Book Reviews

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Future Grace by John Piper

Future Grace by John Piper

My rating: 5 of 5 stars The purpose of this book was to take the principles in Desiring God and the Pleasures of God and show how they can be applied in a practical way in day to day Christian living – overcoming anxiety, pride, shame, impatience, covetousness,...

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Your Attitude of Gratitude: Develop Simple Gratitude Skills for Better Living by Paul David

Your Attitude of Gratitude: Develop Simple Gratitude Skills for Better Living by Paul David

Paul David’s book defines gratitude in the secular sense. In the introduction, David says you should be thankful “to your own curiosity about this book’s contents.” When I read that statement, I searched the entire electronic version of the book for the word “God.” Zero occurrences. I would suggest it is impossible to write a book on the Christian concept of gratitude without ever using the word “God.”

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The Glory of Christ by John Owen

The Glory of Christ by John Owen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars John Own is considered by many to be among the most profound of the puritan writers, and this work was written at the end of his life. He is also known to be among the most difficult writers to read. This book does not disappoint on either...

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Elect in the Son by Robert Shank

Elect in the Son by Robert Shank

My rating: 3 of 5 stars This volume was written as a companion volume for Shanks earlier work, Life in the Son, which defends the view that true believers can fall away. Shank’s treatment of election is thorough and well-researched, as he interacts extensively with...

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The Façade by Michael S. Heiser

The Façade by Michael S. Heiser

My rating: 1 of 5 stars I listened to this audiobook because I've been listening to the author's podcast (the Naked Bible Podcast), and I have enjoyed it. Michael Heiser is a scholar in biblical studies and ancient near east culture, and his podcast focuses on...

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The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks

The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks

My rating: 1 of 5 stars The author portrays David's relationship with Jonathan as a homosexual relationship and even describes a sex scene between the two of them. This alone merits a one star rating from me. Most of the book is exposition. Lots of telling and very...

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The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars Screwtape is a senior demon writing letters of advice to a jr. demon on how to tempt his human subject. This is a book I need to read more often. My only complaint is that the insights go by so fast, I fear most of them don't really sink in....

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Demon by Tosca Lee

Demon by Tosca Lee

My rating: 3 of 5 stars Strengths When I reached the final chapter, I was fully intending on giving this book a 5-star rating. It is a retelling of the story of the creation and redemptive history through the mouth of a demon. I liked the fact that the Biblical story...

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Iscariot by Tosca Lee

Iscariot by Tosca Lee

My rating: 2 of 5 stars Iscariot is a popular book because it presents Judas from a surprising new angle and people always love a new angle. The problem is, it's an angle that flatly contradicts what the Bible says. The story is very well-written. Tosca Lee is a...

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A.D. 30 by Ted Dekker

A.D. 30 by Ted Dekker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars Of all the Ted Dekker books I've listened to so far, this has the best storytelling. The characters are interesting, the prose is excellent, and the story held my interest throughout, which is not an easy task. The narrator of the audiobook...

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Deadline by Randy Alcorn

Deadline by Randy Alcorn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars I enjoyed Alcorn's book The Treasure Principle, so I thought I'd give his fiction a try. This is his first novel and it stayed on the bestseller lists for 36 months. The story is interesting enough. It wasn't exactly gripping, but it held my...

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Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm by George Orwell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars Just now getting around to reading the books everyone else read in high school. Animal farm is a detailed allegory about the Bolshevik Revolution and the rise of Stalin. The basic idea is the animals overthrow the oppressive farmer and take...

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Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

My rating: 3 of 5 stars The writing style of this book involves several elements that my editors would have fits if I used them (such as frequent POV changes within scenes, the many adverbs attached to dialogue tags, and a lot of telling instead of showing). But these...

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Rising Danger by Jerusha Agen

Rising Danger by Jerusha Agen

My rating: 3 of 5 stars Disclaimer: I’m probably not the target audience for this book, as I don’t read romances and I’m not a big fan of dogs. What I liked:The author is an excellent wordsmith. Her writing is remarkable, both in the beauty of the prose and the depth...

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Three by Ted Dekker

Three by Ted Dekker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is one of the better Ted Dekker book I've read. It held my interest throughout, which rarely happens with a novel (or any book for that matter). The storytelling was intriguing--especially the depiction of the delightful childhood...

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The Oath by Frank E. Peretti

The Oath by Frank E. Peretti

My rating: 4 of 5 stars I wish I would have read this book before writing my own novel. It's a well-done allegory. Peretti does a masterful job at making the allegory almost invisible until midway through the book. At the moment the meaning of the dragon is revealed,...

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The Shack by William Paul Young

The Shack by William Paul Young

My rating: 1 of 5 stars The Good When you write a book review, usually even if you really didn’t like the book you point out the good things about the book. And I will tell you that there are a number of excellent things in The Shack. I found some of them very...

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The Prince: Jonathan by Francine Rivers

The Prince: Jonathan by Francine Rivers

My rating: 2 of 5 stars I wasn't especially impressed. Rivers did a fair job describing the biblical events, but the storytelling did not hold my attention. The dialogue seemed unrealistic to me and the story had a feel of "this happened, then this happened, then this...

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Showdown by Ted Dekker

Showdown by Ted Dekker

My rating: 2 of 5 stars I found the first half of the book somewhat boring. At the midpoint, Dekker reveals what's going on, and why so many strange things are happening. Once that was revealed, the story became compelling. Until then, it was just ... strange. And not...

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Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is one of very few novels that held my attention throughout. That's saying a lot, given my toddler level attention span. I devoured it in a couple days, which is also highly unusual for me. It's hard to say why I found it so gripping,...

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