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Voysey, Sheridan - Unseen Footprints

Dad dumped this one into my hands and said "Read it"... as you do. So I read it and I liked it. I was encouraged and inspired. Parts of it might've had a bit of an emotional impact on me (maybe).

"By using excellent examples from contemporary culture, Unseen Footprints provides an excitingly fresh and creative look at the intersections of the divine in daily life, and presents the faith in a way which connects with today's generation. It explores our responses to situations of pain, fame, yearning and delight without descending to sentimentality or religiosity."

It fits well within the same class as 'STORY'. And you should read it some time. You should read both. Better still, this one is written by an Australian... and won Australian Christian Book of the Year (not that I ever knew that existed, or who decides it). It's good.

Collins, Wilkie - The Moonstone

Well a lot of other books got in the way, and it was a bit of a long haul (It's a decent length really) but this is a fantastic mystery and a bit of a classic. Intriguing, funny with very well developed characters (unlike lots of modern detective stories) and told from several perspectives.

quoted by T.S. Eliot as, "The first and greatest English detective novel."

Good fun!

Elliot, Elisabeth - Passion and Purity

I read it upon the recommendation of a friend. It's the 'classic' Christian book on purity I guess.

To be honest, I wasn't really that impressed. It was very old fashioned - granted. And there was a lot in there about physical purity, it just confused me (looking a bit objectively) that in some way she was - it's the story of her and Jim Elliot's courtship roughly, extremely emotionally involved and he was pulling strings that way. But hey... not being a 'feeler' kind of person and being very strongly 'T' perhaps I just see things differently.

I didn't really get a lot out of the book. It had some good stuff in there if you were 'long distancing' but yeah... no.

Winton, Tim - Cloudstreet

Oh wow.

If there is one fictional book you ever should read, it is this.

Harris, Joshua - Sex is not the Problem (Lust is)

Right, well there's another J-Harris book knocked off the list. Not a bad little book. In that it had some good pointers. Some of it wasn't that relevant (although it is written for both genders). Short read. Best thing that's come from it really was a reminder about the importance of knowing the Bible and being intentional about I guess learning verses around things (be it lust or other) we struggle with.

Kaye, M.M - The Ordinary Princess

What can I say... I picked it up for a bit of fun.
Very fairytale style a down the line sequal to Sleeping Beauty.

Lucado, Max - Cure for the Common Life

The first half made me angry. The second I quite liked.

I'm not sure about how well his writing style gels with what I like to read. The actual content was good and I have yet to do the survey in the back. It makes sense. In some ways it was encouraging in others, simply frustrating.

Dahl, Roald - George's Marvellous Medicine

It was a last minute descision before going to sleep. A toss up between George's Marvellous Medicine, The Twits and Fantastic Mr. Fox. George won out for 'the first one'. It didn't take long to get through and still managed to have some of the magic it did when I was younger. I appreciate Roald Dahl's writing and for that short fun story you can't go past pretty much anything he's written.

Sachar, Louis - Holes

Fantastic read. It's a kids novel but pure genius.

Very clever. Nicely written. Won a stack of awards. Highly entertaining and touches on lots of important stuff ever so lightly.

Apparently they've even made a movie of it: screenplay by the author. I'm keen.

"If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy." Such is the reigning philosophy at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility where there is no lake, and there are no happy campers. In place of what used to be "the largest lake in Texas" is now a dry, flat, sunburned wasteland, pocked with countless identical holes dug by boys improving their character. Stanley Yelnats, of palindromic name and ill-fated pedigree, has landed at Camp Green Lake because it seemed a better option than jail. No matter that his conviction was all a case of mistaken identity, the Yelnats family has become accustomed to a long history of bad luck, thanks to their "no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather!" Despite his innocence, Stanley is quickly enmeshed in the Camp Green Lake routine: rising before dawn to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet in diameter; learning how to get along with the Lord of the Flies-styled pack of boys in Group D; and fearing the warden, who paints her fingernails with rattlesnake venom. But when Stanley realizes that the boys may not just be digging to build character--that in fact the warden is seeking something specific--the plot gets as thick as the irony.

