Time for another update on my Challies 2016 Reading Challenge progress!

I think I have developed a bit of Literary ADD. I’m in the middle of several books and, despite my efforts, I have been slow to finish them. So, another month of slow progress. But hey, it’s progress, right?

So here’s a list of what I was able to finish in August:

A Book Written By Someone of the Opposite Sex: Star Wars: Bloodline, by Claudia Gray. Last year, I read Gray’s great Star Wars YA novel, Lost Stars, which took place shortly after Return of the Jedi. Bloodline takes place about twenty or so years later. Princess Leia is now Senator Leia, a senior member of the New Republic’s very divided Senate. Leia and a young up-and-coming senator from the opposition party stumble upon a criminal smuggling ring that rivals Jabba the Hutt’s cartel in size and influence. However, this underworld ring is itself a front to something much more dangerous. This novel was a quick and fun read, and it helped to provide backstory for a few key plot points from Star Wars Episode VII. If you’re at all inclined to read a Star Wars novel, this one may be worth a look.

A Book Written By Someone of a Different Ethnicity: Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates. This book was challenging for me, as I noted in my “open-letter” to the author. I picked this book because Pastor Jared Wilson said on a podcast that it was a book that helped him listen better to the stories of others. I can affirm that it does that. It is challenging, and I don’t agree with all of Coates’ assumptions. But it is important for me to remember that I need to be humble and even silent sometimes, and give other voices a chance to speak before critiquing what they say. I would challenge my white friends to read this short book, if only to catch a glimpse of another version of the world.

A Book by David McCullough: The Wright Brothers, by David McCullough. Pulitzer-Prize-winning historian David McCullough has written some long books. Don’t get me wrong; they look really fascinating, but they’re beasts.  So, I looked for one of his shorter volumes to fulfill this task, and was pleasantly surprised with the result. The Wright Brothers tells the story of Orville and Wilbur Wright, the two men who performed the first successful manned-flight on an airplane-type glider. There are a lot of caveats on the “first” there; as McCullough reveals, there were many pioneers in the field of aviation. But it was the Wrights and their dogged determination to defy gravity and conquer the problem of flight who took the entire human race into the next era of transportation. McCullough’s short biography of the brothers captures a clear (if limited) sense of their relationship, their family life, and their passion for what would be their lives’ work. The brief personal anecdotes throughout the book give a sense of who these men were, and the historical context of their exploits helped me as a reader to appreciate the importance of their accomplishments. The Wright Brothers were often mocked and dismissed, all but accused of perpetuating a hoax, but eventually they had the last laugh (as Sinatra famously noted). The Wright Brothers is an interesting and approachable biography worth exploring.

Time for another update on my Challies 2016 Reading Challenge progress!

May and June were full months for me–the 8-week summer class on Biblical Hermeneutics has been really helpful but very demanding! However, I was able to get a few books read before my class started and the homework started piling up. (Unfortunately, my reading outside of school materials in June was effectively zero.)

So here’s a list of what I was able to finish in May:

A Book by a Speaker at a Conference You Have Attended: The Hole in Our Holiness, by Kevin DeYoung. About 4 years ago, I attended Together for the Gospel, and one of the free books (so many free books at that conference!) I received was this one by DeYoung, whose session that year covered some of the material from the book. I stuck the book on my shelf, always meaning to get back to it. I’m glad I finally did, because this short volume (150 pages) is a dynamo: punchy, pithy, and powerful. The main thesis of DeYoung’s book is that we cannot sacrifice the imperatives (commands) of the Gospel for the sake of the indicatives (descriptive truths) of the Gospel. We are not saved by good works, but we are saved FOR good works. DeYoung rightly points out that Christians in the West (and especially here in the States) too often hold to a half-developed understanding of the Gospel that focuses almost entirely on BELIEVING the right things and almost none at all on DOING what the Bible commands Christians to do. HIGHLY recommended.

