Books | bekahcubed

Book Review: “Firegirl” by Tony Abbott

June 21, 2011 1 Comment by bekahcubed

Tom is a rather ordinary seventh grade boy.

He hangs out with his best friend Jeff, reads comic books, drools over red Cobras, and dreams of having “ordinary” superpowers that enable him to save the life of his secret crush, Courtney.

Enter Jessica Feeney.

“It’s odd now to think of how I almost missed what Mrs. Tracy said next. I almost missed it, thinking about Courtney, but I looked up just in time and now I can never forget it.

‘There is…,’ Mrs. Tracy was saying quietly, ‘there is something you need to know about Jessica…'”

Jessica was burned. Badly.

She’s undergoing skin graft treatments at a nearby hospital, which is why she’s going to be joining their classroom partway through the semester.

She looks… awful.

Weird.

Scary.

No one knows what to do or say or think when Jessica’s around.

Firegirl cover

What do you do when “firegirl” walks into your classroom?

I picked this title up because the author “Abbott” just happens to be the very first author in Eiseley library’s alphabetically-by-author-last-name-listed juvenile fiction section. I wasn’t sure what to expect from the almost-YA-looking cover with its string of paper people holding hands–all except the one girl who is singed and burnt.

Turns out, once I started reading, I couldn’t stop.

Firegirl is a snapshot in Tom’s life–just the record of the month or so that Jessica was in his junior high classroom.

But it’s a month that shaped his outlook. It’s a month where he had to make decisions about following the crowd or doing what’s right. It’s a month where he had to decide whether to base his actions on his feelings or on what’s right.

Here, faced with the melted exterior of Jessica Feeney, he has to decide whether the outside or the inside was more important.

I was glad to find that Firegirl was not misclassified in the juvenile fiction section (as opposed to the YA fiction.) This book has none of the graphic violence or gratuitous sex so common in YA fiction–nor does it have the blatant rebellion that is generally in ready supply in that genre. Instead, this is a not-at-all-saccharine story that deals with real-life issues in what I believe is a thoroughly appropriate manner. Tom’s crush is just that–a crush–with no accompanying sexual fantasies or even middle school dating (which I abhor). Jessica’s burns and the circumstances of her burns are not described in an overly sensational way (although they are described realistically). And Tom comes from a relatively functional family that he appreciates (although we see that his friend Jeff comes from a broken family–with some definite consequences to Jeff’s outlook and actions.)

This was a surprisingly good story, and definitely one that I’d recommend. (Although I’d encourage parents to preview it or read it along with their child–while I feel that the subject is dealt with in a very appropriate manner, it’s still a pretty weighty topic, especially given the context of Jessica’s burns.)

Rating: 5 stars
Category:Middle Grade Fiction
Synopsis:Tom learns about compassion and about judging by appearances when a badly burned Jessica Feeney enters his middle school classroom.
Recommendation: For lack of a better term, I can only say that this is probably the most appropriate book I’ve ever read. It deals with tough topics in a realistic yet non-sensational manner. I highly recommend it.

Books

A Reader’s Week

June 18, 2011 1 Comment by bekahcubed

Last Sunday, I once again broke my personal library rule.

Instead of 100 items, I checked out 115.

But really, can you blame me?

When books call your name…and don’t cost money…

Well, I couldn’t resist.

And really, considering my personal appetite for books…

Take this week, for instance.

Last Week's Reading
Since my library visit last Sunday (six days ago), I have read…

…9 children’s picture books

…Do the Doors Open by Magic? by Catherine Ripley

…Health magazine, April 2011 issue

…Bones and the Dinosaur Mystery by David Adler

…Yo! I know: Brain Building Quizzes by Times for Kids

…I’ll Mature When I’m dead by Dave Barry

…A Wodehouse Bestiary

…Return to Harmony by Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn

…Firegirl by Tony Abbott

…The Secret of the Lost Tunnel by Franklin Dixon

I also listened to 7 compact discs ranging from Kanye West (yuck) to Harry Nillson (mostly enjoyable except for the one song that included the f-word–why?!?) to Favorite TV theme songs.

