Quill Awards 2006

It's time again to vote for the Quill Book Awards. You have until 30 September 06 to enter your choices. In case you aren't familiar with the Quills:

The Quills celebrates the best adult and children's books of the year in 20 popular categories, including Book of the Year, plus an committee-selected award for best Book to Film.

Sometimes I've never even heard of some of the books that they are asking about, but it is fun to go through and express my preferences on the ones I do know. Give it a try.

Decisions

How do you decide which books to keep and which to pass along? I've always just preferred to keep books after I read them. I really enjoy having a lot of books around. But, I need to pare down my library quite a bit. I'm quite daunted by the prospect. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde

Fiction: Humor/Detective. Unabridged Audiobook from Penguin Audio. Published in 2006. 10 hours, 55 minutes. Read by Simon Vance. Purchased at Audible.com.

I've probably mentioned before that Jasper Fforde was recommended to me at a Terry Pratchett book signing. It's not without good reason that the gentleman said "If you like Terry Pratchett, you might enjoy Jasper Fforde." While Pratchett's work is Fantasy/Humor, Fforde's is Fantasy/Detective/Humor, but they both share many things in common, one being that they make me laugh out loud every time I read them. Fforde is very creative. It's not classic literature, but you'll certainly understand many of the jokes better if you have read some classics. Really quite a fun read. But, for the record, Pratchett is still my favorite of the two.

Publisher's summary:
The Gingerbreadman, psychopath, sadist, genius, and killer, is on the loose. But it isn't Jack Spratt's case. He and Mary Mary have been demoted to Missing Persons following Jack's poor judgment involving the poisoning of Mr. Bun the baker. Missing Persons looks like a boring assignment until a chance encounter leads them into the hunt for missing journalist Henrietta "Goldy" Hatchett, star reporter for The Daily Mole. Last to see her alive? The Three Bears, comfortably living out a life of rural solitude in Andersen's wood.

But all is not what it seems. How could the bears' porridge be at such disparate temperatures when they were poured at the same time? Why did Mr. and Mrs. Bear sleep in separate beds? Was there a fourth bear? And if there was, who was he, and why did he try to disguise Goldy's death as a freak accident?

Jack answers all these questions and a few others besides, rescues Mary Mary from almost certain death, and finally meets the Fourth Bear and the Gingerbreadman face-to-face.

In the News:
Fforde's fantastical 'Fourth Bear' stirs a porridge of a 'nursery crime'

Online book shopping:
Powell's: The Fourth Bear
amazon.co.uk: The Fourth Bear
amazon.com: The Fourth Bear
Audible.com: The Fourth Bear

Together Again by Rick Atchley and Bob Russell

Non-Fiction: Christianity. Paperback from Leafwood Publishers and Standard Publishing. Published in 2006. 128 pages. Borrowed from my parents.

Rick Atchley has been preaching a series on unity at his church in Texas, and I've been downloading and listening to them (albeit rather slowly), so as I expected much of the material in this book is just a repeat for me. But, since it's a short book and not a difficult read I thought I'd give it a look see before my parents carted it home tomorrow. I like the book's call to unity. The thing I don't like, even though I think I understand the logic behind it, is the fact that the book is calling only for unity with the Christian Church, not with all christian churches. However, baby steps are better than nothing.

If you have a connection with the Restoration Movement, give it a read and see what you think.

Publisher's summary:
Time for a Family Reunion. 2006 is the centennial of the official separation of Churches of Christ and Christian Churches. Rick Atchley and Bob Russell mark this milestone with a resounding call to renew our unity in Christ. After a century of division, it's time for a Family Reunion. Time to put aside differences and work as one to accomplish Christ's mission to save a lost world.

Online book shopping:
Powell's: Together Again
amazon.co.uk: Together Again
amazon.com: Together Again
Audible.com: currently not available as audio

How to Win the Culture War by Peter Kreeft

Non-Fiction: Christianity. Paperback from InterVarsity Press. Published in 2002. 120 pages. On loan from the Kent District Library.

Our preacher recommended this author, so I looked at our local library to see what might be available. This is what I turned up. The idea of "winning" the culture war seems a bit odd to me, but I'm interested in how Christians interact with culture, so I thought this book might be a good choice.

