Chosen Ones by Alister McGrath

     Peter and Julia are spending their vacation at their grandparents’ house, waiting for their father to come home from sea. When Julia sees a hidden garden from her window she becomes drawn to it, and she and her brother soon find themselves in another land, drawn into a battle for freedom.

Book one of “The Aedyn Chronicles,” this is a good start. It is written for children, and there are illustrations throughout the book. I found that the writing tends to focus a lot more on getting into the action than character development. For me, this was a bit disappointing, but I would imagine this is a very good approach to writing for children… to keep them engaged. Overall, the story was good, and I would recommend this to anyone with kids who enjoy reading.

3.5 out of 5

Where to buy the book: CBD | Amazon | B&N

Crazy Dangerous by Andrew Klaven

     Sam Hopkins is the son of small-town preacher. When we first meet him, he his lying beaten and bloody on the side of the road. How did he get there. According to him, it was because of the stupidest thing he ever did. Not playing chicken with a freight train, or hanging out with the local thugs. No, that wasn’t the stupidest thing he ever did. Things get crazier when Jennifer Sales gets involved. She’s been having hallucinations of demons and coffins. But are they real? Are they visions of something coming? Sam has no choice but to find out.

I really liked this one. I have to admit that I had a little trouble reading this one before sleeping. Let me just warn you now… if you like to read in bed just before going to sleep… read the first chapter up with the lights on, not in your bed. You’ll thank me later. It’s really not overly scary, but I got creeped out. Demons and stuff, you know? I enjoyed reading Crazy Dangerous. It’s a light, quick read that will keep the pages turning and keep you entertained. Not really predictable, but not confusing with a bunch of weird twists and turns. The characters are realistic, especially Sam. I see a movie here, really. It would be pretty cool.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from BookSneeze.

I give this one 4.5 out of 5.

Where to buy the book: CBD | Amazon | B&N

Bookish Fellowship Forum

It’s been up for a while now, but I haven’t really promoted it. I thought with Plummer’s declaration of May being “Read a Historical Theology text month,” it might be a good time. If anyone will be reading the Historical Theology text by Gregg Allison and wants to discuss, please come sign up. Even if you decide to read another text, or not to participate in the historical theology reading at all… still come sign up! The Bookish Fellowship Forum has been created primarily for Christians who love to read (though everyone is welcome), whether it be fiction or non-fiction… or even just the Bible. If you love books half as much as I do then you should come join. You can head straight over to the forum by clicking here, or you can get to it from the blog’s menu. I’m also open to suggestions, as I’d like this to become a community for all to enjoy.

Hope to see you there!

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

     The prequel to Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “The Hobbit” follows Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo leads the quiet life of a hobbit until the wizard Gandalf arrives at his door with a band of dwarves setting out on an adventure to reclaim a long-lost treasure. Bilbo finds himself swept up into their dangerous journey, and must find courage he didn’t know he had, especially when facing the great dragon Smaug alone in the dark.

“The Hobbit” is probably one of the top-five best fantasy novels ever written. It is one of my favorites. Tolkien created a world that few can match. It’s a world that is very familiar, but exotic and magical at the same time. The story, for entertainment purposes alone, is wonderful and will keep the pages turning, but there are also many lessons that can be learned if you’re paying attention. This will always be a favorite of mine. And I can’t wait for the movie coming this December. It’s such a long way off, but it looks like it’s going to be great. The only part I’m not to thrilled about is seeing all the huge spiders. Hopefully I can keep my eyes open, and remember not to call them Attercop. Here’s the trailer for the movie:

From here on I will be going over some things pertaining to my Middle-earth reading goal. There may be spoilers for those who have never read “The Hobbit.” Proceed at your own risk .

Called to Controversy by Ruth Rosen

     In “Called to Controversy” Ruth Rosen tells the story Moishe Rosen, the founder of Jews for Jesus. He also happens to be her father. His mission work to reach fellow Jews with the Gospel of Jesus Christ got him a lot of attention, and not all of it was flattering. Many in the Jewish community labeled him a heretic. Some denied he was even really Jewish, but Moishe pressed on with his mission. He brought Jewish outreach into the spotlight and helped train many others in taking evangelism to the Jews.

One would think that a biography coming from Moishe’s daughter to be a bit biased, but this biography presents both his strengths and his flaws. It discusses his successes and failures, as well as regrets. Ruth says, “Moishe knew it was important that his biography be quite clear that he was flawed. He wanted the world to know that God does not need people to attain a level of perfection to be used for his purposes.” What really sticks out, showing where Moishe’s heart truly was, is the fact that this biography covers his entire life, but his mission work is present for most of the book. Moishe Rosen’s life goal was to see the Jewish people, his people, come to Christ.