And I started a few additional books…

…Christianity: A Follower’s Guide edited by Pete Briscoe

…C.S. Lewis: Writer, Dreamer, and Mentor by Lionel Ady

…Thrive by Dan Buettner

…K.I.S.S Guide to Photography

I’m not sure if I could really call this a typical reading week for me–but it’s definitely not atypical.

Also, because I’m a nerd and way too interested in my own reading statistics, I’ve determined that with 25 of my 115 items already consumed and four in progress, I’m well on my way to reading every item I’ve checked out. (Over 1/5 of the way done with five more weeks to go until everything has to go back.)

Book Reviews

Book Review: “Christianity: A Short Introduction” by Keith Ward

June 14, 2011 Leave a comment by bekahcubed

**I’m going on another book review kick, this time sparked by having to return another section of books. Which means I have to get them all reviewed before I forget them!**

Keith Ward’s Christianity: A Short Introduction travels through a collection of Christian doctrines and thought from creation to the nature of the soul to the incarnation to the trinity to the role of art. Each chapter is divided into three sections, in which each section seeks to portray one Christian perspective on the topic at hand.

In general, the three perspectives given are as follows: one perspective is the majority position of historical Christianity (that is, Christianity as reflected by Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Reformation Protestantism), a second perspective represents a minority position among historical Christianity, and a third perspective represents liberal Christianity. (Not that the author makes this distinction. He simply refers to the positions as being “different Christian positions.”)

An example of this trichotomy (except that I’m not sure which of the two historical positions is the majority position) is Ward’s three views on the Bible. The first view is the view of the Bible as inerrant (such that every detail of the Bible is correct). The second view is the view of the Bible as infallible (such that the Bible communicates every “pertinent” detail correctly.) The third view (the liberal view) is that the Bible is an accurate representation of what followers of God believed about God in their own times.

Of course, in suggesting that Ward follows this format of majority historical/minority historical/liberal, I leave out at least two important chapters that DO NOT follow this schema.

For instance, the chapter on the Incarnation presents two liberal views:

Jesus was just a man, but one who the early Christians saw as an “icon” of the Messiah–one who died, but who appeared (in visions given to early Christians) to be raised
Jesus was just a man, but one who was specially gifted by the Holy Spirit such that he “represented” God on earth.

Not having had much exposure to liberal Christianity, I had no idea of the mental gyrations liberal theologians perform in an attempt to still merit the term “Christian”.

It is here, in the theology of the Incarnation, that liberalism completely separates itself from Christianity. It is notable that only one of the three views given on this topic is that of historic Christianity–and the reason is simple.

Christians throughout the ages have united to affirm the Incarnation of Christ as true God and true man–and to condemn all other views as heretical–from ancient times (especially the Council of Chalcedon in 451) onward.

This doctrine of Incarnation is fundamental to the Christian faith–and any faith that calls itself Christian without affirming the doctrine of Incarnation deceives itself.

While the author points out that he doesn’t want the reader to know his position on any of the issues in this book, the mere inclusion of such liberal theology in a book purporting to be an introduction to Christianity indicates that this author has no firm attachment to the historic Christian faith (such as is articulated in the three ecumenical creeds: the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.)

Furthermore, the author’s continuing statements that “some Christians still believe…”, as though Christian thought that is not continually changing is inappropriate, also indicates his derision for the historic Christian faith.

A better title for this book might have been “Religions Calling Themselves Christian: A Short Introduction”–except that, sadly, this author and many others in liberal “Christianity” have deluded themselves into thinking that they are Christians, when in truth they are no such thing.

Rating: 1 star
Category:“Christian” Thought
Synopsis:The author attempts to introduce the reader to Christianity–but ends up doing something less than that since the author’s personal brand of Christianity is not, in fact, Christianity.
Recommendation: As an aspiring theology geek, I enjoyed sharpening my mind on the (often heretical) views of the author–but, as an introduction to Christianity? This is not a good choice.