There is a very strange "Screwtape-esk" letter tucked in the middle of the book, that tries to mimic C. S. Lewis' method of explaining how Satan works in the world. It didn't work well for me because it just seemed like a Lewis knock off. But, I think I would agree with the two main things Kreeft said in the book - first that the culture war is in fact a spiritual war and secondly that the way it will be "won" is for people who are Christians to actually follow Christ. Hard to argue with that.

Publisher's summary:
The battle lines have been drawn. Many Christians have fallen into the trap of proclaiming "Peace! Peace!" when there is no peace. Hiding their eyes from the pressing issues of the day, they believe that resistance to the prevailing culture is useless. At the same time, other Christians have been too quick to declare war, mistaking battlefield casualties as enemies rather than victims.

In How to Win the Culture War Peter Kreeft issues a rousing call to arms. Christians must understand the true nature of the culture war--a war between the culture of life and the culture of death. Kreeft identifies the real enemies facing the church today and maps out key battlefields. He then issues a strategy for engagement and equips Christians with the weapons needed for a successful campaign.

Above all, Kreeft assures us that the war can be won--in fact, it will be won. For those who hope in Christ, victory is assured, because good triumphs over evil and life conquers death. Love never gives up. Neither must we.

Online book shopping:
Powell's: How to Win the Culture War
amazon.co.uk: How to Win the Culture War
amazon.com: How to Win the Culture War
Audible.com: not available as audio from Audible

Christian Audio Free Download - August 06

I was browsing on the Christian Audio web site this morning noticed that the free download for August is The Imitation of Christ!

I also found that they have some other free audio available as well. I've just downloaded Dallas Willard on Prayer, Meditation and Fasting gratis. So far I've seen a couple of others that are free. The ones I've seen have been in the complete listings of the Spiritual Formation catagory, but a quick glance shows me that each category has a couple of items being offered free. So, free audio is good, right? Enjoy!

Book Catalog

The other day in the course of my web browsing, I came across World Invisible's Catalog of Books. They've got the texts of quite a few Christian classics available. They cover many topics including apologetics, theology, new Christians, and devotional. Certainly worth a look if you enjoy the classics. If you are not in the habit of reading older works on Christianity, you may find the language in some of the works available a bit hard to decipher at times. If you hang in there I think you'll be glad you did.

I'm rather fond of the last work available on the page, The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, if you want someplace to start. It's short daily readings.

Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell

Non-Fiction: Christianity. Audio from Zondervan. Published in 2005. Recorded in 2005. Four hours. Read by Rob Bell. Purchased from Audible.com.

At four hours, this is not a long book. I listened to it over just a couple of days of housework. Rob Bell has got some good things to say. After hearing him preach a while back, then listening to his book, I can see why people are drawn to him. He's got a fantastic way of bringing to light the historical context of the scripture and how it ties to what is being said in the Bible. I'm looking forward to hearing more from him.

Publisher's summary:
We have to test everything.

I thank God for anybody anywhere who is pointing people to the mysteries of God.

But those people would all tell you to think long and hard about what they are saying and doing and creating.

Test it. Probe it. Do that to this book.

Don’t swallow it uncritically. Think about it. Wrestle with it.

Just because I’m a Christian and I’m trying to articulate a Christian worldview doesn’t mean I’ve got it nailed. I’m contributing to the discussion.

God has spoken, and the rest is commentary, right?

Online book shopping:
Powell's: Velvet Elvis
amazon.co.uk:Velvet Elvis
amazon.com: Velvet Elvis
Audible.com: Velvet Elvis

Words About Books: Bibliomancy

From AWAD:

bibliomancy (BIB-lee-o-man-see) noun

Divination by interpreting a passage picked at random from a book, especially from a religious book such as the Bible.

[From Greek biblio- (book) + -mancy (divination).]

If you are having a hard time deciding between turning groupie and following your favorite band around or to stay put in your accounting job, help is at hand. Try bibliomancy. Here's the step-by-step method:

1. Pick a book you trust a lot.
2. Put it on its spine, and let it fall open.
3. With your eyes closed, trace your finger to a passage.
4. Interpret the passage as your lifemap to the future.

