so it’s almost time for another football entry, but here’s a quick change of pace during which time, i’ll discuss a couple books that i’ve finished reading… hard to believe that it’s only nine days away from Christmas… i’m working night and day (well, mostly night) to put together a new issue of theTRu.print (about 5 of 12 pages done at the moment) and, of course, working on the redesign as well… in the meantime, i’ll be trying to keep things updated here a little better as well… for now, it’s on with the show… books… let’s dig in…

TOTAL GLOBAL DOMINATION

now playing: If I Ruled the World – Sammy Davis, Jr

5 Cities that Ruled the World- Douglas Wilson

initially, this book jumped out at me… i mean, i’m a history buff in much the same way that the Buffalo Bills are a Super Bowl contender, but i do enjoy learning about history and i often find it to be fascinating… (especially when presented properly)… so this book seemed to be right up my alley… a brief look at the history of the world in five sections, tidily summed up and (presumably) easy to read…

i must first admit that i didn’t recognize the name attached to the project – Douglas Wilson is, apparently, a well-known theologian (well known by people other than me) – and thus i was surprised by the immediate and continual thread of religious implications that ran throughout what otherwise read as the scripts for episodes of City Confidential… (anyone ever watched that show? anyone?)… once i understood the perspective from which the book was written, however, all was fine and i enjoyed the book for what it is…

the book does, in fact, describe the history of five cities and the legacy that they’ve left behind throughout history… or, in the case of New York City (perhaps the most personally interesting chapter) is currently leaving for the rest of history… coincidentally (or not?) the legacies all relate to freedom of some sort or another… Wilson clearly believes that freedom is life’s end game and, for him, each city represents the unlocking of a new facet of life over time… and it all leads up to New Jerusalem which will usher in complete and total freedom…

the quirkiness that litters the pages can work, depending on how you read (me, i read with inflection in my head)… but as charming as it can be, it does present a bit of distraction and adds to the overall cluttered content… and by “cluttered,” i mean that at times it feels like the book has no structure and that the topics at hand are lost in a whirlwind of whimsy… and again, this can work, but it does make following along – or retaining anything of value – fairly difficult… scratch that, challenging…

all in all, i’m glad that i read this book as it was rather engaging and enjoyable… i think that, had it been a lecture – or perhaps a 5-part, 30 minutes each lecture series – it would be very popular… as a book, i suppose it’s pretty niche, but definitely a nice read… [and in the interest of full disclosure i got it from Thomas Nelson for free]…

AND MILES TO GO BEFORE I SLEEP…

now playing: Story – The Rocket Summer

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
by Donald Miller

it was a long time ago (feels like it anyway) that i first happened to hear Donald Miller give a talk about the concept of story and how the elements that make up a successful story can influence how we live our lives… this is another memoir from Donald Miller and once again, he manages to write in such a way that is comforting and casual… having read this and some of Miller’s previous books, i feel like i’ve had some incredibly interesting conversations with the most familiar stranger i’ve never met… (it puzzles me sometimes, too)…

Here’s the thing though, i know that books are one-way communications, but books like this make me talk to myself for hours on end afterwards… (it’s not out loud… usually)… anyway, it’s hard to really unpack this book without it all spilling out on the page in front of me, so i’ll try to just pick out a few of the highlights…

the book centers around character development, which plays out in to scenarios – in a story and in real life… Miller talks about how the traits and qualities that endear us to characters in a movie are the qualities and traits that we should work on developing in our own lives… we need to have the right goals and ambitions in life if we ever want our lives to have any meaning… one of the lines that stood out to me came after Miller described the scene of his uncle’s funeral… something to the effect that if you die and you weren’t telling a good story with your life, nobody will say that you died too soon, just that you’re dead… basically, you need to make sure that no matter when you die, it’s too soon…

