| Four Archetypes - Mother, Rebirth, Spirit, Trickster by C G Jung, 173 pages Steven Krise 15 June 2003 In "The Phenomenology of the Spirit in Fairy Tales" we see good old Carl Gustav make reference to "The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosencreutz". Those in the know understand what this means. | John Mott: A Biography by C Howard Hopkins, 772 pages James Donahue 23 January 2004 This fascinating figure deserves a better biography, one that is not so hagiographic and prone to lists. |
The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914 (2003) by C. E. Bayly, 536 pages James Donahue 12 February 2008 A very thought-provoking global history of the "long" nineteenth century, even perhaps worthy of toppling Hobsbawm's masterpiece. Two of the best aspects for me: making causal connections between Asia and North America, often with Europe moving back and forth between them; and his theory of "empires of religion" has sparked new lines of thought about the my own investigations into the internationalist and ecumenical movement. I need to think through this some more. |
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis, 191 pages Steve Gadd 18 June 1995 |
The Silver Chair (1953) by C. S. Lewis, 268 pages Jennifer Dear 09 March 2007 A great bed-time story, although the female character was a bit weak. |
The Last Battle (1956) by C. S. Lewis, 228 pages Jennifer Dear 05 April 2007 |
The Chronicles of Narnia (1950-1956) by C. S. Lewis, 1583 pages James Donahue 05 April 2007 This is the end result of five months' worth of bedtime stories. I've never read the Chronicles before. In fact, growing up, I never even heard of them or knew anyone who read them. (Probably one of the top ten signs that you were not raised evangelical.) They were better than I thought, even if overly-allegorical and downright racist at times. The kids loved them - really touched their imaginations and made bedtime reading of "grown-up books" a must for all of us. |
Fields of the Fatherless by C. Thomas Davis, 146 pages Brad Snyder 20 September 2005 This little book is a conversational sermon about the need to reach out to the widows, orphans, naked, and hungry all around us. More than just a man preaching a sermon, Davis is living it, having adopted children into his own family. Not very deep, but an important, although sometimes forgotten, message. |
Sink the Bismarck! by C.S. Forester, 118 pages Jeff Gadd 11 November 2002 True story of Hitler's mightiest battleship and how the British conquered it at sea. |
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, 191 pages Erik Bauer 25 March 2000 Both affirming and challenging 'contemplations' on Christianity. |
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, 313 pages Erik Bauer 07 July 2003 Lewis reshapes the tale of Cupid and Psyche and manages to dig some deep allegory. |
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis, 186 pages Kristin Schrock 11 December 2005 I actually don't remember what I thought about this book when I first read it as a young lass. I do remember, though, that our class project was the Trials of Narnia wherein I was the defense attorney for the White Witch. I fear I have become a crotchety adult with a cold black heart because I found nothing magical or special about this book. In fact, I found it to be a little annoying (especially when reminded that the girls are not to fight in the battle "because battles are ugly when women fight.") I just kept wondering why more people don't know about the Lloyd Alexander Prydain books which I like to read every few years or so because they are just that good. |
To Hell With All That: Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife by Caitlin Flanagan, 239 pages Jennifer Dear 04 July 2006 |
To Hell With All That: Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife (2006) by Caitlin Flanagan, 239 pages James Donahue 04 July 2006 Although Flanagan catches a lot of hate for her anti-feminism, these people miss the point. Flanagan is not a political columnist, but a satirist and confessionalist. Her hero is Erma Bombeck, not Betty Friedan or Phyllis Schafley. I love Flanagan. Jen and I read this book to one another while driving out to Montana, wondering how Flanagan writes what we so often feel but have not yet reflected on. (Even if Jen thinks she was too hard with her critical reading of 'Real Simple.') |
To Hell With All That: Loving and Loathing Our Inner Housewife by Caitliyn Flanagan, 239 pages Micaela Larkin 16 July 2006 Loved it! I borrowed my cousin's copy while house-sitting. I'm a big fan of the elegant bride chapter. |
Angel: The Summoned by Cameron Dokey, 294 pages A Bennett 18 April 2002 Can Man sidestep the Death for which he is inevitably marked? Set during the immolation spree of an erratic serial killer in and around LA, the police are powerless to find the answers needed to stop the killings, but one PI believes he can thwart fate, expose a cult, and surmount the curse of his own Mark. Necessary vocabulary: fern bar, incunabula. |
Totalitarian Dictatorship and Autocracy by Carl Friedrich, 421 pages James Donahue 16 September 2002 Attempts to define totalitarianism by the methods of political science. Very influenced by Arendt. Pretty outdated in its evidentary claims. |
Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen, 513 pages Brad Snyder 30 December 2006 Bizarre |
Billions & Billions by Carl Sagan, 230 pages Steve Gadd 04 April 2007 Dr. Sagan used his last book to deny ever saying the phrase by which he is remembered. Some of the chapters in this diverse collection are interesting and informative, and his farewell chapter is unflinching and touching. The majority of the book is taken up by sermonizing on the environmental crisis. As seems typical, these sections are annoying for calls to action based on facts asserted without reference to any supporting data (no endnotes, four pages of largely general-interest references), worst-case scenarios, and illogic. |
Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era (2005) by Carl Sferrazza Anthony, 418 pages James Donahue 03 December 2007 Nellie Taft drove her husband into the presidency (he fancied the Supreme Court) and then became the first political First Lady of the modern era. Among her achievements: handling the Phillipino occupation with her husband; creating the Potomac Basin park in DC and planting all those cherry trees; and promoting women's education and suffrage. Unfortunately she was struck down halfway through the term by a stroke, unable to deal with TR's ambitious betrayal in 1912, and forced to watch her husband happily ascend to the Chief Justiceship in 1921. |
The Shadow of the Wind (2005) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, 487 pages Brad Snyder 09 February 2009 This outstanding book grabbed me in the first few pages and didn't let me go. It's about a boy that finds and reads a book written by an author whose works are being destroyed by a mysterious phantom-like figure. His quest to find out why leads us on a story of lost love and betrayal. |
