Category Archives: books

We Love Amy (who loves books!)

Posted on 01.Aug.05 by | 1 comment

Our mail came late today, but when it finally arrived, we were delighted to find a package from Amy, who loves books enough to send us a dozen wonderful ones — some from our wishlists and some fun kid books, all in excellent condition and many in hardback. It was like Christmas. Thank you, Amy!

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Posted in books, family life

Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity by Lauren Winner

Posted on 25.Jul.05 by | 13 comments

I hadn’t even finished the preface to Real Sex before I breathed a sigh of relief and thanksgiving that someone had finally written this book. Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity is a book that has been needed for quite some time, and Lauren Winner was up to the task. I read and thoroughly enjoyed her first two books (Girl Meets God and Mudhouse Sabbath) and am glad that she used her gifts at bringing the theological, historical, sociological and personal together in a compelling way on the subject of chastity. Continue reading →

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Posted in books, culture, reviews

Post-Reading Reactions-BUMPED

Posted on 24.Jul.05 by | 41 comments

Kristen and I will get the book midnight tonight. Below we’ll begin to post our thoughts as we are reading. Add your comments below!

Beware of Spoilers!

I thought I would bump this thread up a bit.

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Posted in books

HP and HBP Predictions

Posted on 15.Jul.05 by | 3 comments

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is released tonight. Any predictions?
Continue reading →

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Mini-Reviews

Posted on 13.Jul.05 by | 3 comments

Playful Parenting by Lawrence Cohen (8) Written by a psychologist who works as a play therapist, this book is a great reminder of how important it is to connect with your children and also has some great strategies for working through problems through play. Yeah, he’s a secular psychologist and there’s things he says I disagree with, but overall I found the book incredibly helpful. (Borrowed from the library.)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling (9) I am so excited for the new book… (From the bookshelf.)

Mystical Paths by Susan Howatch (8) Another great Starbridge novel. This time we’re treated to a more conventional male seminarian as a narrator, and I can find nothing to complain about! (Borrowed from the library.)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling (9) Rereading this was a special treat. There were so many little details I forgot. I can’t wait to find out what Harry got on his O.W.L.s! (From the bookshelf.)

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Posted in books, reviews

HP & POA

Posted on 09.Jul.05 by | 5 comments

I watched Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban the other night with some friends, after re-reading the book a few days earlier. I am shocked at how much was changed. The movie was fine. I never really noticed the changes a year earlier in the theatres and thoroughly enjoyed it. Watching it right after reading it, however, the differences stick out. Sometimes they’re petty — Hermione slaps Malfoy in the book, punches in the movie — and sometimes they’re more substantial. JKR tells an elaborate story of how — for a few people — Sirius is finally proved innocent; the movie took too many short cuts.

All of this made me wonder: I know this story already. I know the background to something that happens for only a few seconds or is in the background of the shot. How much sense did the movie make to someone who hadn’t read the book? How much more (if any) would someone get from watching it again after having finally read the book?

Final thought: if they did all this editing for POA, what will they do to GOF or OOTP? There is too much to cut in GOF/OOTP. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see.

5 Comments

Posted in books, movies

The Boy Who Lived …

Posted on 02.Jul.05 by | 6 comments

… and the Man who rose!

After listening to the 25 June edition of the White Horse Inn, I’ve been re-reading the HP books looking specifically for Christ. The guest, who is the author of Finding God in Harry Potter (at least, I think that’s the title), claims that in every book there is a figurative death-and-resurrection accompanied by “Christ-symbols”.

I finished re-reading the first last night, and there was. Harry, after defeating Voldemort, is put into a coma and doesn’t come out for three days, as Dumbledore tells Harry.

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Posted in books

Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

Posted on 28.Jun.05 by | 8 comments

Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz is hard to categorize. It’s a rambling, personal memoir written about one man’s spiritual journey. The subtitle is “Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality,” and I think that’s a candid summary of the book itself. Blue Like Jazz isn’t biblical exposition or systematic theology, it’s one man’s musings on some topics related to faith. Continue reading →

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Posted in books, culture, reviews

Mini Reviews

Posted on 28.Jun.05 by | 4 comments

I’d like to write a few full length reviews, but to get my list uncluttered, here are a few mini reviews of recent reads:

Scandalous Risks by Susan Howatch (6) My least favorite of the Starbridge series so far, probably because the narrator is (a) a woman and (b) not a member of the Anglican clergy. I still liked it, just not as much as the others.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (9) Continuing the reread countdown…

Angels and Demons by Dan Brown (5) A trashy novel read entirely at Barnes & Noble over the course of three visits. I like his academic thrillers because they are easy to read and move quickly, but they are certainly below the skill of A.S. Byatt and others who write in the genre.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (10) Still continuing the reread countdown. This is my favorite HP book so far.

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Posted in books, reviews