Despite being modern classics beloved by children, laymen adults, and critics alike, the Chronicles of Narnia are admittedly somewhat of a literary hodge-podge. Or so most believed. Many have attempted to build a comprehensive interpretive framework for them, but none have received wide acceptance. Michael Ward, Oxford scholar and C.S. Lewis aficionado, presents his own framework, arguing that the classic Ptolemaic solar system (not the modern Copernican) holds the key to understanding the series. Ward’s research of the Chronicles and its author is impressively extensive. He shows how Lewis was steeped in the cosmological mythology of medieval literature, and he illustrates the heavy influence wielded by a particular planet throughout each book.
Old Man’s War is the January Sword and Laser Book Club Pick
In a previous iteration of my life I spend a lot of time listening to podcasts and one of my favorite was the CNet’s Buzz Out Loud. When I was listening to it Tom, Molly and Veronica were the main hosts. Since then Tom Merritt has spun off his own show on the TWiT network, Tech News Today and Veronica Belmont is the co-host of Tekzilla on Revision3 network.
For the past several years Tom and Veronica have co-hosted a Science Fiction and Fantasy book club podcast, Sword and Laser.
This month they are discussing The Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. Bookwi.se reviewed the Old Man’s War last fall and I know a few people have read it since then. You might find the book club discussion interesting.
Offsite Review: The Best Question Ever by Andy Stanley
Seems like a good book to read at the beginning of the year when people are making resolutions.
We all face difficult decisions. We also carry regrets from bad choices (i.e. buyer’s regret, relationships gone sour, a poor business decision or watching the Spice Girls movie). Most of these poor choices could have been avoided if we asked ourselves the right question.
When facing important decisions, Andy Stanley, author and pastor of the second biggest church in America (when you’re second you try harder), contends that he has the best question ever for you to ask yourself. Taking Paul’s warning in Ephesians 5:15-17 to not be foolish, Stanley posits that when we are faced with difficult circumstances, we should ask ourselves, “œWhat is the wise thing to do?” This is the Best. Question. Ever.
Andrew Toy Thinks You Need to Read More Fiction
Andrew Toy, blogger at AdoptingJames and author of the recent book The Man in the Box has made a commitment to read more fiction. I fully agree with this commitment and I have been increasing my amount of fiction the last couple years. I think it is particularly important for Evangelicals that tend to be too … Read more
Offsite Review: The Quest for the Trinity
I am interested in The Quest for the Trinity: The Doctrine of God in Scripture, History and Modernity as a corrective to some other modern theology movements around the trinity. It is finally available for kindle and so I will probably pick it up soon. Nick Norelli’s review is mixed, but positive enough in the areas … Read more
Offsite: Who Do You Think You Are by Mark Driscoll
I frequently disagree with Challies, but I think he is worth paying attention to because he is well read, theologically clear (even when I disagree, I understand why he believes as he does), and because I like to read people that I disagree with because I know I have blind spots. So I found Challies … Read more
2013 Reading Goals
Last year I posted my 2012 reading goals. In summary, the goals were to read more old books, more fiction and more Christian history, read about the Trinity as a theological exploration and to read the book of John. With the exception of John, I am going to keep these as the same goals for … Read more
Offsite Review: Torn by Justin Lee
I have seen several very good reviews of TORN: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate by Justin Lee. I could link to several different reviews (and I may link to more in the future) but I thought this was a good review because it is a personal review of a pastor that has been struggling … Read more
Complete Favorites of 2012 Book List
I spread out the favorites of 2012 posts over nearly two weeks. If you are interested here is the complete list in a single post. I am going to split them into fiction and non-fiction lists and put them in order with most favorite at the top. I read 180 book this year these are … Read more