Arms of Love (Contemporary Catholic Fiction) by Carmen Marcoux, 454 pages Micaela Larkin 16 July 2006 Whatever happened to the Catholic imagination is it being surplanted by mega-evangelical dating texts? This is a strange book. It might be a bit better on a literary level if the author had not self-published. On a religious level, the book is downright disturbing. The author writes in the grand tradition of Harriet Beecher Stowe, except wait a minute she is not a mid-century evangelical and you don't even have anyone to succumb to evil or a Christ figure like the little girl or Uncle Tom. They all accepted Christ into their lives and instituted "COURTSHIP" principles (no kissing before wedding) and life was perfect. I'm all for writing contemporary light fiction for religious people but I'm not so sure about books out in la la land. |
Japan's Modern Myths: Ideology in Meiji Japan by Carol Gluck, 387 pages James Donahue 25 April 2004 |
Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People to Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford, 44 pages Brad Snyder 12 November 2006 My wife is currently teaching African-American history at a local high school, and purchased this book from the book fair at my childrens' school for that purpose. It offers a quasi-fictional rendering of Harriet Tubman's life from the perspective of her conversations with God. It is beautifully illustrated by Kadir Nelson. I recommend it to anyone with children. |
Dunant's Dream: War, Switzerland and the History of the Red Cross by Caroline Moorehead, 716 pages James Donahue 15 October 2005 Very worthwhile, solid history. |
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, 359 pages Kristin Schrock 11 February 2002 Lonely characters mill around a small, lonely southern town being all lonely. But in a good way. |
Black Water Transit by Carsten Stroud, 420 pages Mike Gadd 31 January 2003 'Amazing narrative energy', 'ferociously driven'.... for once I agree with the jacket cover endorsements. This book reminded me of the movie 'The Fugitive' with the pace it took. It needs a new title though. |
Sniper's Moon by Carsten Stroud, 370 pages Mike Gadd 22 July 2003 I was halfway done with this one and I left it at home when we went on vacation. I picked it up 5 days later and continued where I left off. I'm sure I lost some of the effect as a result. Having another 'falsely accused and on the run" didn't help. |
Lizardskin by Carsten Stroud, 374 pages Mike Gadd 07 August 2003 Another decent book in search of a better title. Not nearly as good as 'Black Water Transit'. |
Cuba Strait by Carsten Stroud, 610 pages Mike Gadd 06 April 2005 This will probably be the best book I read this year. Action movie pacing with a fun story. |
Database Programming with Visual Basic .NET, Second Edition by Carsten Thomsen, 959 pages Steven Krise 04 September 2006 What Would Jesus Code? |
Outside is America: U2 in the U.S. by Carter Alan, 248 pages Jonathan Misirian 09 August 2005 Alan chronicles the rise of U2 within the U.S., from 1980-1992. Numerous first person interviews are combined with many published stories on the band -all of which provide insight into the earliest days when U2 moved threw 80 seat bars and clubs to selling out 20,000 seat arenas. |
Gullible's Travels by Cash Peters, 276 pages Tony Pisarenkov 15 March 2009 Only occasionally funny. |
A Married Man by Catherine Alliott, 407 pages Kristin Schrock 20 May 2003 A romantic novel in which the heroine tries unsuccessfully to have an affair with a married man (only to find true love with a man who has been her friend forever, naturally) in which we learn that dead husbands, funny, dead children, not funny. |
Strangers & Pilgrims: Female Preaching in America, 1740 - 1845 by Catherine Brekus, 423 pages James Donahue 02 September 2002 Yes, there were women preachers that long ago in evangelicalism, and the debates and issues surrounding them eerily remind me of today. Written for those with no background in religious history which I much appreciated. Fascinating read. |
Eleventh Hour by Catherine Coulter, 337 pages Kristin Schrock 03 August 2004 The second in my series of books bought at the grocery store. This one featured a sunset picture of the Golden Gate Bridge on the cover. This sub-par thriller featured a serial killer who begins the book by killing a priest. Then he's after a "homeless" woman who has her own dark secrets. I didn't guess the twists, but they weren't terribly interesting either. If I could just get through the "real" book I'm reading, I could quit torturing myself with books like this. |
Colonising Subjects: Metropole and Colony in the English Imagination by Catherine Hall, 513 pages James Donahue 15 August 2004 An intriguing look at Baptists, power politics, emancipation, racism, and empire all swirled together in the founding of Jamaica. Hall is one of the best living historians of empire, and her take on conservative Baptistry is quite insightful. |
Silken Savage by Catherine Hart, 476 pages Julie Gephart 22 February 2003 When in a reading rut, it's always a good idea to return to the classics -- like this romance novel from high school in which our requisite stubborn-yet-naive girl is kidnapped by a Cheyenne raiding party and shortly falls in love with her requisitely arrogant-yet-noble captor. She loves the squaw lifestyle (servile obedience) and even takes some tests to be adopted formally as a member of the tribe so she can marry her young chief and have his babies. Bliss! But oh no - one day while he's away, the soldiers come and slaughter her camp and forcibly rescue her back to her white family. What's a girl to do but pout and refuse to speak English and wait for her husband to come and rescue her? And just when you think you've seen all the twists, who should appear in town but her wild Cheyenne husband, dressed like a white man and speaking perfect English! Who knew that his mother was white and he had a secret double identity as a wealthy rancher all along? So then he courts and marries her again for her family's benefit, and they take off together in radiant joy "to Europe" ("to return to their fun secret lifestyle of killing and raping any white people in the vicinity.") The End. |
Christy by Catherine Marshall, 447 pages Julie Gephart 20 October 2002 Idealistic young woman goes to poor moutain village to teach at the mission, yada yada. There is some magic in this book that makes me forget at regular intervals that I don't like it, causing me to read it again. And dislike it again. And the cycle continues. |
Cinderella Dreams: The Allure of the Lavish Wedding by Cele C Otnes and Elizabeth Pleck, 280 pages Micaela Larkin 29 June 2007 |
Cesar's Way by Cesar Milan, 294 pages G Cruz 21 September 2006 Insightful approach to the basics of dog psychology vs appling human psychology, which is usually counterproductive, to our canine companions. |
