Category Archives: books

The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In a world with great poverty and despair, what does God expect of his people? If our neighbors are people of relative affluence, what concern should we have for the poor? Grappling with these questions and others, Richard Stearns, president of World Vision US, writes an engaging and informative treatise to all Christians to life out the gospel with word and deed in the context of the world’s poor.

Weaving in his own personal testimony, Stearns considers the problem of poverty from various perspectives. As he explains how he left his position as the CEO of a large corporation to begin a new work he felt unequipped for in the private sector, he is also expounding on the Bible’s call to love the poor and needy. Describing his first visits to the third world, he embodies the statistics about poverty that he is also providing.

In an age where our influence can spread beyond a few square miles of our homes, Stearns lays out for readers how they can help to serve the suffering and why they ought to. I found the book compelling and thought provoking, but also winsome and easy to read. This book is one that I’d commend to any Christian, but in particular those who feel ill-equipped in their call towards mercy and justice. (9/10)

**I received this book from the publisher to review. My opinion I’ve expressed is my own.**

I first became aware of Nashville superstar pastor Pete Wilson when he followed me on twitter. I popped over to his blog, and his wife’s, and found him warm and likable. So I followed him back and have been watching him from afar for many months. I was intrigued by the book he was finishing up: Plan B: What Do You Do When God Doesn’t Show Up the Way You Thought He Would? With a subtitle like that, who wouldn’t be? When I had the opportunity to receive a copy for review, I jumped at the chance.

Suffering is a part of the christian life, and this question is one that I grapple with a lot. Pete’s analysis is honest, Christ-centered and pastoral. If you want an academic discourse on the problem of suffering, look elsewhere. This book is surprisingly easy to read, something I appreciated considering the foggy haze suffering can bring. Knowing that there aren’t any easy answers to the question, I appreciated the reinforcement of basic truths that Plan B provided.

Wilson uses stories from the Bible and the experiences of his friends to explain suffering from a Biblical perspective. I might have done it differently, and spent more time talking about how things will be different someday in the new heavens and the new earth. Explaining how Christ has started to redeem the world and make all things new. However, Plan B is a hopeful book, and a good one, and will be a good resource to the church in the years to come. (8.5/10)

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down by Andrea Davis Pinkney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This beautifully illustrated book details the famous sit-in at the Greensboro, NC Woolworth’s counter in 1960. The prose is moving, speckled with quotes that inspired the protesters and good detail. As a picture book ought to be, it is both easily understood and deep enough for older readers. Kate (who does have some exposure to the civil rights movement) grasped the storyline and was moved by the strength it took to stay still.

The simple, powerful prose is well matched by the illustrations. Watercolor paintings with ink, they come across as modern yet classic, and moving. The author used a repetitive motif of cooking that might come across a bit strong to some adults, however, I wasn’t distracted by it and consider it effective for young readers.

Though graphic about their struggles, the story isn’t scary or overwhelming to children. It would work well in any elementary grades, and even in some middle school classrooms. I’d commend it to any family who is building a personal library with any attention to covering American History or Civil Rights.

Kate, age 5 “I like this book, it told about Dr. King and his dreams, and how these boys followed his dreams by sitting at the white skin lunch table. They sat and they sat for a long time. People were mean to them. Now people all sit together. That’s why I like this book.”

**We received this book from the publisher to review. Our opinions are our own.**

When I requested this book from Thomas Nelson, I was excited to have a book of Bible maps to use as a reference. But it ended up being so much more. Photos, charts, and outlines, as well as downloadable PDFs, make this a great first stop for visual information related to the Bible. Additionally, each book of the Bible has an overview including things like the basic message and setting. I was impressed with the balance between historicity and orthodoxy, they seemed to hit the middle ground of the majority of evangelicalism and not lean too far towards fundamentalism or liberalism.

With over 500 pages, and a list price of under $20, this is the sort of resource that belongs on on each family’s bookshelf. If you serve as a teacher, you can even use duplicate these charts and maps for non-commercial use to share with your students. I can anticipate some great uses for homeschooling families as well.

If you simply want a book with large, full color maps that remind you of the ones in the back of your Bible, this is probably not the best choice. But as an all-around resource, it really shines.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

I have been writing some children’s book reviews here and there, I figured y’all might find them useful, so here are some previews with links to the full review. All of them should be available at your local public library.

The Princess and the Pea by Rachel Isadora (5/5) …the illustrations are truly engaging and beautiful and stand on their own merit, not just as a non-white version of a classic.

The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren (4/5) A sweet story that many will probably think of as “Little House in Sweden.”

Mama Miti by Donna Jo Napoli, Illustrated by Kadir Nelson (5/5) The oil paintings and collage illustrations by Kadir Nelson are beautiful and striking, they seem to make a faraway world more real to readers, integrating African textiles and motifs.

Martin’s Big Words by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Bryan Collier (5/5) Martin’s Big Words is a book that every family ought to own. It’s the best introduction to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that we have come across, something appropriate for even four or five-year-olds.