The long and the short of it is that Donald Miller weaves in a number of interesting storylines to support what appears to be a very solid philosophy for life… i highly recommend this book and any of his others… and listening to his talk, too… [and for the sake of full disclosure i bought TWO copies of this book with my own money - no free copy (what's up with THAT?)]…

CLOSING THE BOOK…

that’s going to do it for now… i’m currently reading The Silver Chair from the Chronicles of Narnia, I Am America (and So Can You), Live from Middle America, and i’m about to dive into Saint… and if i don’t get to it tomorrow, the Colts are going to win…

peace… love… bdg…

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oops… forgot to include this one with last night’s batch of books…

NOT THE SYMPTOMS, THE DISEASE

now playing: Done All Wrong – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Christianity in Crisis (21st Century)- Hank Hanegraaff

Hank Hanegraaff revisits a book that he wrote about twenty years ago… and it’s pretty clear that, based on the escalated propagation of the message he specifically targets, he’ll need to write another edition in half that time…

the book calls out many “celebrity” preachers of the day – televangelists and what not – by name, providing quotes and pointing out the fundamental flaws that have led them and many others astray from the original message… he tries to detail where the paths have intersected, but the “prosperity gospel” and “faith movement” messages seem as accurate as the last person in a long game of “telephone”…

However, and very importantly, Hanegraaff issues a call to action of sorts… recommending avoidance in some cases and a healthy dose of self-evaluation… it’s important to address the root cause, the disease rather than just all the symptoms… and to that end, the book offers a boot camp of sorts, with the “Back to Basics” section that explains the fundamental beliefs of Christianity… following after that are three appendices that are also quite helpful and informative…

All-in-all, there’s a lot of finger-pointing and calling on the carpet in a sense, but without being mean-spirited… it’s clear that “The Bible Answer Man” has done his due diligence and that his goal is not to attack, but to heal what could potentially become a fatal blow to a large cross-section of the church… Christianity in Crisis is an interesting read for those into church history or perhaps sociology as it relates to the church…

peace… love… bdg…

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time keeps on chugging along… i only wish i could keep up… and still get sleep… i’m really trying to get more posts written up that don’t involve football, because i know that my fantastic insights don’t really appeal to everyone… and that’s okay… i’ve just been adjusting… today, i’ve got a few books to talk about and soon, i’ll have some things that i want to hash out with the written word… something i saw on a television show that’s normally unengaging, something i’ve learned from the Redskins, and more… i may also talk a little bit about the redesign that i’m working on for the main site… if you sign up for the newsletter, i’ll send you an email when it’s back up to speed… you’ll also get the newsletter, if i ever send them out… anyway, no time for the dilly-dally… let’s move on…

LIGHT IT UP

now playing: Illuminate Pt. 1 – Lightheaded

Illuminated – Matt Bronleewe

a while ago, i read and raved about House of Wolves and now, finally, i managed to buy and read a copy of the first book of the August Adams series… and guess what?… i’ll rave about this one too… Matt Bronleewe certainly puts together a mean story… fast-paced, thrilling, intricate and well-detailed… Illuminated kept me flipping through the pages as though i were cooling myself off… (maybe not THAT fast)…

Anyway, it is, again, or perhaps first, a great piece of writing and at 300 pages, it’s a manageable length for those of us who can’t keep our schedule in order… certainly there are themes that are similar to storylines such as the National Treasure franchise and books like, duh, the Da Vinci Code, but it’s a special tale that stands on it’s own despite any other books about secret societies and mysterious symbols… Cheers to Matt… looking forward to book three..

