I have been busy, busy, busy these days. A combination of work, church, and family has kept me away from the computer for long stretches. For you political types out there, here are some links from the past week or so that I have posted at Right Shelf. They are also reviews, interviews, and/or discussions [...]
Okay, I admit it. I sometimes pay attention to marketing and buzz. Not all the time mind you. There are plenty of books that take the world by storm and I have no interest in reading them. The Da Vinci Code? No thank you. The Left Behind series? Nope. But when Amazon was all abuzz [...]
Football weekends are starting to develop a pattern: a strong Michigan win followed by a heartbreaking Steelers’ loss. Last week it was a huge Michigan win at Notre Dame and a heart breaking 9-0 Steelers’ loss to the Jaguars on Monday night. This week Michigan comes out strong in the second-half to beat Wisconsin 27-13 [...]
The folks over at Paraclete Press publish some thought provoking books. Everything from musings on the Sabbath from a former practicing Orthodox Jew turned Anglican Christian; to interesting fiction (see here and here); to memoirs about the “surprising gifts” of growing up in a fundamentalist family. Given my interest in faith and religion, I suppose [...]
Some stimulating pixels for your viewing pleasure: – Ross Douthat discusses Jules Verne sans Captain Nemo over at Books & Culture: Memory forgives a multitude of literary sins. Middling prose, wooden characterization, boilerplate dialogue—all of these will be overlooked, if a writer can only seize upon one great story and carry it off reasonably well. [...]
The Christian Fiction Blog Alliance rolls on this week with Something That Lasts by James David Jordan. Seeing how I am ridiculously behind in my reading I had to skip this one. But it looks interesting. The book’s description certainly grabs your attention: When Ted Balik rises from his pew to speak, no one in [...]
Okay, so the Steelers 0-9 loss at Jacksonville tonight isn’t at the same level as UM beating ND, but it still was painful. God likes to keep me humble.
I am still basking in the glow of the Michigan game this weekend. I am not sure you can understand the psychic healing that game involved for Michigan fans. It was like Christmas and your birthday wrapped into one. It is hard to remember a more important win for this program in many years. I [...]
This week seems to be the week to talk about “fictional depictions of unique subcultures as experienced by their authors.” What prompted this rather awkward description? Well, Squat is an attempt by Taylor Field to bring to life the world of the homeless in urban America based on his experiences. In a way, Naomi Alderman’s [...]