You could even add more randomness to the process. To do that at the macro level, visit a library and pick a book at random from the shelves. At the micro level, instead of interpreting a passage, pick a single word and let it point you to your path.

Now, I love books. I don't even mind changing things in my life based on things I've read in books. But, this bibliomancy goes a bit far, even for me. I have known Christians who practice something similar to this with their Bibles, but did not realize there was an actual word to describe the process.

Hart's Hope by Orson Scott Card

Fiction:Fantasy. Unabridged Audio from Blackstone Audio. Published in 1983, recorded 2005. 10 hours, 59 minutes. Read by Stefan Rudnicki and Carrington MacDuffie. Purchased at Audible.com.

I'm not really sure what to say about this book. I'm pretty sure there was a bunch of stuff in there that I didn't really "get". Sometimes at the end of a book, though I've enjoyed it, I have the feeling that there were layers of things under there that I missed. Perhaps reading it rather than listening to it might have helped.

Oh, and this is another case where I question some of the accuracy of the publisher's summary.

Publisher's summary:
Enter the city of Hart's Hope, ruled by gods both powerful and indifferent, riddled with sorcery and revenge. The city was captured by a rebellious lord, Palicrovol, who overthrew the cruel king, Nasilee, hated by his people.

Palicrovol, too, was cruel, as befitted a king. He took the true mantle of kinghood by forcing Asineth, now Queen by her father's death, to marry him, raping her to consummate the marriage. (But he was not cruel enough to rule.) He let her live after her humiliation; live to bear a daughter; live to return from exile and retake the throne of Hart's Hope.

But she, in turn, sent Palicrovol into exile to breed a son who would, in the name of the God, take back the kingdom from its cruel Queen.

Online book shopping:
Powell's: Hart's Hope
amazon.co.uk:Hart's Hope
amazon.com: Hart's Hope
Audible.com: Hart's Hope

Summer Reading

Ah, for the lazy days of summer. Time to relax, putter in the garden, enjoy a good book (or two or three).

Ha! July almost killed me. It certainly killed my usual reading time, much less any extra reading time. I'm glad for the chances I've had to be out and about in the world this summer, but sure am mourning the loss of my reading time. Things are shaping up to be fairly busy for the next several months as we prepare to make a move, so I don't know how often I'll have a new read to post about. Although preparing to move is fairly mindless work, so I may end up with a plethora of audiobooks posted here. Time will tell. In the meantime, happy reading to you all. As always, if you read a good one and want to share, leave a comment.

Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

Non-Fiction: Christianity. Paperback from Thomas Nelson Publishers. Published in 2003. 240 pages. Purchased at Family Christian Bookstores.

This one has been on my "to read" list for a while. I had put it on hold at the library, then while I was waiting for it to arrive, we talked about it at church in the Wednesday night teen class. After the glowing report the teacher gave the book, I gave up on waiting for it and went and bought it. It was not at the top of my to read pile but was getting close. Today it catapulted to the top by virtue of being the only book I had along when I was stuck at the Cleveland airport for five hours.

The book reads like a narrative conversation. Just a guy being honest about the things he's experienced in his walk toward God. He's got some good things to say. I especially liked the story about confessing sins, and the chapter on Belief really resonated with me. Chapter 12 on Church: How I Go Without Getting Angry told me some things I needed to hear, too. It is not a difficult read at all. I finished it sitting in Cleveland. But, just because it reads quickly does not mean I don't think it has some important things to say.

Publisher's summary:
"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. . . . I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened." In Donald Miller's early years, he was vaguely familiar with a distant God. But when he came to know Jesus Christ, he pursued the Christian life with great zeal. Within a few years he had a successful ministry that ultimately left him feeling empty, burned out, and, once again, far away from God. In this intimate, soul-searching account, Miller describes his remarkable journey back to a culturally relevant, infinitely loving God.