A Book About a Current Issue: Too Dumb to Fail: How the GOP Betrayed the Reagan Revolution to Win Elections (and How It Can Reclaim Its Conservative Roots), by Matt Lewis. I’d been looking forward to reading this book for a few months, because it was touted as a good explanation for how the Trump phenomenon happened. I think this is a fair, if incomplete, description. Throughout the volume, Lewis seeks to diagnose the GOP’s ailments, and provide some suggestions for turning the tide.  He begins by looking at the history of conservative political thought in America, its influences and standard-bearers, and how it began to erode after the Reagan presidency ended. I found a lot of Lewis’ analysis to be on-point, but about halfway through the book, the worm began to turn a bit for me. Lewis has little appreciation or patience for Conservative Evangelicals (and some of that is justified, I think). But his solution seems to involve Evangelicals abandoning (or at least toning down) some of their convictions because it’s a bad look for the Party. He trumpets the work of men like Tim Keller and Russell Moore as exemplars of thoughtful religious conservatism (though these men have taken positions on certain tertiary issues that would be considered ideologically liberal among some circles). All in all, Lewis’ book seems to be long on diagnosis, and a bit short on cure, though he presents some good ideas. As a religious conservative reading the book, however, I felt like my ilk was seen as part of the problem more than part of the solution.

A Book on the NYT Bestseller’s List: Smarter, Faster, Better, by Charles Duhigg. I’ve already reviewed Duhigg’s follow-up to The Power of Habit. I would certainly recommend it to anyone who likes pop-level sociological analysis in the mold of Malcolm Gladwell. (And for the record, none of the preceding sentence is meant to be a slight, though I’d imagine it might be taken as such if you’re not a fan of any of those things. I enjoy Gladwell’s work, so…) Duhigg dishes up some interesting ideas that are fun to consider and implement.

A Book of at least 400* Pages: It Can’t Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis. This 1935 novel follows the fictional campaign and election of Democratic presidential candidate Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip to the highest post in the land, and the utter devastation that happened as a result. Through this allegory, Lewis addresses the question of how the American public could unthinkingly embrace Fascism, due to willful ignorance, fear, and desperation. While the protagonist of the story (Doremus Jessup, a broadminded New England liberal who is the editor of a small-town newspaper) is convinced that somehow, someway, common sense and sanity will win the day and stop the snowball-momentum of Windrip, he is over and over proven wrong. Windrip’s seemingly incompetent and blatantly phony campaign speeches and self-contradicting missives do nothing to stop his progress, and he eventually wins the campaign. Once he is inaugurated, he immediate sets up a police state and goes the way of all rotten totalitarian regimes. I started reading this book after seeing it referenced in a newspaper op-ed about the current political jungle. I was amazed, even appalled, how familiar whole sections of the first half of the book sounded. Unfortunately, once Buzz is elected, the novel starts to lose its punch. The protagonist and his family and friends just aren’t that likeable and seem to stumble into the underground resistance movement. However, since they’re played up to be a bit farcical themselves, I struggled to take them seriously in the second half of the book. The conclusion of the novel isn’t that satisfying, except that it mercifully ends. I wonder if Lewis should have chopped about 100 pages off the back end and tightened up the punch of the story. On the whole, the book probably won’t stick with me, but the first 150 pages or so detailing the campaign and first few months of the Windrip presidency are a stinging indictment of all would-be demagogues in American politics.

[*Okay, now the disclaimer: While there are editions of this novel that are over 400 pages, the version I read (with smallish print) was only 382 pages. But I don’t care — I’m counting it.]

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As I said in the last post, resuming my seminary education will take the place of much of my pleasure reading, so I’m making the decision to ease back my expectations. I’m not going to stop until I finish the 52-book list; however, I see now that it won’t be until sometime next year. So, a new part of these monthly/bi-monthly updates will be a running tally of my progress!

Current Totals:
May/June: 4
Year-to-Date: 19
Original Goal: 52
Realistic Goal: 30

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My class ends next week, so I should be able to get a few more books in before my next class in August. Right now, I’ve started listening to the audio book of a memoir of a Navy SEAL. I’m limiting my listening to only when I’m being “active,” so hopefully this will motivate me to work out more. And I’m also about to start a biography of two very important American inventors, so I’m pretty psyched about that. I’ll keep you posted!

Time for another update on my Challies 2016 Reading Challenge progress!

In keeping with T.S. Eliot’s old adage, April was the cruelest month–lots of challenges and frustrations (and rain–so much rain!).  But that said, I was able to get some reading done, amid all the craziness.