Loving Homosexuals As Jesus Would: A Fresh Christian Approach by Chad W. Thompson, 183 pages Brad Snyder 19 January 2006 Thompson was a guest of a radio show in Charlotte shortly after this book was first published. I found him intriguing, but he faced criticisms from many callers: most of them from Christians who called in to criticize his message (and who never read his book). He points out in the book that Christians are good at "hating the sin", but fall short when it comes to "loving the sinner." Having homosexual friends, neighbors, and coworkers, I thought I had a good understanding of the mindset of homosexuals, but this book opened my eyes to many things I couldn't have understood outside of someone telling me. This book is immensely practical, and, as an ex-gay (his term), he faces criticisms from both Christians (as I heard on the radio) and homosexual activists. The book is part testimonial, part psychology, and part guidebook, and calls Christians to account for their failures to properly understand and love homosexuals the way we should. |
Aloft by Chang-rae Lee, 376 pages Jonathan Misirian 02 August 2005 Aloft, reminds the reader that serious fiction exists. Written with a depth of prose rarely seen, Lee's narrative invites the reader to savor each line of text. Written in a similar vein as The Corrections, Aloft makes a great summer read. |
Company Commander by Charles B. Macdonald, 370 pages Jeff Gadd 24 May 2002 The author of this book was a captain in WWII when he turn 20. |
Faith on the Line: Dare to Make a Kingdom Difference by Charles Colson, 129 pages Brad Snyder 01 January 2007 This is the first book by Colson I have ever read, since I long ago cast him into the heap of voices that I had deemed irrelevant to modern conversations of faith. I was wrong. Colson's call to action is relevant to the evangelical church now, and will be for many years. |
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, 454 pages Steve Gadd 21 April 1997 |
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, 304 pages Steve Gadd 22 December 1998 I was surprised to find that I didn't like this any better than when we read it in high school. |
John Stueart Curry's "Hoover and the Flood" (2007) by Charles Eldridge, 74 pages James Donahue 17 January 2008 Eldridge uses a 1940 painting of the 1927 Mississippi flood, an event that was, if possible, even worse than Katrina, as a centerpiece to reflect on the iconography of the Deluge in Western art, the failure of Reconstruction to improve the condition of African-American life in the South, the attempt in the 1930s and 1940s to create an "American" art movement, and the depiction of Hoover, who in 1927 was the humanitarian saviour on the scene but by 1940 had turned into a nation's bête noire over the Depression. |
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, 356 pages Steve Gadd 31 August 1997 |
Cold Mountain [audio] by Charles Frazier, 0 pages Steve Gadd 02 January 2000 Inman's journey home from a Civil War hospital is even more captivating in this reading by the author. |
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, 356 pages Mike Gadd 26 November 2003 Still the best book ever. Frazier is the master of quality metaphors and similes. There's at least 2 on each page. I wanted to read it one more time before the movie come out later this month. |
Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, 356 pages Kristin Schrock 16 January 2005 It took awhile to get in the groove of the language which seemed old fashioned in its imagery and pace. And then I had to get over my annoyance at the character of Inman--he's a bit flat. His part in the novel is to journey back to Cold Mountain. But he does not change as a character, or really learn anything that he doesn't know at the start of the book. Ada's storyline interested me, as she must learn to live off the land. It didn't even bother me that Nicole Kidman played her in the movie. |
Marine Sniper by Charles Henderson, 283 pages Jeff Gadd 04 August 2002 A great true story about a Vietnam sniper there ever is. He has the most confermed kill in all sniper's at 93. |
In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon, 251 pages Brad Snyder 22 August 2005 The book that started the bracelets! This fictional work was originally prepared as a series of sermons. By the end of the story, Sheldon was preaching to extremely large crowds. The story follows the lives of several people that decide to make every single decision based on what they think Jesus would do. Some find happiness in obedience, some lose everything. It would be interesting to see the faithful try it out. What a different world it would be... |
The Unmasterable Past: History, Holocaust, and German National Identity by Charles Maier, 226 pages James Donahue 03 August 2002 A blow-by-blow account of the Historikerstreit ('historians' debate') in late-1980s Germany between Habermas and Nolte. At issue: is it time to 'normalize' the history of the Holocaust, making it less than metahistory? Can we compare the Holocaust to other mass murders? Can this be a purely historical topic, or must it be also a polticial and moral issue? Will unification mean the 'forgetting' of didacticism of the Holocaust and a return to a 19th-century German geist? |
God's Long Summer by Charles Marsh, 258 pages James Donahue 09 November 2002 An excellent examination of Christians and theological stances on both sides of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. How much repentence the American church needs for this time period. The book is very readable for a history, and is in many ways a continuing reflection on the author's original bboks on Bonhoeffer. |
Perfect Trust by Charles Swindoll, 72 pages Jeff Gadd 05 January 2002 About Perfect Trust in God |
Petain: How the Hero of France Became a Convicted Traitor and Changed the Course of History (2005) by Charles Williams, 289 pages James Donahue 24 September 2006 The latest biography of Petain defends him at every turn. Petain was the French general who won the bloody Battle of Verdun, stood loyally by the government in the 1920s, then stepped up to the plate to form the pro-fascist Vichy France after defeat to the Germans in WWII. Most see Petain as an opportunist, a Catholic monarchist, a sell-out of French honor. Williams sees instead an old man out of his political depth, fooled by younger ambitious scoundrels, and a womanizing secular uninterested in political and religious restoration. |
The New Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian, 398 pages Steven Krise 20 April 2002 The definitive how-to guide for the beginning brewer. Worth the price just for the recipes. |
The Homebrewer's Companion by Charlie Papazian, 446 pages Steven Krise 01 May 2002 More in-depth follow-up to NCJHB. Start reading at page 380 to get a feel for who Papazian is. |