A novel in short stories, Olive Kitteridge is a skilled weaving of tales to show the way lives intersect with one another in a small coastal village in Maine, and in doing so, teach us about community everywhere.

The stories are raw and real, and the protagonist, if she can be called such, is rude, overbearing and larger than life. To know Olive is to be flummoxed by her, and yet, like Henry readers find themselves undeniably smitten with her.

Loneliness, depression, longing and pain are all vivid parts of the lives of those documented, and sometimes things don’t end up the way you’d want them to be, but the book wasn’t without hope. Somehow, the weaving of these stories together mirrored the weaving of all of our stories to me, and gave me a glimpse of something beautiful.

Virtue is also apparent in the lives of these Crosby residents. Loyalty, faithfulness, kindness… in their small connections community is born and grows. And community sustains them through many hardships. It’s a lovely book, and is even able to talk about difficult things with grace and beauty, and I’d recommend it to almost anyone. (9/10)

Kathleen Norris’ little book about “laundry, liturgy and ‘women’s work'” is a must read for anyone who struggles to see the value in repetitive tasks. Quotidian is a word from the Latin meaning daily or ordinary, and in our society where we feel measured by our output, these everyday things like laundry, cooking and dishes can be very discouraging to those who do them day in and day out. It might also be a good read for a spouse who has trouble understanding exactly what their partner does day in and day out. The author is not a stay-at-home mother, so homemakers who work in or outside the home, with or without children, will all relate to her insights. It’s a work that is short and very readable, having been delivered as a lecture series, but also thought provoking and deep. I expect that I will be coming back to it again in years to come, for encouragement and insight to sustain me in my daily work. (9.5/10)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first in a trilogy of crime novels written by Stieg Larsson. Originally published in Swedish, it was an international best seller long before I ever heard of it. I am not typically a fan of modern crime novels, but some rave ratings on goodreads persuaded me to give this one a try.

From the first chapters, I was hooked, even though the novel starts slowly and develops over time. I suppose what pulled me in is how well written and translated it is and the dynamic and interesting characters. The mystery itself intrigued me, a classic “locked-room format in an island setting” as the protagonist, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, describes.

The titular character is a hacker turned private investigator who gives the novel a certain edge. She’s likely a woman with Asperger’s Syndrome, but in spite of her difficulties connecting with people, she is extremely sympathetic to readers, and forms an instant bond with Blomkvist that is genuine and believable.

The original title was Men Who Hated Women, and there is a fair amount of misogyny and some descriptions of violence, particularly against women. I didn’t find them gratuitous or excessive, but be forewarned. Eagerly anticipating the next two installments, I am also sad that Larsson died so young without being able to give readers even more to look forward to. (8/10)

I quoted this book recently, and would be remiss if I didn’t give it a mini-review now that I’ve finished it. If you enjoy theology, this is a must read. The topic of holiness is addressed systematically in a way that applies to all of life. It’s thought-provoking, but readable, not dry in the least. As it was originally delivered a a lecture series, it’s more easily understood than many other theological works of its calibre. I was engaged by every page. The short chapters and many sub-chapters make it easy to pick up and put down if you don’t have hours to devote to reading daily. (9.5/10)

From Fear to Freedom is an account of one woman’s realization over many years of how she was living in a way that contradicted what she thought she believed about God and the world. I had a hard time connecting to this book in some ways, but I think it may be a good thing. The message that was so life changing for Rose Marie, her paradigm shift from an orphan to a daughter mentality, is one that I have been taught well for many years, due in part to her family’s influence.

I’d recommend this book to someone coming out of a more legalistic tradition, or that struggles to believe that they are loved by God. (6/10)

Wendell Berry is a prophet for our time, and this is a great introduction to his non-fiction. Life is a Miracle describes how lack of connection to the community, over-specialization and lack of dialogue between the disciplines hurts everyday people, the land, and more. In his novels and essays, membership is a recurring theme. In Life is a Miracle, Berry asserts that true leadership is impossible without membership. The disconnect between leaders and policy-makers and the people they influence would be greatly diminished if there was membership as a basis for leadership instead of professionalism (career politicians, etc.) Though the book is structured as a response to another book, I did not feel like I needed to have read it to appreciate Life is a Miracle. (8.5/10)

Things that are terrifying or filled with sadness are not necessarily without beauty. The Book Thief is a story that exemplifies that principle. The characters are real and complex and the plot is captivating. But more than that, it’s a book that shows the humanity of different individuals, while not shying away from the brutality of others.

Using Death as the narrator adds another dimension to the novel. Nothing is new to Death, and yet he is moved and intrigued by this story and shares it with us, showing us the complexity of humanity.

The Book Thief is the best contemporary young adult book I’ve read. I know some people feel it was wrongly marketed that way, but I think it fits the audience well, while not writing down to them. The voice and style are distinct enough to make it feel special, while the subject matter and characters are real enough to tell a great deal of truth about the human condition. It will be interesting to watch and see if it finds a place in school literature curricula. (9.5/10)