Each chapter starts with a quote from Moishe. I found several things to highlight in this book that I wanted to go back and think on, but I think the last lines of Ruth’s words are most poignant: “We can spend our brief lives any way we choose, but we can spend them only once. It’s important to recognize value, in ourselves, in others, and in whatever work God calls us to do. That’s something I learned from my father.”

1) Is it understandable? = 5
2) Presentation of Information = 5
3) Quality of Writing = 4.5
4) Overall Enjoyability = 4.5

Average of score 4.75
Overall grade = A

You can find out more about the Jews for Jesus organization on the official website.

Where to buy the book: CBD | Amazon | B&N

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book for review purposes from BookSneeze.

More New Books

Considering that one of my goals for 2012 was to read more of the unread books already on my shelf, I think I may be lacking in the self-control department when it comes to books. Within the last couple of weeks I’ve purchased:

              

I also won a giveaway hosted by Zondervan! Yay!

    

So much to read… so little time. I’m in the middle of “The Hobbit,” working on my Middle-earth goal. Last year, Tim Challies suggested “The Cross of Christ” as an Easter read, so I’ll be starting that one soon. On Tuesday I attended an online discussion for Michael Williams’ “Jesus Lens,” so I’m eager to read that one as well. In my spare time I’m helping to do transcriptions for a BiblicalTraining.org class, which just happens to be Christian Ethics… so I really want to start “Beyond Integrity.” I’m thinking of starting that one right away and treating it as a textbook, reading a “lesson” each day. I’ve recently become very intrigued with Francis Chan so “Crazy Love” is high up on the list, and of course “Bonhoeffer”… well… I don’t know when I’ll get to all these with everything else on my TBR list.

The Priest’s Graveyard by Ted Dekker

     When his mother and sisters are killed during a religious war, Danny Hansen makes it his calling to deal with the injustice in the world. Renee Gilmore is a victim of such injustice. When the love of her life is killed, she vows to avenge his death by going after his killer. These two paths eventually cross, and the twists and turns lead them down a road that could end with the deaths of both.

If you’ve been to my blog enough, then you should know I am a huge fan of Ted Dekker. I have yet to read a book he’s written that I absolutely didn’t like. This one, however, is not one of my favorites. Dekker’s skill still shines. He knows how to weave a plot, and the characters are very well written. These characters in particular, though I could sympathize with them, were not really likable… but I believe that may have been intentional. These characters are born out of trauma and pain, which leads them to situations of more trauma and pain. But I think it was the unlikable characters that made me not enjoy the story as much.

As usual, Dekker’s overall theme is love. Not mushy, romantic love… real love. This one also brings in themes of judgement and grace. Overall, it’s still a good story, just not up to par with Dekker’s previous work, in my opinion. You do have to realize, however, that my love of Dekker’s other works puts me into the OMG!-I-love-Ted-Dekker!-fangirl category. So my “negative” review of this book really isn’t all that negative, seeing as I hold his previous work in such high regard.

1) Overall Plot = 4.5
2) Characters = 4
3) Flow/Pace of the story = 4.5
4) Is the story easy to follow? = 5
5) Overall Enjoyability = 4

Average of  score 4.4
Overall grade = B

Where to buy the book: CBD | Amazon | B&N

Tyndale by David Teems

     Where would we be without the English Bible? How many people would never have read the Word of God for themselves? In “Tyndale: The Man Who Gave God an English Voice” David Teems takes us through a time in history when translating the Bible into English was considered heretical and criminal. He follows the path of William Tyndale’s life as Tyndale put together the first English Bible translated from the original Greek and Hebrew languages.

The title of the book is a bit misleading. This isn’t really a biography like we’re used to. Not much is known about Tyndale outside of his written work. What is known about him personally has a lot of speculation around it. The subtitle captures the idea of the book more closely. There is a lot of information surrounding Tyndale’s English Bible. We get to see how Tyndale chose the best fitting words for the translation, the drama of the times, Tyndale’s exile and arrest, and how Tyndale has effected both literature (including Shakespeare) with his style and our modern English with words he introduced for the first time. However, Teems doesn’t just focus on Tyndale. We also learn a good bit about Thomas More, Tyndale’s biggest adversary (and the author of the famous “Utopia”) as well as other key people involved in the translation, both for and against Tyndale.

