Books

Categories What's on Your Nightstand?

Nightstand (January 2014)

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I started the month strong on the blogging front, but quickly fell off that particular bandwagon. I am proud to announce, however, that I have NOT fallen off the reading wagon. I have enjoyed finishing several books over the past month.

This month, I read:

  • No Impact Man by Colin Beaver
    As a guilt-free (at least as far as environmental concerns go) conservative who nevertheless loves to avoid waste, I enjoyed “the adventures of guilty liberal who attempts to save the planet.” Beaver’s adventures in bread baking, cloth diapering, no packaging-shopping, light-turning-off, bicycle riding, and the like interested me to no end. Less interesting were “the discoveries he makes about himself and out way of life in the process.” See, Beaver is a Buddhist of sorts, who meditates regularly and quotes his feel-good Zen master over and over and over again ad nauseum. I’m going to guess that (of my regular readers) only the environmentally interested are going to be able to push through Beaver’s worldview to enjoy this book-so I won’t be at all surprised if the rest of you skip it.
  • Hope by Lori Copeland
    Standard Christian fiction. Nothing extraordinary, but still entertaining.
  • Calvin Coolidge by David Greenberg
    Daniel rather likes Coolidge, and I knew next to nothing about him, so I decided to read a biography. The biography the library offered is a part of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.’s American Presidents series–and is written by someone who is clearly NOT a fan of Coolidge but who was trying to be fair. As such, this book was a rather dry and mostly measured account of Coolidge’s presidency. I’m glad I read it (since it gives me some background on the former president), but I wouldn’t really recommend it.
  • Good-bye Mr. Chips by James Hilton
    I watched a film by the same name several years back, but don’t remember anything of the plot. Reading this book, I realize there isn’t any plot, per se. What this book is is a charming character sketch of an old-fashioned British schoolmaster who ended up making his mark on generations of British boys–but whose own influence was mostly due to the now forgotten Mrs. Chips, who turned him from a solid but unmemorable master to a thoughtful and quirky “institution”. I greatly enjoyed this little easy-to-read novel.
  • More Sex is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics by Steven E. Landsburg
    I picked this book up because I like economics…and because the title really shocked me. Turned out, the “title chapter” (sort of a like a title song is only one of a diverse collection of songs, the title chapter is just one of the many explorations in this book) was just as shocking as the title was. Long story short, Landsburg argues that moderate levels of promiscuity would slow the spread of STDs like AIDS because it would increase the pool of uninfected individuals, making it easier to have sex without putting yourself at risk. While I have my doubts about his economic argument, I have far more doubts about the prudence of his advice based on both morals (when God says something’s sin, it’s best not to do it) and because I don’t think he takes into account the potential other effects of individuals trading abstinence or monogamy for promiscuity. But…the important thing was that it made me think. The whole book did. Often, my conclusions differed from Landsburg’s based on externalities I felt he didn’t appropriately address or based on assumptions he made (that I felt were incorrect) about what is good or what government is for, etc. But it was a very interesting book to think my way through. I am glad I read it.
  • Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent: 10,000 to 539 BC by John Malam
    A very nice children’s history of Mesopotamia. I noticed one Biblical error (stating that Nebuchadrezzar II’s ziggurat in Babylon was the Biblical “tower of Babel”, despite it being contemporary with the fall of Jerusalem rather than with the pre-patriarchal period), but in general, this is a well-written history of the early residents of the world’s oldest inhabited region.
  • The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
    I read this for the L.M. Montgomery Challenge and Reading to Know Classic Book Club–and I’ll be writing up my full review sometime soon. Suffice to say that I enjoyed this book. I identified strongly and not at all with the main character–an almost-old-maid (that was me) who lived her entire life trying to make other people happy (that was not me) who stops caring what anyone thinks (that would be me) and becomes a… but I can’t tell you what she becomes, because that would be giving it away, right?

