Blogger Review Books

This review is by regular contributor Vikki Huisman.

I enjoy Faith Salie’s segments on CBS Sunday Morning and I’ve wanted to catch her on NPR’s “œWait Wait Don’t Tell Me”. I found her to be humorous and original; in that vein I was looking forward to reading her book “œApproval Junkie: Adventures in Caring Too Much”.

Salie shares VERY intimate stories from her past and how her need for approval dominated every area of her life.  I found her to be a combination of insightful and”¦just too much. She’s funny, introspective and very harsh on herself, almost brutal. I hate to use the word “œappropriate” or “œinappropriate” when it comes to a memoir but for me personally, I wish Salie would have left some stories out. The pain over losing her mother to illness is heartbreaking while the story of”¦shall we say a skill her brother taught her”¦were too much for me. Her personal antidotes swing wildly back and forth between serving the book and just flat out vulgar. I can overlook or not be bothered by coarse language or situations if it serves the overall purpose of the book (or film) but in the case of Approval Junkie, these chapters served no purpose.

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Summary: Short, highly readable book that would make a great discussion in a teen or 20/30 something mens group.

The subject of what it means to be a man in the modern world fraught with difficulty.  We mix up ideas of gender, personality, aggression, control, authority, biblical understanding and more.

Rhett Smith, author of the highly recommended book, The Anxious Christian, and a family counselor tackles the concept of manhood in a very readable (and short) book that is perfect for discussion.

I (sort of) participated in an online discussion group about this book that Rhett hosted. (I am horrible with book clubs that reads a book slowly, I want to read it straight through and discuss it).

Rhett said that he intentionally kept the book short so that there would be little reason not to read it.  The shortness makes it great for discussion groups, but has less detail than I would like.

As a man that hates sports, has worked as a nanny, has a degree in social work (a decidedly female leaning profession) I bring some issues into the manliness discussion.  Manliness in a lot of the Evangelical world is more equated with Mixed Martial Arts fighting and uncontrollable lust.

Rhett focuses on what makes a man, fathering, introspection about real issues (depression, anxiety, loneliness, vulnerability, etc.) and the movement into becoming a better man.  I think the method and writing style lends itself to teen and young adult readers, but as someone in the decade of his 40s, I think most men will find value in it.

In many ways, I think older men will get more out of it, if they read it intentionally with one or more people of a younger generation.  Becoming a man is more about mentoring and development, then knowledge or skill.  So no one has achieved a perfect on their ‘man card’.  And part of becoming a man means helping others become a man.

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Takeaway: Lewis really was a gift to the church as a whole.

This year is the 50th anniversary of CS Lewis’ death. So there have been several new books on Lewis.  Alister McGrath’s new biography was excellent. But there were two places where I wanted more from McGrath. One was more about Lewis’ relationship with his two stepsons (Douglas Gresham introduces the book). The other was more about Lewis’ spiritual development, the focus of this book.

The format of A Life Observed is to use a rough outline of Lewis’ two most biographical books, Surprised by Joy and A Grief Observed. Lewis wrote Surprised by joy as a spiritual autobiography. But it only goes through Lewis conversion to Christianity. He lived another 32 years after that. And A Grief Observed is his raw journals after the death of his wife near the very end of his life.

The middle of his life, in between his conversion and his marriage to Joy is really what I wanted most. There is the chapter on the Inklings, Lewis and Tolkien’s literary club and circle of friends. Brown talks about Lewis’ commitment to his local church, not the university church. In passing, it is mentioned that Lewis had a single spiritual director throughout his life, but only in passing.

Brown resists moving beyond what Lewis actually says about himself. And mostly I appreciate that. But it leaves large gaps in the story. Because Lewis did not write a lot about his Christian life, Brown does not write a lot about his Christian life.

But what is here, is very good. This is not simply a retelling of Lewis’ own story. It is an explication of Lewis’ story. There are quotes and referenced to one of Lewis’ books or one of his letters on virtually every page. But it does not feel like quote after quote, it feels like Brown is weaving together the fiction and the non-fiction of Lewis into a whole that more completely reveals Lewis.

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Francine Bryson is a national pie champion and a former finalist on The American Baking Competition. She’s written two cookbooks, “œBlue Ribbon Baking from a Redneck Kitchen” and her recent publication, “œCountry Cooking from a Redneck Kitchen“ which is my most recent review. As my family contemplates a move a little further South in a couple of years, I thought it would be fun to dip my toe into the Southern culinary cuisine.

I spent a sold two weeks deciding which recipe I would try for this review and landed on “œThe Best Fried Chicken You’ll Ever Eat”. My husband is eager for any excuse to use his deep fryer so this had to be the one.

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I read Leeana Tankersley’s first book, “œFound Art” several years ago. I found it to be a fascinating read about life and faith as Tankersley lived in the Middle East with her husband as he served in the US military. Somehow she fell off my radar screen and I missed her second book “œBreathing Room”. I’m glad I didn’t miss her third production, “œBrazen: The Courage to Find the You That’s Been Hiding“.

Tankersley has grown as a writer since “œFound Art”. She’s just as thoughtful and introspective as before but her writing has gotten even better over time. Throughout this latest work, Tankersley seeks to reclaim the word “œbrazen” and return to its original meaning of “œwithout shame”. Women have so many moments in their lives when they silence themselves, attempt to make themselves metaphorically smaller or muffle their own voice.  Bit by bit, Tankersley encourages women to reclaim who they are as a child of God.

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Audible has continued producing new content with A List actors as narrators. The newest release this month is the short (96 pages in print) creepy novel by Henry James, The Turn of the Screw narrated by Emma Thompson.

This is part of the same series that Bookwi.se has reviewed previously, with Colin Firth narrating The End of the Affair, Anne Hathaway narrating The Wizard of Oz, Tim Curry narrating A Christmas Carol and Claire Danes narrating the Handmaid’s Tale. (Links are to my earlier reviews.)

The Turn of the Screw is a story that I have not read. A governess has care of two orphaned children at a country estate. She becomes convinced that an evil presence is lurking in the house stalking the children.

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Takeaway: God is love is not the only important thing in theology, but it may be one of the harder parts of the Christian life to truly accept.

I have a theological bias. I believe that any description of God and the Christian life that does not include God’s love as central to his essence, not just one of his characteristics, is missing the heart of the Christian life.

Yes, the “God is Love” can be and has been misused. But I would much rather move toward the potential over-adoption of God is love than the under-adoption. Going too far is balanced by prevalent themes in scripture. But under adoption of the ‘God is love’ principle fundamentally changes the nature of Christianity. It becomes performance based, rule following, and eventually a self-saving religion that rejects the concept of grace and ceases to be the orthodox Christianity of scripture.

I like to be (and need to be) continually reminded of God’s love of us as fallen, broken humans. David Benner (who I have read previously talking about spiritual direction) has expanded and re-issued a trilogy of books which starts with Surrender to Love.

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Jean Perdu has devoted his life to his floating bookshop, The Literary Apothecary. Perdu has the amazing ability to diagnose his customers’ ailments and correctly prescribe a literary remedy. Although Perdu helps every shopper who frequents his business, he is unable (or unwilling) to read the one thing which will help him cope with decades of grief.

An international best-seller, The Little Paris Bookshop is the 26^th book by German writer, Nina George. George has created a unique premise in the most glorious setting with imaginative characters. Unfortunately, the story stalls halfway through and never regains its momentum. This is a shame; the story starts off very strong and the characters are quite memorable.

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