Book Reviews – Page 161

How to Succeed in Evil by Patrick E McLean

November 10, 2011 by Adam Shields

Summary: Real evil isn’t the villains, it is the accountants/consultants behind the villains

About 6 or 7 years ago I was listening to a lot of independent fiction that was read by the authors. This started with Cory Doctorow but then I found other independent authors that were doing similar things through podiobooks or other sites.

One of the books I remember enjoying was How to Succeed in Evil. But it seemed to be more of a short story/novella than a fully developed book. And I remember looking for the next chapter because it seemed like it just ended. Evidentially, it did just end and McLean or someone else just stopped recording the rest of the book. As I was scrolling through books that were available to borrow on Lendle, I found a kindle version of How to Succeed in Evil. I enjoyed it before, I thought I would figure out how the book ended.

Following Jesus, The Servant King: A Biblical Theology of Convenintal Discipleship by Jonathan Lunde

November 9, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: God is a Covenant God

Up front I want to say, I only read about half of this book. Part of the issue is that I had several other books that were drawing me away either because they were really interesting or I needed to finish them because they were review books.

But part of the other problem with this book it that I had a hard time understanding it. Not because it was badly written (although it was a bit dry), but because it talked about God’s covenant relationship in a way that I just did not have context for. I guess once against I am showing my lack of reformed-ness. Theoretically, I have always understood God as a covenant God and I thought I understood what that meant when others were using that term. But Lunde was using that category in a way I just do not understand.

The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan

November 8, 2011 by Adam Shields

I gave up on this book. I checked it out of the library as an audiobook through the Overdrive system. I really enjoyed the rest of the Percy Jackson series, but this book is clearly filler. Evidentially it was released between books four and five to keep readers happy and interested in the series until the … Read more

I read to be changed

November 5, 2011 by Adam Shields

http://tentblogger.com/steve-jobs-book/ One of the people that has most encouraged me to blog is John Saddington. He has created a whole community of people that encourage one another on various blogging projects. This morning John posted a blog post about how he has been changed by reading the new Steve Jobs bio. This is why I … Read more

Aquinas for Armchair Theologians by Timothy Renick

November 3, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Aquinas is important, an understatement I know.

This is the second book in the Armchair Theologians series that I have read. I like the idea of a series of short books on theologians or important periods. It is a mix between Oxford’s Very Short Introduction series and a Dummies handbook. It actually is pretty intellectually rigorous (or at least Aquinas is) but they are written with the lightness and humor of a dummies book.

christianaudio.com had a sale on the series last week, each book only $5. So I picked up Aquinas. I have also read John Calvin. I liked the Aquinas more than the Calvin book. Aquinas is a bigger philosophical figure, so it it feels more like a intro to philosophy book than a theology book, although it is clear that Aquinas was doing theology and was concerned with issues of understanding and seeking after God.

Renick clearly enjoyed his task of writing a Dummies style book for Aquinas. He makes all kinds of jokes (mostly funny) but probably too many dated pop culture references. This book was written almost 10 years ago, and even then the references were probably a bit dated. (He has two different references to the dog in the show Fraiser.) And glancing around at other reviews, it seems that people either liked or hated the humor.

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

October 31, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Protection from terrorism means protection of freedoms

Little Brother is classic Cory Doctorow. Doctorow is a science fiction writer/free speech advocate/teacher/activist. He has has worked for the Electronic Freedom Foundation, is one of the founders of Boing Boing. I have read several of his science fiction books and short stories. Doctorow is known for his advocacy of free. He has all of his books available for free download if you want to read it electronically. I see now that he allows donations for the free books. I disagreed with his earlier stance of not accepting donation because he wanted people to buy paper copies. I, and many others, don’t want paper copies, we want digital copies and he had no way to accept income from people that wanted to support his writing. He also protested against Amazon’s DRM scheme and refused to allow his books on Amazon, but has relented now that Amazon allows for DRM free versions of books if the authors choose.

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

October 21, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: A dark fairytale where a mouse can be as important as a knight.

As I get older and start reading children’s books, not just for my own pleasure, but also I am thinking about what I will be able to recommend and when to my nieces, I am increasingly wondering what is really appropriate for children. The answer has to be at least in part, it depends on the child. Different children are affected by different things, different children have different personal experiences, and different children emotionally process books differently.

So I read and basically enjoyed the Leminy Snickett books, they were very dark but they were funny and I can understand why they were popular. I have read Harry Potter and understand why parents let children read the first three but make them wait until they are older to read the next four.

Together in Prayer: Coming to God in Community by Andrew Wheeler

October 20, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Small group prayer is fundamentally different than individual prayer or pastoral prayers.

Prayer is an important part of the growth of any Christian. Small groups or community groups are a significant part of the discipleship strategy within most churches. Unfortunately, prayer within small groups is not usually given the attention that it needs.

Prayer, more than most spiritual disciplines is something that is caught more than taught. Most people learn to pray either as small children at bed time or by listening to pastors or other church leaders pray in large group setting. Neither of these two styles of prayer lends itself a small group setting well.

An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L’Engle

October 18, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Interesting how preconceptions affect the reading of a story.

It is odd to read a book for the first time as an adult, when you started the series as a pre-teen. Like Many Waters, this has a very different feel from the first three books of the series. It is actually the fifth book of the Wrinkle in Time Series and the fourth book in the Polly O’Keefe series.

Time is erratic in L’Engle’s books. The books in both series cannot easily be pinned down to a particular time or even easily be pinned down to fit into one another.

Against Calvinism by Roger Olson

October 17, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: This might better be called ‘Against a strong version of TULIP’

Against Calvinism is part of a two book series that try to present the arguments For Calvinism (my review) and Against Calvinism with as much grace and humility possible. Roger Olson (Against) and Michael Horton (For) introduce one another’s books and it seems have reviewed and commented on each other’s books before publication. I appreciate Horton’s introduction to this book that affirms Olson’s Christianity and good faith and the attempt to bring more light than heat to the discussion. (I also have For Calvinism and will post the review once I finish it.)

Olson takes a specific tack in this book, not to argue against Calvinism as a whole (he affirms many parts of Calvinism) but to argue against particular interpretation of Calvinism that he call ‘High Calvinism’. This is very strong view of the set of ideas that are detailed in the acronym TULIP. After an introduction about the purpose of the book and a fairly long chapter on the diversity within the Reformed church, Olson works through each of the parts of TULIP and shows why he believes that the system is not the best method of understanding God and God’s work in the lives of Christian. This leads to a lot of repetition; this book could easily have been 50 to 80 pages shorter and probably would have been a better book.