Books In Progress

Books In Progress

Books in Progress:

  • Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
    Because I am determined to sneak at least one book in for the Armchair Cybils. And because Amy’s review convinced me that it was well worth the read.
  • Laura Ingalls Wilder: A Biography by William Anderson
    Because I’m participating in Barbara’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge and wanted a biography of Laura that I hadn’t read yet.
  • One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp
    Because everyone was talking about it when it first came out, and now it’s no longer in the “new books” section at the library, so I get to keep it for longer than two weeks.
  • The 1920s edited by John F. Wukovits
    Because I wanted more context for Calvin Coolidge.
  • Discover your Inner Economist by Tyler Cowen
    Because I like economics and might as well read Dewey Decimal 330.(I do have a decent start.)
  • No More Sleepless Nights by Peter Hauri and Shirley Linde
    Because I’m not sleeping that well these days.
  • To-Do List by Sasha Cagen
    Because I love lists, and I like the idea of snooping through other peoples’ lists.
  • Sumer and the Sumerians by Harriet Crawford
    Because I’m researching for the children’s narrative history of the world I’m going to write someday (and have my sister-in-law illustrate) so that I can teach my children someday using it. (Duh!)

And, of course, there are plenty more in the wings for when I feel the need for some new material!

The Rest from the LibraryThe Rest from the Library
The Rest I have from the Library

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

What's on Your Nightstand?

Categories What's on Your Nightstand?

Nightstand (September 2013)

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Thanks to yet another road trip (this time to Lincoln and back) where Daniel did a fair bit of the driving, I have some books to report in on this month. Were it not for that?

I’ve been struggling to keep my head afloat–except for the three days in which I whipped together a birthday party for Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.

8 hours, 20 people, 6 meals, 3 movies.

If I lie in bed for the entire rest of the month, I can still consider it to have been a HIGHLY productive month.

This month, I read:

  • Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton
    What I liked best about this particular biography is that it is very obviously written by a lover of Reformation theology. Bainton writes so passionately of the miracle of the gospel, of being saved by grace through faith that one can’t help but utter the occasional “Amen” after a particularly swelling paragraph. Whether in a paraphrase of one of Luther’s sermons or simply a description of Luther’s teachings, Bainton wrote so eloquently of the Reformation truths that have changed the world that my heart was moved to worship the One who is the Truth revealed. Also, Luther is hilarious. He’s so…real, so…blunt, so…human. I highly recommend this book.
  • Kneeknock Rise by Natalie Babbit
    A very sweet, quick read. I love that it doesn’t have chapters but instead has very short sections. That made it ideal for reading for bed, since Daniel and I couldn’t play the endless “Just one more chapter” game (in which he starts a new chapter while I’m finishing mine, and then I start a new one while he’s finishing his, ad nauseum.) Egan arrives at Kneeknock Rise to visit his family for the fair–and to hear the moaning of the Megrimum, the monster who dwells at the top of Kneeknock Rise. When his rather superior little cousin dares him to climb the verboten hill, he takes off like a flash–and discovers something he never expected. Read Carrie’s review for a more complete idea of what the book’s about.
  • Love Blooms in Winter by Lori Copeland
    The plot was pretty average as Christian pioneer fiction goes; but this book had the weirdest “conversion” story I’ve ever read. The hero tells of his conversion to…theism. Yes, he realized at some point that there had to be a God. Never once did he mention Christ. In fact, I’m not sure if Christ ever really came into the whole book. Which is rather disappointing.
  • Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden
    Read for book club last month. About halfway through, it tells the story of two college-educated society women of the 1910s who traveled to the “uncivilized” Western slope of the Rockies to teach school. The first half was hard to get into for me, since I wanted the society-girl-meets-wild-west story and was instead getting society-girls-grow-up-as-society-girls. If I’d been hearing that back-story AFTER I was already invested in the girls from their society-girl-meets-wild-west story, I might have liked it better. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book overall.
  • 2 children’s picture books, author BRIGGS

On the docket for next month:

  • The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
    I’m leading discussion for the Reading to Know bookclub this month–and boy am I excited to talk about Dorian Gray! Since my early teens, I’ve been fascinated by the general outlines of this story as told by Ravi Zacharias in the radio show my dad listened to every Sunday morning. But despite thinking about reading it every couple of years, I hadn’t actually read it until earlier this year, when I started it to get a jump start on discussion-leading for this fall. Oh my…so…much. Why did I wait so long? This is pretty intense.

