Wednesday, May 30
A book(s) report…
It’s been a while since I’ve given an update on a recommended reading list…This being the beginning of summer, I thought it’d be a great time to do so…(Really, I just want to mimic USA Today and the NY Times)
(It’s part of my personality that when I read something that really makes me think, or changes something in me, I become an advocate/apologist for that particular book. It’s that passionate and intense part of my personality oozing out…)
Some I’ve finished or almost finished in the last few weeks…
Father Joe & The Messiah of Morris Avenue, Tony Hendra Hendra was editor of Spy, National Lampoon, and played Ian Faith in ‘This is Spinal Tap”. He performed at Cambridge University with Monty Pythons John Cleese and Graham Chapman. So I was incredibly intrigued by the angle he’d take on faith.
Father Joe is a Hendra’s true story of finding faith through a Benedictine monk. It covers a period of 40 years or so and Hendra’s one constant in his life---the relationship with Father Joe that, in the most serious sense, saved it.The Messiah of Morris Avenue is set in a not-so-distant future where church and state walk hand in hand and a guy named Jay shows up driving around New Jersey in a battered van preaching radical notions like kindness, generosity, and forgiveness while tossing off a few miracles.
From the front flap, “Hendra brings to life a Savior who reminds the world of the lessons of love and kindness that Jesus actually taught as He wittily skewers all sorts of sanctimoniousness on both sides of the political spectrum. This one has a few ‘laugh out loud’ moments.
Sex God, Rob Bell I know, I know, it’s not Velvet Elvis (his first book), but it’s still good. Velvet Elvis is a definite read, but Sex God is still good. Especially Bell’s take on ‘This is actually about that’ when it comes to sex in our culture.Big Idea, Dave Ferguson, Jon Ferguson, Eric Bramlett (see yesterday’s post)
We begin Alan Hirsch's "The Forgotten Ways" tomorrow at book club...come join us here in Knoxville, 7:30am at the Church of Panera.
So…what ‘must reads’ do you have for summer?
Mark Nelson at 1:36 PM 9comments
9 Comments
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at 4:07 PM
Nicole said... I also just finished Sex God by Rob Bell, and I agree with you. It has good things to say, but Velvet Elvis is a better book. Though, the topic of Sex God is great and much needed.
I just read Anne Lamott's Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith, which was one of my least favorites of hers.
I'm in the middle of Growing Souls: Experiments for Contemplative Youth Ministry by Mark Yaconelli, which I am so completely digging, I got my hands on it before the release through Kevin's work. It's becoming a favorite, and after that I'm going to read his previous book Contemplative Youth Ministry.
Other things on my bedside table other than a Bio Bases text book and a Lifespan Development text book, are Stronger Than You Think: Becoming Whole Without Having to Be Perfect, a Woman's Guide by Kim Gaines Eckert, and Barbara Kingsolver's The Prodigal Summer.-
at 4:38 PM
Mark Nelson said...
Was Lamott's Grace (eventually) better or worse than "Plan B"?
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at 5:44 PM
Nicole said...
I thought worse... There are a couple of gems in some chapters, but those were actually previous Salon.com articles that I had read. On a scale of 5 stars, I would give Plan B a 3 or so, and I would give Grace(eventually) 2, only because of those few chapters on her relationship with her son as a teen that were good.
The rest of the time, I found myself skimming and a little put out by her preachiness, even when I agreed with her. Kevin didn't care for it either, and he's also a big Lamott fan.-
at 11:05 PM
Betsy said...
mark, you can borrow my copy, i'm almost done.
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at 8:43 AM
Betsy said...
p.s. it's growing on me.
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at 12:14 PM
The Adkins Family said...
My summer reading?
a big heaping helping of standingonthedesk dot com...
and the new Harry Potter.-
at 4:17 PM
said... Thanks for Big Idea...it's really good.
My list for the near future includes: "The Jesus Way" and "Christ Plays in 10 Thousand Places" by Eugene Peterson...
..."Simple Church"
..."Organic Church"
..."The 101 Dumbest Things Christians Do"
..."How We Are Hungy" by Dave Eggers whom I really like. If you haven't read "A Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius", you might want to give it a try. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I recommend, if you haven't read it, "Eat This Book." I haven't read anything lately that's really blown me away but I'm looking forward to McLaren's new book.-
at 11:23 AM
Paula Clare said...
My books for the summer are:
The New Friars: The Emerging Movement Serving the World's Poor by Scott Bessenecker
This is a wonderful book discussing the "Revolution" and the "missing numbers" in the modern church Barna speaks about...
Jesus in the Margins: Finding God in the Places We Ignore by Rick McKinley
A FABulous read. A great book to remind us "who's our neighbor?"
Reimagining Evangelism:Inviting Friends on a Spiritual Journey by Rick Richardson (Author of Evangelism Outside the Box)
Sacred Rhythms: Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation by Ruth Barton
Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us by Adele Calhoun
Francis of Assisi and His World by Mark Galli. A beautiful and artistic book about Francis and the Italian World during his time.
Unveiling Islam: An Insider's Look at Muslim Life and Beliefs by Ergun Mehmet Caner and Emir Fethi Caner
And my son Paul gave me the one that has been most nourishing to my soul: The World As I Remember It: Through the Eyes of a Ragamuffin by Rich Mullins and Ben Pearson
Beautiful art, beautiful poetry, beautiful soul-
at 7:59 PM
said...
Let's see, let's see...hmmm...
Barbie and Skipper Go To the Beach
Junie B. Jones Has a Monster Under Her Bed
Magic Treehouse number 10
Any of Sandra Boyington's books (love her!)
and last, but certainly not least:
Emma Kate (yes, we found a book that is the same exact first and middle name of my daughter - so it is a must read. Thank goodness it is good!)