**Oh, in case any of you were wondering, the second chapter which definitely did not follow the “majority historical/minority historical/liberal (heretical)” format was the chapter on the Trinity. Once again, this is because historical Christianity has always united to affirm the Trinity. (And no matter how hard Ward tries to argue that Modalism is compatible with the historic Christian understanding of the Trinity, he epically fails.)

Book Reviews

Book Review: “Live a Little” by Susan M. Love and Alice D. Domar

June 13, 2011 2 Comments by bekahcubed

Health information bombards us from a hundred directions. It’s on the television, in the newspaper, on the radio. It glares at us from billboards and public service announcements. Popular magazines tout the newest *amazing* health discovery, and the web has fifty thousand opinions on just about everything.

Every disease has a corresponding nonprofit with a corresponding day, week, or month to promote awareness. And every day, week, or month of awareness gives us another list of things to do to make sure we’re healthy.

And then there’s the government. We have the USDA’s new MyPlate which replaces MyPyramid which replaced the Food Guide Pyramid which replaced the four basic food groups. For professionals, there’s the corresponding “Dietary Guidelines for Americans”. For Physical Activity, we have the “Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.” Then various government agencies put out lists of recommended vaccinations, preventative screenings, what-have-you.

It’s absolutely overwhelming. And it means that many of us, women especially, are walking around with major complexes about all the healthy things we should be doing but aren’t.

Well, doctors Susan M. Love and Alice D. Domar (one a MD, one a PhD) have a word of advice to us all:

“Live a little!

In their book by the same name (written with the help of Leigh Ann Hirschman), these two health professionals seek to cut through the mess of health information and tell women what’s really important for health–and what’s not.

The authors set up what they call the “Pretty Healthy Zone” (or pH zone)–a balanced position between absolutely letting yourself go and being hyper-obsessive about your health. Then they go about helping women to understand what the “pH zone” is for six critical areas: sleep, stress, health screenings, exercise, diet, and relationships. In each of these areas, they offer a little quiz to help you determine whether you fit into the “pH zone”–or if you need to do some work to get yourself there. The final chapter describes what a pretty healthy life might look like decade by decade throughout a woman’s life.

As a health professional who is often alarmed at the extreme recommendations being thrown out by researchers and lay people alike, I am very pleased by this book’s balanced approach to health. Love and Domar critically evaluate the available research and weed out the good recommendations from the tenuous ones. Furthermore, they evaluate these recommendations in light of overall quality of life, in addition to simply evaluating disease avoidance.

For the woman who feels guilty that she [insert your own health “vice”: isn’t exercising enough/doesn’t do a breast self exam/doesn’t get 8 hours of sleep every night/eats Twinkies], this can provide a measure of relief–and some direction for how to make positive steps towards a healthier lifestyle.

For the woman who is obsessed with her health and spends every moment of every day counting calories in and out, calculating risk factors, and engaging in “prevention”, this book can provide a level of balance–and some direction regarding which health steps are most advantageous.

For the woman who doesn’t even bother about her health and has no idea what she should or shouldn’t be doing health-wise, this book can provide an entry-level intro to what healthy behaviors look like–and give some pointers for getting started in developing a healthy lifestyle.

Rating: 5 stars
Category:Women’s Health
Synopsis:Dr’s Love and Domar evaluate common health advice in light of good science and help women understand what a “pretty healthy” life looks like.
Recommendation: One of the best books I’ve ever read on health and prevention. This is definitely worth picking up.

Reading My Library

The Berenstain Bears and the Bad Dad

June 10, 2011 4 Comments by bekahcubed

Once upon a time, I was a Berenstain Bears fan.

I checked those books out of the library at least a dozen times.

My favorite was The Berenstain Bears and the Truth–an episode that I swear was source of the idea for “Larry Boy and the Fib from Outer Space”.

Brother Bear and Sister Bear are playing soccer in the house–always a no-no–and they knock over Mama Bear’s favorite lamp, shattering it. But instead of fessing up, they tell a tall tale about a large bird with a purple breast, red wing tips, green claws, and yellow fringe above its eyes. Or was it a bird with a red breast, green wing tips, yellow claws and a purple fringe?