    Join us?

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

What's on Your Nightstand?

Categories B3RD, Book Reviews

Book Review: Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes

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Taubes. I’d heard the name before, seen it on Instapundit. He was a low carb guy or a paleo or something like that. I didn’t pay him any attention.

Before Daniel and I met, Daniel heard an interview with Taubes on Russ Roberts’ EconTalk and was impressed. Daniel had been trying to eat lower carb in response; but once I took over the cooking, he just ate whatever I made.

Daniel has never complained about my cooking–in fact, he regularly compliments me (and shows the greater compliment of eating even the leftovers). But every so often, he’ll mention Taubes or comment that I should try making a lower carb version of this or that (My husband also has a rather significant faith in my ability to work wonders in the kitchen.)

So I knew I’d need to read Taubes’ Why We Get Fat eventually. I checked it out from the library while we were still dating, but I didn’t get very far.

See, the first chapter of Why We Get Fat seems designed to (forgive my French) piss off nutrition professionals.

Taubes effectively says: “Nutrition professionals say we get fat because calories in are greater than calories out. That’s not true.” He goes on to give example after example of fat but malnourished people. Problem is, he wasn’t giving enough information to differentiate whether actual energy malnutrition was occurring concurrent with obesity or whether what he was describing was kwashiorkor or other non-energy forms of malnutrition. This frustrated me beyond belief–and I gave up after the first chapter more than once.

It’s this first chapter that led to arguments between Daniel and I. I got really upset about how I felt Taubes was dogging my profession–and upset that he wasn’t giving the sort of information I needed to evaluate his claim. At first, Daniel didn’t really believe me that Taubes was so anti-nutrition professionals–so he was feeling pretty defensive, like I wasn’t giving Taubes a chance. After re-reading the first chapter, Daniel realized I was right about Taubes’ antipathy towards people like me–which didn’t really help the matter. No one wants to be proven wrong in an argument with his wife–and much less so if his wife is on rampage because an author (who you think should be taken seriously) has royally ticked her off. So, yeah….We definitely had to communicate our way through the first chapter because emotion was running pretty high.

Moving on.

The whole first half of the book was dedicating to “debunking” (ineffectively, to my mind) the idea that body fat is a matter of energy balance. This was pretty frustrating to me because energy balance is really just a matter of the 1st law of thermodynamics. We can’t store energy (in the form of fat) that we don’t have. Energy balance isn’t really open for debate.

It seemed to me that Taubes was making a common mistake–assuming that the energy balance equation is how much we eat minus how much we exercise. Yes, these are a big part of the energy balance equation, but calories in and out are actually much more complex, influenced by genetics, hormones, environment, and a host of other variables. Eating and exercise are simply the two most alterable aspects of the energy balance equation–which makes them a prime target for intervention.

So, after 70 pages hating on energy balance, Taubes admits that energy balance is a truism–sort of like survival of the fittest–and that what he’s really trying to say is that some other mechanism is primarily responsible for excess adiposity.

Great, I though, as I read the last few chapters of the first section. You could have just told me that at the beginning so I didn’t have to read all this hateful mumbo-jumbo before I could get to your thesis.

At last, in the second section of the book, Taubes was ready to tell the reader what his hypothesis is for why people become obese (literally, why they develop excess stores of fat tissue vs. lean tissue.)

His hypothesis goes like this: Insulin causes our bodies to preferentially store energy as fat, making it unavailable as fuel. Carbohydrate in the diet increases the amount of circulating insulin, which then increases adiposity (amount of fat tissue). Adipose tissue–and an overabundance of insulin–decreases insulin sensitivity, which means we have higher blood sugars. Higher blood sugars make us produce more insulin, which makes us get even fatter. And the cycle continues.

Taubes argues that this mechanism, in which insulin encourages our bodies to preferentially store energy as fat, means that our body will essential “rob” energy from vital processes (organ functioning as well as ability to use it for physical activity) in order to store it as fat. This means that a person can have inadequate energy for body functions while still storing fat.

