls that do not like one another because they both have the same name. Over time they figure out how to be friends. I picked up the kindle version, but I think I am also going to buy the Color Your Own version so I can read it with my nieces and let them color it as well.

Nearing Home: Life, Faith and Finishing Well by Billy Graham

November 7, 2012 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Old age is hard, but part of life, and part of God’s plan.

Billy Graham has a distinctive clear style of writing and his latest book (published at 93 years old) is still the same. As with every one of his books, there is a clear presentation of the plan of salvation. But this book is written for a particular audience, and at 38, I am not it.

Nearing Home is written primarily for those that are 50 or 60 years old and above. Some of it is basic advice as for those that are aging (have a will, make plans for your health care, talk to your heirs about your wishes, etc.). Much of the book is spiritual and relational advice.

Why Be Catholic by Richard Rohr

November 6, 2012 by Adam Shields

Summary: A series of lectures on the state of the Catholic Church that was later turned into a book.

Over the past several months I have been reading about Catholicism (see below for other reviews). Many of the book have been written by Evangelicals that have converted to Catholicism. I chose several of them precisely because I knew that they would write with language that I as an Evangelical would mostly understand.

But it is time to start reading more widely and I want to start reading more books written by Catholics to other Catholics. I picked this audiobook up on a whim from Audible because I had a couple dollars of promotional credit and it was on sale.

It is not actually a book. It is a series of lectures that was later turned into a book. It is not new either. The lectures were given in 1985 during lent. It sounds like they were given in a church basement to a small group of people that are concerned about their church (although the audio of Rohr is very clear). On the whole this does not feel all that dated. There are a few things that let you know that these are almost 30 years old. But most of the issues are probably pretty similar.

What I always find most encouraging is that many of the poor assumptions about Catholics that Evangelicals have disappear quickly when you actually listen to people like Rohr. This is a man that is in love with Christ, that wants to see the world evangelized that is charitable in his opinions of other Christians and has a real heart for the church. He opens each lecture with a prayer, prayers that would be very comfortable and familiar to Evangelicals.

Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me by Karen Swallow Prior

November 5, 2012 by Adam Shields

I love books. I love people that love books. I love books about books by people that love books.

Karen Swallow Prior is an English Professor, writer, and essayist. She has written a memoir highlighting the books (and poems) that have changed her life and made her who she is today.

Each chapter highlight a book and then uses that book to help tell the story of her life. Sometimes the book helps her to learn, sometimes the book helps her to explain. But in each case, it is her as a reader that comes through.

Spirit of Love: A Trinitarian Theology of Grace by Amos Yong

November 2, 2012 by Adam Shields

Some authors really do bring a different and fresh perspective on things. Amos Yong is one of those authors. He wrote a good book on the Books of Acts in comparison to the book of Luke, focusing on how the Holy Spirit empowers us to do some of the things that Christ did while on … Read more

Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

November 1, 2012 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: The common conception of the book has nothing to do with what is really in the book.

So here is what is probably most interesting about reading ‘The Modern Prometheus’, almost nothing that I thought I knew about the story line is actually in the book. Many stories we primarily know through movie adaptations and not the book itself. That is not unusual. But the fact that almost all of the central features of the cultural understanding of the book are not in the book is fascinating.

Igor, lightning, the slow walk, the arms raised, pretty much all the features about the monster are all wrong. Not even wrong, it is the opposite of the book. The monster was brilliant, well spoken, desired only to love and be loved. Even the name is wrong. Frankenstein is the name of the Doctor, the monster is never named (I did actually know that part before reading the book.)

When I talked about the book with some friends there are pretty different opinions of it. My sister in law loves the book. She is a scientist and talked about it as part of a discussion about medical and scientific ethics.

Glock: The Rise of America’s Gun by Paul Barrett

October 30, 2012 by All Old Users

Fascinating. I started with only a pop-cultural familiarity with the Glock line, mostly from movies.

The narratives I found particularly interesting involved the humble beginnings of Gaston Glock, his unlikely entry into the gun industry, and his company’s ingenious (and often simply lucky) marketing techniques in the US during the 80s and 90s.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: A George Smiley Novel by John le CarrÃ©

October 29, 2012 by Adam Shields

Summary: A spy forced into retirement comes back to ferret out a mole.

George Smiley is the anti-Bond. The author, John le CarrÃ©, was actually a British spy, actively working when he first started writing. And these books have a realism to them that is not present in the Bond books.

Smiley is middle aged, a little overweight, kind of short. He is not sleeping around, it is actually his wife that is having the affair.

Smiley was forced into early retirement after the head of the department (or Circus in the parlance of the book) was killed. But something isn’t right and Smiley has felt it. When a missing spy that was believed to be turned to the Soviet side turns up asking for help, Smiley knows he can’t ignore it any more. And so begins a winding, often confusing book.

From Willow Creek to Sacred Heart by Chris Haw

October 26, 2012 by Adam Shields

Summary: From cradle Catholic to Willow Creek to radical servant to Sacred Heart.

Over the past couple of months I have been reading a good bit about Catholicism, mostly a mix of theology and conversion stories.

From Willow Creek to Sacred Heart: Rekindling My Love for Catholicism is a mix of the two. The first half is is the story of how Chris Haw was born and raised Catholic, but then moved to Willow Christ as an early teen. Haw went to Eastern College and became connected with Shane Claiborne. (They co-authored Jesus for President.)

Part of the story here is a fairly radical ‘conversion’ to work with the poor. In some ways this may be more offensive to some than his later conversion back to Catholicism.

Haw, with his wife Cassie, moved to Camden, NJ. He worked first as a teacher at the Sacred Heart school and later he refurbished homes and became a writer. His return to Catholicism was gradual and at least in part because he was living across the street from Sacred Heart and working with the church on anti-poverty programs

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

October 23, 2012 by Adam Shields

Summary: A brat of a girl falls into a fantasy world

One of my reading goals this year was to read more old books. Some of these I am re-reading, some I am reading for the first time. If you have a kindle or like to listen to audiobooks, there are tons of free classics available (although of varying quality.)

I picked up about 30 free classic kindle and audiobooks through a promotion (some still available) last month. Jim Dale’s (narrator for Harry Potter) version of Alice in Wonderland. This is both good and bad. Dale is a very good narrator. But some of his voices seems to be the same as some of his Harry Potter voices and that provides a little unintended humor and confusion.

Prior to this I have never read Alice in Wonderland. But I knew the basic story through the many parodies and cartoon remakes. Alice follows a rabbit down a hole. Alice drinks and eats things that make her grown and shrink. She meets the smiling cat that disappears and reappears. And then she meets a pack of playing cards where the Queen keeps crying ‘off with their head’ every few minutes.