Tuesday, May 24, 2011

New! Books! On! My! Shelf!

It's time for a new books post!

Let's start out with some books that have been sent to me by authors or publishers (THANK YOU... I love getting your books):

Angry Conversations with God: A Snarky but Authentic Spiritual Memoir
Angry Conversations With God by Susan Isaacs. You've probably already heard of this book because it's been selling like hotcakes (which, I assume from the saying, sell quite well). This is a memoir in which author, actress and all around class act Susan Isaacs decides that her relationship with God is not what it should be and that this is, in large part, due to God's behavior. He's hurt her, ignored her, refused to intervene and basically been a jerk. So she decides to take him to couples counseling to see if they can figure it all out. If you're a fan of Imaginary Jesus and haven't read this, I think you'd like it! It's funny, honest and clever. MY copy is signed by the author. Neener neener.

Jim and Casper Go to Church: Frank Conversation about Faith, Churches, and Well-Meaning Christians
Jim and Casper Go to Church by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper. My editor Sarah sent this to me, I think because she sent Matt Casper a copy of Imaginary Jesus and thought we should all be reading each others books. This book is a lot of fun, too. Jim (Christian) and Matt (atheist) visit a bunch of churches and compare notes about what they like and don't like. Often funny and occasionally wince-inducing, I enjoyed this book as well. If nothing else it's a great window into what it's like to be a first time visitor into a church.

The Great Mogul Diamond (The Dopple Ganger Chronicles)
The Great Mogul Diamond (Dopple Ganger Chronicles) by G.P. Taylor. This is the 3rd of the Dopple Ganger Chronicles, which my daughters love. The books are designed in a really cool way... largely print with sudden explosions of comic book action. They're a lot of fun to look through. Sarah asked Z to give her some feedback on the back of the book a while ago and then kindly sent a copy of the book along now that it's out! Z was thrilled, to say the least, and it stopped a pre-school meltdown when I pulled it out and said, "Look what came in the mail yesterday." Nice!


Other recent purchases or additions to the By The Bed Pile of Books:

Fuzzy Nation
Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi. Scalzi was recently in Portland, but I wasn't going to be able to go see him. He's one of my favorite science fiction authors, and I mentioned it off-hand to my friend Shasta. A couple of days later, Shasta surprised me with a signed copy! She had braved the crowds of geeks and speculative fiction afficcionados to get me a copy, and John wrote a really nice and funny note in the front. I finished the book last week, and it was entertaining and fun (as I expected). You'd probably like Scalzi's blog, too, so go check it out if you like.


The Financial Lives of the Poets: A Novel (P.S.)
The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter. I bought and read Citizen Vince last month and I LOVED it. I am going to read it again. It was funny, insightful, thrilling and a page turned while simultaneously being about identity, life change, redemption and voter's rights. Yeah, voter's rights. Anyway, it was amazing, so when I saw this book on sale at the airport bookstore I grabbed it up basically knowing nothing about it. It has something to do with poetry, 7-11 and drug dealers. I have no idea, really, but I'm excited to read it. If you're sensitive, by the way, to strong language or violence, these may not be the books for you, but Citizen Vince is one of the best books I've read in quite a while.

How to Read Genesis
How to Read Genesis by Tremper Longman III. I really enjoy Longman's insights and commentary, and I enjoyed his Ecclesiastes commentary so much that I thought I'd see what he had to say about Genesis. I wasn't disappointed. It's accessible, interesting and seems to be even handed when dealing with the many and varied questions about authorship, genre and many other topics.




There are more books scattered about I'm sure, but there's an eclectic list for your consideration. How about you? What's on your recently-read or to-be-read list?

2 comments:

  1. Highly recommend Susan Isaaks book! Met her in person. Very nice, and FUNNY! She's sort of Donald Miller-ish! :) I'd read her first.

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  2. Ryan in Reno2:04 PM

    I read Jim and Casper go to Church. One of my closest friends knows Jim. I think it is a must read for anyone in ministry as we really process what it means to be an ambassador for Christ.

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