Deep Church by Jim Belcher was a very quick read, at just over 200 pages. This spiritual-non-fiction work is devoted to finding a 'third way' of church; an in-between of a Traditional Church Model and the Emergent model. Very informative, but still even a bit too formal for me if I'm thinking about melding the two models together. If you like informative works about the Christian church, this is a good book to read.
The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne is much more approachable to those who are new to Christianity, or know nothing about Christianity. This guy is a self-proclaimed rebel, and in thinking about our materialistically driven culture, his asceticism ways are definitely that. His goal is to find 'missions' all over in our own back yard, get to know the face of poverty, and do something tangible about it. This book, although thick at just under 400 pages, reads very quickly with it's personable style. I feel the asceticism could be toned down a bit, as many people would not know how to sift one extreme (materialsm) from the other (commune-style living) in order to find a balance.
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Hmm, Beth Moore. I love Beth Moore's bible studies, but not her books. This one was pretty good. Informative, personable, funny. I would recommend it to someone who needs to be encouraged or informed of what insecurity actually is and how it is played out in our everyday life. It's really everywhere, for women. Some may not agree, but I found this book to be a cold splash of water in the face for most people who battle insecurity (men? women? I know you're out there!). Down to every knitty gritty defensive feeling or the big whoppers of a very hurtful past, she's talking about it, and trying to heal it.
Beach read alert. This book, after getting through the first semi-boring 50 pages, was actually quite an enjoyable and quick read. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen is all about a magical little town where 5 people with very different pasts come together and are revealed to be more than they appear. The main character, Josey, is a lovable, but trying 20something who figures her life can be lived for herself, rather than her family.
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Currently Reading:
What the Dog Saw by Malcom Gladwell (Blink, The Tipping Point) was a birthday gift from my best friend. I've wanted to read it since March, but haven't been able to get to it until this Summer. His nonfiction books have been on the NYTimes bestsellers lists for..I don't know..years?! I love nonfiction, and so have always been drawn to reading a book of his.
This is a compilation of essays on how the brain works in various ways. Here are the subtitles for his three parts: Obsessives, Pioneers, and Other Varieties of Minor Genius; Theories, Predicitons, and Diagnoses; and finally Personality, Character, and Intelligence. NOT a beach read, for sure, but still very interesting. I'm about 2/3 of the way through it, though the amount of people I would recommend it to is narrow: heavy nonfiction readers. If you read The New Yorker, you'd like it. All these essays (and the author) have been written for that periodical for years.
Last but certainly not least, A.W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy. I'm only half way with this one, but I have read it fully before. This is just a small 120 page book, but it is packed with meat about Who God Is? and His attributes. I recommend this, or any other of Tozer's books to someone looking to know more about God, from the newest Christian to the oldest. This diet is rich. Hard to read, and enough so that I can only read one or two 4-page chapters per day, this author never disappoints.
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What are you reading these days?
Comments
Malcolm Gladwell is one of my favorites; but I guess I am a "heavy non-fiction reader". :) In that I tend to prefer non-fiction to fiction.
Having said that, I am reading "The Help" on the recommendation of a couple of friends, and enjoying it so far. And it's FICTION! Gasp! :)