It's a strange story, but strangely compelling and lovely too. Louis Sachar uses poker-faced understatement to create a bizarre but believable landscape--a place where Major Major Major Major of Catch-22 would feel right at home. But while there is humor and absurdity here, there is also a deep understanding of friendship and a searing compassion for society's underdogs. As Stanley unknowingly begins to fulfill his destiny--the dual plots coming together to reveal that fate has big plans in store--we can't help but cheer for the good guys, and all the Yelnats everywhere. (Ages 10 and older) --Brangien Davis" (review from Amazon)

James, Steven - Story

I did forget to put this up. I believe I got sidetracked. Exceptional book! I bought it on a whim and didn't realise quite what a find I'd made.

Very different way of apporoaching the Bible and the narrative that it is. Absolute gold. Covers a range of themes and doesn't sugar coat much - and oddly at the same time has some poetry through it (don't run away screaming) - it's quite bearable, quite good, quite candid.

Worth tracking down. If not. I'll force it into your hands (if I happen to know you) and make you read it.

stevenjames.net

Feldhahn, Shaunti & Jeff - For Men Only

Okay. I'm not a Man. But I've read the female version (For Women Only), infact I even own it. That got recommended by someone at Tabor. It was... interesting, although I'd have to go back and reread for a better idea. So I've been eyeing off the alternate version at Sam's house. Managed to borrow it and gave it the read in one hit test.

These books both acknowledge that they do make large assumptions about women/men based on their findings and I'm glad they do. Reading this was my 'test' for potentially how accurate the other book is. This one I can guage with personal experience (being female and all).

So, it's not perfect. Things so rarely are. But I was still intrigued by what was put forward (a lot of which I would pick) and impressed by their ability to name and describe some of the stuff I was only semi-conscious of. It is nice now and then to have that insight in to why you react/respond. I also found that in recognising some of what (some) guys don't understand the converse of understanding their differences was further emphasised despite it thoroughly not being about them.

So there you go. Now I'll just have to trial both copies on... some happy to oblige male. (I might have one in mind). It'll at least make for interesting discussion. Here's to slamming theories and generalisations into the dirt and to maybe even getting something out of it.

NB: Although they do write to couples (eg. boyfriend/girlfriend) and married couples - they more frequently write towards the married direction. This is something to be wary of. It depends on the individuals, how you treat it and what you clarify before shoving this at the person you spend lots of time thinking about. A little discrection advised.

btw.... I don't just read 'relationshipy' books - I just finish them quickly as they merit x amount of time and not so much more. The next up should be 'Story' by James someone. And I'm telling you it's brilliant! Warrants far more than a read in one sitting.

Harris, Joshua - Boy Meets Girl

Wooo corny blah de blah. Joshua Harris. Mixed bag. Too much.

I confess up until now I'd heard a lot about 'I Kissed Dating Goodbye' (bit late for that) and even this title. But never actually read any of it. Anyway I managed to find this one reasonably cheap the other day and gave it the 'read in one hit' treatment. I think it was actually two sittings that it took (but the three last pages don't count) not that, that is relevant whatsoever.

I was, oddly enough, quite surprised. It was actually a pretty decent read with some excellent principles. It is true that I wouldn't ever exactly replicate their possibly a little too formal method of going about things. It did push me to consider a few things and evaluate myself and my relationship - simply poking the stick at a few things I've already thought/talked about. At the same time, the book recognises the fluidity of relationships and the differences in people etc.

I think it's possibly worth going back through a bit slower. As with all things. Read widely and never go exactly by the book (unless it's the Bible and even then there are all kinds of interpretation/translation issues).

A good word for this though. It's later Joshua Harris stuff. I'd be curious to get my hands on the earlier, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" simply to feed my curiousity. I wouldn't mind having a look at "Not Even a Hint" or whatever that one's called.

I have no time for anyone who backhands his stuff without having taken the time to read it. (Now that I'm no longer one of them...)

Peck, M. Scott - The Different Drum: Community Making and Peace

I did the discourtesy of borrowing this off Tim a long time before I've actually gotten around to reading it. I'm wondering a bit if it hasn't come off a little worse for wear about travelling in my bag back and forth from uni.

Very interesting read. The community theories and every other little mind blowing other thing in there were rather facinating and hopefully feasable. I had the benefit of seeing at least one of these slightly more unusual tactics employed during a Wednesday night Young Adults. We took the chance to 'speak out' something a bit personal in front of the group with zero compulsion, let alone allowance to respond. Something clicked, and it made the whole experience (of both the book and the evening) more tangible. I had the 'why' background, an insider understanding. It was a beautiful and quite powerful thing to watch unfold.

