I just came upon what looks to be a very cool tracking site.
It operates much like Geocaching, except for instead of hunting for treasures, one can hunt for books. If I am correct, instead of throwing away books they no longer wish to keep, book owners can place their book somewhere to be "found" by another person. The cool part is the tracking---you can see where in the world your book goes! Very, very cool.
Bookcrossing.com
Showing posts with label 1001 Books to Read. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1001 Books to Read. Show all posts
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
August Book Log
Well, July was a failure. In terms of reading, that is. Circumstances and situations severely hampered the amount of reading I was able to accomplish during both the monts of June and July.
But I came across Kevin DeYoung's Book Log for July, Part 1. That gave me the idea to write a brief summary of the books I have recently completed, and the books that are beside my table to be read this months. Spoiler: If you are a book nerd, this post is for you. If you are not, you might want to go watch the Sesame Street video I posted a couple of days ago.....just saying......
Finished: Anna Karenina by Tolstoy: Excellently written book exploring so many different facets. While reading Crime and Punishment by Doestoyevsky last year, I did not have the same sense that I do having completed Tolstoy's lengthy work. I want to find out more about Tolstoy, how his mind worked, what his theology was. Highly recommend that every one read this at least once in their lives.
On My Book Table:
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. Jury is still out on what I think about this book. It seems to be that he has an excellent grasp of the middle eastern culture. However I find the mechanics of his writing style to detract from the actual characters and events. Still yet, I will plod forward.
Collected Writings in Scripture: by DA Carson. I have only read the first few pages, but believe that this book will be a great resource. I appreciate Carson's straightforward academic approach to the subject, and the tremendous job he has done as editor to putt together these essays on these very difficult concepts.
Another book by DA Carson: The God who is There. I am currently reading this book on my phone's Kindle app. Carson is straight up. I appreciate the academic lessons I am gaining in that book, which helms me to navigate THE BOOK with more confidence and understanding.
If any of the above books interest you, feel free to click on one of the pictures below and it will take you straight to Amazon.
But I came across Kevin DeYoung's Book Log for July, Part 1. That gave me the idea to write a brief summary of the books I have recently completed, and the books that are beside my table to be read this months. Spoiler: If you are a book nerd, this post is for you. If you are not, you might want to go watch the Sesame Street video I posted a couple of days ago.....just saying......
Finished: Anna Karenina by Tolstoy: Excellently written book exploring so many different facets. While reading Crime and Punishment by Doestoyevsky last year, I did not have the same sense that I do having completed Tolstoy's lengthy work. I want to find out more about Tolstoy, how his mind worked, what his theology was. Highly recommend that every one read this at least once in their lives.
On My Book Table:
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. Jury is still out on what I think about this book. It seems to be that he has an excellent grasp of the middle eastern culture. However I find the mechanics of his writing style to detract from the actual characters and events. Still yet, I will plod forward.
Collected Writings in Scripture: by DA Carson. I have only read the first few pages, but believe that this book will be a great resource. I appreciate Carson's straightforward academic approach to the subject, and the tremendous job he has done as editor to putt together these essays on these very difficult concepts.
Another book by DA Carson: The God who is There. I am currently reading this book on my phone's Kindle app. Carson is straight up. I appreciate the academic lessons I am gaining in that book, which helms me to navigate THE BOOK with more confidence and understanding.
If any of the above books interest you, feel free to click on one of the pictures below and it will take you straight to Amazon.
Monday, August 2, 2010
The Richness of Reading Biographies
I'm not sure why some of us are so drawn to biographies. I particularly enjoy reading autobiographies. The authors of this genre diligently work to capture the thought process, the details of experience, and the outcomes of their subject's decisions in such a way that is captivating, informational and educational.
Timothy George, the founding dean of Beeson Divinity School, provided Christianity today with a list of his Top Five Biography's that he likes to read. You can find them HERE.
Timothy George, the founding dean of Beeson Divinity School, provided Christianity today with a list of his Top Five Biography's that he likes to read. You can find them HERE.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Eight Easy Ways to Misread the Classics – Justin Taylor
I so very much like reading classics. I have long had this lofty goal, to somehow read through an entire list of classics that I have created---a very nerdy spreadsheet containing not just adult classic literature, but young adult and children's classic literature as well. I enjoy them. I like the challenge they present, the ideas they explore. I like that the push the boundaries of my mind to think beyond what modern literature presents. I find modern literature stifling, I find classics freeing. That said, I am completely intrigued by Justin Taylor's post on Eight Ways to Misread Classics. You can find his thought-provoking list (that features several excellent quotes from my adopted Uncle C.S. Lewis) at the following link:
Thursday, June 3, 2010
N.T. Wright, C.S. Lewis, Tullian Tchividjian
Admittedly I have yet to read any of N.T. Wright's books. However I do find the dialogue between Wright, John Piper and Tim Keller to be very though-provoking. I need to read something by Wright, so I can better understand the points of agreement as well as the points that are questioned between these three theologians.