So here’s a list of what I was able to finish in April:

A Book with a One-Word Title or Subtitle: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, by Greg McKeown. I had heard such good things about this one that I had to see for myself. McKeown espouses a philosophy/approach to productivity and life in general in which one must consistently choose what is most important, and focus all their efforts on that goal. This is accomplished often through “editing,” or adding-by-subtracting–removing things from our life that may be good but not best, or saying no to opportunities or options that would divert us from focusing on what matters most.  This all sounds very basic and obvious as I’m typing it–and it is, to some extent. But McKeown’s clarity of thought and description of process keep it fresh and engaging. The Christian reader should be aware that, at the end of the book, McKeown begins to espouse mindfulness as a tenet of this “essentialist” approach, which isn’t a Christian practice and is closely linked to Buddhist and Hindu belief. That said, there is a lot in this book that is practical and beneficial, so with those caveats, I would recommend it.

A Humorous Book: Dad is Fat, by Jim Gaffigan. I tried something different for this one: I listened to the audio book instead of reading the printed version. If you are familiar with Jim Gaffigan’s material (“Hot Pocket…”), you would expect that a book written and read by Gaffigan would be hilarious. And it was funny, but the style was more of a humorist than a stand-up act–think Garrison Keillor. (That is, if you like Keillor; if you don’t, that’s a terrible analogy. Forget I mentioned it.) Which is to say, fewer gut-busting guffaws from me, and more wry smiles and chuckles. Also, the book falls into the same problem areas that Gaffigan’s stand-up does: there is the rare crude joke/innuendo, and he treats spiritual things with irreverence, trying to mine them for humor (while besmirching God in the process). All in all, if you like Gaffigan’s material, you’d like this book. I find myself becoming less and less of a fan, though there are still certain bits from his routine that kill me.

A Biography: Biggest Brother: The Life of Major Dick Winters, the Man Who Led the Band of Brothers, by Larry Alexander. As the title no doubt indicates, this biography tells the life story of Dick Winters, the leader of Easy Company, the paratroopers made famous in the best-selling book by Stephen Ambrose, Band of Brothers, and the Emmy-winning HBO miniseries of the same name. While Ambrose tried to tell the stories of all the men involved, in brief vignettes, Alexander focuses specifically on Winters, telling the tale of his life before and after the war, in addition to a detailed look at his wartime experiences. I loved the Ambrose book and the HBO series, so this was a great opportunity to find out more about one of the key figures in this amazing true story. Winters, who passed away about 5 years ago, was a noble and honorable man, a man whose commitment and courage are worthy of consideration and emulation. I’m definitely glad to have read his story.

A Book Geared toward the Opposite Gender: Inheritance of Tears, by Jessalyn Hutto. It’s amazing to me how common miscarriage is and yet how little I’ve heard people talk about it. This short book from Cruciform Press is just over 100 pages long but is packed from cover to cover with comforting theological truth about the issues related to coping with miscarriage from a specifically Christian and Scripture-focused perspective. Hutto demonstrates through this short volume that good theology can be a source of great comfort and healing. While this book is specifically geared toward women who have suffered a miscarriage, I think their husbands, friends, and ministers can definitely benefit from the wisdom contained in its pages. If you or someone you know has experienced the grief of miscarriage, I commend this book to you as an encouragement and comfort. And I would strongly recommend that anyone in pastoral and women’s ministry should pick up at least a few copies of this book to give away to couples in need. It will be a benefit to any couple in your care who has to walk through the dark valley of miscarriage.

A Book with A Great Cover: Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman. Postman’s famous jeremiad about the destruction of the American intellect, the death of print culture, and ascendancy of the screen culture was written thirty-one years ago, and like any book of the cultural moment, it is certainly dated in places. But Postman makes some incisive observations about the nature of television as a medium of communication, and draws some interesting conclusions from his observations. The tone of the book is eloquently misanthropic, as if Postman knew that his critique would fall upon deaf ears. Truth be told, the book is long on diagnosis and short on cure, but it raises some interesting questions that are worth your time to consider. Though he demonstrates fundamental misunderstanding about the nature of the Christian faith, his critique of televised religion could be easily applied to the approach of seeker-sensitive megachurches trying to draw in an “audience.” Though Postman’s politics are clearly left-leaning, his critique of the televised political process is scathing enough to burn both ends of the bread, as it were (and happens to apply to several key elements of the 2016 election season). All in all, this was an interesting and frustrating book, but I’m glad I finally read it. And check out that creeptastic cover!

So where does that put me in the overall reading tally?

