Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale by Ian Morgan Cron is part fiction, part non-fiction, a genre called wisdom literature according to the author's notes. The story follows the crisis of faith of a contemporary pastor and his discovery of a new way of living a spiritual life focused more on Christ than religion.
The author provides a lot of historical information and deeper thoughts about the life of St. Francis in the context of Pastor Chase Falson's search for true faith. This nonfiction information is nicely balanced by the fictional character development and plot. A book more about thoughts and feelings than actions, the reader is drawn to think more about what it means to be a Christian in the postmodern world and what the church should look like. The example of St. Francis's life is used to introduce themes about faith, art, embracing culture, service and love in the context of the contemporary church. There is also a lengthy section in the back of the book with more information and lots of discussion questions, should you want to read the book with others.
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I didn't know anything about St. Francis before reading and I found him to be an intriguing historical figure. I would never have picked up a nonfiction book about him or about the subjects/ideas introduced in this book so this was a good chance to learn and be prodded to think, yet have the framework of a fictional character's pilgrimage to hold up the ideas and demonstrate them. I think many of the questions brought up in this book about faith and church in the postmodern world will continue to be hot topics of discussion in the years to come and this book does a great job of introducing them.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Joni & Ken: An Untold Love Story by Ken & Joni Eareckson Tada with Larry Libby
I was excited when I saw the author of this book as I have always admired and respected her. Joni & Ken: An Untold Love Story by Ken & Joni Eareckson Tada with Larry Libby is my favorite kind of book - a memoir about relationship.
Reading at times like a journal and others as if you are a fly on the wall, this book gives both the broad scope of this couple's story as well as details that make you feel like you are just sitting at the kitchen table over coffee discussing life. There isn't much on their early lives, the story mostly begins when they meet with flashbacks to key events in their childhood and early years.
I enjoyed this story and was encouraged by the commitment this couple has shown to each other, to their ministry and to Christ. Living with quadriplegia, persistent pain and breast cancer and all of the care-taking duties that go along with that cannot be easy and they readily admit that but they also admit that they have learned that in their weaknesses they are strong because of their shared faith.
However, I would have liked more. More details on how they fell in love and their courtship. More insight into their decisions and how that affected their relationship. Maybe more about their families. The book was a quick read and fine as is, but I think it needed more for me to be able to call it an amazing book.
Reading at times like a journal and others as if you are a fly on the wall, this book gives both the broad scope of this couple's story as well as details that make you feel like you are just sitting at the kitchen table over coffee discussing life. There isn't much on their early lives, the story mostly begins when they meet with flashbacks to key events in their childhood and early years.
I enjoyed this story and was encouraged by the commitment this couple has shown to each other, to their ministry and to Christ. Living with quadriplegia, persistent pain and breast cancer and all of the care-taking duties that go along with that cannot be easy and they readily admit that but they also admit that they have learned that in their weaknesses they are strong because of their shared faith.
However, I would have liked more. More details on how they fell in love and their courtship. More insight into their decisions and how that affected their relationship. Maybe more about their families. The book was a quick read and fine as is, but I think it needed more for me to be able to call it an amazing book.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
A Matter of Trust by Lis Wiehl with April Henry
I was looking for an entertaining book and A Matter of Trust by Lis Wiehl with April Henry certainly fit the bill. The main character, Mia Quinn is a Seattle prosecutor and is talking with a colleague on the phone one evening only to be horrified to hear a shot ring out and hear no response from her friend. Mia is then given her colleague's murder case to solve, along with the help of a police detective with whom she has an unpleasant history.
The book is fast-paced and fairly well written. I found the plot line a little confusing at times but maybe that is just because it is a murder mystery and the author wants the reader to be in the dark a little. I enjoyed the inevitable twist at the end.
I felt that a few of the minor story lines were not well developed and either should have been given more time or else left out entirely as they were a distraction. However, I note that this is the first book of the series so perhaps some of those story lines will be teased out in later books. I also didn't think that the main character was always believable or even as well developed as she could have been.
I thought this book was pretty good and I read through it quickly so if you are looking for a beach read for the summer, I would recommend it. If you are looking for something with more character development or something to really think about, I would keep looking.
