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2019

Book Reviews 2019
October 2, 20192019 / Book ReviewsThere’s something about bread. When I found out that we’ve been baking bread wrong all these years, I had to investigate. What better way than to read a book? Dear reader, what, you may be asking me, do I mean by baking bread all wrong? Let me explain: I had been under the misguided impression that to make bread, one simply needed flour, water, and instant yeast. Throw that combination into a bread machine and, as the French say, voilà: you have bread. Chad Robertson, of Tartine Bread, San Francisco, challenged literally everything that I thought I knew about bread. Let me back up even further: my wife became really interested (e.g., obsessed) with the Netflix feature, “The Great British Baking Show.” I, of course, protested watching such programming. Nevertheless, she won most evenings the fight to control the contents of the television. Regardless, we watched the episode on bread and this man had a jar full of yeast. Yeast! And I told myself, “I want to learn how to make bread.” So I started researching. And all of this culminated in finding Chad’s book. And ever since reading it, my life will never be the same. For the past 6 or so months, I’ve: cultivated a starter; gathered all the equipment for bread making; made delicious bread. And I mean DELICIOUS bread. When I tell people I make my own bread, I tell them that it is the best bread I have ever eaten. And that’s the truth. There’s something about homemade bread that you can never replicate except in the home. With all that being said, Chad’s book tells you, step-by-step how to achieve these kind of rave results. From making a starter to making all different kinds of bread, this book contains all that information. I will say that sometimes Chad’s directions are a little hard to follow. I would say that he gives you a very good base line and then you need to experiment and figure it out for yourself. But that’s part of the fun. This is the best bread book I have read and I would recommend it to all who want to make delicious homemade bread.   [...]
October 4, 20192019 / Book ReviewsI have had to read several books on hermeneutical approach. This one was not significantly different than the others: read the text, read the text, read the text, and make good decisions taking into consideration the socio-economic, cultural, and religious background the text was grounded in. Sounds simple right? Well it’s pretty complicated. Here are somethings that Doriani does different than other hermeneutic texts I’ve read: Every hermeneutic wants the reader to understand that context is key. Doriani is no different. However, he does utilize a slightly different method for understand this which is spelled out in the mnemonic device, “CAPTOR.” That is, Context, Analysis, Problems, Themes, Obligations, and Reflection. To me, some of these seem really forced and others are absolutely necessary. At its essence, this scheme is what most hermeneutic texts revolve around but it’s package in this unique way. One thing that I thought really benefited me from other texts I’ve read on this subject is wrapping your mind around the fact that you cannot simply allow a text to read the way you think it should read. In other word, context, context, context. I felt like Doriani did some of that, but there was not as much emphasis as I thought there might be in my own experience. There are other minor points, but I want to get down to this: I think there are better texts out there on this subject to help prepare both the layman and the scholar for interpreting a passage of Scripture. Doriani’s text is fine in its own right, I just prefer the texts I’ve already written. Perhaps to those who haven’t studied this at all this method would be appealing. For that reason, 4/5. [...]
October 6, 20192019 / Book ReviewsSince I have an obvious affinity with Harry Potter, Star Wars, anything Brandon Sanderson and other nerdy things, I have often been told that Robert Jordan’s “Wheel of Time” series was absolutely essential. That, coupled with the fact that Amazon is producing a Wheel of Time series on Amazon Prime, I thought it was time I took the plunge. The result? Eh. It definitely isn’t Tolkein, Lewis, or Sanderson. This first book could be a stand alone or part of a bigger narrative. My biggest problem is that Jordan inculcates readers with a myriad of very confusing characters in a miniscule amount of time. As the old characters meet new ones, storylines diverge (the original party gets separated, for example), and they meet again, it is very possible that you could end up completing the book scratching your head. The other issue is that some names are completely “normal” like Mat and Rand (somewhat normal yea?) and others like Perrin and Morain. The last thing that I felt was a confusing was the world building. Again, there is too much thrown at you at once. It is quite overwhelming and to try to grasp every detail that Jordan tries to cram into this first book is more than I can handle. All of that to say… yes I’ll read the second book. [...]

Here is a master list of all the books I read this year:

 

Harry Potter and the Goblet is Fire (2019)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2019)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2019)

The Bible and Art

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Tartine Bread (Artisan Bread Cookbook, Best Bread Recipes, Sourdough Book)

Getting the Message: A Plan for Interpreting and Applying the Bible

The Wheel of Time: The Eye of the World

Life’s Big Questions: Six Major Themes Traced Through The Bible

Rediscovering the Church Fathers: Who They Were and How They Shaped the Church

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

The Wheel of Time: The Great Hunt

The Wheel of Time: The Dragon Reborn

The Elephant in the Room: One Fat Man’s Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America

Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been

George Muller, 1805-1898: Delighted in God

Out of the Salt Shaker

The Wheel of Time: The Shadow Rising

The Wheel of Time: The Fires of Heaven

Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon

American Exceptionalism and Civil Religion: Reassessing the History of an Idea

To the Golden Shore: The Life of Adoniram Judson

A Peculiar Glory: How the Christian Scriptures Reveal Their Complete Truthfulness

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life

Family Worship: In the Bible, in History & in Your Home

The Purity Principle

Praying the Bible

Pilgrim’s Progress

Star Wars: Master and Apprentice

Reading the Gospels Wisely: A Narrative and Theological Introduction

James Bond: Casino Royal

James Bond: Moonraker

Star Wars: Dooku: Jedi Lost

Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War

Leonardo and the Last Supper

Intended for Pleasure: Sex Technique and Sexual Fulfillment in Christian Marriage

Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza

Picasso and the Painting That Shocked the World

Rules of Engagement

Who Chose the Gospels?: Probing the Great Gospel Conspiracy

James Bond: From Russia with Love

James Bond: Goldfinger

Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey of Jesus and the Gospels

Learn New Testament Greek

Sphere

One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission That Flew Us to the Moon

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America (2019)

Nutrition Made Clear

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President

Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill

Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances (2019)

Star Wars: Thrawn: Treason

The Singularity Trap

Stark Trek: The Antares Maelstrom

Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View

Descriptions and Prescriptions: A Biblical Perspective on Psychiatric Diagnoses and Medications

When Trouble Shows Up: Seeing God’s Love in Hardship

California: A History

A Little History of the World

Pursuing Peace: A Christian Guide to Handling Our Conflicts

The Supremacy of God in Preaching

China in World History

History of India: Captivating History

Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead

Skyward: Skyward (2019)

The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible (2019)

Mission in the Old Testament: Israel as a Light to the Nations

Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know

Warbreaker

Mistborn: Wax and Wayne: Alloy of Law

Old Testament History

Mistborn: Wax and Wayne: Shadows of Self

Mistborn: Wax and Wayne: The Bands of Mourning

Star Trek: Collateral Damage

Paul: In Fresh Perspective

Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection

The End Is Always Near: Apocalyptic Moments, from the Bronze Age Collapse to Nuclear Near Misses

George Whitefield: America’s Spiritual Founding Father

Star Wars: Resistance Reborn

Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past (Critical Perspectives on the Past)

Paul: Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ

Skyward: Starsight

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2019)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2019)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2019)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2019)

The Mestizo Augustine: A Theologian Between Two Cultures

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2019)

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2019)

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