Book review: “Hitler: Ascent” by Volker Ullrich

A political outsider with a mass following comes to the top post in the nation at the invitation of an embattled party wanting to ride on his popular appeal. They are convinced they can control him, but woefully miscalculate. Sound familiar? I picked up Volker Ullrich's recent biography of Adolf Hitler, wanting to understand all the details that led to the fall of Weimar Germany's democracy. In this first volume of a three-part biography, Ullrich covers Hitler's beginnings as transient artist to political agitator to chancellor of Germany.

November 21, 2020 0

Book review: “Midnight Sun” by Stephenie Meyer

It is an absolute pleasure to read Midnight Sun just to cringe at it. But I am here to make it even cringier! I'm sure they have been WAY too many Twilight metaphors, but I'm adding one more to the pile: behold, Twilight through the lens of my gay Mormon religious trauma.

September 24, 2020 0

Book review: “Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer” by C. S. Lewis

I've been curled up on the couch with a Lewis's Letters to Malcolm book this week. He never wrote a book on prayer, because, well, who am I to tell one how to pray? but his personal field notes on prayer have left me reflective on my own spiritual life.

September 19, 2020 0

Book review: “Saving Faith” by John Gee

I chose to read *Saving Faith* by John Gee because I knew I would strongly disagree with it. I don't usually do that with the books I read in my free time, but this one touched a chord as a gay Latter-Day Saint and a survivor of sexual abuse.

August 31, 2020 0

Book Review: “It Was All a Lie: How the Republican Party Became Donald Trump”

Stevens was a top Republican campaign strategist for many state and national elections, including Bush and Romney. His thesis: Trump isn't an aberration of the Republican party; he is its culmination. What happened to balancing the budget? Small government? Personal responsibility instead of playing the victim? Character counts? These principles that were supposedly the bedrock of the Republican party were abandoned over night when Trump was elected.

August 30, 2020 0

Book review: “The Death of Expertise” by Tom Nichols

Hayek and Chesterton gave me a healthy skepticism of expert opinion, but the fact still stands: we do ourselves a disservice when we refuse to listen to our experts. In the era of COVID-19, we are seeing battle lines drawn yet again. Tom Nichols' book is an excellent look at where we went wrong.

August 23, 2020 0

Book review: “I, Judas” by Taylor Caldwell

While historical fiction surrounding the events of Christ's life can be fun, even inspiring, this one hasn't aged well. From Nicodemus's rant about the decline of Roman family values (even fitting abortion in there) to making Judas a rapist, it was WIERD.

August 17, 2020 0

Book review: “Just Mercy” by Brian Stevenson

For many in this country, the reality is you are guilty until proved innocent. This beautiful narrative illustrates one story of hope where a wrong was made right. I pray that we may have more such stories of healing in our broken system.

July 31, 2020 0

Book review: “Enos, Jarom Omni” by Sharon J. Harris

When it comes to Enos, Jarom, and Omni less is more. Sharon Harris has done more with these little books than I thought possible. Harris makes theological space in these pages for those on the edge of the inside of Mormonism, and in an Ozymandian take reminds us that spirituality isn't measured by your real estate on the gold plates.

July 30, 2020 0

Book review: “The Great Divorce” by C. S. Lewis

My patient parents put up with me reading The Great Divorce to them this week while they were visiting. Re-reading Lewis always brings fresh insights. Lewis's "The Great Divorce" was one of the books that helped me overcome my religiously inspired self-loathing and realize I wasn't doomed to go to the Mormon version of hell.

July 26, 2020 0