2012 review

The post following this lists the books I read in 2012. Here is my review of the highlights:

I enjoyed very much reading Edward Tulane to my daughter, and Winn-Dixie to my daughter and my wife. I liked Edward Tulane enough to read several others of Kate DiCamillo's books, and I'll read them again.

Second, the cop-thriller books (Karin Slaughter, some of the single authors) were okay, but did not satisfy as much as last year and the year before when I blazed through Lee Child's and Lincoln Child and Doug Preston's books.

I enjoyed my little foray into the Civil War and Lincoln, and I both recommend Bill O'Reilly's book (provided it's accompanied by some other Lincoln stuff) and do NOT recommend the Foreigner's Quest, which seemed like it had too much of an axe to grind. Killer Angels was a re-read, and I would like to read some of the other books in the Shaara / Civil War series.

Girl Meets God was fabulous. Following the church calendar (Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost) Lauren shares her own journey as a young adult from nominally Jewish to Orthodox Jew to Episcopalian.

The Deacon books (Joseph Lallo) are a fantasy trilogy, not available in print, only electronically, I believe (I read it on my nook). Magic, swords, dragons, other creatures, coming-of-age, good-vs-evil. Satisfying, and worth a re-read.

I thought "Why Men Hate Going to Church" offered an insightful and important diagnosis of the gender divide that exists (and has long existed) in The Church. I recommend it for men, women, and people involved in church leadership.

"The Cross in the Closet" is also a recommended read for men, women, and people involved in church leadership. A self-described "evangelical Christian" undertakes a journey of the heart, examining his assumptions about homosexuality and Christianity by living as a gay man for a year.

It has been suggested that I next read Francis Chan's "Erasing Hell" as another approach to the subject of Rob Bell's "Love Wins". I found that Bell asked compelling questions, and then answered them with other compelling questions, and subtly built a foundation on the second-and-third generation of questions. I liked where he started, I'm not sure I'm with him when he ends. I am also 'tempering' my Bell with some Adam Hamilton, who approaches things less amorphously.