Cannonball Read 13

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Choose this day whom you will serve.

The Kingdom of God Is Within You: Christianity Not as Mystic Religion But as a New Theory of Life by Leo Tolstoy

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I took a long, weird road to this book. I grew up in Texas with public-service-minded parents of faith. I was a political science major turned public-interest lawyer turned political staffer. Public service, making the world a better place, all of it. In my mind, Jesus’ line about rendering to Caesar what’s Caesar’s meant that, in my democratic context, I had to work the system for good. I navigated the classic political argument of the “problem of dirty hands” with all of that in mind […]

A surprisingly earnest (and not surprisingly literal) exploration of the Bible.

The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs

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Feels good to finally knock this off my TBR after 13 years, and it was a pretty good read, but I think I wanted more from it. This mindset is puzzling, because I was actually expecting less than what I got here. I was expecting this to be more of a satirical, humorous, critical exploration of the Bible. And it was not that! At all! Jacobs is extremely, beyond-call sincere in his exploration. He’s funny, but the humor is secondary. His quest comes first. (He […]

As the crow flies we are already there. As the human walks, it will take a little longer.

As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman

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As the Crow Flies was on several reading lists, award lists and being promoted for a while. I decided maybe I would investigate it after I noticed a couple schools had ordered it. When I noticed the price, I was “Um…okay, this is a library book.” However, it is worth the price of the book, if you decide it is after reading it from a library. You see, this graphic novel by Melanie Gillman is not … well it is a story that goes from […]

Before Lucy stepped into the wardrobe

Through the Wardrobe: How C. S. Lewis Created Narnia by Lina Maslo

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It is always funny, nice, or exciting (depending on your view) to learn the history behind a favorite book series. Or, even if you are not a fan, to learn about a popular reading series. And you get that in Through the Wardrobe: How C. S. Lewis Created Narnia by Lina Maslo. This picture book biography of C. S. Lewis hits the highlights of his life, disappointments, inspirations and his family/personal life and his writing process. There is also mention about his Christian upbringing, questing […]

“Becoming the Beloved means letting the truth of our Belovedness become enfleshed in everything we think, say, or do.”

Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World by Henri J.M. Nouwen

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Nouwen is one of my favourite Christian writers – simultaneously mystical, transcendent, encouraging, and practical. This isn’t at the top of my list of his books. However, it may be just the right book for someone struggling with finding worth, identity, or hope in dark times. The genesis of this one is interesting – Nouwen was an already well-known writer and figure and was chosen to be profiled by a local paper. The local reporter obviously had very little interest in either Nouwen or the […]

Meaning in the Muddle

Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at its Best by Eugene H. Peterson

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“Faith invades the muddle; it does not eliminate it…clarities come from adventuring deep into the mysteries of God’s will and love, not by cautiously managing and moralizing.” This is a lembas-bread-book for a couple of reasons. It’s dense and nourishing, which means it’s good. However, it’s dense and nourishing, which means it’s best absorbed in small bites. That’s mostly why it took me so long to finish this relatively short book. The other reason is the subject – this book is Eugene Peterson’s reflection on […]



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