The latter third of the book centres much more around the 'peace'. Unfortunately this comes with the bent on US Politics and the Arms Race (to which I am a tad ashamed of that in my twenty years, have never really heard much about before - and which I'm still not fully certain I know the extent or power grain in which the whole deal operates). It was interesting, but not quite as glove-hit-glove.

It's worth a read if you like to stretch your mind and be challenged about how you are living in relation to others. The Stages of Spirituality from 'Chaos to Mystic' take up a decent section of the book. Parts of it make a lot of sense. As with any Scott Peck book (and it's a bit absurb to claim to be an authority when this is only the second one of his I've read), take it with a grain - no, make that a pinch of salt, while not letting the good slip by. There is much good.

Miller, Donald - Searching For God Know's What

I really like this guy's stuff FAR too much.

BRILLIANT book.

Got a huge amount out of it to think about. Almost think that parts of it topped Blue Like Jazz (same author).

Very conversational. All about the God/man (that being human) relationship and not playing it out 'formula' style. Worth it's weight in whatever I paid for it and a bit more.

Thomas, Angela - A Beautiful Offering

I took a lot of weeks to get through this. I had wanted to take it slowly so as to get more worth out of the pages. The book pretty much takes you through the Beattitudes. I'm not a hundred percent sure I'm a huge fan of her writing style (which I think sometimes duck-dives at times) but that doesn't detract from what was shared. It had it's moments of not being so fantastic and others where it was entirely spot on and really helpful.I think collectively I really did get a lot out of this book.

Sorry guys it really is aimed at females this book - somehow I just don't think you'd find her examples very relevant.

Ward, Pete - Mass Culture: Eucharist and Mission in a Post-Modern World

VERY thought provoking book. I certainly took my time with it. The articles/chapters vary in perspective which gives you probably a better balance on what is the Eucharist and how it relates to mission. Pete Ward is only the editor, chapters are written by those from a variety of denominations (of which aren't ever stated clearly at the start of each chapter, which I liked).

I think I'd have to go back and take small bits of it to process again. Some of the stuff blows your mind and offers something pretty different and more tangible ways to treat what I often treat as 'just another thing I do at church' that yeah, does have a bit of meaning...

Ortberg, John - Love Beyond Reason

Unfortunately my cover is highly more tacky than this one (with a big blue butterfly) - the bi-line to the title is: Moving God's love from your head to your heart. I don't know if it quite worked in that regard, but it had some interesting principles, fantastic quotes and some surprisingly familiar illustrations. I still haven't worked out where I've heard them from before.
It moved pretty well. I didn't like his 'ragdoll' analogy which was pretty prevailant, probably something generational.
Still, not a bad read, I have heaps of corners folded to chase up the quotes. And there's a thought and a half in each of those.

Keillor, Garrison - Lake Wobegon Days

It's taken me a long time to get through this one. As Mum said, "I read that once, I never really knew what it was about but it was still funny."
I entirely agree.
Very difficult to follow - not a story as such, but hundreds of glimpses into this imaginary yet lifelike 'outback' American town.
Completely hilarious, where the author has taken liberty of using footnotes to add alternate notions and points. The footnotes take a bit of getting used to but are by far the making of the story.
This is apparently a bit of a 'comic classic'. I'm glad I managed to persevere and get the whole. I have no idea even now who the main character really is, despite his narrating and I think pretty constant presence. Well worth the read, but I doubt I'll be picking it up again.

Chapman, Gary - The Five Love Languages for Singles

I'm fairly familiar already with the principles behind the books despite never having read the original. I bought this to check out the perspectives on friendships/family etc as well as the whole male/female business and the original apparently does look very much at it all from a 'marrieds' perspective, and well - I'm not.

An interesting read. I've always liked the concepts because I like analysing people. It did make all the more clear to me how high quality time is on my 'list'.

But the cover... it's disgraceful :P Certainly wouldn't entice me to read it.

Virden, Holly - If Singleness is a Gift, What's the Return Policy?

Another, read other people's theories to make me think book. Quite good. Some bits I weren't too keen on. At least it's not a 'stay single forever' book - but treats it as a season. A bit um slightly fluffy in the Jesus is my husband edge. It does acknowledge that Jesus is a lot more than a mere replacement which is a good thing.