New Complete Joy of Homebrewing by Charlie Papazian, 398 pages Steven Krise 20 May 2005 This mad Armenians enthusiasm for beer and brewing is boundless and contagious. A worthwhile read everytime. |
The Homebrewers' Companion by Charlie Papazian, 443 pages Steven Krise 14 February 2006 My annual "pilgrimmage" to sit at the feet of the master homebrewer hisself. |
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, 433 pages Julie Gephart 11 May 2002 You have to admire a novel in which marrying the hideous, one-eyed, one-armed man is considered the "Happy Ending." |
No Longer At Ease by Chinua Achebe, 159 pages Steve Gadd 29 September 1997 |
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, 209 pages Steve Gadd 25 December 1998 Unhappy, but memorable and well-crafted story set in a Nigeria struggling with modern influences. |
Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe, 216 pages Jaqi Ross 01 January 2004 Describes power politics in an imaginary West African country, Kangan, where a military coup has brought to prominence a Sandhurst-trained officer ill-prepared for political leadership. |
Thumbs, Toes, and Tears: And Other Traits That Make Us Human by Chip Walter, 256 pages Steven Krise 20 May 2008 "He points out that we give our big toe little thought until we stub it, but its evolution allowed Homo erectus to stand upright millions of years ago and led to other helpful evolutionary features, like the pharynx—which in turn made speech possible. Readers also learn why we tousle our children's hair, why kissing is so much fun and what may lie ahead as we near the end of our current evolutionary reel." |
War Reporting for Cowards by Chris Ayers, 280 pages Jonathan Misirian 14 November 2005 Ayers, a 28 year old, self-described ‘war virgin’ went from being The London Times’ Hollywood reporter - to being embedded on the front lines of the US Military’s assault of Baghdad in 2003. This humorous and gritty account in the overwrought genre of war-reporting, stands out as Ayers shows the reader his spinelessness for all things manly and military. |
Midwives by Chris Bohjalian, 372 pages Mike Gadd 25 June 2002 This book came highly recommended from the person who gave me 'The Red Tent', otherwise I wouldn't have touched it. I don't do 'Oprah' books. This one is about a midwife who loses a mom while delivering the child. It reads like it's 900 pages long. There's some slight payoff at the end, but the cost to get there is too great. It really bugs me that I have to finish a book no matter how bad it gets. How many days of my life have I lost because of this? Where's my intervention? There must be a self-help book out there to cure me. But what if I don't like it? |
The Quest for Christa T. by Christa Wolf, 185 pages James Donahue 26 March 2003 Published in 1968 in East Germany, Wolf's swirling novel of memory and subjectivity broke decisively away from the mandated socialist realism of the Communist Bloc. It signified the shift in Wolf from critically acclaimed writer to disgruntled critic. The book moves in and out of the third person as Wolf seeks herself through a long-lost friend. |
The Rossetti Letter by Christi Phillips, 383 pages Micaela Larkin 25 March 2007 Ph.D student visits Venice to attend conference solve historical mystery about seventeenth-century Venitian courtesan. |
Irwin Scheiner by Christian Converts and Social Protest in Meiji Jap, 243 pages James Donahue 14 April 2004 Scheiner shows how Japanese samurai, recently declassed and set adrift after the Restoration, transmogrified their samurai culture into Christian belief and Christian social commitments. |
One Step Closer: Why U2 matters to those seeking God by Christian Scharen, 208 pages Jonathan Misirian 07 June 2006 In the growing field of books exploring U2’s religious convictions, One Step Closer, stands above the rest. Scharen’s take is unique, in that each chapter is about evenly divided between a biblical overview of a particular theme such as Love (not power), Prophecy as Judgment and Hope, Psalms as Thanksgiving and Lament, and Singing the Cross; and then a detailed exploration of the songs as well as quotes from the massive U2 discography. Scharen’s cogent overview reveals the heart that beats U2’s soul. |
American Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving by Christian Smith, 287 pages James Donahue 31 October 2002 A sociological survey of Christians to determine the relative strength, perceptions of, common worldviews, and weaknesses of evangelicalism. The book has some very serious flaws: a poor definition of the categories, weighted questions in Chapter 2 and 3, and ignoring the margin of error while making some strong claims. Yet the book provides some interesting numbers, and the analysis in the last two chapters is quite good. Smith claims that evangelicalism thrives off of modernity and pluralism, creating an effective subculture dependent on individualism that is its greatest weakness and greatest strength. Good, in that it keeps a coherent religious view; bad, in that it renders them impotent within the larger culture. |
The First Word - The Search for the Origins of Language by Christine Kenneally, 357 pages Steven Krise 01 August 2008 A survey of the burgeoning field of language evolution. One of the goals of the book is to show that a lot of the confusion about how language evolved was caused by the faulty assumption that it is a monolithic thing that is unique to humans rather than an accreted grab bag of features, most of which have homologs and precursors in other animals. |
One Day My Sister Disappeared : A Memoir by Christine Orban, 128 pages Jaqi Ross 01 October 2004 Moroccan-born Orban has published 10 novels in French; here she offers a memoir of her friendship with her sister, Maco, who died pregnant with her third child when she was only 35. In brief, elegiac chapters studded with old photographs of the two sisters, Orban revisits their childhood days in the early 1960s. Not what I expected - what reviewers call a "heartfelt account of personal loss," I found dry and uninspired. |
My Fundamentalist Education: A Memoir of a Divine Girlhood by Christine Rosen, 229 pages Micaela Larkin 05 December 2006 |
My Fundamentalist Education: A Memoir of a Divine Girlhood by Christine Rosen, 231 pages Brad Snyder 16 December 2006 "This was a world far removed from the mild Methodist devotion of my infant baptism, but I conformed to it quickly." This quote couldn't be more true for me. The difference between the author and myself is that I embraced fundamentalism at age 18 when I went away to college rather than when I was in Kindergarten like the author. I wanted to know God and to escape the demons that I knew from life to that point. Perhaps being an adult when I embraced fundamentalism made it easier to turn away from it while still in college (philosophically anyway). In any case, I learned that fundamentalism isn't God, and I never left my newfound faith in Christ. Rosen's portrait is free from animosity and often humorous. She supplies a "where are they now" chapter at the end where she offers fond updates on her friends and teachers that are featured in the book, and tells a little of her now fully secular life. Still, she makes it clear that she respects and even appreciates the education she received as a child and credits fundamentalism with her forays into intellectual pursuits later in life. Recommended for anyone who wallowed in the fundy culture for any period of time. |