This is an interesting and plausible mechanism for the problem of obesity (which is ultimately about excess body fatness rather than about body weight). I would love to see this hypothesis tested.

Unfortunately, Taubes seems intent on alienating the very people who have the knowledge and skills to test his hypothesis. Which means he can continue to sell “why your doctor/dietitian/health professional is wrong” books–but isn’t likely to see any change in public health policy.

My conclusions?

I like Taubes’ hypothesis. Right now, it’s just one theory among many regarding the causes of excess adiposity–but it has some definite merits. I’d love to see it tested.

And…I think Taubes is a jerk.

Just sayin’.

Rating:I can’t decide
Category:Nutrition
Synopsis:Taubes tries to explain why energy balance isn’t responsible for obesity–and what he thinks is responsible
Recommendation: Did you read my review? Okay, then you probably don’t need to read this book. The first half is rubbish, the second a reasonable hypothesis that needs testing. Oh, and I mentioned that the author is a jerk, right?

Categories What's on Your Nightstand?

Nightstand (August 2013)

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After writing last month’s Nightstand lamenting how few books I’m reading these days, I promptly finished Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes the next day. Hooray! My spirits were lifted and I am optimistic again.

That Daniel drove the entire way to Wisconsin and back gave me plenty of time to do additional reading, so this month is looking pretty good.

This month, I read:

  • The Fertility Diet by Jorge Chavarro and Walter C. Willett with Patrick J. Skerrett
    No, I am not trying to get pregnant. But seriously, when a dietitian sees a title like this from McGraw-Hill and Harvard Medical Press she just has to take a look. It turned out to be an intriguing look at what the Nurse’s Health Study reveals about diet and ovulatory infertility. Certain parts (the recommendation to eat full-fat dairy, in particular) may be a bit controversial, but the recommendations are generally science-based (although cohort studies are necessarily difficult at establishing causation) and probably useful for anyone struggling with ovulatory infertility. Because many of the recommendations work through managing insulin and adrogen production, this general diet may also be useful for women struggling with the effects of PCOS. I’d love to see some prospective studies using this diet for the treatment of infertility.
  • Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
    This was our second book club read. I put the title in the hat after reading Heather’s review and was a little surprised that we ended up drawing it. This book, about a mentally handicapped man who was chosen for an experiment to “make him smart”, turned out to be an excellent choice with plenty of opportunity for discussion. Read Heather’s review for the caveat emptors, but I do still generally recommend it as a good and thought provoking book.
  • The Longevity Project by Friedman and Martin
    I read this based on an article I read about it online. It follows an interesting prospective study of children from the twenties who were followed throughout their lives–and looks for predictors of long life. It looks like longevity isn’t quite so straightforward as we think–and there are multiple paths to long life. For instance, neurotic men don’t generally live a long time, but when wives die before their husbands, neurotic men are more likely to live longer than non-neurotic men. So you can’t necessarily say “neurotic is good” or “neurotic is bad”. The information was interesting, but the presentation was pretty dry. I don’t know that I’d recommend it for the casual reader.
  • Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman
    A look at what the science says about child-rearing (which isn’t always intuitive). I found this fascinating enough that I’m writing up notes on it for future reference (and, yes, you’ll probably be subjected to those notes in the form of blog posts–I apologize in advance.) Practically everyone read this before me and I know I saw it mentioned on half a dozen hundred blogs–but I can’t seem to find where I bookmarked any of them. So, if you reviewed this book you probably contributed to my reading of it. Please consider yourself thanked.
  • The Thyroid Sourcebook for Women by Sara Rosenthal
    It was a decent coverage of thyroid disease, but not my favorite resource. Meh.
  • The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet by Barbara Rolls
    I read this while I was an undergraduate (before it was “The Ultimate”) and loved the science-based recommendations. I use Volumetrics-type concepts daily in my counseling. This time, I spent a week following the Volumetrics recipes, to see how the official “diet” works on an every day level. The good news is that the recipes are varied and relatively easy to prepare. The bad news is, like my husband said, “They’re okay, but I like your cooking better.” I think the recipes suffer a bit taste-wise from being so low-fat. Adding in some good unsaturated fats in moderation will increase the caloric density of the foods (meaning that they won’t promote weight loss as quickly)–but will probably greatly contribute to the palatability of the recipes.
  • Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes
    Someday I’m going to review this in full. For now, I’ll say that it has been a source of argument between me and my husband and has almost reduced both of us to tears. Taubes seems determined to keep nutrition professionals from taking him seriously (for the matter, determined to make nutrition professionals angry at him) in the first half of the book before getting to his actual thesis in the second half. After numerous starts and not a few angry rants, I finally got to the section including Taubes’ thesis and found that it is a reasonable hypothesis to explain excess adiposity (the deposition of excess body fat vs. lean tissue). That being said, don’t read until you’ve read my full review lest you learn from Taubes that you shouldn’t believe a word I say.

