Sin Boldly: A Field Guide for Grace by Cathleen Falsani

I have no idea how to review Sin Boldly (Amazon link).  I found the book when it was offered for free on kindle earlier this year.  I had not heard of the author, but after looking I realized I had read some of her columns (she is a newspaper religion reporter in Chicago.)

I am a bit down on Christian memoirs right now.  Not really for any good reason, but because I am a bit bored with them.  This book was good, the author went to Wheaton College and graduated the spring before I entered.  She continues to live in Chicago, I lived there for 11 years after I graduated from Wheaton.  We both seem to be mildly politically liberal.  I did not read anything that I really disagreed with.  Many of the essay were quite good.  But it just did not grab me.  I spent about three or four weeks reading this off and on.  The time is not that unusual for me.  I often spend a couple weeks reading a book, but I often read 5 to 10 at a time.  I like to have some time for books to digest, so I move on to another book and then come back to it later.  My issue is that I just don’t know what it was that I did not engage with.  I do not want to put off the book for anyone.

I do have one random comment.  Falsani used the word “effluvia” three or four times.  I have never heard the word before and used my handy-dandy kindle dictionary.  It means “an unpleasant smell or exhalation, as of gaseous waste or decaying matter”.  One sentence was, “We talked about the mundane effluvia of life for a while, and then…”  I do find it interesting when I run across words I do not know.  And I really like the kindle dictionary when I find them.

The author has another book The Dude Abides (the gospel according to the Coen brothers) that I also picked up free and plan on reading.  Hopefully I will find that one a bit more engaging.

There is also a audio version on christianaudio.  I didn’t listen to it so I can’t give recommendations to the audio quality.