Book List

If you want to know what I’ve been reading, here’s a list of the last 15 books I’ve read.  The Format is Title (author) synopsis [score from 1-10]                                    

Handle With Care (Jodi Picoult) [9]  I have a love/hate relationship with Mrs. Picoult.  Love My Sister’s Keeper and 19 Minutes.  Can’t stand anything else she wrote.  They seem so formulaic.  Sick kids + tough ethical choices + terrible endings=Jodi Picoult.  And then I was frustrated that Hollywood changed the ending of My Sister’s Keeper.  Yeah, it’s more realistic but the book jarred me.  And I remembered it.  Enter her latest book.  Same formula.  But who says great writing and character development always means a perfect ending?  I think it’s her best book yet.

 

Exodus: Why Americans are fleeing Liberal Churches for Conservative Christianity (Dave Shiflett) [5]  Mr. Shiflett writes a good sentence, paragraph, even a chapter.  But this book really didn’t answer the question it proposed in its sub-title.  Completely anecdotal, but entertaining, Shiflett failed to demonstrate exactly why Americans are fleeing Liberal Churches for conservative ones. 

 

Too Small to Ignore: why the least of these matters most (Wess Stafford) [8] After hearing Dr. Stafford speak at the Leadership Summit I was given a free copy of his book.  And because he spoke so passionately about children and his leadership at Compassion International I read it.  While it wasn’t the greatest book of all time, his anecdotes about his childhood spent in Africa was incredible.  I plan on reading those to my children soon.  Plus, he showed how this background (much of it difficult) prepared him for his current ministry, which is meeting the real needs of children all over the world.

 

Fantasyland (Sam Walker) [7] Sportswriter jumps into elite rotisserie baseball league to discover the interaction between Major League Baseball and “make believe” baseball.  If you play fantasy baseball, you’ll like it.  If not, probably not.

 

The Monkey and the Fish (Dave Gibbons) [6] Good, not great…making me think though.  Just not enough concrete stuff for me.   Read part 1 of the my blog post on this.

 

Eyewitness to Power (David Gergen) [6] I heard Gergen interviewed at the Leadership Summit about leadership lessons he learned from serving Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton.  Great interview.  Book was the interview X 10 in terms of content but nothing really added to the lessons learned in the interview. 

 

The Ministry of Intercession (Andrew Murray) [8] Redundant…redundant…and exactly what I needed to read.  Also, one chapter was a little too “works-righteousness” sounding but this is definitely a book on prayer that I need to read at this time in my journey. 

 

The Human Voice (Anne  Karpf) [4] My rating is based only on my disappointment in what I was lead to believe this book was really about based on the cover jacket.  If you want a thorough history of the human voice, why it’s changing, when pre-natal infants can hear it, etc., then you’ll enjoy the book. 

 

Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs  (Bill Hybels)  [7]  Hybels has been an icon of mine for a while.  And his book doesn’t disappoint.  Every leader should read it.  But it wasn’t worthy enough to garner more than 7 out of 10 because some of the proverbs are so obvious and Hybels didn’t add to their discussion.

 

Beyond Sex Roles: What the Bible Says about a Woman’s Place in Church and Family (Gilbert Bilezikian) [9]  I have always struggled with this issue theologically because it seems that the Scriptures contradict themselves.  Fortunately Bilezikian does an outstanding job of clearing the debris to see the new covenant ethic that Jesus and Paul taught was normative for the new community CHURCH, the Body of Christ.  It’s refreshing to see an argument for women in ministry and mutual submission in marriage based on BIBLICAL arguments and not mere cultural ones. 

 

The Secret Speech (Tom Rob Smith) [8]  In this sequel to the most excellent “CHILD 44″ Tom Rob Smith continues the story of a KGB agent “gone good” who has to live with his past mistakes.  This story keeps moving and while not as character-driven as CHILD 44, Smith’s eclectic style of short sentences keeps me engrossed as he moves the plot quickly without eliminating enough detail to put you into the story. 

In Times of Crisis and Sorrow – A Minister’s Manual Resource Guide (Carol Noren) [6]  Great book for a new pastor or seminarian.  The first 100 pages give a theological background and tips to caring for the dying and caregivers, etc.  The best part are the funeral suggestions and ideas.  Can never have enough good ideas….

 Hello Goodbye: A Novel (Emily Chenoweth)  [9]  If you’re looking for a feel-good plot-driven book, don’t bother reading Hello Goodbye.  But if you want to get into the minds and thoughts and memories of a family facing the death of a mother by cancer then this is a must-read.  I really didn’t want to read this book because my mom died from cancer.  But I decided to start it and had a hard time putting it down.  So often throughout the book Chenoweth gave me words to what I had gone through and what I imagined my mother and father had too. 

When March Went Mad: The Game That Transformed Basketball (Seth Davis) [8] Well-written account of the game “that changed college basketball” between Michigan State (and Magic Johnson) and Indiana State (and Larry Bird).  Actually it is more than about “just the game,” but all the events at both schools and both players that led to that historical moment. 

 How Do You Know You’re Not Wrong?: Responding to Objections That Leave Christians Speechless (Paul Copan) [7] Copan does a fine job of answering the “tough questions” but sometimes does it in a way that is “too heady.”  Maybe I’m just not that smart, but there were some parts in the book that were over my head.  If that’s the case, how can we answer objections if those listening don’t understand?

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman (John Krakauer) [6]  Haven’t read a JK book since his brilliantly haunting true story “Into Thin Air.”  That book was a 10!  However well Krakauer can write, it doesn’t make a non-fiction story line grabbing enough.  Enjoyed reading Pat Tillman’s story but not immensely. 

What’s a good book that you’ve read lately and recommend?