SECOND ROUND

now playing: The Hard-Knock Life – Original Cast of Annie

Knockout Entrepreneur – George Foreman (with Ken Abaraham)

i gotta admit… i love watching George Foreman… i think there’s a part of each of us that feels that way… and now i know that it was by design… George opens up with a very enjoyable book telling his story of success in the business world… one piece of advice that stood out? When you answer the phone, keep a smile on your face – it comes through… clearly, Foreman wrote this book with a big smile on his face, because that’s exactly how it reads…

Granted there are times when the book feels a little repetitive (revisiting the same events) and almost like a sales pitch – for instance, the grill is mentioned by its full name (with adjectives) several times – but that’s the nature of the game… Foreman is very up front about the fact that he’s using every opportunity to sell his products and continue to be successful… that’s fine, because, overall the book has plenty of good advice tucked away in each chapter…

It’s also worth noting that this is a Nelsonfree product – and yes, by the way, this is based on a free promotional copy – which means that with the book in hand, you can click over to the special webpage, answer a question or two and get a free PDF and audiobook version of the book as well… (George Foreman does NOT narrate the audiobook, but it’s still a rather lively reading)…

Anyway, the bottom line, as with many career/business/self-improvement books is that you won’t find too much here that you can’t find in many similarly-themed… the difference is that this is someone else’s story and the more times you hear success stories from different voices, the more you’ll start to believe that soon enough, it can be your voice telling the tales… plus there’s the whole smile thing… and George has a lot of mouths to feed in his family…

CAN YOU DIG IT?

now playing: The Pleasure Principle – Janet Jackson

The Treasure Principle – Randy Alcorn

the section title is from the cornerstone illustration for this book, by the way… the parable of the man who finds a treasure in a field, sells all he has, buys the field and, presumably, lives happily ever after… it’s a passage from the Bible that i feel is somewhat betrayed by the application here and the book tends to further unravel from there… but let me back up for a second…

i feel like i came upon this book under false pretenses… pretenses that keep me from being at all unbiased (as if i’m ever unbiased) and that said, my attitude when reading this book was more of a cynic than of a reviewer… and, honestly, i don’t want to spend too much time talking about it right now because i’m pretty sure it will be part of the focus of another piece of writing that i have brewing but i will say this… (that was a long sentence, sorry)… i will say this… bottom line, i feel like this is the prosperity gospel repackaged and framed from a “more spiritual” perspective… that’s not to say that there weren’t some parts that i agreed with, but largely i’m pretty sure that htis book misses the mark…

NO MAS

time’s up… well, over up… beyond? long since past?… whatever… good night…

peace… love… bdg…

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a few quick notes, i’m going to be posting my weekly football picks and comments later (probably tomorrow), but first i’m finally getting around to posting these book reviews that i had actually scrawled out old fashioned style on paper… also, if you didn’t notice last week, i did something called “album twee-views” or album reviews via twitter… it’s a rough concept that i’m trying out… we’ll see how it goes… as always let me know what you all think… feedback is always appreciated…

TRIpLE DEKkER…

now playing: Titanomachy – The Beginning – The Showdown

Showdown – Ted DeKker

I’ve had this book for a few years, but didn’t ever dig into it until i was somewhat tricked into breaching the Books of History Series by reading Sinner… Having read Sinner, i became quite interested in reading Saint, but figured i should read Showdown first – since i had it and since it was the first of the three part subseries…

Anyway, despite having a good idea of where the story was headed, i was still enraptured by the narrative presented in Showdown… it’s still a very suspenseful endeaver regardless of any prior knowledge of the series and as such was an incredibly entertaining (and pretty quick) read… one downside is that the overarching metaphor became obvious – almost painstakingly so – long before what i would’ve considered the appropriate time for it to have been revealed…

All in all, though, it’s a compelling read and one that certainly continued to whet my pallette for Saint, which is on my short list…

now playing: Washed By the Water – Needtobreathe

Lunatic / Elyon – Ted DeKker

Well, these are books 5 and 6 of the Lost Books subseries and, in TRu fashion, they were my entry point into the set… my initial thoughts were that it’s clearly a story along the lines of the Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia in the sense that this entirely new universe is created and it’s certainly well-situated in the fantasy genre… i suppose it’s also important to note that i think these books are written for a teenage audience, but the narrative works beyond that target demographic…

