Archive
Bread & Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table (With Recipes) by Shauna Niequist
Meal time is one of the most important, universal human experiences.
Ms Niequist gives us a peek into her family’s stories through the lens of food.
One of my favorite stories is of her family arriving in Paris, tired from long days of travel and sightseeing, and getting caught in a tiny hotel room with her mother-in-law. My own family has had similar adventures on the road.
This book is unique. After each story, the author shares a recipe inspired by her experiences.
After describing her antics in Paris, she shares a wonderful three-ingredient chocolate mousse recipe.
The recipes range from simple to moderately complex, and the ingredients sometimes require a trip to Trader Joe’s. If this doesn’t sound appealing, then go ahead and borrow the book to read the stories.
But if you’re intrigued, I recommend purchasing this book and keeping it on your kitchen counter. The recipes are flexible, not too scripted, and allow for individual creativity.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for this honest review.
A Year with G.K. Chesterton, ed. by Kevin Belmonte
If you’re a fan of G.K. Chesterton, then you’ll enjoy this book.
Mr. Belmonte has compiled many of Chesterton’s best works and divided them into bit-sized pieces.
This is quite an accomplishment given Chesterton’s dense style.
Every day includes a brief scripture reading, and many days include tidbits about what happened to the Chesterton family on that date.
The material is not new, but it is well-structured and enjoyable.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for this unbiased review.
The Information, by James Gleick
One of my favorite books of all time is 1987′s Chaos, an introduction to the mathematics of chaos theory, by this author.
I was excited to learn that Gleick was winner of the Royal Society Winton Prize for Science Books 2012 with a new title, The Information.
If you’re interested in the progression of human understanding as a result of information technologies, then this book is for you.
It is not an easy read, but it is an important one. I give it my highest recommendation.
The Pirates of Alnari, by Dan Eldgredge
A brand-new fantasy land. Politics. Smuggling. Intrigue. Sex. Friendship. Moral ambiguity.
And of course, pirates!
What more can a reader ask for?
My favorite element of this story is the author’s character development. You will get to know a wide range of people from various points of view. And the ending is epic, worth the investment of your time and emotional energy.
Congratulations to the author for a compelling first novel. I look forward to reading many more!
Disclaimer: I know the author. However, I purchased a copy and was not asked to provide a review.
The Hidden Reality, by Brian Greene
This book is not for the faint of heart. The physics is incredibly challenging and the math quite intense.
But if you’re interested in learning the latest thinking about string / M theory and how it applies to the nature of our universe, then I highly recommend this book.
The author discusses his book from the Boston Museum of Science:
The Indispensable Jesus, by Doug Martin
Jesus is indispensable.
Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about most of this book.
It appears that an extremely intelligent, enthusiastic, and young Christian college professor has compiled a thousand pages of personal, devotional material and compiled it into this book by WestBow Press, a self-publishing subsidiary of Thomas Nelson.
The author means well and is passionate about his material.
Unfortunately, the sheer volume of material prevents a thorough reading.
I do recommend the author’s concluding thoughts on each topic. They are quite meaningful and thought-provoking.
If the author deleted most of his exposition and put out a brief devotional guide in the style of his many chapter conclusions, I would be very interested.
He has a great deal of potential.
This review was made possible because I received a free copy of the book from the publisher.
The MoneySmart Family System: Teaching Financial Independence to Children of Every Age, By Steve and Annette Economides
I’d never heard of the MoneySmart system before reading this book. In fact, other than teaching our kids to save some money and donate a bit to charity, I hadn’t considered how to prepare them for the adult world of money.
This book provides an excellent foundation for considering these things deeply and practically.
My family is not going to follow this system precisely. It’s far too rigid and prescriptive.
But it has given me plenty of ideas for how to help my children prepare for a lifetime of financial health without breaking the bank.
If you don’t mind picking and choosing elements from a very strict program, then I recommend giving this book a try!
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my unbiased review.
Mondays With My Old Pastor, by Jose Luis Navajo
This book tries very hard to share tender spiritual lessons, and at times it succeeds.
I enjoyed the parables embedded throughout this story. But the progression of the Old Pastor’s cancer was a distraction to the flow of the book.
Perhaps it made more sense in its original Spanish. It lost some of its power in translation.
Despite my concerns, this is a beautiful book. I found reading it to be a positive and formative experience.
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my unbiased review.
A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans
I do not have a vagina.
But I have a brain and a soul, and I loved this book.
It tells the story of a Christian woman’s attempt to take the Bible literally and live out its commands in modern-day society.
The results are at times hilarious and at other times thought-provoking.
Quite often, both happen at the same time.
I feel well-informed about the contents of the Bible. Like this author, I take my faith seriously. It informs my choices and influences by decisions.
But I learned some fascinating new things about old verses. The scholarship in this book is just as high-quality as the storytelling.
You’ve likely heard the hype and the controversy. Most of it is misguided. I give this book my highest recommendation. You will be challenged and you will grow in your faith.