Or was it, as Papa Bear adroitly guesses, a black and white bird JUST LIKE THAT SOCCER BALL BEHIND THE CHAIR?

Yes, I loved the Berenstain Bears.

I remember that my mom wasn’t too keen on them–she didn’t like the way Papa Bear was portrayed or something. But I paid her little mind and kept on reading.

Re-reading them as an adult, I am aghast at how unperceptive I was as a child.

Papa Bear is described as an absolute boor. Not only is he portrayed as just like another of the kids that Mama Bear has to keep in line–he’s even worse than the kids.

He gets behind on his taxes, he breaks the Mama Bear imposed TV fast, he gobbles up junk food like nobody’s business. He hops right into the Beanie Baby craze (called something else for the sake of the book, of course), he is the world’s worst sports parent, he never remembers his manners. He’s a lout, plain and simple.

I’ve heard of the “Father knows Best” phenomenon (while I’ve never seen the show of the same name)–but I can’t help but think that this opposite extreme is just as dangerous or more.

Fathers are fallible, they don’t always know best. They make mistakes, sometimes big ones.

But that doesn’t mean fathers are do-nothing, overgrown children who need Mama’s strong hand to keep them in line.

Portraying fathers in this way can only degrade them in the sight of their children. Portraying fathers in this way gives boys and men no standard by which to live.

At least in the olden-way, the “father knows best” way, men were expected to be hard workers and good providers. In this portrayal, men are expected to be toddlers, reluctantly straining against the wife’s leash.

My opinion of the Berenstain Bears has changed (with the exception of The Berenstain Bears and the Truth, the one title that does not portray Papa Bear as a big galloof.)

I do not like them. I do not like them at all.

For more comments on children’s books, see the rest of my Reading My Library posts or check out Carrie’s blog Reading My Library, which chronicles her and her children’s trip through the children’s section of their local library.

Books

In Which I pretend that Bekahcubed is Facebook

June 4, 2011 1 Comment by bekahcubed

If I had the luxury of being one of those workers who can be online all day long (which I most certainly am not-having just bargained full internet access for myself less than a month ago), I might be inclined to become one of those sort of bloggers who post as if their blogs were Facebook.

Like Abraham Piper or even Instapundit, I might post links and mini-thoughts a dozen times a day (although Instapundit is more like a couple hundred times a day).

And if I were one of those sorts of bloggers, I would certainly post this insightful commentary from one of P.G. Wodehouse’s “Golf Stories”:

On Russian Novelists:

“This Vladimir Brusiloff to whom I have referred was the famous Russian novelist…. Vladimir specialized in gray studies of hopeless misery, where nothing happened until page three hundred and eighty, when the moujik decided to commit suicide.”
~From The Most of P.G. Wodehouse, page 413

With my infinite (read “minute”) knowledge of Russian novelists, I know enough to ask, “Did the moujik commit suicide on page 380, or just decide to do so?”

What's on Your Nightstand?

Nightstand (May 2011)

May 23, 2011 15 Comments by bekahcubed

In a fit of I-don’t-exactly-know-what, I broke my 100 item rule at the library and checked out 114 items on April 30 (a week an a half after showing you the picture below–what I still had to finish in that last week’s time.)

April Nightstand

A week later (after checking out the 114 books), my library switched its catalog over to a different format–one that automatically notifies borrowers via e-mail that their books are almost due.

So 18 days after checking out those 114 library books (for the three week renewal period), I arrived home to find…

114 notification emails in my email inbox.

The pre-notification system is great and all–but couldn’t they just combine all the books due into ONE email?

Anyway, enough about that–you want to know what I read this month.

This month I read:

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
I planned to review this one in more detail. My plans went awry. So, here’s what I wrote in my journal to jog my memory for a more full review (the jotted notes were necessary since this was among the books that went BACK to the library on the 30th of April): “short not best descriptor-meandering perhaps. through rooms of Bryson’s own English home–formerly a vicarage. servants, plumbing, architecture, gardening, glass, iron vs. steel, a little archeology–seamless flow through diverse topics–modern disease, food habits, bathing habits, styles of clothing, class distinction. Enjoyable, but at 452 pages, not exactly short.”

