Reading log

[RedcoatJones]

Radical, by David Platt.

Kind of torn on this book. I absolutely LOVED the main gist of his message - how America's church's too often embrace American culture and desires more than the teachings of Christ. How materialism may be the #1 sin/issue facing the church as a whole in our society. How we are called to care for the poor and non-believers not just in America but world-wide.

However, my main complaint is that the book almost seems too simplistic in its goal of saying every Christian should make evangelism and care for the poor their #1 ministry. I believe we all have a calling to lead others to Christ, and we are all commanded to care for those less fortunate for ourselves, but not eveyone is called to make that their sole ministry (or even their top ministry).

That being said, it is a very quick read, and I really appreciate that David doesn't just point out the problems with church in our society but proposes a course of action for readers to follow to move away from materialism and more towards pursuing God's calling in our life.

[Aaron]

Radical, by David Platt.

Kind of torn on this book. I absolutely LOVED the main gist of his message - how America's church's too often embrace American culture and desires more than the teachings of Christ. How materialism may be the #1 sin/issue facing the church as a whole in our society. How we are called to care for the poor and non-believers not just in America but world-wide.

However, my main complaint is that the book almost seems too simplistic in its goal of saying every Christian should make evangelism and care for the poor their #1 ministry. I believe we all have a calling to lead others to Christ, and we are all commanded to care for those less fortunate for ourselves, but not eveyone is called to make that their sole ministry (or even their top ministry).

That being said, it is a very quick read, and I really appreciate that David doesn't just point out the problems with church in our society but proposes a course of action for readers to follow to move away from materialism and more towards pursuing God's calling in our life.

I agree with your sentiment on the book

[ajyouthguy]

Generous Justice by Tim Keller

[Aaron]

Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things - Randy O. Frost & Gail Steketee

I am fascinated by the psychological explanations behind hoard and compulsive behaviors.  Reading this book made me run through a gamut of emotions: anger, sadness, amazement, pity, disbelief, and others.  When I watch the tv shows on hoarding, it is so weird to see what people go through in their head.  This book helped me better understand why people hoard and how it really damages them and their world.

[whim]

Sounds interesting.  Would you recommend it?

[Aaron]

Sounds interesting.  Would you recommend it?

Highly

[ajyouthguy]

Pujols: More than a Game (biography of Albert Pujols)
Your Secret Name--Kary Oberbrunner
The Cause Within You--Matthew Barnett

[ajyouthguy]

Rob Bell--Love Wins
David Platt--Radical Together

[Aaron]

Rob Bell--Love Wins

Thoughts?

[ajyouthguy]

Thoughts?

i like the answer Lecrae gave someone today on twitter to that same question: "I think someone (meaning Bell) likes to ask questions and not give answers."

[Aaron]

Marshall McLuhan: You Know Nothing of My Work! - Douglas Coupland
When God Goes to Starbucks: A Guide to Everyday Apologetics - Paul Copan (skimmed the summaries for each chapter)

[Aaron]

Seven Dirty Words: The Life and Crimes of George Carlin - James Sullivan

[Vlad!]

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University - Kevin Roose

This book is in many ways similar to A Year of Living Biblically, which I read (difficult as it is to believe) a couple of years ago. In it, Roose narrates his experience at Liberty University, the institution created and formerly headed by the late Jerry Falwell.

It's amusing as a classic fish-out-of-water story, but it's also fascinating to get into the head of someone steeped in secular culture as he experiences evangelical Christianity. Some of it is also frustrating; since I don't really belong to the evangelical movement myself I found myself on many occasions exasperated not at the worldly Roose but at the legalistic, hypocritical, or just plain wrong Liberty students. Even so, it was very interesting to look in from the outside, and I imagine Roose's observations are similar to those of anyone walking into church for the first time.

Roose writes with a humorous pen, but he is compassionate and openminded enough that at no point did I feel like my faith was being mocked. Criticized, perhaps in places, but agree or disagree he certainly took it seriously. Parts of the book were laugh-out-loud funny, and other parts nearly brought tears to my eyes. His honesty, sincerity, and wit make this book well worth a read. I enjoyed it immensely, and I strongly recommend it.

[ajyouthguy]

Most recently finished

Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman
Life Interrupted by Priscilla Shirer

[bloop]

I'm reading Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

[RedcoatJones]

I'm reading Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

I enjoyed the series. Like any 7-part series, there are times it gets a bit bloated, but overall, the story is engaging and the themes interesting.

[ajyouthguy]

Growing Up Colt: A Father, a Son, a Life in Football--Colt McCoy

[ajyouthguy]

Through My Eyes--Tim Tebow
Why Church Matters--Josh Harris

[Vlad!]

