Books, Books, Books!

I woke up this morning with books on the brain, so I thought I would go through the Official Book Pile, including things I have neglected to place in the sidebar.

Reviews

The Case for the Real Jesus:
A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks
on the Identity of Christ
by Lee Strobel

I am about a third of the way through, and this work is great so far. I’m not sure I will be using my usual review format because I’m not sure it’s a good fit for a book in this genre. This isn’t your usual nonfiction that attempts to be a bit emotion, a bit fact, prove the author could write real literature if he chose, etc. Strobel is a journalist going after the “facts.” He’s a good writer, but I still don’t think the format works.

If you have struggled with any of the “new evidence” that hits the mainstream {new documents proving x in the Bible is not true, etc.}, this is the book for you. You will also gain an understanding of how historians do their jobs, what textual criticism is, and such.

Secret Believers:
What Happens When Muslims Believe in Christ

The publisher is checking on why this book hasn’t arrived on my doorstep yet. However, I am assuming that I have been slow enough at my reviews that it will arrive when I need it, and no sooner.

The Divine Conspiracy:
Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God

I have always wanted to read this book, but I have never broken down and bought it. This is because I keep buying books for the children or about the children. I guess it could be said that I buy emergency books. I also tend to buy used unless it is a special occasion, and I’ve never seen this book used.

With that said, the publisher’s 30th anniversary is coming up, and they are sending free copies of their oldies but goodies to the critics. I put in my request for this one, and I’m hoping they send it my way. They can consider it an early Christmas gift.

Current Reading
Not every book I read was free from the publisher. There are a number of others floating around our house. When I see them, I pick them up and read a couple of pages, or more if the children are sleeping. Here they are, in no particular order:

Poetic Knowledge:
The Recovery of Education

This is something Cindy mentioned about a year ago, and I finally got my hands on a copy. This book is at the top of my reading level, and I am relishing the challenge, even if I do end up reading some pages twice.

This guy uses phrases like “Cartesian legacy” like he means it.

Charlotte Mason’s Original Homeschooling Series

What would the Official Book Pile be without a little something from Charlotte Mason? Right now, I’m reading Volume 6: A Philosophy of Education. I’m not reading these in order, so when I’m finished I intend to read Volume 2. I am so thankful that such a treasure is available today. This collection contains thousands of pages written by a Christian woman who devoted her life to the education of children and those who teach them.

The Last Disciple

This is one I borrowed from Kimbrah. I told her it would be a while before I could start it. But it called to me. So I’m almost done with it. Besides, Si and I decided we would read it together in the evenings. I can’t tell you how nice it has been since we finally turned the TV off for good. We’ve been reading a chapter or two each evening, enjoying the story and learning a bit about the Roman persecution of the Christians at the same time.

Warning: some of the romance is a bit…cheesy.

New in the Afterthoughts Bookstore
It was time for another change to the store’s front window. This time, I am featuring the work of Holling C. Holling. This is what I said in the store:

If I could describe Holling C. Holling’s work in a short sentence, I would say it is geography in literary style. Coupled with a large blank map, a child can amble through a foreign countryside, learning what it is like through Holling’s unique storytelling. Have them sketch what they see in their mind’s eye on the map for added delight in what they are learning.

Holling’s work is a joy to children, but I’m not sure they would really get a lot of actual geography out of it until they are a minimum of five or six years of age.

The bookstore, for those of you who are new, is linked to the most beautiful copies of a book I can find. I don’t think that folks need to spend that much on every book in their entire library, but I think there is something very special about handing a beautifully bound book to a child for Christmas or their birthday. This is a tradition on our house: one beautiful book per child per occasion starting at the age of one.

You do not have to shop the bookstore to be my friend. However, I won’t pretend that I don’t benefit if you do. If you buy something using the Amazon searchbox in the sidebar, that benefits me too. Many of you don’t know this, but you really have bought some of the children’s curriculum this year, and now is a good time to thank you for that.