Co-authored by Michelle Mc-Kinney Hammond. So two writing styles in the one book, but it worked. It had some pretty good points in it, well thought out, quite Biblical. Worth a read but I wouldn't go stake out a whole, 'how to be living singly sucessfully' on just it.

Southall, Ivan - Hills End

One of the most fantastic books I ever read when I was younger. An opinion shared by pretty much everyone in my house. I like having a read again occasionally. I haven't read it for probably 4 or 5 years.

Extremely fast paced, quite believeable and set in Australia.

I enjoyed it hugely yet again.

Moore, Beth - A Woman And Her God

Really don't bother.

I was not impressed with the writing style at all - and this is done by at least 7 authors. Maybe it'd click with an older more traditional Christian female, but erm no. I only finished it because I bought it and not too happy I did.

Sure there were a few good points, but the whole experience was rather painful.

de Saint-Exupery, Antoine - The Little Prince

A classic. I read it in one sitting with my mouth just about as open as it could get. Utterly fantastic! Strangely insightful. One of those books that is completely delightful in every little way. Curious philosophical moments despite having been written for Children (apparently) and having been translated from French.

It's short, it's really good, it's worth the half hour of more you devote to it.

Or... read it online!

Adams, Scott - God's Debris

Someone (I think it was Reinhard) shuffled this link my way some time ago.

God's Debris

You can read the whole thing online if you so desire (I did) - free. By the guy who does the Dilbert cartoons. It's bizarre, unusual. I read it too quickly, be discerning. Read it to make you think but don't go start a cult off of it.

This is not a Dilbert book. It contains no humor. I call it a
132-page thought experiment wrapped in a fictional story.
I’ll explain the thought experiment part later.
God’s Debris doesn’t fit into normal publishing cubbyholes.
There is even disagreement about whether the material
is fiction or nonfiction. I contend that it is fiction because
the characters don’t exist. Some people contend that it is
nonfiction because the opinions and philosophies of the characters
might have lasting impact on the reader.
The story contains no violence, no sexual content, and
no offensive language. But the ideas expressed by the characters
are inappropriate for young minds. People under the
age of fourteen should not read it.
The target audience for God’s Debris is people who
enjoy having their brains spun around inside their skulls.

Burroughs, Augusten - Running with Scissors

Finally finished it. I had no idea what I was getting into when I started as I have no blurb (got it from work which means they rip the back covers off the ones turned freebee).

I hit a point where I was, 'No way do I want to put this crap into my head' - but by then it was sort of too late and after a good week and a half period of leaving it, I decided to finish it - thankfully it tamed out.

Much much too crude and I'd have rather I hadn't read it. It was however quite funny. Running with Scissors is being made into a movie - for which I watched the trailer for and found that it's been extremely hollywoodised.

Really bizarre childhood. It doesn't really seem plausible - perhaps its another James Frey fraud?

Bell, Rob - Velvet Elvis

GET IT GET IT GET IT GET IT!!!!!

So extremely good. (the cover is white - to explain the absent looking picture)

I can't be bothered writing too much but some over on Amazon (scroll down) have written a couple of helpful reviews. Otherwise, just go ahead and get it, it'd be well worth your while and money.

DiMarco, Hayley & Michael - Marriable

Freak out! Another book on such disturbing topics ;)
But I happened to find it on sale.
Nothing so new in this one. It was good though.
More to the fact that I laughed outloud approximately every third page and chuckled every other due to some absoultely random humor in the columns of the book, utterly hilarious.
Actually, it had some very valid points to make.
Also a myth debuster on the 'marry your best friend' thing which I found interesting.

Taylor, Jeff - Friendlationships

I've had my eye on it for a very long time as the title is intriguing.

Very interesting, unlike most Christian 'relationship' books. So some thought matter and actually pushed me to consider friendships (not the 'relationship that kind') quite deeply.

Probably doesn't delve into some things quite enough and I didn't find all of it relevant. Still good.

Amazon link for reviews

Creel, Colin - Perspectives

Very impressed. It gave me a lot to think about. Covered ground I've already covered (but in different detail), didn't necessarily provide the answers but gave me some great starting points.

Worth a read if you happen to be in the relevant age bracket.