Little Green Men by Christopher Buckley, 300 pages Jonathan Misirian 29 June 2006 Buckley, the satirical political novelist, and author of the critically acclaimed -though box office dud- Thank You For Smoking, uses his sharp wit to skewer Washington. Premise: a top-secret government agency behind cattle mutilations and ‘alien abductions’ is uncovered by a Tim Russert foil. |
No Way To Treat a First Lady by Christopher Buckley, 286 pages Jonathan Misirian 05 August 2006 Buckley serves up the political humor novel with the best of them. The President dies after schlepping a Hollywood movie star, and the First Lady is on trial for his death. Buckley leaves me laughing with his erudite word selection. A quick read for those looking to enjoy laughing and politics. |
Boomsday by Christopher Buckley, 318 pages Jonathan Misirian 16 July 2007 Buckley’s genius lays in his acerbic wit, and familial ability to use language to create the exact image that he wants. A master political-comedic novelist who continually makes me laugh out loud: e.g., a few years ago I was reading a short story of his about a director who was making a movie on the Royal Navy, the working title ‘Rum, Waves and Sodomy.’ Boomsday is a great summer read! |
In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs: A Memoir of Iran by Christopher de Bellaigue, 279 pages Jonathan Misirian 18 August 2005 de Bellaigue presents a first person account of modern Iran. As a young British reporter who lives in Tehran and married at Iranian, de Bellaigue portrays Iran in all of its hypocrisy and beauty. A stunning narrative of life, revolution and the tumult of modern Islam. |
Buffy Sons of Entropy by Christopher Golden & Nancy Holder, 317 pages Jeff Gadd 12 June 2002 |
Buffy Blooded by Christopher Golden & Nancy Holder, 276 pages Jeff Gadd 04 November 2002 |
The Kingdom is Always but Coming: A Life of Walter Rauschenbusch (2008) by Christopher H. Evans, 347 pages James Donahue 20 June 2008 |
Deadly Waters by Christopher H. Meehan, 238 pages Steve Gadd 26 September 1995 |
God is not great: how religion poisons everything (2007) by Christopher Hitchens, 307 pages Jonathan Misirian 15 November 2007 …except the ability to write against it. Hitchens’ work is part of the modern trinity of works scortching religion, joining Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins on the best seller lists. |
God is Not Great: How Religions Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens, 307 pages Tony Pisarenkov 03 February 2008 Hitchens is preaching to the choir here, and I am the choir. I agree with everything he has to say in the book 100% (or close to it, anyhow), and as a result the book was not useful. At best, it filled in a few minor details. |
God Is Not Great - How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens, 307 pages Steven Krise 08 February 2008 There still remain four irreducible objections to religious faith: that it wholly misrepresents the origins of man and the cosmos, that because of this original error it manages to combine the maximum of servility with the maximum of solipsism, that it is both the result and the cause of dangerous sexual repression, and that it is ultimately grounded in wish-thinking. |
Witnesses From the Grave by Christopher Joyce & Eric Stover, 333 pages Steven Krise 14 June 2004 It was either a history of forensic anthropology or a biography of anthropologist Clyde Snow. Maybe it was supposed to be one layered on top of the other. Anyway, it covers the numerous prominent investigations Snow has been involved in (confirming Mengele's remains in Brazil, searching for desparacidos in Argentina and doing all-important studies on the proportions of stewardesses for the FAA). |
The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of American Democracy by Christopher Lasch, 256 pages Micaela Larkin 12 July 2006 Awesome! |
Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe, 56 pages Steve Gadd 15 July 1995 |
Fool by Christopher Moore, 311 pages Steven Krise 19 November 2009 Sort of a bawdy Pratchett-esque take on King Lear, maybe? |
The Watsons go to Birmingham – 1963 (1995) by Christopher Paul Curtis, 210 pages Jonathan Misirian 11 April 2008 Curtis wrote the draft for this, his first book, while working the automotive line at the Fisher Body Plant in Flint Michigan. In between shifts he put pen to paper and in the end won a Newbery and a Coretta Scott King award for excellent children’s literature. Set in Flint and Birmingham in the summer of 1963, this delightful story is about a family’s journey South, and their experience with racism. My son read this at school, then went on a class field trip to see this play performed at a local children’s theatre; and he recommended it to me. Wonderful. |
Socrates Cafe by Christopher Phillips, 87 pages Tony Pisarenkov 12 May 2003 One of the hokiest books I've come across in a long time. This account of the author's experiences fascilitating informal public discussions of questions of the attendees' choice supposedly using the Scoratic method comes out as a thinly disguised self-help book of the shallowest kind. Full of the author's own platitudes and the half-baked pseudo-arguments of his audiences, occasionally interspersed with two-sentence reductions of major philosophers' central ideas, this book gives philosophy a bad name. Normally I would not even bother mentioning any book I threw down in exasperation after two chapters, but I will do it this time to warn potential readers. |
Chuck Klosterman IV: a decade of curious people and dangerous ideas (2006) by Chuck Klosterman, 374 pages Jonathan Misirian 04 April 2007 Klosterman, a free-lance writer for Spin and Esquire packs a 1-2 punch better then most of today’s contemporary pop-culture writers. There’s only a few authors that I’d consider buying after reading, one being Maryilynne Robinson’s Gilead, and the other, this collection of essays and stories that Klosterman penned over the past few years. His writing lacks pretension, and is packed with razor sharp insights about humanity and our entertainment culture. For those who enjoy reading about pop-culture… Klosterman IV is a must-read. |
Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a true story (2005) by Chuck Klosterman, 245 pages Jonathan Misirian 06 April 2007 Spin asked their writer to travel across the country and write a series of articles on locations where famous rock stars died. From these essays, derived this memorable account of this 16 day journey. Note: one must be love esoteric music references to understand all the ironic situations the author finds himself in. A good writer, working with average material. |
Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas (2006) by Chuck Klosterman, 374 pages Brad Snyder 20 May 2007 If you told me a few years ago that there was a book that begins with Britney Spears and includes thoughts about stealing Hitler's wallet before closing with a story of a woman falling from the sky, I would have said that it must be good. This book proves the fact. |
Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story (2005) by Chuck Klosterman, 245 pages Brad Snyder 08 July 2007 Klosterman set out on a road trip across the USA to visit all the spots where rock stars have died: the New York hotel where Sid Vicious allegedly killed his girlfriend Nancy to the greenhouse in Seattle where Kurt Cobain shot himself. What he ended up writing about instead was all the girls he's loved before. |
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto (2004) by Chuck Klosterman, 253 pages Brad Snyder 23 July 2007 I enjoyed "Klosterman IV" and "Killing Yourself to Live" more, but this still has its high points, mostly in the first few chapters of the book. Interesting observations about the Sims and "Left Behind" series. |
Chuck Klosterman IV by Chuck Klosterman, 356 pages Steve Gadd 04 October 2007 Interviews with celebrities, ruminations on robots, basketball, and music videos, and a bit of forgettable fiction make for a respectable and entertaining collection of pop culture analysis. |
Downtown Owl: A Novel (2008) by Chuck Klosterman, 288 pages Brad Snyder 24 December 2008 If this had been written by Jerry Seinfeld, it would have been funnier, but it's definitely the novel about nothin'. |
Diary: A Novel by Chuck Palahniuk, 261 pages Jaqi Ross 25 July 2004 DIARY takes the form of a "coma diary" kept by one Misty Tracy Wilmot as her husband, Peter, lies senseless in a hospital after a suicide attempt. Once Misty was an art student dreaming of creativity and freedom; now, after her marriage and return to once quaint, now tourist-overrun Waytansea Island, she is just a resort hotel maid. Peter, it turns out, has been scrawling vile messages all over the walls of hidden rooms in houses he has been remodeling—an old habit of builders but dramatically overdone in Peter's case. Angry homeowners are suing left and right, and Misty's dreams of artistic greatness are reduced to ashes. But then, as if possessed by the spirit of Maura Kinkaid, a fabled Waytansea artist of the nineteenth century, Misty begins painting again, compulsively. The canvases are taken away by her mother-in-law and her doctor, who seem to have a plan for Misty—and for all those annoying tourists. . . . |
Choke by Chuck Palahniuk, 293 pages Steven Krise 08 June 2008 The point was, it's not the sex part of pornography that hooked the stupid little boy. It was the confidence. The courage. The complete lack of shame. The comfort and genuine honesty. The up-front-ness of being able to just stand there and tell the world: Yeah, this is how I chose to spend a free afternoon. Posing here with a monkey putting chestnuts up my ass. And I don't really care how I look. Or what you think. So deal with it. He was assaulting the world by assaulting himself. |
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, 199 pages Steven Krise 14 July 2008 The angels here are the Old Testament kind, legions and lieutenants, a heavenly host who works in shifts, days, swing, Graveyard. They bring you your meals on a tray with a paper cup of meds. The Valley of the Dolls playset. I've met God across his long walnut desk with his diplomas hanging on the wall behind him, and God asks me, "Why?" Why did I cause so much pain? Didn't I realize that each of us is a sacred, unique snowflake of special unique specialness? Can't I see how we're all manifestations of love? I look at God behind his desk, taking notes on a pad, but God's got this all wrong. We are not special. We are not crap or trash, either. We just are. We just are, and what happens just happens. And God says, "No, that's not right." Yeah. Well. Whatever. You can't teach God anything. |
Rant - An Oral Biography of Buster Casey by Chuck Palahniuk, 320 pages Steven Krise 22 July 2008 From the Field Notes of Green Taylor Simms: Of greatest interest is the idea that an average person easily reaches this mystical meditation state, "theta" brain waves, the state most sought by monks and pilgrims, simply by driving an automobile. Any long drive, anytime you've passed time and covered distance with no memory of the process, you've been submerged in deep theta-level meditation. Open to visions. Open to your subconscious. Creativity, intuition, and spiritual enlightenment. |
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, 224 pages Steve Gadd 28 September 2009 Lessons learned: The movie can be better than the book, when the book is written like a screenplay. There's no line so good that it can't be used three or four times. It's still possible to use four-letter words like "butt wipe" without sounding lame. |
Knitting under the influence by Claire Lazebnik, 397 pages Micaela Larkin 08 November 2006 Stupid chic-lit; wouldn't recommend |
The Women by Clare Boothe Luce, 215 pages Micaela Larkin 28 May 2007 A+++ |
Dr. Livingstone, I Presume? (2007) by Clare Pettitt, 210 pages James Donahue 18 December 2007 Everyone knows the punch line. Here Pettitt uncovers the story behind the line, the meeting between the Scottish missionary Livingstone and the Welsh-born, American journalist Stanley. The strength of the book however lies in the webs surrounding the story that Pettitt unravels: the connection between the story and the Anglo-Saxonism surrounding the Alabama arbitration; the African workers that accompanied Livingstone's body back to England, "faithful until the end"; Stanley's later involvement in romanticized boy scouting and the Belgian genocide in the Congo; the competing African and English, Christian and imperialist, appropriations of Livingstone, a diehard Scot and hapless, difficult missionary who rode his wife to an early grave, failed to convert even his trusted valet, and lived in an uneasy truce with the home missions societies. |
It Will Never Happen To Me; Children of alcoholics, as youngsters, adolescents, adults by Claudia Black, 183 pages Jonathan Misirian 13 May 2005 Sorting out my family, insightful overview into the roles that children play |
Mothers in the Fatherland by Claudia Koonz, 554 pages James Donahue 21 July 2002 An excellent introduction to all things Nazi. Koonz focuses her attention on women and the Church, which gives her a brilliant window into the Nazi world of terror, domesticity, and guilt-by-silence-and-collusion. |
History of Scotland by Cliff Hanley, 192 pages Steven Krise 04 July 2002 The title says it all. Starts out with the Picts and finishes up with the economic downturn of the late 80s. Best part was getting to read aloud in my head the word Glaswegian. Special £9.00 Value! I picked it up while in Glasgow back in 1997. |