Having not read the previous four books, i was a bit unfamiliar with the relational dynamics surrounding Darsal, Silvie and Johnas and at times it was even difficult to keep track of who was speaking and the full weight of what had been said (lots of impersonal pronouns complicated things as well), but it was pretty easy to follow along in the story regardless…

The main theme that stuck out was clearly the mandate to love your enemies and as such, the books do a good job relating just how difficult that can be… there’s also discussion of baptism and romance and choosing friendships wisely and all of it was presented well, rolled together in a compelling enough tale to encourage me to read the first four (i’ve only got the first two, though)…

One downside, besides the “who’s on first” type issue of who said what, was that the voice of each co-author came through clearer than that of the characters… it was pretty obvious which parts came from the pen of Kaci Hill and which did not… and that’s fine, but it was a little distracting and pushed me out of the narrative at times… Certainly not enough to prevent anyone from truly enjoying this set…

TH-TH-THAT’S ALL FOLKS

and that will do it for now…

peace… love… bdg…

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okay, one more book… i meant to get to these the other night, but didn’t quite have the time… don’t let this post keep you from reading the previous post if you’re like me and ready for some FOOTBALL… now to the book…

THIS I KNOW…

now playing: Jesus Loves You – Stellar Kart

Jesus Loves You – Craig Gross & Jason Harper

i got this one a while ago and figured that i had plenty of time to read it before the deadline that i agreed to, then everything changed… anyway, by way of background, Craig Gross is one of the founders of XXXChurch.com and Jason Harper is a cable guy and a pastor… that’s probably enough for the time being… the book on the other hand demands your full attention… i often feel like the simplest messages are the most profound… and this simple message, that Jesus loves you, is perhaps the most profound of them all…

I really liked the way the book reads, very conversational and well organized… it seems to covers all the bases and, right about when it dawned on me that something critical was missing from the equation, Craig hits it right on the head… very good read, interesting perspective and a reminder that we all need to hear over and over…

peace… love… bdg…

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this morning, i walked my boys, my little boys down the street, to the corner and i watched them climb up into a big yellow bus and off they went to school… kindergarten and second grade and still i see them curled up into a tiny ball kicking against my arms fighting to stay awake when they were supposed to be taking a late afternoon nap… ah… time… you dirty little tramp…

anyway, this is the entry where i really talk about all the books that i’ve read over the last few weeks… it could be a lot, but we’ll see how far i get…

DOUBLE SHOT OF FEARLESS…

now playing: Fearless – Falling Up

Fearless – Robin Parrish

finally managed to get back to the Dominion Trilogy and this is book two of the series… that’s the backdrop… the big deal is how much the story has progressed and how well put together this storyline is… it’s always exciting to witness an author come into their own and Robin has clearly done so here… Fearless is more cohesive and well-focused than when Grant Burrows first debuted as a serial novel on his website…

I was very impressed by the character development, and, given the similarities between this and the premise of Heroes, thought a number of times that the show could really take a few cues from the trilogy… That’s not to say that the book feels at all like a copycat or anything like that – it’s definitely got its own legs – it’s just that there’s no point ignoring the similarities… on a side note, the adventure is thrilling, but this one ends on a cliff, so make sure that Merciless isn’t too far away when you get to the end… i’ll be hitting that one soon…

now playing: Fearless – dcTalk

Fearless – Max Lucado

i don’t think i’ve ever had milk toast in my lifetime, but as i was reading this book, i couldn’t shake that image from my head… which is a little odd, because i didn’t even know exactly what it consisted of… really, i think that my subconscience was trying to make a reference to the verse in the Bible about some people needing milk and some needing meat… if it’s a sliding scale, this book – as well as many of Lucado’s numerous works – lands squarely in the liquid state of nourishment…

that said, i can overlook the painstaking way that Lucado applies puns to each point and see that the points that he’s making are actually pretty good… and the book itself is something definitely worth reading… we’re certainly living in a time when we all need a little help finding a little peace of mind… Lucado focuses on a dozen or so specific fears, but treats them all with the same general prescription… a long-term, Kingdom mindset… overall, Fearless is a quick, light, easy read… if you like Lucado’s previous books (and/or if you don’t mind things being spelled out to the en^th degree), you probably won’t have any qualms with this one…

