Bookwi.se – Page 197 – A few thoughts about books, kindles and Christianity

Requests for Books about Christianity and Beauty

April 15, 2012 by Adam Shields

This weekend I have finished Frank Schaeffer’s Crazy for God (review tomorrow), watched Donald Miller‘s Blue Like Jazz movie and gone to visit the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. All three of which, have made me think in different ways about the importance of beauty to our Christian faith and theology. I have only read a few things that have tangentially related … Read more

An American Spy by Olen Steinhauer

April 11, 2012 by Adam Shields

Quick Thoughts: Milo Weaver, hero of the first two books is not in this one until 1/3 in. Either a good conclusion or a set up for a re-start of the series.

I read the first book in this series on a whim. I did not know anything about it. But I was bored with my standard fare and wanted something different.

The first book, The Tourist, It focused on Milo Weaver and his desire to leave his job as a black ops spy, but includes a lot of background that does not come out quickly. The second book The Nearest Exit, follows right on the heels of The Tourist, but you are well into the book before you realize that.

The Final Hour (Homelanders #4) by Andrew Klavan

April 10, 2012 by Adam Shields

Summary: The conclusion, this time, is real.

The end of The Truth of The Matter (book #3), felt like a conclusion. Because there is a book four, I knew it was not. But it appeared that the terrorist ring had been broken up. Charlie was found by the good guys and he would be heading home soon, cleared of murder and ready to enjoy his regular life.

It was not to be.

The Doctrine of the Trinity in the Early Church by Franz Dunzl

April 9, 2012 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Doctrine is the attempt to speak of God faithfully to our culture, but it is limited to the tools that are available to our language, philosophy and culture.

Speaking of God is difficult. There is one group of people that believe that God is so Other that we can only talk about what God is not. And they have a point. God is far beyond our comprehension.

But God has revealed himself to us. There is both scripture, which is God speaking in human language through the writing of dozens of God’s followers. And then there is Jesus Christ, which was God himself come to earth to reveal God’s nature and love to us.

This very helpful book, details the early working out in human language the nature of the Trinity. It is important to remember that what was being done was not creating the Trinity. The Trinity exists independent of human language. But the early church had to figure out a way to speak of the Trinity using human language and philosophy.

The Truth of the Matter (Homelanders #3) by Andrew Klavan

April 6, 2012 by Adam Shields

Summary: Charlie now knows who actually killed Alex and he is searching for Waterman, his best clue on how to get back to his normal life.

This is book three is the Homelanders series. You do not want to jump into the middle of this series.

This book picks up almost immediately after The Long Way Home. In the Long Way Home Charlie re-connected with his friends and girlfriend Beth. He found out how he got connected to the Homelanders, but there is still a year missing from his memory.

Klavan has done a good job in the series keeping the action moving, giving new information so the story moves and keeping the tension up.

A Spirituality of Living by Henri Nouwen

April 5, 2012 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: We are created to need solitude, community and to do service.

I don’t remember when I first became acquainted with Henri Nouwen. Probably some time in college. I had read a handful of his books.

This is the one I have read most and I think is most helpful. His book Out of Solitude covers some similar material from a different perspective, so it is a good supplement to this one. Because they are both so short, someone should get rights to both and print them together.

This book is a simple explanation about the movement from solitude with God, to community with others to service for God and back to solitude again is apart of God’s created order.

The Long Way Home (Homelanders #2) by Andrew Klavan

April 4, 2012 by Adam Shields

Summary: Charlie West is on the run, from the police and a group of unknown terrorist. How can he prove that he is innocent and at the same time stay alive long enough to make sure the terrorists do not kill anyone else?

Charlie West, the hero of this series, has just stopped a murder at the end of The Last Thing I Remember (do not try to read this series out of order).

The Long Way Home picks up a couple weeks later. Charlie is trying to discover why he has been framed for murdering his best friend Alex (and by whom) while trying to avoid both the police and the terrorists that are after him.

Charlie decides to head back to his home town, in part because of home sickness, but mostly to get to the scene of Alex’s murder.

How to Return a Kindle Book for Refund

March 30, 2012 by Adam Shields

If you try to buy free kindle books long enough you will accidentally purchase a book that is no longer free, or at a price you are unwilling to pay. The best way to prevent this is to refresh the page just before you purchase it to make sure you have to most recent purchase price.

If you do happen to buy a book that you thought was free, you can return the book within 7 days very easily.

receipt

First, you need to make sure you pay attention to your email receipts from Amazon. This is the best way to catch a book that was not free. In the past Amazon has sent you a receipt for every individual book that you purchased. Recently, Amazon has been grouping books together so you get only one receipt a day. This is much easier to look through and make sure you kindle book was actually free (or the price that you intended to pay.)

A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future by Daniel Pink

March 30, 2012 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Right Brained creative thinking is the basis for the new economy (and you are less likely to have your job off-shored).

I like Daniel Pink. His book Drive (Bookwi.se review) on how to motivate employees was very good. I have watched videos of him speaking and in general like his style of Business Psychology books.

But I was not excited about this book. I almost stopped listening several times (and it is only just over 6 hours on audio). I actually missed the last 30 minutes because of a problem with my audiobook player and I did not feel like downloading the file again.

Pink’s point I think is basically right. In the past, left brain analytical thinking has been dominant in the business world. But increasingly as the economy moves toward a knowledge economy, right brain thinking is more valued. His first chapter summarizes the problem as Abundance, Automation and Asia. We are no longer in an economy where we are after the basics to sustain life. So we value creativity and design (abundance). Computers are good at left brain thinking, so automation is increasingly able to do many of the routine or rule based work that was a staple of our work force. Those activities that are more advanced that what computers can do, but still able to be done from afar, are being shipped off to cheaper labor markets like India and China (Asia).

Harry Potter Books are Now Available Legally for Kindle

March 27, 2012 by Adam Shields

JK Rowling is late to the ebook game. And she still has not really bought into it completely. But it is now possible to get the Harry Potter books on your kindle legally. It is not as easy as it should be. But Rowling has created her own store, requiring a you be redirected to the Pottermore site and then buy it there.

What I do like is that you buy it at the Pottermore site and it is available in multiple formats (readable both on Kindle and Nook and other ebook readers.)