Also Reading this Month:

  • Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
    I got it for the Reading to Know Bookclub. I read 1 chapter. I got busy with other things. Bleh! I still think I’ll plug through, but I’m bummed that I’m yet again slacking with the RTK club.
  • Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton
    Continuing from previous months…this is a very interesting look at one of the leading Reformation figures.
  • Kneeknock Rise by Natalie Babbit
    Just started and not far enough along to have an opinion. I generally like Babbitt, though, and Carrie recommended this highly.
  • Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden
    This month’s book club pick; it tells the story of two college-educated society women of the 1910s who traveled to the “uncivilized” Western slope of the Rockies to teach school. It took a while to get into it (the author started telling backstory before I was invested in the characters, which was a bit distracting), but I’m enjoying it now–and need to finish it quickly to discuss on Thursday!

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

What's on Your Nightstand?

Categories What's on Your Nightstand?

Nightstand (July 2013)

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Someday, I’m going to get used to how moving and marriage has changed my reading habits and my reading volume–but for now, I end up a little depressed every time I write up my Nightstand post when I realize just how little I’ve read.

And then I get a little depressed that I’m boring you again with my laments of how little reading I’ve done.

Sorry.

Maybe I’ll have a better blurb next month.

For now, I’m busy retiling my kitchen floor, leaving me with little time for recreational reading. So, without further ado…my Nightstand.

This month, I read:

  • The Layman’s Bible Commentary: Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel by Eric C. Rust
    The commentator has little regard for Biblical authority and undermines the doctrines of inspiration and inerrancy on almost every page. I do not recommend this commentary. See my full review for examples.
  • Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
    If you didn’t read this back in 2011-2012 when all the other Nightstand-ers were raving about it, you should definitely go out and get yourself a copy and start reading now. This is a fantastic true story set primarily during World War II. Read my full review for a mostly-incoherent fan-splat.
  • The 5:30 Challenge: 5 ingredients, 30 minutes, dinner on the table by Jeanne Besser
    I cooked up four or five recipes for this book and really enjoyed them. Perhaps my only complaint is that some of the ingredients were “specialty” type ingredients that I don’t normally keep on hand. Otherwise, both the concept and the execution are great.
  • Clifford’s Manners by Norman Bridwell

What's on My Nightstand

Continuing from Last Month:

  • Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther
  • The Thyroid Sourcebook for Women by Sara Rosenthal

New Additions this Month:

  • Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
  • Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton
  • The Longevity Project by Friedman and Martin
  • The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet by Barbara Rolls

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

What's on Your Nightstand?

Categories Book Reviews

Book Review: “The Layman’s Bible Commentary: Judges, Ruth, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel”

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In last April’s Nightstand post, I gave a short review of The Layman’s Bible Commentary: Acts of the Apostles by Albert C. Winn. I spoke positively of it as a beginner’s commentary, restating and clarifying the text with bits of historical commentary throughout. While the mature believer with a lot of background already may not find it useful, it is a good source for the new believer or one with little Biblical background.

Recently, I picked up another volume in The Layman’s Bible Commentary series, this time written by Eric C. Rust on Judges through 2 Samuel. I started reading in 1 Samuel, in conjunction with my daily Bible reading, and red flags were popping up on almost every page.