Trial by Ice and Fire by Clinton Mckenzie , 400 pages Mike Gadd 12 October 2005 The third in the series and the best one so far. A good mix of mountain climbing and forest fire drama. |
The Edge of Justice by Clinton McKinzie, 420 pages Mike Gadd 27 August 2003 The cop in this story likes to rockclimb on the side. We are treated to some authentic sounding climbing techniques amid the story. |
Point of Law by Clinton McKinzie, 417 pages Mike Gadd 09 November 2003 Book 2 from the mountain climber / special agent. This one is set in time before the first book. I find that extremely distracting. Otherwise, the rock climbing scenes were engrossing enough. |
Cultural Amnesia: Necessary Memories from History and the Arts by Clive James, 876 pages Tony Pisarenkov 05 September 2007 Required reading for anyone who even remotely cares about the predicament that our society has got itself into over the course of the last hundred or so years, and how those of us with a gift of one kind or another have confronted it. |
The Scratch of a Pen: 1763 and the Transformation of North America by Colin Calloway, 225 pages Jonathan Misirian 13 May 2006 Calloway presents a sociological overview of the effects of the Treaty of Paris upon North America. This book wasn’t concerned with the diplomatic history and the events that led to the Seven Year’s War. Rather, Calloway presents to the reader a fresh look at how this treaty brought significant change to the New World. |
The Man Who Walked Through Time by Colin Fletcher, 239 pages Steve Gadd 29 May 1998 He was the first person to walk the length of the Grand Canyon nonstop. A stirring and reflective story. |
The New Faithful: Why Young Adults are Embracing Christian Orthodoxy by Colleen Carroll, 320 pages James Donahue 26 December 2002 The book is a bit sloppy and meandering; some of her language-use is imprecise (especially about postmodernism) and some of the chapters repeat information previously said. All that being said, this is a wonderfully provocative book. I never have considered myself to be a member of a movement or of my generation, yet I clearly saw myself reflected in the people documented in this book. Carroll explores the recent phenomenon of people our age converting to more liturgical, more conservative, and more traditional faith, and by so doing rediscovering the classical themes and emotions of historical Christianity. I recommend this read to anyone interested in this phenomenon and to anyone who's always been intrigued by the possibility of converting to a more orthodox (by which I mean: traditional)faith. |
Payton by Connie Payton, 237 pages Jonathan Misirian 16 January 2006 This collector’s book commemorating the life of Walter Payton is fulfilling both visually and emotionally. Lush photographs and a behind the scenes look at this great running back’s life, along with a commemorative DVD. |
Beowulf and Other Old English Poems by Constance B Hieatt (Trans.), 149 pages Steven Krise 13 April 2008 Now the ghoul found that never in the world, anywhere on earth, had he met a man with a mightier handgrip. He became afraid in his heart, but he could not get away any the sooner. He was eager to be off; he wanted to flee to his hiding place and seek out the company of devils--his circumstances there were unlike any he had ever before encountered in all the days of his life. The brave kinsman of Hygelac remembered his vows of that evening: he stood upright and got a fast hold on the monster; |
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthey, 337 pages Steven Krise 06 November 2006 The judge said he would never die. |
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, 302 pages Steve Gadd 17 February 1997 |
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy, 426 pages Steve Gadd 22 July 1997 |
Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy, 292 pages Steve Gadd 20 June 1998 Required reading for anyone who read All the Pretty Horses, part one of the Border Trilogy. |
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, 302 pages Steve Gadd 09 August 2000 In the Hollywood spirit of finding a category to create a superlative, I would name this my favorite contemporary American realist novel. |
The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy, 426 pages Steve Gadd 09 August 2000 The introspective and tragic sequel. Another young cowboy experiences the merciless world of unforseen consequences. |
Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy, 292 pages Steve Gadd 04 September 2000 Wrapping up the trilogy with hearty portions of bleakness and beauty, with a helping of Borges for dessert. |
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, 335 pages Steve Gadd 05 January 2002 Ornate, rich prose chronicles a violent southwestern saga. Could be titled Bloody Blood Meridian of Blood. |
The Road (2006) by Cormac McCarthy, 241 pages Brad Snyder 28 July 2007 When the world ends because of a nuclear war (?), all will be barren. Humanity will remain as scavengers of a barren, lifeless world. And apostrophes and quotation marks will cease to exist. |
The Road by Cormac McCarthy, 287 pages Steve Gadd 21 June 2008 An extremely bleak and utterly absorbing tale of a father and son's road trip through a post-apocalyptic wasteland. |
No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, 309 pages Steven Krise 19 July 2008 Almost hamletesque in the ruthless efficiency with which all the main and several minor characters are dispatched. Bravo. |
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, 0 pages Steve Gadd 02 August 2008 Read by Tom Stechschulte. |
The Road by Cormac McCarthy, 287 pages Steven Krise 09 August 2008 By then all stores of food had given out and murder was everywhere upon the land. The world soon to be largely populated by men who would eat your children in front of your eyes and the cities themselves held by cores of blackened looters who tunneled among the ruins and crawled from the rubble white of tooth and eye carrying charred and anonymous tins of food in nylon nets like shoppers in the commissaries of hell. |
Engaging God's World: A Christian Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living by Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., 169 pages Brad Snyder 03 April 2005 Plantinga has deepened my understanding of world view with this wonderfully written and mentally challenging book. The theme is that as Christians, we should be longing for "shalom", and he articulates the need to see the world through the theological understanding of the Creation, Fall, and Redemption. While it's written for a college-aged audience, it is relevant for all. |
Memoirs (1935) by Count Bernstorff, 365 pages James Donahue 28 September 2006 Bernstorff was the German ambassador to DC before WWI; ambassador to the League of Nations after WWI. Here would be a refreshing change: a German politician willing to put some of the blame on himself. |