THE GREAT ONES…

now playing: Great – Ten Shekel Shirt

Everyday Greatness – Stephen R Covey

so, i suppose i didn’t exactly understand what i was getting into when this 400-plus-page collection of short stories… in fact, i didn’t realize it was short stories, much less stories in the key of “Chicken Soup for the Soul”… generally not my cup of tea… i’m not sure what i was expecting, actually…

Odd first impressions aside, though, Covey provides an interesting framework from which the book unfolds… seven “pillars” so to speak of areas of life in which we can display greatness, each with three more specific qualities to exercise… each chapter follows the same basic premise: Covey’s introduction, a story or stories, Covey’s comments, points to ponder, and then relevant quotes from throughout history…

To be honest, the quotes are what interested me most… i think that Covey’s commentary could’ve been a little meatier, but understandably, they’re short here (i mean, how long could this book have been?)… the bottom line, however, is that this book is a nice volume to have as something of a reference manual… it may be nice to have a book exclusively with Covey’s thoughts (perhaps that already exists?), but this is a fine collection for what it is… just not what i was wanting…

TAPPING OUT…

okay, that’s three of them… i’ve still got… about five more to tackle in the next day or so… including that “triple DeKker” (insert suspenseful “oooooh” here)… right now, though i must get some sleep…

peace… love… bdg…

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back again with some more books… today, i’ve got two books that are carry-over from my Spring list as well as one that innaugurates the Summer of o9 list… i’m gonna dive right in, but first i have to mention that we went to see Up! yesterday and you can expect that i’ll be writing about that soon enough… now… off we go…

PLUGGED IN AND TUNED OUT

now playing: Big Deal – Carolyn Arends

The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture
by Shane Hipps

It took me a lot longer to begin this book than i had anticipated and then, it took me longer than i expected to finish… it’s broken into two parts and, though i raced through the first part, the second left me struggling to stay engaged… the basic premise of the book is that it’s a modern retelling of Marshall McLuhan’s principles and thoughts on media… you may not recognize the name – i sure didn’t – but you’re probably familiar with some of his quotes, termonology and concepts…

anyway, the first half of the book is devoted strictly to explaining an appropriate and unconventional perspective through which we should view and understand the media of our day… though perhaps a little dense at times, i found the front half of the book absolutely fascinating and eye-opening… having never read McLuhan, it was the first time i had been presented directly with his concepts and they are certainly revelatory (especially, given the timing of the original statements)…

unfortunately, the remainder of the book – that dealing with the practical application of this perspective – really left a lot to be desired… i kind of got the impression that Hipps was far too concerned about stepping on toes to really allow himself to present a clear and focused message… as a result, it seemed like the back half of the book was more about waffling than offering any definitive advice, even to the point of driving home contradictory points…

overall, i’m glad that i read the book as it did provide concepts that were both helpful and rather interesting… i would have enjoyed a better job of summation and application, but based on the concepts, i feel adequately equipped to draw my own conclusions…

FROM ADAM, WITH LOVE

Original Sin
by Brandt Dodson

On to some fiction… i’ve had this book for a long, long time now and finally dug into it… and it was a really cool story… the first in the Colton Parker mystery series, Original Sin introduces us to all the characters that will comprise the rest of the tales… Colton Parker, an ex-FBI agent and widower, tries to establish a business as a private investigator while still picking up the pieces of his wife’s tragic accident a mere six months ago… one of the main concerns is providing for his thirteen year-old daughter, emotionally and financially, as she deals with the loss of her mother…