I had two problems with the book. The first is really a minor issue of just a little annoyance and I guess sort of a pet peeve for me: Teems often changes how he refers to King Henry VIII. Changing from Henry VIII, to H8, to Harry. If I remember correctly, the very first reference to the King is H8. At that point I had only assumed Teems was referring to Henry VIII, but as the book went on I saw that he used the Henry VIII and H8 interchangeably. Then I see “Harry” thrown in there and that kind of threw me. It’s not until a couple of “Harry” references later, in the last chapter or so, that we are told Henry VIII preferred to be called “Harry.” The second issue is a bit more serious in the way the book is organized. It doesn’t really follow a straight timeline. The chapters are somewhat theme-based and so it tends to jump around in time a bit, which left me feeling a bit disconnected at times.

What I loved about this book is the obvious respect, and I might even say affection, that Teems has for Tyndale. He talks about Tyndale as if he’d known the man for years. When the author cares that much, it’s hard not to feel drawn in by it.

1) Is it understandable? = 4.5
2) Presentation of Information = 3.5
3) Quality of Writing = 4.5
4) Overall Enjoyability = 4

Average of  score 4.1
Overall grade = B

This is the official book trailer (shared from David Teems’s website).

Where to buy the book: CBD | Amazon | B&N

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from BookSneeze.

Monday Musings 1/2/12

Hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading, this week’s musing asks… What is/are the first book(s) you’re reading for the new year?

I am currently reading “Tyndale: The Man who Gave God an English Voice” by David Teems. It’s a biography of William Tyndale (what little is known about him personally) and his work on the translation of the english Bible. So far, it’s very enlightening.

The next book I plan to read, unless I get in one of the review books I’m waiting on, will be “The Priest’s Graveyard” by Ted Dekker.

My Plans for 2012

So, here we are. It’s a new year and everyone is making New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t do resolutions. They don’t stick. But I do like to set goals for myself, so here are some of the things I plan on doing this year that you may see on this blog.

1) More Bible Study: I purchased a Bible Study software that has so many great features! Including an integrated notes system. Biblesoft PC Study Bible 5.0: Discovery Reference Library on CD-ROM. I got the most inexpensive version because I wasn’t sure if I would like it or if it would really be worth using, but so far I love it.

2) More Bible reading: I have been following Professor Horner’s Bible-Reading System, and I’m really loving how it works, but I still don’t read my Bible as often as I should. So I plan to read more. You can find a great explanation of the system at Tim Challies’ website.

3) Read what’s on my shelf: I’m one of those people who buys several books at once and ends up leaving one or more unread for a long period of time because other books get purchased before I get to the ones I already have. So, one of my goals this year will be to read books that have been on my shelf for a while.

4) Complete at least one of my Reading Goals: My reading goals are posted here. I would like to work on the Middle-earth goal, which would mean starting with the hardest one. But it’s Tolkien’s imagery that made me want to start these lofty reading goals, so I think it’s fitting for that one to be my first. It may end up taking me all year. *gasp*

5) Review copies: The book reviews continue. Free books in exchange for an honest review… it doesn’t get much better than that. So, I intend to keep reviewing books for publishers whenever they come up as long as I have the opportunity.

6) Study Greek: I started studying Greek a few years ago, but I fell away from it as it got harder. I want to start over from the beginning and follow through this time. I really feel that having knowledge of this language will help dive deeper into God’s Word, drawing me closer to Him.

7) Write more: I signed up for NaNoWriMo! It’s a long way to November, but I want to do a lot more writing this year. Until November I’ll be planning, researching (if necessary), developing characters, etc. Everything but writing the actual story… as are the rules of NaNoWriMo.

This is why I’m not doing the challenges this year. I think I’ve challenged myself enough with my own plans and goals. I will definitely be keeping myself busy in 2012.

I found one challenge that I’ve decided to participate in because it’s not for the year – it’s a 5-year challenge. No added stress involved. I can take my time. I won’t be joining officially (posting my info to the challenge blog), but I thought it would be a nice challenge. It’s called The Fill in the Gaps: 100 Project. The idea is to make a list of 100 books you’ve been planning to read but never got around to, then read them over the next 5 years. This already goes hand-in-hand with one of my plans above (#3), but it’s even better because I don’t have to be finished by the end of this year. I’ll be able to leisurely cross off all those classics I’ve always wanted to read, but never took the time to. I’ll be creating a page for my list soon under the Reading Challenges area.