Bones and the Big Yellow Mystery by David Adler
A Children’s First Reader, this title wasn’t near as impressive as the Cam Jansen series, also by David Adler. This particular story was all about “Bones” a kid detective who solves a mystery of a missing bus (Turns out the bus driver had exited the wrong door in the mall and gotten scared when he didn’t see his bus nearby.) The story could have been good, except that the story doesn’t give the right sort of clues to allow the reader to try to solve the mystery on his own (which, I think, is the key to any sort of mystery–even for beginning readers!)

Boogers are my Beat by Dave Barry
Dave Barry is always amusing. This particular book, so far as I can tell, is a collection of columns from 2000 and 2001–which means that it covers, among other things, the Democratic and Republican conventions, the recount debacle, and September 11. Generally amusing, this pokes fun equally at left and right–and includes some nice non-political pieces as well.

Cam Jansen and the Mystery of the Television Dog by David Adler
As I alluded earlier, I do like these Cam Jansen stories. They’re beginner’s chapter books that star “Cam” Jansen (short for “Camera”), a youngster with a photographic memory. In this particular story, a dog-napper steals a celebrity pooch in the midst of said celebrity’s book signing event. These stories are simple to read and fairly straightforward as far as mysteries go–but are still amusing and likely to be quite fun for the target audience.

GraceLand by Chris Abani
I chose not to return this one to the library just yet, because I intend to review it in more depth. This is the story of a young black Elvis impersonator in Nigeria. The story reminded me somewhat of Slumdog Millionaire. It was brutal, violent, and often unpleasant–but somehow ended up being a remarkably moving story.

Nim at Sea by Wendy Orr
I checked this out expecting it to be the book off of which Nim’s Island (the movie) was based. I got it home to discover that this was in fact the sequel to Nim’s Island (the book off of which the movie was based.) Turns out, this is a delightful little tale of how Nim “forces” the author off the island in a fit of bad manners–and then goes stowaway to retrieve her in a fit of compassion for her now-lonely dad (Oh, and to retrieve her pet seal, who has been poached by an evil tour-cruise company.) A delightful little novel just right for the middle-grade audience (and for myself).

Room for Improvement by Stacey Ballis
Remember Trading Spaces, the TLC home makeover show that was all the hit a half dozen years ago or so? Now imagine Trading Spaces with a personal makeover twist. Single guy (with the help of an interior designer) makes over single gal’s house (to make it more “guy friendly”)–then gets made over himself (by a gay fashionisto/a, of course), just in time for an unveiling in which he meets said single gal. And vice versa. Our heroine, if you can call her that, is one of the interior designers. This fits squarely into the chick lit genre, with all the accompanying drama (including some affairs, be forewarned). I found the setting amusing (since I was in college and had access to a TV during the “Trading Spaces” craze), but the story somewhat lacking. Eh.

The Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block
Modern retellings of a number of fairy tales, all in short story form. Block is definitely a YA author, with all the accompanying shock value. These stories include rape, incest, homosexuality, violence, teenage runaways, you name it. She’s a masterful tale-teller, but definitely into the dark side of things.

Spoken from the Heart by Laura Bush
I’ve decided that either Laura or her ghostwriter (Lyric Winik) is a lovely writer. I enjoyed the anecdotes in this book, as well as the way in which they were told. Laura’s voice is inherently nice, even when she’s talking about things that aren’t always nice. Even when she’s issuing reprimands to reporters or public figures who spoke unfairly of her or her husband, the reprimand is not shrill or accusatory. I greatly enjoyed reading the former first lady’s perspective on her own life (from her earliest years to the first year after the White House–naturally the eight years in the White House occupy a good bit of the narrative). This wasn’t an exceptional memoir (nor was it the “finish in one setting, almost chick lit” like so many these days)–but it was a nice look at Laura’s life.

