Summary: In 1944, a German rocket hit a Woolworths in South London, killing many. This novel explores what might have been if five of those children had not been killed. When encountering fiction, my primary method is to find authors I trust and to read their books without any investigation into the story. A couple … Read more
Summary: A look at how five Christians have used rhetoric to impact the church. One of my goals over the next couple of years is to think more clearly about how people’s minds are changed. I purposely say that in the passive voice, because while you can influence the changing of minds, you cannot as … Read more
Every year I create reading goals and mostly fail at them. My goals are rough guidelines, more than hard goals. This year I accomplished some of them. I had a goal to finish the fiction of three authors. I finished all of Marilynne Robinson and Flannery O’Connor’s fiction. But I still have one more Octavia … Read more
Summary: A slightly neurotic psychiatrist faces the end of the world after inventing a device that can read the state of a person’s soul. Walker Percy is one of those 20th century Catholic novelists that intrigue me. Percy, Graham Greene, Flannery O’Connor, Endo and several others were not writing ‘Christian fiction’. They were writing literary fiction that was … Read more
Summary: A secret service agent wakes up in the woods outside of small town where nothing seems quite right. The Wayward Pines trilogy hit the world a few years ago and many people I know recommended it. Last year Fox turned it into a TV show. And because I signed up for Kindle Unlimited a … Read more
Traditionally I put together some sort of list of the best books I have read each year. These are highly subjective and often have more to do with what sticks with me at the end of the year, although I do go back and skim through all the reviews that are 4 or 5 star … Read more
We live in a world touting the maxim “œbigger (or more) is better”; bigger homes, bigger bank accounts, more clothes, bigger status, bigger dreams, more aspirations, etc. Tremendous pressure exists to achieve and produce big things. This mindset is evident in many of our spiritual lives as well. Many blog posts, books and some sermons … Read more
Reposting my 2014 review because the Kindle Edition is on sale this week. Summary: An Exploration of the life of Jeremiah as a model for excellence in the Christian life. I have long appreciated Eugene Peterson’s writing and model of ministry. But it has been a couple years since I last picked up one of his books. Run With … Read more
Takeaway: Loneliness is often a spiritual disease, which is a profound insight for a country that has more people living by themselves than ever before. I have been sitting on this book for over a week. Normally I write my reviews almost immediately after I finish the book, read through them a couple of times and publish … Read more
Favorite books of the year lists are the ultimate in subjectivity. Yes, there is a thing that is called a good book. But I tend to think that the book that lots of people like is worth picking over one that is technically excellent, but many did not actually like (The Magician trilogy is a … Read more