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Posts Tagged ‘Random House Publishing’

Extraordinary: The Life You’re Meant to Live by  John Bevere

Book provided for review by WaterBrook Press a division of Random House Publishers

I had mixed feelings (have mixed feelings) about this book. I really struggled with the cadence of the story or writing style. First, it took me a while to get engaged in what John Bevere was trying to draw me into (and I’m still unsure if I ever fully engaged with this writing) . This alone was tough for me to push through; imagine, a book titled Extraordinary: The Life You’re Meant to Live which is almost so boring and pedantic that you want to put it down. This was my early assessment, but fortunately this being a review book from Random House and Waterbrook Multnomah, I pressed on and was rewarded (on occasion) with some great teaching points. I said “on occasion” which leads to my second point…

I mentioned the cadence of the book; it seemed as though I was on a rollercoaster ride or locked in some literary revolving door. Extraordinary would take me from the most elementary teachings of Christianity to deep and mature truths of Scripture with little or no bridge (like from paragraph to paragraph) with seemingly no rhyme or reason. It was as if I went off to school and my first period class introduced me to numbers (1, 2, 3…), the bell rings and I go to my next class and we study calculus, the bell rings again and we sit down to the next class where we discuss basic addition. The flow of the book just didn’t make a lot of sense to me and it was hard for me to stay focused.

I think, for a new believer or someone who has struggled with their faith, this might be a good book. I don’t know if I could give a hearty recommendation for anyone else. I don’t have any problem with the material or subject matter. I agree with the validity and truth of everything that John Bevere purports in this offering, but I think there are a number of books available that teach the same in a much more comprehensive and didactic flow. This is especially true when I consider other works by Bevere… such as The Bait of Satan, Under Cover, Affabel, and others…

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Guest Blogger – Joshua Borden (My Son, age 13)

The Vanishing Sculptor gets a B average from me.  It was an ok book, but overall it lacked completeness and it felt like things were missing.  At times, it left me wondering what the author meant and at other times why some things were even mentioned at all.  The plot was not developed very well and the book was unnecessarily complicated.  With that aside, it was intriguing and the characters were funny.  It always had a hint of comic throughout the book that kept you entertained and enjoying the book.  If the book was just explained a little bit more, then it would be much better, but as it is, it is just very complicated and confusing.  That overshadows the creative story as well as the characters and makes this book go from a must-buy to borrow from your local library. I must say though, my comments are coming from a perspective of reading this book, The Vanishing Sculptor, as a standalone product.

I have not read any books from the Dragon Keeper Chronicles that could have provided me some much-needed back story.  If I had the benefit of some back story, it would have made much more sense and been less confusing because I would have known what they were talking about and it wouldn’t have seemed so random at times.  Therefore, the book might be redeemed if you have read the other parts of the story. Read the rest of this entry »

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Guest Blogger: Joshua Borden (Age 13)

I’ve enlisted the help of family members in the blogging reviews of books. Laurie, my wife, has been featured here on a few occasions and Joshua, my son, has been featured as well. He makes an appearance today with his review of Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart by Chuck Black.

Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart was a well-written and creative book.  It was a very good metaphor for how we can slowly turn from just one small doubt to a spiritually debilitating doubt that stops us from being able to work for God.  This addresses several critical areas that people struggle to find truth in.  It does this in a way so that it is not confrontational and people can easily accept it as truth.

I would definitely recommend this book for any young person (of any age) who is interested in fiction.  This was an easy read to me and I think that it might appeal to anyone from the age of eleven and up. I’m sure they would be able to read this without any problems and understand it.  I believe this is aimed at a younger generation, because the main character goes from his early teens to early twenties, and this book addresses the issues and doubts he has during these various times.  This would definitely help anyone who is struggling with doubts or who just needs some more assurance and proof.

Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart is also like the Narnia Chronicles, in that a non-Christian could read it and not have any qualms about it, but it could definitely make it easier for them to accept some Christian teachings later, because at several places it makes some points blatantly obvious.  In addition, the parallels are easy to understand what they mean in our everyday lives and walk with God.

If you don’t understand some things, at the end of the book there are discussion questions and answers.  This would allow it to be easily applied to an entire youth group and/or used for a group study.  The questions make several things clear, and also bring up additional questions that can add depth and meaning to your own walk with God after thinking about them and answering them.

This book would be a definite yes for any teenager struggling with doubts and God.  It could very easily used be for thoughtful discussion, and could be read in a comparably short amount of time with full comprehension and understanding.  In addition, someone not totally won over to the Christian viewpoint might be swayed by this affirming book.

Summary: Read the rest of this entry »

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I have to admit that I was skeptical when I was told about this book by a friend; three days later I received an email from the book’s publisher with an invitation to review the book. I was still dubious about its format, but was rather intrigued over the fact that I heard the title The Greatest Words Ever Spoken mentioned to me twice in just under 72 hours. Sharing a little about the book might help to explain my doubt and my curiosity. A portion of the book description directly from the editor follows:

“For the first time ever, all of the statements Jesus made in the New Testament have been brought together and organized under more than 200 topics. When you want to know his will in a specific area of life, or you’re seeking the answer to a perplexing question, or you are desperate for his encouragement, comfort, or wisdom-you can easily find the help you need.”

Now, I don’t know about anyone else, but that type of description gets my “spidy-senses” tingling. Maybe I’m just a bit cynical from the saturation of “New and IMPROVED” advertisements that flood our senses from every direction or perhaps I was just a little put off by the sense that the teaching and Spirit of Jesus could be distilled down and marketed as a potion for the answers to life’s questions. Nonetheless, my interest had been captured and I agreed to review the book.

I am now into my second month with The Greatest Words Ever Spoken and my feelings about the book have changed dramatically. I am no longer dubious about the content or the method that it has been compiled. In fact, I am very impressed with the accuracy and assignment of the topics (this sharing my opinion) and words spoken by Jesus. While there is some natural overlapping for topics and discourses by Jesus, I did not perceive any agenda or glaring contextual errors on the part of the author. To be sure, I think the author, Steven K. Scott, is to be commended for the effort and detail that he has put into this work. As mentioned, the book is organized by topic; not unlike some of the helps included in the appendices of study Bibles and very similar to the Nave’s Topical Bible; it is a meticulously detailed (and time-consuming I’m sure) effort. Read the rest of this entry »

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