The thrust of the story is the case of and elderly lady who has been murdered violently… the main suspect, her nephew has been a trouble-maker in the past, but Colton doesn’t quite believe that the case is as open and shut as it has been presented to him… As the case unfolds, we get plenty of details and clues as well as many opportunities to predict the ending – an ending that suits the story well…

Also, we experience the drama of raising a pre-teen girl searching for identity and a father who’s searching for the same… we feel the tension grow between a man who feels completely scorned by God and a minister who continues to interject spiritual guidance… it’s well-written and, despite a few things i would’ve changed, it was a very enjoyable read… the downside is that there’s more books for me to buy now to continue the series…

ELEVEN YEAR OLD OCEAN

Swindle
by Gordon Korman

this is the first official book from my summer list… i know, i cheated by picking off the “kid” book first, but hey, i do love reading Gordon Korman books… makes me feel young again… anyway, this was a first-read for me as i believe it was written after i had temporarily moved on from Korman’s writing… the premise: Griffin Bing – the man (boy) with the plan – happens upon a rare baseball card worth as much as a million dollars… the problem? he just sold it to a scamming card collector for a mere $120…

the book details the struggle and scheming involved as Griffin vows to have revenge… it’ll take a zany and elaborate plan, but Griffin’s the right guy for the job… or is he?… this was a relatively quick read and it was one that i enjoyed a lot… as you can tell by the heading of this section, it felt like i was reading through an Ocean’s movie, but with kids casting the caper…

OFF THE SHELF

Currently, i’m reading Showdown and Lunatic by Ted Dekker as well as Christianity in Crisis: 21st Century by Hank Hanegraaff… as always, you can keep up with my reading list and progress here or at the Amazon.com mini-store that i set up for just that purpose…

’til next time…

peace… love… bdg…

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in this entry, i’m going to talk about Bibles… but more specifically, i’m going to talk about the supplemental materials found sharing the same binding as the text of the Bible… it’s not going to be a discussion of the merits of one translation / version over another, because that’s for perhaps another time, place, and perhaps author…

in the interest of full disclosure (if you care to know), i have a small copy of The Student Bible (NIV) that i use periodically for quick reading, a MacArthur Study Bible (NKJV) that i use for deeper understanding of what I read, the littles each have a copy of the CEV Children’s Bible, and when i’m online, i gravitate towards the ESV… i have many other versions of the Bible as well, but those are the ones i use most often… and now, off we go…

A LAMP UNTO MY FEET

now playing: Flags Theme – Flags of Our Fathers (Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The American Patriot’s Bible

This is an interesting concept, though, i’m not quite certain whether the material really should be inserted into a Bible or whether it belongs as its own volume with portions of Scripture embedded within it… needless to say, people who get aggravated easily by the concept of the separation of Church and State will find plenty of items with which to be irritated within this edition…

what i find particularly interesting is the emphasis on how the Bible was viewed throughout the history of America – whether it’s the role that the Bible played in forming laws of the society, specific passages of Scripture that served to comfort or inspire prominent figures in the nation’s history, or simply the specific passages chosen by each president (well, many of the presidents) as they were sworn into the highest role of leadership, it’s all very interesting from an historical perpective…

Within these pages, you’ll find the standard “study Bible” features such as a nice concordance, pretty maps and interesting introductions to each book… Beyond that, you’ll learn about the Bible from the perspective of an American historian which, of course, carries the blessing and curse of being from a limited viewpoint and provides interesting tidbits of extra-Biblical information… if nothing else, it’s appropriate for this time of the year… oh, and it’s the NKJV Bible…

now playing: Shuffle Your Feet – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

