This is a long introduction, but I need to provide a bit of background before I get around to my main point. If you know me, you know I like to read. I come by it honestly—my mom was a librarian, and I was indoctrinated at an early age. I don’t watch TV, I rarely go to movies, but I read several books a week. In high school, I exhausted the entire Orange County (California) library system, reading every single science fiction and fantasy book they owned. Heinlein, Asimov, Anne McCaffrey, Niven, Arthur C. Clark, LeGuin… the list is long and I’ve enjoyed them all.
fiction
Embrace this Book
Redemption. Forgiveness. Love. Grace and mercy. With heady themes like this, you might get the impression that Embrace Me is a difficult and demanding story to read. You’d be wrong. Intense, yes. Emotional, absolutely. But author Lisa Samson’s easy style and authentic dialog make reading this book enjoyable, not laborious. In many ways it reminded me of The Shack, another work of fiction used to convey Biblical truth.
Some Fifth Friday Fun: It Must Be True
Oops! This was supposed to post on May 31, which was a Fifth Friday. Somehow I typed 2014 instead of 2013 when scheduling things, and as a result nothing posted that day. Well, I don’t want to deprive you of some fun, so let’s just call it a “First Friday” instead.
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Honey will cure all your ills. Squeezing a metal rod can allow a “practitioner” to diagnose toxicity and disease in your body. Raising your hands over your head can tell a health care worker what you’re allergic to. Those are just three of the “facts” I’ve heard lately from friends—friends who were convinced they knew what they were talking about. Then there’s the perennial parade of Facebook and email warnings… and we all know that if you read it online, it must be true!
What ever happened to critical thinking?
It’s a fifth Friday, and time for some fun. Since I used to be a teacher, I thought a true/false quiz would be in order. I’ve compiled a list of “facts” that may or may not be true. How many can you identify correctly?
A Few Good Books
I read a lot of books—probably about one a week. I usually have several going at the same time. It’s a good thing public libraries don’t charge!
I’ll pick out a nonfiction book on a subject I’m interested in at the moment and at least one book about God and faith and the church. (Our library has a remarkably good selection for a secular institution.) And then I like to have something just for fun—usually an adventure or science fiction story, the more exciting, the better.
Picking out the nonfiction books is relatively easy. If I want a book on birding, I simply head to the shelves numbered 598.07234 and start browsing. My friends and pastors often recommend books about our faith, soI have an endless list of ones I want to read. But the fiction poses a real challenge.
Compost 