The Story of the Bible by Larry Stone
I reviewed this title at length, subtitling it “A Museum in a Book”. It’s the story of the writing, preservation, copying, and translation of the Bible–including full size reproductions of dozens of manuscripts. I loved it.

Time for Kids 2009 Almanac
I love almanacs, and I enjoyed this one. But when I find a half-dozen mistakes in the nutrition section, I wonder what else Time got wrong.

Tomorrow’s Dream by Janette Oke and T. Davis Bunn
The sequel to Another Homecoming, which I wrote about in my last nightstand post. The young heroine of the previous novel is now faced with a tragedy that shakes her to her core: the death of her infant son. Another engaging story with eternal hope from Janette Oke (and T. Davis Bunn, who I am much less familiar with than I am with Oke.)

Children’s Books, authors Bechtold-Berenstain (50 or 60 titles)

WiW: Every story whispers

May 23, 2011 8 Comments by bekahcubed

It’s my new favorite book. I bought it two weeks ago, and I’ve read from it every night since I got it.

It’s the The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. I’ve read the first story, the introduction of sorts, at least a dozen times–to several dozen people.

An excerpt from the introduction–the part that convinced me I needed to own a copy:

“No, the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne–everything–to rescue the one he loves….

There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story. And at the center of the Story, there is a baby. Every Story in the Bible whispers His name.“

That’s what I love about The Jesus Storybook Bible.

Every story whispers His name.

Not one story ends without reference to Jesus, to the gospel, to the truth of Jesus Christ come to save sinners.

It’s why I take my Storybook Bible with me to hang out with friends. It’s why I read it to the girls I decoupaged with over the weekend. It’s why I read it to the dementia residents at our care facility during my off hours.

Because every story whispers His name.

As one Alzheimer’s patient interrupted every few paragraphs to exclaim:

“I’ve heard that story before, but I’ve never heard it so clearly.”

I love The Jesus Storybook Bible–but I want to go beyond it.

I want every story that I tell–
every story that others tell about me–
My heart’s desire is that my every story
would whisper His name.

The same precious resident who interrupted me to tell me how clearly The Jesus Storybook Bible told the story of creation and the fall also told me “That’d be wonderful for children, because it’s so clear.”

For my part, I agree–and add “And for the elderly and everyone in between.” I loved being able to share the gospel with a dozen ladies over the course of the hour I spent reading. Each story gave me opportunity to emphasize once again that God loved his children (and THEM) so much that He came to earth and died in order to bring them into relationship with Him.

Don’t forget to take a look at Barbara H’s meme “The Week in Words”, where bloggers collect quotes they’ve read throughout the week.

*This was NOT a paid advertisement. I received no monetary or other compensation for this review. In fact, I paid my own money for a copy of The Jesus Storybook Bible. And I recommend that you do the same.

Book Reviews

Book Review: “The Time Traveler’s Wife” by Audrey Niffenegger

May 18, 2011 4 Comments by bekahcubed

How would you introduce yourself to someone you’ve known almost your entire life, if they’d never met you before in their entire life?

Such was the predicament in which Clare Abshire finds herself in The Time Traveler’s Wife.

I know, I know. You’ve all read the book–or at least seen the movie. All this is old news to you.

I had done neither, and it was certainly not old news to me. Not having seen the movie or heard a plot summary of the book (or been a fan of science fiction), I found the entire premise of the book (apart from the hint that is the title, that is) to be completely novel.

The novel follows Clare and Henry (the time traveler) in their various interactions with one another, jumping back and forth from time to time.

Clare simply moves in a linear fashion through time, meeting a middle aged Henry while still in elementary school. Henry, on the other hand, travels spastically through time, turning up (completely nude) in all sorts of places.

So the middle aged Henry might be time traveling to a certain time and meeting the young Clare, while at the same time his young self is going about his day to day life completely unaware that the time traveling older Henry is also on earth at that specific time.

It’s a bit to wrap the mind around (at least for me).