Online book shopping:
Powell's: Blue Like Jazz
amazon.co.uk:Blue Like Jazz
amazon.com: Blue Like Jazz
Audible.com: Not available as audio from Audible

Pilgrim Heart by Darryl Tippens

Non-Fiction: Christianity. Paperback from Leafwood Publishers. Published in 2006. 205 pages. Purchased from Amazon.com.

Well, thanks are due again to Preacher Mike for another great book recommendation. I'm passing this one on to my husband (fair warning, Steve) and would echo Preacher Mike's endorsement.

UPDATE: (19 July 06) I meant to mention that I really enjoyed the notes in the back of the book, too. Looks like there is some good fodder for my reading list there.

Publisher's summary:
Originally, the faith of Jesus was considered a distinctive way of life rather than a sophisticated theological system. Pilgrim Heart re-imagines discipleship as - first and foremost - a particular way of life guided by a set of simple, but powerful, daily practices known to the earliest disciples and the saints through the ages. These include:

* Friendship
* Sabbath Rest
* Hospitality
* Confession
* Forgiveness
* Listening
* Discernment
* Singing
* Creating
* Telling Stories

How would this approach to the religion of Jesus change the way we think and live? Pilgrim Heart is an invitation to consider afresh the way of Jesus in light of practices that have proven to transfrom lives of two thousand years.

Online book shopping:
Powell's: Pilgrim Heart: The Way of Jesus in Everyday Life
amazon.co.uk: Pilgrim Heart: The Way of Jesus in Everyday Life
amazon.com: Pilgrim Heart: The Way of Jesus in Everyday Life
Audible.com: Not currently available as audio

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Fiction: Science Fiction (?) Unabridged Audio from HighBridge Audio. Published in 2003. Recorded in 2005. 17 hours and 43 minutes. Read by William Hope and Laurel Lefkow. Purchased at Audible.com

I'd seen this book floating around on Audible for a while, but couldn't get myself to want to listen to it. Then, one day I was hunting around on Audible, unable to make a decision, so I just decided to give it a try.

Some of this book makes no sense to me. I understand that one must suspend disbelief sometimes, but there were parts that were not really explained well enough for me to even do that.

Our time traveler, Henry, is able to reduce how often he time travels by exercising. He runs as much as he can. Sex also seems to help, so there are quite a few relatively descriptive sexual encounters in the book as well. Not rated G.

Parts of the book were quite touching. The bits right before he knows he is going to die got me pretty choked up.

Publisher's summary:
Clare and Henry have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was 36. They were married when Clare was 23 and Henry was 31. Impossible but true, because Henry is one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.

Clare and Henry's story unfolds from both points of view, depicting the effects of time travel on their marriage and their passionate love for each other. They attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals: steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

Online book shopping:
Powell's: The Time Traveler's Wife
amazon.co.uk: The Time Traveler's Wife
amazon.com: The Time Traveler's Wife
Audible.com: The Time Traveler's Wife

Simply Christian by N. T. Wright

Non-Fiction: Christianity. Hardback from HarperCollins. Published in 2006. 240 pages. On loan from the Kent District Library.

Every time I have read a book by N. T. Wright, I feel like I should just flip back and start reading it again. Simply Christian : Why Christianity Makes Sense is no exception. I'll have to be honest and admit that I don't really have a good grasp on the first two sections. I really do need to read them again. (And probably make an outline so the info will stick.) The third section, however, was much easier for me to get my head around. His thoughts in Chapter 12 on pre-written prayers seemed spot on to me. The three page section on baptism in Chapter 15 did a better job of explaning the meaning of baptism than the full 12 week class I just sat through. And, as usual Wright also said some things that I am going to have to think on - things that challenge some of the things I've always been taught. But, I like that about his writing.

Publisher's summary:
Why do we expect justice? Why do we crave spirituality? Why are we attracted to beauty? Why are relationships often so painful? And how will the world be made right? These are not simply perennial questions all generations must struggle with, but, according to N. T. Wright, are the very echoes of a voice we dimly perceive but deeply long to hear. In fact, these questions take us to the heart of who God is and what He wants from us.