Community of the Cross: Moravian Piety in Colonial Bethlehem by Craig Atwood, 227 pages James Donahue 05 July 2004 The Moravians were German emigrants who founded utopian communities (such as New Harmony, Indiana) centered around a graphic adoration of the wounds that rivalled Mel Gibson. Atwood does a good job of explaining a tradition that -- like the Australian gene pool -- morphed quickly in insular New World communities into unique phenomena. |
The Gutter: Where Life is Meant to be Lived by Craig Gross, 156 pages Brad Snyder 11 December 2005 Written by the co-founder of XXXChurch.com, a fantastic ministry to those enslaved by pornography, Gross challenges Christians to find the gutter in which they should minister and then go and do it. Be it porn stars (as he does), transvestite prostitutes in San Francisco, starting a Hooters Outreach (I hear the wings are delicious), or weekly visits to a lonely little old lady in a nursing home, our comfort zones should be no obstacle to loving others for Jesus. |
Buffy Return to Chaos by Craig Shaw Gardner, 293 pages Jeff Gadd 22 May 2002 |
Blankets by Craig Thompson, 582 pages Jonathan Misirian 01 March 2006 My skepticism vanished after reading but a few pages of this graphic novel. While comic-style literature has been relegated to kids and socially-awkward adults, Blankets elevates the art to a new level. I was unprepared for the combination of drawings and words, but was more then surprised at the power that a simple image conveyed… Thompson masterfully creates a compelling autobiography that deals with love and loss, faith and identity. |
Blankets by Craig Thompson, 582 pages Brad Snyder 24 March 2006 I'm new to this particular art form. The drawings added a depth missing from most standard books, but the two-dimensional nature made them subtle enough to allow my imagination some room to operate and that film tends to retard. The story is that of Thompson's search for meaning, drawn from his parallel experiences with Christianity and teenage love. A thought-provoking and engaging story. Thanks to Jonathan for the recommendation. |
A Feast of Creatures, Anglo-Saxon Riddle-Songs by Craig Williamson, 230 pages Steven Krise 04 September 2002 A book in 3 parts. Zen-like Walt Whitman-influenced intro to riddles as means of enlightenment followed by translations of the 91 Old English riddles of the Exeter Book. Finishes with short commentary on each of the poems. Worthwhile for the first two parts. Includes an index of proposed solutions to the riddles. |
The Space Trilogy by CS Lewis, 762 pages James Donahue 09 December 2002 |
the man of my dreams by curtis sittenfield, 269 pages Micaela Larkin 08 November 2006 While she keeps the same self-obssessive inner eye on her main character, this sophomore attempt is much better fare than her original book of the month, prep. |
The Messiah of Stockholm: A Novel by Cynthia Ozick, 160 pages Jaqi Ross 28 June 2004 Lars Andeming, perhaps overly intellectual and certainly eccentric, is the Monday book reviewer for a Stockholm daily. He is also the self-proclaimed son of Bruno Schulz, a Polish writer who was executed by the Nazis before his last novel, The Messiah, could be published. |
The Cannibal Galaxy by Cynthia Ozick, 161 pages Jaqi Ross 28 June 2004 The main character, Joseph, is a Jewish-Frenchman living in the middle of America. He had faced many hardships during the first decades of his life. When he finally is able to overcome them and enjoy the blessings of his emancipation, he cannot let go of his own sense of failure. The relationships he has in the latter part of his life are not fufilling because he focuses on the lack in these people, not thier ability. Joseph fails to value people as individuals. As a result, he is destined to be ordinary and unhappy instead of trying to be extraordinary. At the end of the novel he is given a chance to change his outlook on life. This novel was an easy read and full of beautiful, descriptive imagery. |
Jackaroo I: Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt, 291 pages A Bennett 05 January 2002 Action/Adventure, set in The Kingdom, with a masked hero. |
Jackaroo II: On Fortune's Wheel by Cynthia Voigt, 289 pages A Bennett 15 January 2002 Beriel leaves The Kingdom unwittingly and falls into love and into slavery. The Narrative pulls punches. |
Jackaroo IV: Elske by Cynthia Voigt, 245 pages A Bennett 25 January 2002 Wolfer-born Elske is not the first in the series to end up in The Kingdom, rewarded, but she is my favorite. Excellent series capper, Tough grrl. |
Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt, 291 pages Julie Gephart 26 January 2002 A cape, a horse, a servant girl taking up the mask of an ancient Zorro character - it sounds much better than it was. |
On Fortune's Wheel by Cynthia Voigt, 289 pages Julie Gephart 27 January 2002 The Wheel goes up, the Wheel comes down, but nothing really bad ever happens if you're a girl. |
The Wings of a Falcon by Cynthia Voigt, 467 pages Julie Gephart 03 February 2002 If this hero were a little taller, he'd be Xena. My favorite of the Jackaroo series. |
Jackaroo III: The Wings of a Falcon by Cynthia Voigt, 467 pages A Bennett 11 February 2002 Because I didn't know this existed I read it out of order. Voigt kills off her third person exclusive main character (and his POV) on page 397, in one of the shortest sentences in history. Wow. |
Elske by Cynthia Voigt, 245 pages Julie Gephart 16 February 2002 Voigt heartily reverses her earlier policy that nothing really bad happens to girls - she clarifies here that if you are a girl, your life totally sucks no matter where you live. |
Elske: A Novel of the Kingdom (1999) by Cynthia Voigt, 245 pages A Bennett 02 June 2004 Never less than good, at moments excellent. I have found myself deciding to read certain things as I come across them as I pack boxes, so this is a technical 're-read'. Necessary vocabulary: demesne. |
On fortune's wheel by cynthia voigt, 289 pages nicole 13 February 2009 |
To Begin Where I Am by Czeslaw Milosz, 454 pages James Donahue 18 June 2003 This book is a collection of essays throughout Milosz's career separated into three categories: criticism, biographical, and reflective. His prose is as good as ever (Milosz is, to my mind, a master of the English language despite his Polish roots) The subject material is also fascinating, although any future readers should be forewarned that Milosz expects the reader to be conversant in Polish and European literary history. But then these essays were primarily written with one reader in mind: Milosz himself. |
The Captive Mind by Czeslaw Milosz, 251 pages James Donahue 03 July 2003 Searing book which examines why some collaborated with the criminal regimes of the Eastern Bloc while Milosz fell into exile status. Sympathetic and challenging given my own flaws in this area. |