Wright has a new book out, After You Believe, is reviewed by Michael Horton on the Christianity Today website here.
Another one of his books that has garnered much attention, is Surprised by Hope. While nothing can compare to C.S. Lewis' autobiography, Surprised by Joy, (which is still one of the most important books I have ever read in my life), I do wonder if I will find it worthy of Top Shelf placement on my bookshelf, alongside my "Uncle" Lewis and the book I recently finished by Tullian Tchividjian titled Surprised by Grace: God's Relentless Pursuit of Rebels.
Wright has a new book out, After You Believe, is reviewed by Michael Horton on the Christianity Today website here.
Another one of his books that has garnered much attention, is Surprised by Hope. While nothing can compare to C.S. Lewis' autobiography, Surprised by Joy, (which is still one of the most important books I have ever read in my life), I do wonder if I will find it worthy of Top Shelf placement on my bookshelf, alongside my "Uncle" Lewis and the book I recently finished by Tullian Tchividjian titled Surprised by Grace: God's Relentless Pursuit of Rebels.
Monday, April 19, 2010
1984 by George Orwell
How did I miss reading 1984? I have thought for years that I've read this book; that I read it in high school during the renewed interest at that point because the world had reached the actual year of 1984. But I am now thinking, that I had never read it before now because so much of it was unfamiliar to me.
The book, published in 1949, is a startling dystopia of a world destined to collapse individuality and purpose through mental as well as physical torture. Orwell's vision of Big Brother exerting control through the use of "telescreens" must have been unnerving and unsettling to his readers in that generation. History is continually written, creating new realities that "fit" the vision set by "Big Brother" The power exerted by the unseen forces, leads Winston, the main character, to come to the conclusion that god is power.
I was particularly struck by the use and manipulation of language, through the practice of DoubleSpeak. The definition of Doublespeak is:
Doublespeak (sometimes called doubletalk) is any language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words, resulting in a communication bypass. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms (e.g., "downsizing" for layoffs), intentional ambiguity, or the reversal of meaning (for example, calling war "peace", or maintaining the status quo "change")
Language and words are powerful tools. To actively reverse the meaning of words in Doublespeak, nearly seems criminal to me, in itself. But that may be because of my love of words and language.
Is it a worthwhile read? Yes, most definitely. However I think the edge or shock value that it would produce in the 21st century is significantly lower, then the impact it had at the time of its publication. Still yet, it is a power statement of man's quest for power and control.
Orwell writes "People simply disappeared, always during the night. Your name was removed from the registers, every record of everything you had ever done was wiped out, your one-time existence was denied and then forgotten. You were abolished, annihilated: vaporized was the usual word."
In such a world, identity is lost. Life becomes a lengthy agony of fear and the sense of being hunted. To have your very existence denied and then the history of you, of your very soul and personhood obliterated is a hell that yields nothing except meaningless imitation of living.
That said, this book, in a way reminds me of a passage in Ecclesiastes 1:1-11. Solomon is lamenting the absence of contentment and purpose, though he has searched hard for fulfillment. In verse 11, in concludes his soliloquy by stating these words that come very close to summing up the reality in 1984:
"There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after"
The book, published in 1949, is a startling dystopia of a world destined to collapse individuality and purpose through mental as well as physical torture. Orwell's vision of Big Brother exerting control through the use of "telescreens" must have been unnerving and unsettling to his readers in that generation. History is continually written, creating new realities that "fit" the vision set by "Big Brother" The power exerted by the unseen forces, leads Winston, the main character, to come to the conclusion that god is power.
I was particularly struck by the use and manipulation of language, through the practice of DoubleSpeak. The definition of Doublespeak is:
Doublespeak (sometimes called doubletalk) is any language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words, resulting in a communication bypass. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms (e.g., "downsizing" for layoffs), intentional ambiguity, or the reversal of meaning (for example, calling war "peace", or maintaining the status quo "change")
Language and words are powerful tools. To actively reverse the meaning of words in Doublespeak, nearly seems criminal to me, in itself. But that may be because of my love of words and language.
Is it a worthwhile read? Yes, most definitely. However I think the edge or shock value that it would produce in the 21st century is significantly lower, then the impact it had at the time of its publication. Still yet, it is a power statement of man's quest for power and control.
Orwell writes "People simply disappeared, always during the night. Your name was removed from the registers, every record of everything you had ever done was wiped out, your one-time existence was denied and then forgotten. You were abolished, annihilated: vaporized was the usual word."
In such a world, identity is lost. Life becomes a lengthy agony of fear and the sense of being hunted. To have your very existence denied and then the history of you, of your very soul and personhood obliterated is a hell that yields nothing except meaningless imitation of living.
That said, this book, in a way reminds me of a passage in Ecclesiastes 1:1-11. Solomon is lamenting the absence of contentment and purpose, though he has searched hard for fulfillment. In verse 11, in concludes his soliloquy by stating these words that come very close to summing up the reality in 1984:
"There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after"
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