The Chronological Study Bible

Also in the NKJV, this edition of the Bible also provides an historical perspective for the reader, but it’s more of an “as-it-happened” perspective… the introductory material includes a much better description of how it came to be than i can share here, but the gist of it is that scholars and researchers restructured the books of the Bible to more accurately reflect the order in which the overlapping events took place…

this allows for a broader picture of everything as it happens… this also allows for the Bible to be read as more of an continuous story as it unfolds… it’s a rather interesting way to look at the Scripture which is pretty much the point… along with the rearranged text, there are several insets that explain the culture of the time period, an overarching timeline that keeps track of where in history you are reading an account from and many other pieces of information that make the reading offer a better grasp of what life was actually like when this was written…

Also included are, naturally, a concordance, glossary, and maps as well as a topical guide as it relates to cultural interests… all in all very interesting, but i’ll admit that the pages stick together for me, perhaps because it’s still too new to be broken in…

now playing: Break It Out – The Rocket Summer

The Expanded Bible

i’m a bit less familiar with this one, but i feel that it’s worth mentioning here because it’s intriguing… it hasn’t released yet and when it does, i’m pretty sure it’s just going to be the New Testament that’s available for a while, but here’s the thing… all the footnotes and alternate word meanings and such have been tucked in directly to the text, making it all read inline… it takes a bit of getting used to, but it seems kind of cool to have all the possibilities [translations; word choices] laid out [L expanded] for you as you read [L while you are reading] it… get the idea?

as interesting as it is, however, i’m concerned that it will simply add to the distractions that already surround the practice of reading the Bible and help accelerate our waning attention… it will definitely change the expectations we have when we approach books…

anyway, it’s not out yet, but you can check it out in PDF format on Thomas Nelson’s website if you so desire…

MOVING ON

and that’s that… i know i had promised this entry a while back, but i’m glad to have finally gotten to it… i wonder if there have been any studies about the effects that all the extra-Biblical content has actually had on the reading of Scripture… i wonder if it distracts more than it enhances… anyway… off to face the day…

peace… love… bdg…

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Well, summer is just around the corner and, even though i’m pretty distracted with the up and down frustrations of the current circumstances, it’s important to remember that my occupation, like everything else, is just a small part of who i am and i can’t let it dictate the other aspects of my life… or whatever it is i’m babbling about…

Anyway, summer means summer reading and i’ve got a big old stack of books that i’m eyeing for this summer…

now, i realize that the odds are probably not in my favor – especially since i still have a bunch that i’m finishing up with now that will prevent me from getting a head start… to that end, here’s a handful of reviews on some of the books i’ve recently found myself finishing up…

now playing: Bird of Paradise – Charlie Parker

Squawwwk! by Thomas Rockwell

this is a book that i remember reading and re-reading several times as a youngster… as such, as i was reading through the well-worn pages, sharing this tale with my two boys, many of the scenes were still very familiar… As we worked through the book, however, i wasn’t entirely sure what it was that drew me back again and again…

It’s a charming story, filled with what would now be considered political incorrectness – comments about weight and foolishness, for example – but at the heart of it, it’s a statement about how we react to things that we don’t understand… it’s an intriguing social commentary that’s pretty fun to read and, if you’re a fan of How to Eat Fried Worms, you may want to check out Thomas Rockwell’s lesser known book… the one about the giant, electric-blue bird that grew out of a book… the one called Squawwwk!

now playing: It’s Magic – Fenders

The Secrets of Droon: The Magic Escapes by Tony Abbott

My son likes the Magic Tree House book series and for some reason, on his last visit to the school library, this book was recommended to him… now, i’m not the kind of dad who’s immediately opposed to a book based on the cover (though it looks like a cheap Harry Potter knock-off), and i’m not afraid of books about magic and things of that nature…

that said, i did decide to read the book before sharing it with little boy and found the book to be incredibly pointless… though i wouldn’t recommend judging books by their covers, i do have to admit that this book seemingly lived up to my initial assessment based on the cover art… i haven’t read any of the Harry Potter series, i imagine that those books are everything that this book would like to be, but isn’t… the only message i could ascertain from the book was something about being able to do anything when you do it with your friends… the story itself was fairly bland overall with just a few interesting moments that were never fully developed… i suppose you could write that off because it’s part of a series, but i just wasn’t impressed at all and have no interest in the rest of the series…