Anyhow, at some point, Clare and Henry actually meet in “real time”–not as a freak accident of Henry’s completely unplanned time travels. When they meet, they have sex. Lots and lots of sex.

Which brings me to the major drawback of this novel. It is absolutely stuffed with sex (I can’t decide whether it’s gratuitous or not. Certain scenes seem to play a role in the development of the characters and plot, but others just don’t. Not that the sex is particularly graphic–it’s just omnipresent.)

If it weren’t for that, I would have completely loved this book.

The story was engaging and well-told. The characters were interesting. And the occasional metaphysical questions the characters raised (such as: can a person traveling into the past change the present and the future? Is the universe determined or chaotic?) were intriguing to this particular mind. But the sex. I’m just not sure if I can really recommend the sex.

Rating: 3? stars
Category:Women’s Fiction
Synopsis:Two people, one a time traveler and one not, find their lives inextricably intertwined–although somewhat oddly, since their life experiences (even of each other) rarely match up.
Recommendation: If it weren’t for the voluminous sex, I’d give this five stars hands down. It’s a well told story. However, I have to urge readers to exercise caution. Know your boundaries when it comes to gratuitous sex and decline if the ever-present sex in this novel is going to cause problems.

Book Reviews

Book Review: “The Story of the Bible” by Larry Stone

May 12, 2011 4 Comments by bekahcubed

After the the first book I agreed to review from a publisher turned out to be a dud (in my opinion, humble), I told myself that maybe I just wasn’t cut out for the “review copy” thing. I should go back to just reviewing the books I check out of the library. It’s much less pressure that way.

Then I saw The Story of the Bible from Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze program–and saw that the foreword was by Ravi Zacharias.

Surely if Ravi wrote the foreword, it’s got to be okay, I told myself. So I went ahead and requested it without reading another word.

What a fortuitous impulse!

The Story of the Bible arrived outside my front door, I opened it up, and was immediately hooked.

For the next couple of weeks, I never went anywhere without my copy.

“You need to see what Thomas Nelson just sent me,” I’d say as I pulled it out of my tote to pass to friends, family, and strangers. (Lucky me, I carry a nice large tote that can hold the jumbo-sized coffee-table-style book.)

“It’s the story of the writing and canonization and preservation and translation of the Bible.” I told them as they rifled through the pages.

Then, lest they miss the most exciting part, I’d direct them to the vellum envelope pages found within every chapter. “Go ahead and take it out” I’d urge.

Dutifully, they’d pull out the odd sized papers found in the various envelopes.

One started reading the writing:

Great Isaiah Scroll
The only complete Dead Sea Scroll is the Great Isaiah Scroll, discovered in 1947 by Muhammed Ahmed el-Hamed and pictured on page 25….

I could hear the quizzical expression in my friend’s voice as she read aloud. “Why on earth is Rebekah so excited about this?”

“Turn it over,” I urged.

And that’s when she discovered what I was so excited about.

Each scrap of paper within the vellum envelopes is a life-size full-color replica of a Biblical text.

A page from the Dead Sea Scrolls, pages from the Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, Wycliff’s Bible and Gutenberg’s. The list goes on and on.

It’s like a museum in one glossy paged volume.

I can’t be more excited.

The text itself is in well-written, engaging prose. I had no difficulty getting through the pages–or dipping in for a paragraph here and there in casual perusal (both of which I did.)

The author writes with an evangelical bent and an obvious reverence for the Word of God. This is no dull historical story of how men have preserved a book. This is a living story of how God has spoken a book, preserved His words, and communicated His heart to the nations of the world throughout the centuries.

This book is a definite keeper!

Rating: 5 stars
Category:Christian history
Synopsis:A museum in a book, telling the story (and showing the documents) of the writing, canonization, preservation, and translation of the Bible.
Recommendation: 5 stars

For the sake of full disclosure, I received this book for free via the Book Sneeze blogger program at Thomas Nelson. All views expressed in this post are my own. I received nothing for this review beyond the book I just reviewed (which is a reward of great worth, if I do say so myself!)