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.