Explaining Hannah’s song of praise in I Samuel 2:1-10, the commentator suggests that this psalm is not actually sung by Hannah but is of a later date–since the song mentions a king and Israel didn’t have a king until later. The problem with this interpretation is that Scripture directly contradicts it. I Samuel 2:1 says “And Hannah prayed and said”. If Scripture is inerrant, then there is no other explanation than that Hannah did indeed pray this prayer, including the part regarding a king, even though there was not yet a king in Israel. That she should sing of a king despite there not being a king is understandable if one believes that God inspires the words of Scripture and was also revealing his plan of redemption (although only in part) to the people of Israel before it happened. That the God who reveals secrets should have a woman prophesying in the midst of her prayers is not at all surprising. But the commentator doesn’t take this approach. Instead of regarding the Scripture as infallible and inspired by a God who is actively impacting the events that would be recorded, he seems to regard Scripture as little more than a human record of natural events.

Perhaps I would not judge this first blow at Scripture’s integrity so harshly as I have if the beating had not continued on each page that followed.

Writing of the people’s demand for a king in chapter 8, Rust says

“We have two conflicting traditions….The first, recorded in this chapter….The second, recorded in chapter 9….The two cannot be reconciled, and it is generally believed that the first tradition, enshrined in the chapter now being considered, was a later one, reflecting many years of disappointing experience of the monarchy and embodying the teaching of prophets like Hosea, who regarded the kingship as a manifestation of divine wrath.”

Rust states that chapter 8 has Samuel reluctantly giving in to the people’s request for a king and that chapter 9 has Samuel wholeheartedly giving the divine stamp of approval to the people’s request–and that the two can’t be reconciled.

The suggestion that the two are irreconcilable is ridiculous. The narrative is straightforward.
1. The people ask for a king (I Sam 8:5)
2. Samuel is displeased and prays to God (I Sam 8:6)
3. God tells Samuel to give the people a king but to warn them of what a king will do (I Sam 8:7-9)
4. Samuel warns the people of what a king will do (I Sam 8:10-18)
5. The people insist that they still want a king (I Sam 8:19-20)
6. Samuel tells God what the people said (I Sam 8:21)
7. God tells Samuel to give the people a king (I Sam 8:22)
Now, while we jump over to focus on the young Saul searching for his father’s donkeys, the overarching narrative remains the same. God has told Samuel to give the people a king, but they don’t have one yet. Verse 15 of chapter 9 picks up the story.
8. God tells Samuel that the man who will be king will arrive the next day (I Sam 9:15-16)
9. Samuel sees Saul and God confirms that this is the one (I Sam 9:17)

According to Rust, Samuel’s author switches back to reluctance in Chapter 10 when Samuel declares to the people that “today you have rejected your God” (I Sam 10:19). Yet I see no discontinuity in the text. The people were indeed rejecting God as their king–but that doesn’t mean that God isn’t still the one in charge of getting them a king.

Anyway, I go off on the details. Suffice to say that I do NOT recommend this particular volume within the Layman’s Bible Commentary. The author clearly has a low view of Scripture and this view suffuses everything he says.

Rating:0 Stars
Category:Bible Commentary
Synopsis:A theologian who does not believe in Biblical inerrancy repeatedly creates conflict within the text where no conflict exists, shedding doubt on every page of his commentary.
Recommendation: Don’t read.

Categories Book Reviews

Book Review: “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand

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When we were looking for a book to read for the new bookclub a few friends were forming, I suggested Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I had to look up the description of the book in order to suggest it, since I didn’t have any idea what the actual content of the book was.

I just remember Amy declaring that it was going to be the best book she’d read in 2012-despite having read it at the very beginning of the year. And I remember Carrie reading it and loving it. And Janet. It ended up on both of the Lisas’ (Lisa Writes and Lisa Notes) lists of best books read in 2011. Barbara said it was excellent. In other words, almost every blogger I know and respect absolutely loved this book.

Now I know why.

