Archive for » June, 2009 «

Patriarch

09 Jun 2009 | By

Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation by Richard Norton Smith was a difficult read. It covers just the presidency and retirement, with just a summary of his life leading up to that. At times he seemed to present too much detail without context, but others he just expressed an interpretation of motives and actions with no support. I imagine a biography of such tumultuous 8 years and so many strong and varied characters is difficult. I look forward to reading other biographies of Adams, Jefferson, Hamilton, and others to see how they compare.

The biography does provide a lot of information about the period, and displays the partisan fighting that occurred as the Federalists and Republicans fought over the formation of our early government. He also provides some context for world issues as the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte are playing out on the world stage. I found it interesting and covering a period of time that I have not paid attention to since the 10th grade. I look forward to reading more about the same time period.

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The Zookeeper’s Wife – review

09 Jun 2009 | By

I read a few reviews of The Zookeeper’s Wife: A War Story by Diane Ackerman and they all made it sound like an interesting and well-written book. It is a true story, based on diaries and other sources, told from the perspective of a couple that managed the Warsaw zoo before WWII. The war and German invasion put an end to the zoo, but they found various ways to keep the property used and busy so they could use it as a major part of the resistance and a place to hide many Jews as they helped them escape the Nazis.

It is really much like a nonfiction book given the historical detail that the author includes and the research she has done. She explains many of her sources throughout the book when she uses a journal or story told by someone who lived in Warsaw at the time. But it is written much like a novel in that she doesn’t footnote you to death or have sharp breaks between subjects. The format works wonderfully! It is so easy to read and moving in how she conveys the environment, the people, and the struggles.

I think the story is a great way to learn about the history of WWII, the people involved, the ideologies proposed. It was scary how much of what the Nazis believed is still with us today.

Including the love and care and Antonina’s empathy with the animals added another emotional level to the story. What the animals struggled with – the fear and disruption and moving to new places or being killed for gratuitous entertainment matches what the Jews and other people experienced.

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His strength

05 Jun 2009 | By

This was on Fighter Verses today:

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually!
[Psalm 105:4]

Why should I seek God’s strength?

  1. [P]ower belongs to God.
    [Psalm 62:11c]
  2. [H]e is the one who gives power and strength.
    [Psalm 68:35c]
  3. I am poor and needy.
    [Psalm 40:17b; 70:5a; 86:1c; 109:22a]
  4. He has pity on the weak and the needy.
    [Psalm 72:13a]
  5. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.
    [Isaiah 40:29]
  6. … to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.
    [2 Corinthians 4:7]
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Spring Reading Thing status check 4

02 Jun 2009 | By

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Just tracking my progress here:

My original list with links to book reviews or summaries.

  1. Consequences of Sin by Clare Langley-Hawthorne
  2. Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo (an advance readers’ edition, it’s coming out June 2009)
  3. Get Outta My Face! by Rick Horne
  4. The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns
  5. The Odyssey by Homer
  6. Spectacular Sins by John Piper
  7. How Long, O Lord by DA Carson
  8. Emily Climbs by LM Montgomery
  9. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  10. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke – done.
  11. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
  12. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
  13. finish Les Miserables (I’ve read 1 volume)
  14. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
  15. the ChristianAudio May freebie – Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by John Foxe
  16. the ChristianAudio June freebie – Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson
  17. Believing God by RC Sproul, Jr.
  18. George Muller bio by Pierson – on Kindle

It’s tempting to put off finishing something deep and get a quick success in, but I need to hold down and finish what I have in progress already.

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Reading progress

01 Jun 2009 | By

I made a lot of progress Friday and Saturday between bike rides and dinner and other birthday events and I have finished George Muller of Bristol and His Witness to a Prayer-Hearing God.  I read the Gutenberg version on the Kindle. It was long and the last 1/3 is journal reprints which I didn’t read. But it was a great book. The writing style is a bit repetitive and preachy, but the subject is amazing and the end result is convicting.

I still have a few hours left of Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, the May free download from ChristianAudio.com. This has been a challenging project this month, as I mentioned here.

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I’m gearing up for the June free download, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology by Eugene Peterson. And because I am a fan of ChristianAudio.com on Facebook I also get to download The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus Is the Way.

There are two more books in the series, available on ChristianAudio for a very discounted price this month. Check them out!

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