The book is fast-paced and fairly well written. I found the plot line a little confusing at times but maybe that is just because it is a murder mystery and the author wants the reader to be in the dark a little. I enjoyed the inevitable twist at the end.
I felt that a few of the minor story lines were not well developed and either should have been given more time or else left out entirely as they were a distraction. However, I note that this is the first book of the series so perhaps some of those story lines will be teased out in later books. I also didn't think that the main character was always believable or even as well developed as she could have been.
I thought this book was pretty good and I read through it quickly so if you are looking for a beach read for the summer, I would recommend it. If you are looking for something with more character development or something to really think about, I would keep looking.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Every Perfect Gift by Dorothy Love
A little bit of mystery, a little bit of history and a love story. That is how to describe Every Perfect Gift by Dorothy Love.
The reader is drawn in by the strong main character, Sophie, who is a woman with a past who comes back to the town she grew up in to bring the newspaper back to life. Set towards the end of the 19th century, the book is a little look into life in a small town and all of the customs and beliefs of the times. Sophie was raised in the orphanage in town and decides to return to follow her dream of running her own newspaper. In the midst of struggles to achieve her dream, she meets and falls in love with a man who has a troubled past of his own. Throughout the book, numerous incidents leave you wondering exactly what the secrets are and how they will be uncovered.
I found the characters likable, the writing fairly well done and the setting believable but there was something about this book that was a bit predictable. I suppose most romances are that way but it was pretty obvious as soon as we met the characters what the ending was going to be. However, even knowing that, the book was written well enough that I kept reading just to go along on the adventure to the inevitable outcome.
If you want something light and easy to read, then this is the book for you. If you are looking for something with a little more depth or ambiguity, then keep looking.
The reader is drawn in by the strong main character, Sophie, who is a woman with a past who comes back to the town she grew up in to bring the newspaper back to life. Set towards the end of the 19th century, the book is a little look into life in a small town and all of the customs and beliefs of the times. Sophie was raised in the orphanage in town and decides to return to follow her dream of running her own newspaper. In the midst of struggles to achieve her dream, she meets and falls in love with a man who has a troubled past of his own. Throughout the book, numerous incidents leave you wondering exactly what the secrets are and how they will be uncovered.
I found the characters likable, the writing fairly well done and the setting believable but there was something about this book that was a bit predictable. I suppose most romances are that way but it was pretty obvious as soon as we met the characters what the ending was going to be. However, even knowing that, the book was written well enough that I kept reading just to go along on the adventure to the inevitable outcome.
If you want something light and easy to read, then this is the book for you. If you are looking for something with a little more depth or ambiguity, then keep looking.
Monday, December 24, 2012
The Reason by William Sirls
A collision of supernatural events and ordinary lives, The Reason, by William Sirls is a story of a small town forever changed by the appearance of an exceptional man and a series of incidents and miracles.
I wasn't sure that I would find this book believable but once I started the story, I found myself drawn to the characters, eagerly turning pages to find out what was going to happen next. This book is very well written and the character development was a big part of what kept me reading and believing the story even though the events at times were somewhat extraordinary. A small core of interconnected characters and story lines is always one of my favorite novel formats.
A series of miraculous happenings in a small town change the lives of those living there including a single mom, a young boy with cancer, a blind pastor and an alcoholic woman. Everyone begins to see an association with a migrant construction worker who keeps showing up and saying cryptic things and these events that keep happening. Some believe he is a prophet and others believe he's a more than that. But whatever the characters choose to believe, none of them can deny that fact that some nearly unbelievable things have been happening in their town. Everything comes together for an exhilarating conclusion.
This book was a great read! I recommend it!
I wasn't sure that I would find this book believable but once I started the story, I found myself drawn to the characters, eagerly turning pages to find out what was going to happen next. This book is very well written and the character development was a big part of what kept me reading and believing the story even though the events at times were somewhat extraordinary. A small core of interconnected characters and story lines is always one of my favorite novel formats.
A series of miraculous happenings in a small town change the lives of those living there including a single mom, a young boy with cancer, a blind pastor and an alcoholic woman. Everyone begins to see an association with a migrant construction worker who keeps showing up and saying cryptic things and these events that keep happening. Some believe he is a prophet and others believe he's a more than that. But whatever the characters choose to believe, none of them can deny that fact that some nearly unbelievable things have been happening in their town. Everything comes together for an exhilarating conclusion.