For two thousand years, Christianity has claimed to solve these mysteries, and this renowned biblical scholar and Anglican bishop shows that it still can today. Not since C. S. Lewis's classic summary of the faith, Mere Christianity, has such a wise and thorough scholar taken the time to explain to anyone who wants to know what Christianity really is and how it is practiced. Wright makes the case for Christian faith from the ground up, assuming that the reader has no knowledge of (and perhaps even some aversion to) religion in general and Christianity in particular.

Simply Christian walks the reader through the Christian faith step by step and question by question. With simple yet exciting and accessible prose, Wright challenges skeptics by offering explanations for even the toughest doubt-filled dilemmas, leaving believers with a reason for renewed faith. For anyone who wants to travel beyond the controversies that can obscure what the Christian faith really stands for, this simple book is the perfect vehicle for that journey.

Online book shopping:
Powell's: Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense
amazon.co.uk: Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense
amazon.com: Simply Christian : Why Christianity Makes Sense
Audible.com: Not currently available as audio

Sometimes, I have a hard time getting through non-fiction works. I'll get to something that I think is worth remembering, and I'll want to write it down. So, I set the book aside thinking I'll work on that later. Then, later never seems to come and the book eventually gets reshelved in one of my cleaning fits and sits languishing on the shelf wondering what it did wrong. While the book thinks it is sitting there forgotten, I often feel pangs of guilt that I have not finished it.

As a remedy to this problem, I've been going at my non-fiction reading from a new angle. I've solved my stalling problem with a pad of sticky notes, a pen and a moleskine journal. Now, when I'm reading along and see something I want to remember or check out later, I put a sticky note on the page. Sometimes I'll make a short notation on it, but often I just center it near the info I want to revisit - things ranging from good quotes, to web site addresses, to book recommendations, to words to look up - then I just keep on reading. When I have finished the book, I start at the beginning and work my way through, copying down the bits I want to remember in my little journal. I often carry the journal with me (the benefits of a big handback are legion) so that I can refer back to the notes I took and write down any new thoughts that occur to me.

So far this has been working very well for me.

Oh. And I did finish Simply Christian this morning. I'm working on taking my notes so that I can get it back to the library. It's only three days overdue.

In the News: J. K. Rowling

Rowling: Some characters won't survive last 'Potter' book

And, speaking of Harry Potter: I read an excellent article in the Stone-Campbell Journal recently that talked about some of the Christian elements of the Harry Potter series. A good portion of the articles in the Stone-Campbell Journal are a bit beyond me, but every once in a while there is one that I can wrap my fuzzy brain around. This article in the Fall 2005 issue, called Harry Potter and the Baptism of the Imagination, is one that I was able to understand and enjoy. The article is unfortunately not available online, or I'd point you towards it and ask what you thought. Anyone else happen to get the Stone-Campbell Journal?

Crunch Cons by Rod Dreher

Non-Fiction: Hardback from Crown Forum. Published in 2006. 247 pages. On loan from the Kent District Library.

I first saw this book referred to on the GetReligion blog back in February. Since there was a VW van on the cover, and the title refers to both Birkenstocks and homeschooling, I thought I'd give it a read. I put it on hold at the library and waited months for it to arrive. Then, in part because of my fuzzy brain problem, and in part because I just couldn't get myself interested, the book sat in the middle of a pile of books on the floor until yesterday. It's due back at the library on Monday, with no renewals remaining, so I picked it up and decided to just give read it without trying too hard to retain it. My mindset was, if I got to the end and couldn't remember anything, so be it. Either I'm coming out of the fog, or this isn't a difficult book to read. (I'm guessing it's choice two. We'll see when I get back to Simply Christian which is also due Monday.) But, once I started I wondered why I had been so hesitant to go ahead and read it. I have to say that while I don't think I'm a completely "crunchy con", he said much in this book that resonated with me. At the bottom of it seems to be a call to live a life based on timeless principles rather than just being swept along with the culture. I like that.