I need to get a lot better at updating the Reading Log. I don't generally list my "mind candy" books that I just read for relaxation purposes, but there have been a few "real" books that I've read and forgot to update. Here's one of them:

We Never Make Mistakes - Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Classic Solzhenitsyn -- The text itself is short and reads easily, but the subtext speaks volumes. With this work, as with his other stuff, it's what isn't said that's so important. An absolutely heartrending look at daily life in Russia during and after WWII.

[ajyouthguy]

Missional Renaissance
Missional Communities both by Reggie McNeal

[ajyouthguy]

Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski

[Vlad!]

The Life of Pi, by Yann Martel.

Reading this book was my Thanksgiving goal this year, but honestly it was not a challenge at all. Actually, the challenge was convincing myself to put it down temporarily to spend time with my parents (whom I had driven six hours to see). It grabbed me almost immediately and kept me completely captivated throughout its entire length. I loved this book, and I can't believe I put off reading it for so long. A huge thank you to the person who recommended it to me (apparently linds, though please ignore me being retarded in the subsequent post).

[Vlad!]

Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman

I generally liked American Gods, and by all accounts Anansi Boys is a similar treatment in a more lighthearted vein, so I gave it a shot. And man, did I like it.

In contrast to American Gods, this book feels more tightly focused, more self-contained, and less dependent on some big reveal near the end. Both are a sort of adult coming-of-age story, but both are so much more than that. But I just found Anansi Boys to be much more gripping, much more powerful, and, though not by much, more enjoyable.

For Gaiman fans, fantasy fans, or literature fans, strongly recommended. It also doesn't carry the disclaimer that American Gods did; the content is much more PG-13. If Gaiman feels like he needs to use graphic sexuality to achieve his artistic vision then I don't fault him for it, but I personally am glad to see that he can do at least as good a job without it.

[Aaron]

Amy Frykholm - See Me Naked: Stories of Sexual Exile in American Christianity

[ajyouthguy]

Indescribable by Louie Giglio and Matt Redman
All Is Grace by Brennan Manning

[ajyouthguy]

Gospel Wakefulness--Jared C Wilson
Rumors of God--Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson

[ajyouthguy]

Kisses from Katie--Katie Davis

[ajyouthguy]

7: A Mutiny Against Excess--Jen Hatmaker

[ajyouthguy]

Is God Calling Me?--Jeff Iorg

[ajyouthguy]

The Healing Path--Robin Pasley

[ajyouthguy]

Jen Hatmaker--Interrupted

[bloop]

Over spring break:
Habibi, Craig Thompson (a graphic novel)
Blue Like Jazz, Donald Miller
The Accidental Billionaires, Ben Mezrich

[Vlad!]

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir) - Jenny Lawson

Funny and poignant at the same time. I really liked it.

Jenny (aka The Bloggess) has learned the crucial, delicate art of being able to laugh at herself. The story of her life is amazing not because of what she has done so much as because of what she has become. I love this book because even though it is hilarious, it doesn't feel staged. Jenny presents herself not as a persona but as a human being, and it's her humanity more than anything which really compels. She has the ability to draw humor out of the most trying situation--and she has been in plenty of trying situations.

If you've ever read Dave Barry Does Japan, which is (as Dave Barry frequently is) uproariously funny, you will undoubtedly remember the chapter where he goes to visit the memorial at Hiroshima. That chapter stands out starkly from the rest as being completely serious and also very touching. Jenny's entire book is written in a combination of these two modes, rather than dividing between them. Sometimes she swings a bit closer to the serious side and sometimes over to the jocular, but I would venture that every chapter has many laugh-out-loud moments as well as a few pointed observations.

I bought Let's Pretend This Never Happened because I thought it would make me laugh, which it did. But I really like it not because of its hilarity but because of its humanity. The extent to which Jenny can cope with her anxiety and depression and fear through humor and love (mixed with liberal doses of medication) is honestly inspiring. At one point in the memoir, Jenny refers to herself as "broken". But not in a depressing, despairing way, but in a triumphant way. Not in a "this is broken and now useless" way, but in a "this was broken and look what I made out of it anyway" sort of way.

I hope and pray that one day Jenny finds God. Not the God she is doubtless exposed to on a weekly basis in rural Texas, but the Great Physician who can help her, just as he has helped so many like her. But I am incredibly encouraged by her story and by her demonstration of what we can do on our own to say no, I will not allow this to control me.

Highly recommended.

[ajyouthguy]

The Healing Path--Robin Pasley
Orphan Slave Son--Ben Pasley

[Vlad!]

