Feb 4 2012
Everything about The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey makes me want to read it. The cover art, the website, the video, the plot, the connection to a Russian fairy tale, the author’s name – everything. Thus begins the rearrangement of my TBR pile …
Jan 28 2012
One of the interesting things that has developed as part of the growth of e-books is the ability to publish essays and shorter type works quickly and easily and reach a large audience. If you want to publish something quickly and have the potential to reach a large audience you can now do it yourself in e-book form. Charge little (anywhere from $.99-$2.99 usually) and make it easier for people to pull the trigger.
I have been taking advantage of this development to read some interesting e-books from a variety of genres and authors. And over the next few days I want to take a moment to offer my quick impressions of these shorter works.
First up is a e-book that was actually free: The Flinch by Julien Smith.
A book so important we refuse to charge for it.
Julien Smith has delivered a surprise, a confrontation, a book that will push you, scare you and possibly stick with you for years to come.
The idea is simple: your flinch mechanism can save your life. It short circuits the conscious mind and allows you to pull back and avoid danger faster than you can even imagine it’s there.
But what if danger is exactly what you need?
What if facing the flinch is the one best way to get what you want?
Here’s a chance to read the book everyone will be talking about, before they do.
What are you afraid of? Here’s how to find out.
I saw this on Twitter and decided to check it out. After all, it was free. It turned out to be a sort of digital pep talk. It has an interesting hook and some useful challenges even if it is somewhat repetitive.
Jan 26 2012
Today’s episode of Coffee & Markets features Darryl Hart discussing his book From Billy Graham to Sarah Palin: Evangelicals and the Betrayal of American. PejamanYousefzadeh and I spoke with Hart about how conservatism was being undermined by the evangelical movement, how a post-evangelical community may not necessarily be identified with the Republican party and more.
Jan 23 2012
I am always a little nervous when I read a book by someone I know. Well, if by “know” you mean have interacted with online. I have been reading Jared C. Wilson for some time online and have enjoyed his perspective on fiction, faith, and sports on Twitter as well. So it was with some trepidation that I approached his book Gospel Wakefulness.
The concerns were thankfully unwarranted, as Jared has written a wonderfully engaging and challenging book on the gospel and its place in our lives. With wisdom, compassion and humor he outlines what it means to be alive to the gospel in your life and have it infiltrate every area of that life.
Do you ever feel like your desire for God is waning? Are you numb to the routine of church? What does it mean to be truly awakened to the wonder of the gospel?
Jared Wilson contends that we must be regularly engaged and engaging others with the good news of the sacrificing, dying, rising, exalted person of Jesus Christ. Wilson reminds us of the death-proof, fail-proof King of kings who is before all things and in all things and holding all things together, and of the Spirit’s power to quicken our hearts and captivate our imaginations. The message of Gospel Wakefulness will make numbness the exception (rather than the norm) and reawaken us to the multifaceted brilliance of the gospel.
But it is another one of those deep and meaty spiritual books that I am simply not going to have the time or focus to review properly. But if you are seeking a deeper and sustained faith and looking for a book that will both inspire and challenge you, then I recommend you read this book.
Jan 19 2012
Image via Wikipedia
Yesterday’s edition of Coffee & Markets featured Jordan Ballor discussing Wisdom & Wonder: Common Grace in Science & Art a collection of the writings of the theologian Abraham Kuyper. Pejman Yousefzadeh and I spoke with Jordan about Kuyper’s unique life, his ideas and the challenges of cultural and political engagement for people of faith today.