So that you’re not as clueless as I was when I suggested this book to my club friends, I’ll give you a bit of a summary before I start raving. Unbroken tells the true story of Louie Zamperini, a neighborhood rascal turned Olympic runner turned B-24 bomber turned castaway turned POW turned alcoholic turned… This man’s life is astounding. After every section, I kept expecting this to be the end of the story, but it kept going. When Louie almost breaks the 4 minute mile, I think that he’s reached the pinnacle of his life…but his story has only just begun. When he survives for what seems like forever on a raft in the Pacific Ocean without food, I think he’s reached the height of human endurance…but his trial has only just begun. When he survives the terrible existence of being an undocumented Japanese POW, I think that his troubles are finally over…but he will now find himself battling with his worst foe yet. The subtitle of this volume is absolutely right. This is “a World War II story of survival, resilience, and redemption.”

In no particular order, here are a few (not all) the reasons why this book is one of the best books I’ve ever read–and why it’ll be tough for us to beat it as a book club read:

  1. It’s an absolutely riveting story of an endlessly fascinating man
  2. The author does a wonderful job of weaving together historical details, human details, quotes from endless interviews, and memorabilia to make a compelling book that’s difficult to put down.
  3. It highlights the Pacific theater of World War II–a fascinating but often-glossed-over side of WWII
  4. It is rich with thematic elements–sibling relationships, teamwork, mind over matter, human dignity, the ethics of war. (Not that the author tries to propagandize. She doesn’t opine on the topics, it’s just that the story raises questions ripe for reflection or book club discussion.)
  5. God “accidentally” shows up. This is not a religious work and the author doesn’t even appear that curious about religion, much less be a fan of spiritual things, but she can’t help but report what happened. And the truth is that the story of Louie Zamperini’s life isn’t complete without the God who saved him from his worst enemy yet.

I’ve done a terrible job of summing up this book–and a similarly terrible job of expressing why I loved it so much.

But please, forgive the poor ramblings of a woman who can’t quite figure out how to put things into words–and pick up a copy of Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken. You will not be disappointed.

Rating:5 Stars
Category:History/Biography
Synopsis:The overwhelmingly powerful, fantastically told story of Louis Zamperini’s life as an Olympian, an airman, a castaway, a POW, an alcoholic, and a redeemed man.
Recommendation: As Carrie put it: “So why, exactly, are you still sitting here?” Buy it, borrow it, steal it*; but READ it.

*That’s an expression. Please don’t actually steal this book. Whoever you stole it from will never forgive you.

Categories What's on Your Nightstand?

Nightstand (June 2013)

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I’m back to slow reading, not much completed on my Nightstand this month–but I’m learning that we have seasons of reading and seasons of working, seasons of new stuff and seasons of old familiar. These seasons are good–and I’m still enjoying what books I am reading.

This month, I read:

  • The Fan by Peter Abrahams
    This is the earliest of Peter Abrahams’ that I’ve read so far–and I didn’t really like it. It took quite a while to get to the suspense part of the story, the main characters motivations were never really clear, and it had way too much sex in it. If I end up with another one like this from him, I may end up 50-paging it.
  • While the Clock Ticked by Franklin Dixon
    Picking up the Hardy Boys again–this time at a new library with different parts of the series.

What's on my Nightstand

Currently in progress:

  • The 5:30 Challenge: 5 ingredients, 30 minutes, dinner on the table by Jeanne Besser
  • Bondage of the Will by Martin Luther
  • Glimpses of Grace by Gloria Furman
  • The Thyroid Sourcebook for Women by Sara Rosenthal
  • Unbroken by Laura Hildenbrand
    Everyone who read and reviewed this in the past year has raved about it–so when a few gals from church started talking about starting a book club and wanted suggestions for books, I threw this title into the mix. So far, at about halfway through, I’m loving it.

Don’t forget to drop by 5 Minutes 4 Books to see what others are reading this month!

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Categories Book Reviews

Book Review: “The Contraception Guidebook” by William Cutrer and Sandra Glahn

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Subtitled “Options, Risks, and Answers for Christian Couples”, Cutrer and Glahn’s The Contraception Guidebook attempts to provide “medically reliable, Biblically sound” information regarding contraception for Christian couples. In my opinion, this book not only attempts but succeeds at providing medically reliable, Biblically sound information.

