Book Reviews – Page 160

SuperFreakonomics by Steve Levitt and Stephen Dubner

April 15, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: More unconventional ways of looking at the world around us.

Purchase Links: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook

I like economics. Overall I like this book and the movement of micro-economics and behavioral economics books that was created out of the original Freakenomics (although I think some people need to think of some better titles.)

The method of Freakenomics is to find an issue, then think of a way to look at that issue using mathematical models. The Freakenomics guys and their counterpart research economics that do a lot of the research are creative. They have to be creative, and willing to balk conventional wisdom, to come up with their research ideas. (And hope the mathematical models really explain the reality.)

The Pastor: A Memoir (The Audiobook Review) by Eugene Peterson

April 14, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: On Audio, still the best general book on what it means to be a pastor I have ever read.

Purchase Links: Hardback, Kindle Edition, christianaudio.com MP3 audiobook

I read this immediately after it came out just over a month ago. I wrote a gushing review. Then I was asked if I wanted to review the audiobook as well. At first I thought I would just listen to a little bit of the audiobook and rework the original review a bit. But this is a very good book. And ‘reading’ it twice in less than six weeks is not too much.

Eugene Peterson reads the introduction and afterward himself. So you get a sense of his own voice. But it is narrated by Arthur Morey. His voice is not the same as Peterson, but his reading understands the nature of the book. As with many good narrators you forget the narration and hear the voice of the author, as the authors intends you to hear.

True Grit by Charles Portis

April 13, 2011 by All Old Users

Rating: 5 Stars Purchase Links: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook I think 5 stars should only be given to the best of the best – this is one of those books. True Grit is fantastic. I suspect that the Coen Brothers film adaptation will bring some well-deserved attention to the book, or at least … Read more

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell

April 11, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Sarah Vowell is both one of my favorite narrators and one of my favorite historians. That probably says a lot about me.

Sarah Vowell is a unique historian. She may be the only historian known as much for her unique speaking voice as she is for her writing. She has been a regular on This American Life, the voice of the daughter on the movie The Increadibles and is the author of six books.

So it is her voice (both actually and literary) that will lead you to love or hate her. To get an idea of her actual voice you can watch the book trailer below. But that will really only matter if you want to listen to the audiobook (which I did.)

Hannah Coulter: A Novel by Wendell Berry

April 9, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Progress is not always an improvement. How do you discuss a book like this? It is a beautiful story. Berry knows how to draw you into the world of rural 1930-2001 in a way that makes me almost miss not living it. I have not read anything by Wendell Berry before, but he has … Read more

Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life by Richard Rohr

April 8, 2011 by Adam Shields

Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life Takeaway: Maturing is not a straight line and it does not automatically come with growing old.

Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition (Kindle available now, paperback is a pre-order for April 19, 2011)

Today is my birthday so I thought it appropriate to read and review a book that is primarily about how to age better. I must admit I was a bit put off of this book when I first started. Rohr is a Catholic priest and it took a while for me to sink into his vocabulary and understand how he was using his words.

After I picked it up again a week or so later. I started to see a spirituality that was formed by story in a way somewhat akin to Donald Miller. The 30 page intro is rough going no matter how you look at it. But once you get to the early chapters where Rohr uses the story of Odyssius to explain his point I was hooked.

The Private Prayers of Pope John Paul II: Words of Inspiration

April 7, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: One of the most inaccurate titles ever. Actually a series of letters to lay Christians working around the world.

Purchase Links: Hardcover, Audible.com Audiobook

This is a book that I picked up because it was free on Audible (I think it was given away to commemorate his death.) Obviously I did not get right to it. I stumble across it when looking back through my audio archives.

It is very short, just over 2 hours of audio (did not realize until now that it is an abridged audiobook). The full book is actually a collection of 150 letters (fairly short blog/newsletter length) that were written to the Secular Institutes. My understanding from the introduction is that these are people that live and work in the secular world, but take on vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. Mostly they are lay people (not ordained) and unlike monks or nuns (which are also often not ordained) live alone outside of a community. I had never heard of this status before, but according to Wikipedia, there are about 60,000 people that live as ‘consecrated persons’.

Poke the Box by Seth Godin

April 6, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: More inspiration about how to start something new from whatever position you are in. Godin is about innovation and if we want a strong economy, we need people at all levels that follow through with this book.

Purchase Links: Hardcover, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook

I am a mixed relationship with Seth Godin. On the one hand I think that he is very inspirational, a good writer and has been very good at communicating to a large group of people.

But I have been frustrated with some of his concepts in the past. But there is not a lot controversial in this book. Essentially, the book is giving people permission to start something new, be innovative and ‘poke the box’ to see if there is a better way to accomplish or create something.

That is really all that the book is about. It is worth reading because Godin has the ability to really get at the heart of a matter. Accomplishing something big is about actually starting something, seeing it to the end and learning from failure, then trying something else.

The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card

April 1, 2011 by Adam Shields

Summary Review: Best Card book in years. He is always best when writing about gifted young teens. Purchase Links: Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle Edition, Audible.com Audiobook Over the years I have read many of Orson Scott Cards book (if my count based on wikipedia is right, then this is the 29th book.) Based on my original … Read more

The Gospel According to the Son by Norman Mailer

March 28, 2011 by Adam Shields

Gospel According to the Son, The Summary: 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.