Roland March used to be a rising star as a homicide detective, but after a family tragedy knocked the wind out of him, so to speak, he’s lost the respect of his colleagues and been relegated to working the bottom of the barrel cases in his department. Until, that is, he sees some evidence at a crime scene that nobody else catches. Grafted into the investigation, March’s instincts lead him to connect two seemingly unrelated cases—a drug-related murder/kidnapping in the hood and a high-profile missing person case involving the daughter of a megachurch pastor. March and his new partner continue to dig, and he eventually uncovers evidence of internal corruption by his arch-nemesis in another department.
Offsite: 50 Books for Aspiring Seminarians
I always like to glance through book lists. The Christian Humanist Blog has a list of 50 books that an aspiring seminarians might think about reading. I am not sure about the list as a preparation for seminary (in large part because I have only read a handful of the books), but it is a unique list … Read more
Psalms: the Prayerbook of the Bible by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Summary: A (very) short Christological look at the psalms for prayer. About a year ago I re-read Life Together in the new translation. At the time I was interested in moving on to something else and did not really want to read the second book that was included in this volume. So I put it off. I decided … Read more
Camilla by Madeline L’Engle
I am on vacation this week, so this is a ‘best of’ review. Summary: Coming of age novel the way coming of age novels should be written. All about realizing that the world does not revolve around you. The book description on Amazon does not do this book justice. It is a coming of age … Read more
Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer by CS Lewis
Takeaway: There is real value in working through ideas with friends. I picked this up yesterday with some promotional credits from Audible.com. I have wanted to read it for a while, but I have just never gotten around to it. I am reminded how silly publishers are about pricing with this book. Immediately after purchasing … Read more
Assaulted by Joy: the redemption of a cynic by Stephen Simpson
I am on vacation this week. So this is a ‘best of review’. Assaulted by Joy is a good example of what seems to be a new genre of Christian memoir. These are the “how to grow up” books. Maybe this is not a new genre, but rather I am of the age, or just … Read more
Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
Takeaway: It seem a rule of life that great people are also greatly broken people. Steve Jobs is one of the few books that I have read recently that is being widely read by a number of people in my life. I keep asking people what they think about it and while there are a … Read more
On Vacation
I thought I would get a couple more posts in buy I ran out of time. I am now on vacation until April 13. I have some ‘best of’ reviews set to auto-post during the week but no deal or free kindle post because those are time sensitive. See you soon!
A Little Exercise for Young Theologians by Helmut Thielicke
Summary: A classic book of advice for young pastors and theologians.
I have previously read A Little Book for New Theologians: Why and How to Study Theology, which is intentionally an update of Helmut Thielicke’s classic. I saw that the original was on kindle for less than $5 and decided to read the original as well.
A Little Exercise for Young Theologians is short. I read it in two short sittings. Most of the chapters are only 3 or 4 pages long. Much of it is advice of a similar sort to the updated version I had already read. (I would advice reading both, but with some time between.)
Offsite Review: Amazon Kindle Fire HD
I am a regular reader of the Churchm.ag blog. It is a great technology blog focused on church staff and volunteers. I even have posted there once or twice. The owner of Churchm.ag, Eric Dye, reviewed the Amazon Kindle Fire HD that he bought for his daughters. It is a decidedly mixed review, which I … Read more