The first section of the book provides background for contraception. In chapter two, we review a brief history of contraception through the ages (oh boy, women used to put some really disgusting things in their vagina) and take a look at some of the modern contraception myths (for instance, that a woman can’t get pregnant while she’s on her period.) In chapter three, the authors discuss the purpose of sex from a Biblical standpoint. It is important to note that the authors do NOT discuss the quiver-full type argument (that children are a blessing and that conception should never be prevented) in this section. Instead, the authors save this discussion for the very last section of the book, when they discuss the theological implications of family planning, especially in light of the command/blessing to “be fruitful and multiply” and the clear Scriptural teaching that “children are a blessing from the Lord”. The fourth chapter of the book, and the final chapter in the first section, discusses the basic functioning of the male and female reproductive systems.

While I appreciated the overall content of the first and last sections of the book, I probably would have preferred to have had them laid out in a different manner. My preference would have been to have all the theological implications of contraception (the purpose of sex, the theological implications of family planning, and the sanctity of human life) combined at the beginning of the book before discussing methods of contraception. Instead, the authors seem to assume that their readers are in favor of the idea of contraception, even though they might be confused about appropriate methods of contraception. Only in the last section of the book do they address questions of the appropriateness of family planning at all.

I also have to say that, while I generally agree with the authors’ conclusions regarding the theological appropriateness of family planning (versus taking a Quiver-full type approach), I do not feel that this book is particularly useful to those who are wrestling with that question. The real strength of this book is in the second section, which deals with methods of contraception.

The second section gets into the nitty-gritty of contraception options, discussing Natural Family Planning, a variety of barrier methods, spermicides, hormonal methods, and sterilization techniques. The authors carefully address what each option includes, what the mechanism of action for each method is, as well as any ethical considerations. The authors are clearly opposed to abortion (as they ought to be)–and they carefully evaluate each method for any potential abortifacient effect.

This was probably the most interesting section for me (and probably the section most readers are looking for). I appreciated how comprehensive the authors are, discussing not just broad groups of birth control methods, but getting into the details of each. For example, in Natural Family Planning (NFP), the authors address withdrawal (not an effective form of contraception), the calendar method, breastfeeding as contraception, the ovulation method, the sympto-thermal method, monitoring cervical changes, hormone tests, and saliva tests. I use natural family planning as an example not because it is promoted as the best method of contraception (the authors don’t appear to have any strong biases towards any particular form of contraceptive, apart from being strictly opposed to abortifacients), but because it is a form of birth control that I haven’t seen covered a lot in other literature.

I have done quite a bit of reading on birth control methods in the past–first because I was a student health aide, then because I was interested in pretty much anything to do with women’s health (I wanted to be a midwife, once upon a time), but also as Daniel and I were preparing for marriage. But in all my reading, I have rarely, if ever, seen a balanced look at NFP. Almost everything I’ve read has basically said “Natural Family Planning uses various methods to predict ovulation and works by avoiding intercourse during times of peak fertility. NFP requires a lot of work and isn’t always very accurate.”

This book, on the other hand, carefully addresses the techniques behind different methods of predicting ovulation–and gives the relative effectiveness of each. It turns out that NFP can be a highly effective form of birth control given enough information (that is, enough information about one’s own cycle).

Honestly, I really wish I’d read this book before I got married. If I had, I might have more seriously considered NFP combined with a barrier method from the beginning–and started collecting data (basal body temperature, cervical changes, mucous changes) to make our predictions more effective. As it is, we’re having to be pretty conservative (in other words, using condoms or a diaphragm most of the time) because we can’t pinpoint my ovulation very closely from the currently available data.

I’m glad that this book is very thorough regarding the different methods of contraception, addressing the pros and cons of each, including the relative effectiveness of different methods. For this reason, I highly recommend this book to couples who are trying to decide which method of contraception to use or who want to evaluate their current contraceptive use in light of the sanctity of life.

Rating:4 Stars
Category:Christian Living/Medical
Synopsis:An in-depth look at contraceptive choices from a pro-family, pro-life perspective.
Recommendation: An excellent choice for couples trying to weigh their contraceptive options (the most thorough treatment of the subject that I’ve ever read.)