This year I wanted to blog about the books I am reading as the year went on. At first it was going to be quarterly, then it turned to twice a year, and now it's July. I was going to post all the books I have read so far, in a list sort of fashion and that was going to be it, BUT our friend Jeff came over this week and challenged me to write reviews of the books in twitter format: only 140 characters. I decided not to include the titles of the books in the 140 count. Get ready.....
1. The Series of Unfortunate Events: Lemony Snicket: Wide Window #3, The Mill #4, The Austere Academy #5:story line seems to be the same, bad guy disguise, adults don't believe, bad guy found out, gets away. book 5 had hopes of an ongoing story
2. Pagan Christianity: Frank Viola and George Barna: interesting history of how Christianity started. One author burnt out on traditional church. Too bitter. one factual.
3. Born Standing Up: Steve Martin: great writer. Interesting story of him growing up. Recommended
4. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Lewis Carroll: One drug trip that I don't want to go on again.
5. Tales of Beetle the Bard : J.K. Rowling: Nice little background. Loved Dumbledore's notes. Very quick read.
6. The Giver: Lois Lowry: Blew my mind. Will definitely read again. Reminded me of 1984.
7. Neverwhere: Neil Gaiman: Not Gaiman's best, that would be The Graveyard Book.
Still pretty good story. Liked it.
8. In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash: Jean Shepherd: I think I would like to hear his voice tell me the stories more, BUT the fireworks story about his dad made me laugh out loud on the bus.
9. I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This!: Bob Newhart: Great book! Story about having his first child is priceless.
10. Angels & Demons: Dan Brown: Sucked me in once again. Best part is that Robert Langdon had a Mickey Mouse watch that glowed in the dark.
11. IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas: Chuck Klosterman: Essays were funny. Interviews with celebrities were the best. Skip the fiction stories, I did.
12. Fail-Safe: Eugene Burdick and Harvey Wheeler: Tense! I even knew the ending and it was still good. Recommended.
13. Myth of a Christian Nation: Gregory Boyd: Great read. Challenged my ideas, solidified others. Read it!
14. The Hobbit: J.R. Tolkien: Finally got around to reading this classic. On to the trilogy!
15. Pride and Prejudice and Zombie: Jane Austen & Seth Grahame: Zombie were funny, but just an added backdrop. They did not get their own storyline. Disappointed.
16. Jesus Wants To Save Christians: Rob Bell: Good quick read. Stirring the soul kind of book. Resonated with it quite a bit.
That's all the books for now. Maybe I should do this more often so the list isn't so long next time...
Love ya,
Dave
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4 comments:
Impressive. You don't have kids, do you? *wink*
Great idea Dave! Makes me want to read a few of those on your list.
Walt Disney Biography: Walt makes cartoons. Mom Dies. Spoiler Alert.
Nice, Dave! I love book lists. And these nice short reviews are great for my attention span.
I thought "Pagan Christianity?" was a great read. I certainly didn't see the author as bitter; rather, he writes from the standpoint of desiring to point out what is keeping the Body of Christ from experiencing the fullness that our Lord desires for His Church. Pointing out the flaws and dangers of a system doesn't have to mean that you're bitter or hurt.
Also, thought you might be interested to know that the sequel to “Pagan Christianity?” is out now. It’s called “Reimagining Church”. It picks up where “Pagan Christianity” left off and continues the conversation. (“Pagan Christianity” was never meant to be a stand alone book; it’s part one of the conversation.) “Reimagining Church” is endorsed by Leonard Sweet, Shane Claiborne, Alan Hirsch, and many others. You can read a sample chapter at
http://www.ReimaginingChurch.org .
It’s also available on Amazon.com. Frank is also blogging now at http://www.frankviola.wordpress.com .
Also, for a look at the purpose and vision behind these books, check out Viola's brand new book, "From Eternity to Here" at http://www.frometernitytohere.org .
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