Drop Dead Healthy by A.J. Jacobs

You may recognize Jacobs' name as the author of A Year of Living Biblically (and as the mentor of Kevin Roose, author of Unlikely Disciple). Unlike those books, however, this one is not about religion but instead about personal health (though fitness can certainly be a religion for many).

Similar to Tim Ferriss' The Four-Hour Body, Drop Dead Healthy's idea is to cut through all the mythology, pseudoscience, and hype to figure out what health advice actually does and does not work. This is a laudable goal, and Jacobs devoted two years of his life to this task. However, much like in his previous books, his approach is scattershot rather than systemic and, again like before, his topic is so broad that twenty years may not be sufficient to fully cover it.

That said, this book has something else to recommend it: Jacobs is an engaging and entertaining writer, and even if you don't care one whit for healthy living or if you disagree completely with his conclusions, you will likely enjoy reading the book itself.

I believe I can summarize his conclusion by saying that it doesn't really make sense to devote one's entire existence to health and fitness, but there are a few modifications which should greatly improve your health and quality of life without consuming that life in its entirety. This is an eminently reasonable conclusion, if not particularly groundbreaking.

Not a must-read, but still worth the price.

[Vlad!]

Father Fiction: Chapters for a Fatherless Generation by Donald Miller

(I posted some quotations from the book if you want a little preview).

Don wrote this book specifically to talk about his feelings, emotions, and experiences as a boy and a young man growing up without a father. I have a father, and we've had a good relationship for my entire life. While he wasn't, and isn't, perfect, I respect him and he respects me. He and my mom were married when I was born and have stayed happily married for my whole life. I know he's proud of me and loves me, and he knows that I love him and look up to him. I look forward to the four or five times a year I get to see my parents. And let me tell you, this book is amazing. Marketing this book to men who grew up without a father is like marketing water to people dying of thirst. I'm sure these people will absolutely, crucially benefit from reading Father Fiction, but just like folks who are merely slightly thirsty will benefit from drinking water, so will those who grew up in any family circumstance benefit from reading this book.

(I can't speak to whether women, fatherless or otherwise, will appreciate it. I believe they would, and could benefit as well. I plan on giving a copy of this book to a dear friend of mine who raised her two sons by herself for much of their childhood, so after she's read it I'll see if she felt it was helpful.)

As with Blue Like Jazz, Miller's underlying (and transformative) thesis involves understanding our lives through the context of our relationship with our creator. Reading Father Fiction is like sitting through several months' worth of therapy sessions in the course of a single evening (and the book is short--under 200 pages--and can easily be read in a single sitting if you so desire). I feel like this message is the same message that Jesus kept trying to get the disciples (and the Pharisees and the Jews) to understand. Why would we waste our time trying to obey a set of rules and then ignore a relationship with the one who gave us the rules so we could know how to please him?

I have a friend who had a brain tumor removed several years ago. The operation left him with some brain damage, which he has done a great job at overcoming but which still affects him to this day. Sometimes I will catch him attributing something to his mental disability which is, in reality, just a problem we all face. Dude, lots of people forget their wallet. Don't let forgetting your wallet make you feel like you're more broken than everyone else. I feel like this is the viewpoint that Miller in this book is trying to overcome for himself. He feels like not having a father has left him fundamentally broken, more unfit for human society than those blessed with both parents. At some points, I want to say "bro, everyone feels that way when they're honest with themselves".

In the end, I can't say whether this book will speak to you, but it definitely spoke to me. I bought it for eight bucks on Amazon and read it in one evening. I've gotten less from more in the past, so I think it's a great investment. I'm going to go so far as to say this book should be required reading for parents. It's as close to a "this is what your child, consciously or unconsciously, is wanting to get from you" as I've seen. Completely recommended.

[Vlad!]

Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut

I'm not smart enough to love this book, but I am smart enough that I think I might were I to piece together all its intricacies.

Not that it's confusing or even extraordinarily complex. But I feel like there's more lurking under the surface; that every word Vonnegut put on the page is teeming with understatement, leaving more unsaid than said.

Does everything have meaning? Do things happen for a purpose? Or do things come together just to fall apart again even more spectacularly?

Cat's Cradle is not a book you read for fun, or to make you feel satisfied. But it doesn't leave you (or at least it didn't leave me) depressed or even especially confused. It's kind of zen, like by reading it you are contemplating the nature of being. It feels like the sort of book one would discuss while mildly high late at night on a college campus.

It is late at night, but my college years are well behind me these days and I'm not at all high, so I'll just say that it's a good book, but not one to take lightly.