I have completed 15 of the books on the list, in 17 weeks. So, I’m a little behind schedule at the moment.

The good news is that I’m about 20 pages away from finishing another book on the list, and I have made progress in about 3 others.

The bad news is that I start my next seminary class in 3 weeks. It lasts from late May to mid-July, and needless to say, my extra-curricular reading time will be drastically reduced during that stretch.

Do I think I’ll hit my goal of at least  50 out of the 52 books on the reading list? Probably not. However, I’ve also read a few graphic novels and a few other novels along the way, so I still might hit the 50-book mark overall.

Only one way to find out, gang–keep checking in each month here at the 4thDaveBlog!

Your Turn: Did you read anything cool in April? Are you working on any good books at the moment? Let us know in the comments below!

Time to give you an update on my Challies 2016 Reading Challenge progress!

This month, I was able to keep pace on the reading challenge (along with some extracurricular comic-book reading–I’m excited for the new Captain America movie, so I’ve been catching up on that title!).  I also finished the month with a handful of books “in progress” (including one that I almost got in under the wire for March), so I’m hoping April will be another good reading month.

Here’s what I was able to finish in March:

A Classic Novel: Animal Farm, by George Orwell. When I told people that I had never read Animal Farm, they were incredulous. How can I not have read a staple of high-school English class? My answer: private Christian school. We read a different set of novels, and I missed out on a lot of the standards that my public-school contemporaries read (or at least, skimmed the Cliffs Notes). So I finally got around to reading Animal Farm, Orwell’s scathing satire of Soviet Marxism. It was a fun read, and I’m glad to finally fill in this egregious gap in my education. If you haven’t checked it out, it’s certainly worth your time and attention. And remember, kids: four legs good, two legs…better?

A Novel Set in A Country Other Than Your Own: Gates of Fire, by Steven Pressfield. This novel, set in ancient Greece, tells the story of the 300 Spartans (and hundreds of various other Greeks) who defended Thermopylae (the “Hot Gates” of the title) against the invading Persians. The frame of the story is the account of a Spartan squire named Xeones, who survived the battle with grave injuries only to be questioned by Xerxes, the Persian emperor, who wishes to know more about the brave warriors who withstood his advance for days. Through the narrative detailing Xeo’s early life and journey to Sparta and his experience as an outsider living within Spartan culture, the reader gets a fascinating picture of a past culture, as the author explores the themes of the nature of courage and the bonds forged in battle. While I quite enjoyed the story, the consistent presence of “barracks-language” and crude dialogue prevent me from recommending it broadly.

A Book Based on a True Story: The Silence of Our Friends, by Mark Long. This NYT-bestselling graphic novel depicts two families, one black and one white, living in Houston, Texas, during the Civil Rights era. The story, which is semi-fictionalized but based on the author’s experiences, depicts the tensions in Houston surrounding the trial of 5 TSU students accused of shooting a police officer during a protest/riot. The author’s father was a TV news reporter who tried (despite pressures at the station) to present the story objectively. While the book doesn’t present this complicated issue with any sort of depth, it does provide a snapshot of childhood during a turbulent time. I also learned a bit of local history that I had never heard before, which is a good thing.

A Book of Poetry: Jelly Roll, by Kevin Young. Rather than go with something safe or familiar, I tried to stretch a little, so I picked up this book of poems by Kevin Young, an African-American poet and professor of English and creative writing. Jelly Roll, a National Book Award finalist, is a collection of poems inspired by love, loss, and jazz. The jazz element is particularly strong, which meant I had to work a little bit to “get” several of the pieces, but a few of them elicited an audible reaction of “whoo, that’s good” from me. If nothing else, reading this book made me want to write poetry again. Like Young, I love the sound of language, and poetry is a perfect medium for reveling in its music. This collection may not be for everyone, but it was an interesting experience for me.

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That’s all I have this month, as far as the official list is concerned. As I said, I also read a few trade-paperback collections of Captain America comics. One in particular that stood out for me was Fallen Son, a collection of five stories taking place in the wake of the death of Captain America. The writers shaped these stories to represent the 5 “stages of grief,” and the result is a collection of surprising emotional resonance. As I’ve said elsewhere, most of my limited comics-reading are “fun-and-done” but, once in a while, a well-written book grabs my imagination. This one did.

Your Turn: Did you read any good books this month? Let me know in the comments below!