The memoirs of a Russian Orthodox monk in the last days of the Soviet Union. Truly a colorful cast of characters that shows how faith can shine even in the darkest of times.
Book review: "Everyday Saints" by Archimandrite Shevkunov
Book review: “The Name of the Wind” by Patrick Rothfuss
The "Name of the Wind" has some intangible quality about it that gives it the solidity of a real thing. You have the impression of a world that has only been explored in so small a part, you couldn't finish telling stories about it. It spends time describing simple pleasures like a few beautiful notes on a lute or the feel of a breeze and yet is simultaneously an absolute page-turner.
Double book review: “Not in God’s Name” by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and “The Book of Laman” by Mette Harrison
A double book review: "Not in God's Name" by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and "The Book of Lemuel" by Mette Harrison. Both challenge dualistic interpretations of scripture that separate a righteous Us and a wicked Them.
Book review: “The Physician” by Noah Gordon
11th century Christian from England disguises himself as a Jew so he can train as a physician in a Persian hospital. Historical fiction at its best! It captures an era that I wish we engaged with more.
Protected: Best Christmas present of 2019: My grandma’s autobiography
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Beta reading my wife’s first book!
My wife is getting close to publishing her first book, and I'm honored to be one of the first to read it all the way through! It's kind of scary releasing your book into the world, and I'm glad she trusted me with it! It's YA fiction, y'all should try it out when it comes out next year.
Book review: “Eager to Love” by Richard Rohr
My first book by Richard Rohr "Eager to Love" just happened to be about my favorite saint too, Saint Francis. I am drawn to Francis because he critiqued the Church while remaining a part of it, and he exemplified holy envy when encountering the Sultan. Rohr gets to Francis's central message: the centrality of love.
Book review: “Humility: The Journey Toward Holiness” by Andrew Murray
Brought back memories of filling out the Preach My Gospel Christlike attributes assessment and reaching the humility section. If I rank myself highly, I'm like the guy who says "I am the humblest person I know." But-- if I give myself all zeros, then I'm just doing it to prove I'm humble!
Book review: “How Democracies Die” by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt
My review is READ THIS BOOK. While the book is trying to address a contemporary question, Does Trump pose a threat to democracy?, it helps put the question into context, looking at history of American democracy as well as democracies of other countries that have lapsed into authoritarianism.