now playing: Different – Jackson Waters

Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore

This is a book that i really struggled with while i was reading it… it’s a really good read with an absolutely compelling premise, weaving two entirely separate storylines into one threaded connection… if the book had another subtitle, it could apprpriately be “A Cord of Three Strands,” referring to the verse in Ecclesiastes that explains the strong bond that is created when God connects two people together…

Though it was really a challenging book for the obvious reason of broadening one’s perspective on issues like prejudice, homelessness, and materialism, the most powerful message from where i sit was – not surprisingly – one of love… particularly as the book shared in great detail the painful story of Ron and his wife, Debbie… I’ll leave it at that so as not to ruin any of the unknowns, but it might make sense to keep some tissues handy when you read though this one…

now playing: Betrayal – Fiction Family

Face of Betrayal by Lis Wiehl

Okay, so i had no idea who Lis Wiehl was before reading this book and i’ve still never knowingly seen her in action, but clearly she’s more than qualified to write this book, having served as a federal prosecuter and currently as a correspondant for Fox News… and i say that because two of the three main characters in this well-told novel wear those shoes… the third, a special agent at the FBI, is drawn from the pages of Wiehl’s father’s career in the FBI…

The premise of the story has a “ripped from the headlines” feel and follows the search and investigation of a missing Senate page… i guess what i didn’t realize going into the book was that it was intended for a female audience and, fortunately, there were only a few brief parts where that was really obvious… call it Law and Order meets Murder She Wrote in print and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect from the book…

It will keep you guessing, it will keep you connected, it will certainly hold your attention and it will go by quickly… i do recommend the book and expect that you’ll enjoy it as well…

MORE IN A BIT

i’m going to take a quick breather here and come back in a little bit to talk specifically about three publications of the Bible that i’ve recently gotten and explored… and then i’ll do a general rundown of the books that i’m still finishing up before diving into the big list for the summer…

peace… love… bdg…

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got another book to talk about… actually, two, but i’m only going to get to one today… off we go…

THE OTHERS (WITH PICTURES)

now playing: Losing My Religion – REM

Nelson’s Illustrated Guide to Religions
by James A. Beverly

first, the obvious: this is a big, book… it’s certainly not a book you’re going to read cover-to-cover (at least in one sitting), but it’s one that you’ll be glad to have as a reference manual… the Illustrated Guide to Religions (i’ll call it IGoR for short) rings in at around 800 pages and covers about 20 major world religions fairly exhaustively, explaining the origins as well as the core tenets and how those beliefs translate to everyday behavior… and each section, besides presenting all of this historical and encyclopedic information, includes personal conjecture from Beverly, who’s clearly done more homework than most of us, explaining his own thoughts on the religion from the Evangelical Christian perspective that he brings to the table…

Perhaps most impressive is the detail and care with which all of this information was compiled… Beverly outlines the process that he went through to determine the validity of each religion and explain how he formed the personal opinions that are shared throughout the book… the appendices are also rather helpful insomuch as they help to understand how sects, cults, and religions are created and spread…

All in all, Nelson’s Illustrated Guide to Religions proves to be a very valuable tool to learning about the belief systems that surround us… personally, i think that understanding what others believe is a crucial piece to fulfilling the call to love our neighbors… while it’s not specifically essential, meeting others where they are certainly goes a long way towards convincing them that you care…

anyway, back to the book, one little nit-pick is that i might’ve liked it better if the information was organized by the reach of each religion rather than alphabetically… presumably this is a volume that will periodically see the release of updated versions over the years, which would make that an interesting piece to the puzzling world of religions…

peace… love… bdg…

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