Publisher's summary:
When a National Review colleague teased writer Rod Dreher one day about his visit to the local food co-op to pick up a week’s supply of organic vegetables (“Ewww, that’s so lefty”), he started thinking about the ways he and his conservative family lived that put them outside the bounds of conventional Republican politics. Shortly thereafter Dreher wrote an essay about “crunchy cons,” people whose “Small Is Beautiful” style of conservative politics often put them at odds with GOP orthodoxy, and sometimes even in the same camp as lefties outside the Democratic mainstream. The response to the article was impassioned: Dreher was deluged by e-mails from conservatives across America—everyone from a pro-life vegetarian Buddhist Republican to an NRA staffer with a passion for organic gardening—who responded to say, “Hey, me too!”

In Crunchy Cons, Dreher reports on the amazing depth and scope of this phenomenon, which is redefining the taxonomy of America’s political and cultural landscape. At a time when the Republican party, and the conservative movement in general, is bitterly divided over what it means to be a conservative, Dreher introduces us to people who are pioneering a way back to the future by reclaiming what’s best in conservatism—people who believe that being a truly committed conservative today means protecting the environment, standing against the depredations of big business, returning to traditional religion, and living out conservative godfather Russell Kirk’s teaching that the family is the institution most necessary to preserve.

In these pages we meet crunchy cons from all over America: a Texas clan of evangelical Christian free-range livestock farmers, the policy director of Republicans for Environmental Protection, homeschooling moms in New York City, an Orthodox Jew who helped start a kosher organic farm in the Berkshires, and an ex-sixties hippie from Alabama who became a devout Catholic without losing his antiestablishment sensibilities.

Crunchy Cons is both a useful primer to living the crunchy con way and a passionate affirmation of those things that give our lives weight and measure. In chapters dedicated to food, religion, consumerism, education, and the environment, Dreher shows how to live in a way that preserves what Kirk called “the permanent things,” among them faith, family, community, and a legacy of ancient truths. This, says Dreher, is the kind of roots conservatism that more and more Americans want to practice. And in Crunchy Cons, he lets them know how far they are from being alone.

Online book shopping:
Powell's: Crunchy Cons
amazon.co.uk: Crunchy Cons
amazon.com: Crunchy Cons
Audible.com: not currently available as audio

Fuzzy in the Brain

My literary pursuits have slowed recently. I'm having to really concentrate to make any sense out of non-fiction books. You know what I mean, right? You get to the end of a page and realize that you have no idea what you just read, and even with some concentrated thinking you still can't come up with the main point on the page? It makes spending too much time reading seem a bit of a waste, since I can't even recall what I've read.

I haven't even wanted to listen to any new fiction. I've just been relistening to a couple of my favorites from Terry Pratchett. (Thud! and Monstrous Regiment so far.)

Once I begin hitting on all of my cylinders again I'll be back to posting some new reads. Until then, I can't seem to find Monstrous Regiment in my old posts, so I guess I neglected to blog it the first time I read it. I'll do that soon.

From the Bookshelf: Latin for the Illiterati by Jon R. Stone

Non-Fiction: Language. Paperback from Routledge. Published in 1996. 201 pages. Purchased at one of the many English Heritage sites we visited during our time in the UK. (Probably Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian's Wall but I'm not sure.)

I'll admit that most of the time when I come across a Latin phrase or word that I don't understand, I just "google it". Still, this is a great book and worth having even with Google there to answer my Latin queries. I've enjoyed just browsing through it and reading the different definitions for phrases and words, and can sometimes find phrases faster in this book than on Google. Babae! Very enjoyable book.

Publisher's summary:
Latin for the Illiterati is everyperson's reference to common Latin words and phrases. With over 6,000 entries--including 300 abbreviations--this volume will accompany every reader, student and scholar through their lifelong reading journey.

This solidly researched handbook was ten years in the making, evolving from a handwritten help list of frequently occurring phrases to this comprehensive reference tool. The volume contains common words, phrases and abbreviations selected from the worlds of art, music, law, philosophy, theology, medicine and the theatre as well as clever sayings and sage advice from ancient writers. In addition, there is a section on geographical place names, colors, calendar months and days and Roman numerals as well as an English index and a brief guide on Latin pronunciation.

Online book shopping:
Powell's: Latin for the Illiterati
amazon.co.uk: Latin for the Illiterati
amazon.com: Latin for the Illiterati
Audible.com: not available as audio