This book was a great read! I recommend it!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Call of a Coward by Marcia Moston
Call of a Coward: The God of Moses and the Middle-Class Housewife by Moston is a book written about a family who embarks on what many might say was a crazy idea of serving God. Moston and her husband feel called to Guatemala, specifically to a remote village of Mayan people and they give up everything in their comfortable life to follow that call.
The conditions were difficult and Moston adjusted to life in primitive conditions, a language barrier, differences of culture and sickness. They made new relationships and grew in their faith.
I enjoyed this book and applaud the faith it took to pursue a call out of all that is familiar to a place that is completely foreign with a daily life full of challenges. However, I was expecting to read a book about long-term foreign missionaries. It turns out the Moston family was only in Guatemala a few months before they came back home to America and took on a different kind of mission. I was a bit surprised by how much the book built up their foreign missions trip and then how short it turned out to be.
Even though the book wasn't the story I was expecting, I think that is a good parallel of how life often goes. Our expectations change and our perception of God's calling can change, too. The Moston family was faithful to what they felt they should do and that is the true story of this book.
The conditions were difficult and Moston adjusted to life in primitive conditions, a language barrier, differences of culture and sickness. They made new relationships and grew in their faith.
I enjoyed this book and applaud the faith it took to pursue a call out of all that is familiar to a place that is completely foreign with a daily life full of challenges. However, I was expecting to read a book about long-term foreign missionaries. It turns out the Moston family was only in Guatemala a few months before they came back home to America and took on a different kind of mission. I was a bit surprised by how much the book built up their foreign missions trip and then how short it turned out to be.
Even though the book wasn't the story I was expecting, I think that is a good parallel of how life often goes. Our expectations change and our perception of God's calling can change, too. The Moston family was faithful to what they felt they should do and that is the true story of this book.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Cruel Harvest by Fran Elizabeth Grubb
I read this book in one day, nearly in one sitting. I could hardly put it down. A memoir that simultaneously broke my heart for the story it told and caused me to marvel at the resiliency of the human spirit, Fran Grubb's Cruel Harvest was an engaging read.
I've always been a sucker for a memoir, as I love to read about the lives of others, the challenges they have faced and the ways they found to surmount those challenges. That is the plot of nearly every memoir and I am seldom disappointed in that story, despite the many differences in the tellings. This book was no different. The story gripped me from the first page and I was left at the end, wishing I could read more. In fact, if I have any criticism to offer, it would be that the story seemed to end a bit abruptly, with much of it left untold.
The remarkable detail of Grubb's nearly nonexistent childhood, abusive father and broken mother would break the heart of nearly anyone. Yet even in the depravity that she was subjected to, she found love in her heart for her family and hope inside that the elusive someday would indeed be better. I enjoyed the interweaving of her past with the story of reuniting with some of her family later in life. Despite the challenges she faced and the innocence that was taken far too early, Grubb finds a way to trust the Lord with her burdens and she shares that fact freely in her storytelling without becoming "preachy" which often happens in memoirs.
Even though parts of this book were hard to read, I could not put it down. Read it.
I've always been a sucker for a memoir, as I love to read about the lives of others, the challenges they have faced and the ways they found to surmount those challenges. That is the plot of nearly every memoir and I am seldom disappointed in that story, despite the many differences in the tellings. This book was no different. The story gripped me from the first page and I was left at the end, wishing I could read more. In fact, if I have any criticism to offer, it would be that the story seemed to end a bit abruptly, with much of it left untold.
The remarkable detail of Grubb's nearly nonexistent childhood, abusive father and broken mother would break the heart of nearly anyone. Yet even in the depravity that she was subjected to, she found love in her heart for her family and hope inside that the elusive someday would indeed be better. I enjoyed the interweaving of her past with the story of reuniting with some of her family later in life. Despite the challenges she faced and the innocence that was taken far too early, Grubb finds a way to trust the Lord with her burdens and she shares that fact freely in her storytelling without becoming "preachy" which often happens in memoirs.
Even though parts of this book were hard to read, I could not put it down. Read it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)