Bookwi.se – Page 208 – A few thoughts about books, kindles and Christianity

Protestantism: A Very Short Introduction by Mark Noll

October 6, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: The common thread of Protestantism is diversity, focus on scripture and change.

I first heard of Protestantism: A Very Short Introduction on a podcast from Books and Culture magazine. I am a regular reader and listener to their short weekly podcast and have first heard of a number of books that I have enjoyed from them.

I am also not familiar with the Oxford Short Introduction series. But after having read this one, I will read more. There are more than 200 books in this series over a very wide range of topics. I cannot speak to the series as a whole, but I like the idea of a series that is oriented toward short books on a wide range of topics written by top scholars in the field and oriented toward an educated reader.

Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander (Prydain Chronicles #4)

October 5, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: At some point, growing up means finding meaning and joy in work and yourself.

Taran Wander is my favorite book of the series. In many ways, it is different from the rest of the series. Is it still a book focused on a quest, but instead of saving someone, defeating an enemy, or finding a magical device, it is about Taran finding his heritage.

As a young teen (probably really a tween), there are several points in the books where I actually learned something that I used later. Taran wanders through Prydain to seek out his parentage because he wants to propose to Eliowayn. But she is a princess, and he is an orphaned Assistant Pig-Keeper.

The Night of the Living Dead Christian by Matt Mikalatos

October 4, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: There is no other author quite like Matt Mikalatos

We need more theologians that use an allegorical/satirical look at monsters to get their theological point across.

I very much enjoyed Matt Mikalatos’ first book Imaginary Jesus (my review) and I have passed it on to several people. So I had high hopes for the second book.

In both books a semi-fictional Matt is the main character. In Night of the Living Dead, mild-mannered Matt, in his self-appointed role of neighborhood watch coordinator, sees his neighbor turn into a werewolf and then see his neighbor’s wife leave him. Matt, accompanied by the previously introduced Mad Scientist and his robot, attempt to cure the neighbor (Luther) of his werewolf problem.

Thoughts on the Basic Kindle

September 29, 2011 by Adam Shields

The Basic Kindle

Lost amid the excitement about the Kindle Fire Tablet and the Kindle Touch is the fact that there is a new Basic Kindle that is only $79. This is a significant drop in price for ereaders. No major ereader has had a regular price of less than $99.

The Kindle Basic is slightly smaller than the Kindle Touch (6.5 by 4.5 inches vs 6.8 by 4.7 inches) and less than 6 ounces. For comparison an iPhone 4 is 4.8 ounces.

Thoughts on the Kindle Touch

September 29, 2011 by Adam Shields

The new Kindle Touch is what I would purchase right now if I were buying my first kindle. I strongly prefer reading on an eink screen (instead of an LCD screen, like what is on the Kindle Fire, the iPad or many computer screens). The touch uses the same 6 inch Pearl screen that the current Kindle uses. So there is not an upgrade to the actual screen, but there is an upgrade to the processor and software, so the page turns are supposed to be faster. At this point, I do not think that faster page turns matter, until the brief flash is eliminated. Page turns are basically instant now.

Thoughts on the Kindle Fire

September 29, 2011 by Adam Shields

Many have probably already heard about the new line of kindles. I am not going to give a full description, but just comments on them.

Kindle Fire

The Fire has received most of the attention. It is a 7 inch tablet. It has an LCD screen and is running a customized version of Android. It should be great for video, music and magazines. Amazon has its own streaming video service (similar to Netflix) that will be available on the Kindle.

I have not used many 7 inch tablets. It is a bit on the small side for web browsing, but is large enough for personal video and probably better for reading than the 8.9 inch screen of the iPad. The screen resolution is as good as the iPad (widescreen instead of 4:3).

Castle of Llyr by Lloyd Alexander (Book 3 of Chronicles of Prydain)

September 29, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: Part of growing up is realizing the role of romantic love.

Purchase Links: Paperback, Kindle Edition

The Castle of Llyr is the most romantically focused of the Pyrdain Chronicles. Taran is charged with accompanying Princess Eilonwy to her relatives so that she might learn how to be a princess (and not a scullery maid as she has been doing at Caer Dalben). As Eilonwy prepares to leave Taran realizes that he does not want her to go.

Once again there is another foil of about Taran’s age that helps Taran understand how to grow up in a different way. Prince Rhun is very nice, very honorable, but incapable of doing anything correctly. He bumbles everything. And Taran learns that Rhun’s father wants to marry him to Eilonwy.

The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander

September 28, 2011 by Adam Shields

Takeaway: The bad things we do, can often be seen better through others. Or, I never noticed how annoying that thing I do was, until I saw you do it.

The Black Cauldron may be the best known book of the Prydian Chronicles because of the Disney movie. But I have never seen it. As I was glancing around I saw that a 25th anniversary edition of the movie was released last year. That makes me feel old. I am pretty sure I was reading this series before the movie was released and just never saw it. My memory is that most people did not think it was all that good. But maybe I will watch now.

This book picks up fairly soon after the Book of Three lets off. Taran and Eilonw are at Caer Dalben and have settled into their routine. Prince Gwydion (the crown prince and war leader for Prydain) has called a council to solve the problem of the Cauldron born (basically zombies). They are going to go into the heart of Annuvin to steal and destroy the Black Cauldron to prevent Arawn (the bad guy’s leader) from being able to create any more of these zombie soldiers.

How To Check Out A Library Book on a Kindle

September 27, 2011 by Adam Shields

In 2011 Amazon started working with Overdrive to allow Amazon Kindle users to check books out of the library to be read on their Kindle devices. Any Kindle or Kindle App can now check out books from your local library. Approximately 11,000 libraries in the US allow users to check ebooks out using Amazon.

The main complain that I hear about OverDrive is that there are not enough books or the wait is too long. And that complaint is all about funding. Your local library system as part of their agreement with OverDrive, chooses the mix and number of books. My local library, Cobb County Library, went from about 800 ebooks in 2011 to about 8600 today. Most of those books only have one or two copies. As I was browsing, there were a few that had more, but Cobb County has chosen to have more books, rather than more copies. If you want more books in your system, then tell your local library, and comment to your local government about the funding. You are paying for these books, it is just that you are not paying for them directly, but through your tax dollars.

How to Check Out a Book

Reading Slumps

September 26, 2011 by Adam Shields

Everyone that reads, especially if you blog about your reading, hits a reading slump. I seems to hit a slump of one variety or another about once every three or four months. Sometimes the slump expresses itself as a lack of desire to read. But more often the slump is expressed by extreme ADD reading. Nothing seems to satisfy, nothing seems interesting.

I have tried a variety of methods. First, and I think most important, it to remove obligation from your reading if at all possible. This is the main point of Alan Jacobs’ recent book The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction. If you are a student, obligation is a part of reading. But throwing in the occasional book for pleasure is important to keep yourself balanced. As a book blogger, I have cut back the number of books I review for publishers and primarily blog about books that I choose. That means that I have to buy them myself and they are often, not the newest books on the market, but reading on ‘Whim’ (to use Jacobs’ word) creates a happier reader.