Books I Read in 2021, Vol. VIII

 

MERE CHURCHIANITY: Finding Your Way Back to Jesus-Shaped Spirituality
Michael Spencer (The Internet Monk)

Michael Spencer discovered the truth that church officials often miss, which is that many who leave the church do so in an attempt to find Jesus. For years on his blog, Spencer showed de-churched readers how to practice their faith without the distractions of religious institutions. In Mere Churchianity, you can benefit from the wisdom and compassionate teaching that always have been hallmarks of his ministry.  Spencer’s writing points the disenchanted and dispossessed to a Jesus-shaped spirituality. And along the way, his teachings show how you can find others who will go with you on the journey.

I borrowed this from the library just because of the title, a take-off from my favorite C. S. Lewis book, Mere Christianity. I didn't even get two chapters into it before I was talking about it and recommending it to anyone listening. Spencer verges on going just a bit too far in his critique of Western Evangelicalism and organized religion, but just when you think he's going to say the concept of Church is a big waste, he reminds you that following Jesus in the company of others has always been part of the plan. I need to get my own copy of this so I can mark it up and return to it often. I need to keep reminding myself that I want to be Jesus-shaped, not church-shaped.

First Line: This book began with an atheist in a Dairy Queen, thirty-five years ago.

Page 56/5th Sentence: As a person who communicates for a living, I know the frustration of having my words turned into something I never meant.

Last Line: And finally, when we come home, we will find that Jesus has made us like himself, and yet, amazingly, we will have remained in every way ourselves.

Books I Read in 2021, Vol. VII

 

SON OF A JUNKMAN: My Life from the West Bottoms of Kansas City to the Bright Lights of Hollywood
Ed Asner (with Samuel Warren Joseph and Matthew Seymour)

"This is a life worth examining and is done so magnificently in this terrific read. Ed, you've got spunk and we LOVE spunk." (Jason Alexander, Seinfeld) "For one of the few Jews in the Kansas City Bottoms the road to the heights of show business success and fame was a tough, rocky, perilous, sometimes unforgiving one, but for this Son of a Junkman the willingness to learn, the courage to be true to himself, the 'spunk' pulled him through." (Mike Farrell, M*A*S*H)

Didn't go looking for this book, but it called to me from the library shelf. I must have been tuned in to its vibe because Beloved and I are currently watching the final season of mary tyler moore. All in all, a standard kind of show business autobiography, but I will admit to being mightily impressed with Mr. Asner's candor in admitting why his marriage failed: "I have always been universally regarded as a flirt. I was during my youth. I was while preparing to be an actor. And, I was when I achieved celebrity status. Unfortunately, I was a flirt when I was married. Actually, I was more than that. I was a cheat. It isn't easy to admit and it certainly isn't easy to write, but it's the truth. When I was married to Nancy, I cheated on her. I cheated on a woman who adored me. I cheated on a woman I adored. I cheated on the mother of my children. I failed her."

First Line: As the title of this book suggests, I am the son of a junkman.

Page 56/Sentence 5: I envied her.

Last Line: More importantly, I will always be the son of a junkman.

Books I Read in 2021, Vol. VI

 

ROCK & ROLL PREACHER: From Doo-Wop to Jesus Rock
Chuck Girard

"A look at the history of the Jesus Movement, Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, and CCM through the eyes of one who lived it. The only history of the iconic band, LoveSong, arguably the first Christian rock band to become well-known. An account of alcohol addiction and deliverance. Explore the seductive attraction of the Hippie culture of the 60s and one man's journey through it."

Being a fan of LoveSong since the beginning, I was more than happy to actually PURCHASE this book (gasp!) and read about the life of one of the founders of Jesus Music...now known as Contemporary Christian Music. It was certainly informative but would have benefitted from the efforts of an editor and proofreader. Several typos were a bit distracting, but worse was the lack of any sense of flow or commitment to a single thought per paragraph. Chuck is so intent on making sure his readers know that he now regards his hippie/drug-culture ways of the past as evil and stupid that he keeps interrupting the story for little mini-sermons. Putting that aside, though, the book gave me what it said it would...can't complain about that.

First Line: It was early 1969 and the sun was just going down as we hit the outskirts of Las Vegas.

56/5: The Four Speeds were performing together because of the success of the record, but apparently this was just one of many irons Gary had in the fire.

Last Line: Who'd ever thought I'd be a rock and roll preacher?

Happy (?) Mother's Day

 

This was my first Mother's Day without Mom.

It's been 28 days since she died and I thought I was mostly done crying. And then Pastor Brad went and lead us in a special prayer during worship. He didn't even need to start actually praying and I was already tight-throated, unable to breathe, and sitting there with shoulders bobbing up and down in a silent sob.

It's not like I talked to her every day...or even every week...but the thought of having no one to call this afternoon gripped me hard.

But I'm grateful.

• Grateful that we were able to visit with Mom a couple times just three weeks before she passed and that she was still lucid and funny, even though her short-term memory was shot.
• Grateful that her final days weren't filled with pain or regret.
• Grateful that our relationship was always one of love and trust and that neither of those things was ever strained to a breaking point. She never gave me any reason to doubt her love for me, and I believe she could say the same about me.
• Grateful that in over 63 years of having Georgina Della Smith Roth as my mother, not once did I ever wish it weren't so.

Nobody is perfect, but God blessed me with a childhood and a life-foundation that has served me well and left me unscarred.

Her children stand and bless her.
  Her husband praises her:
“There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
  but you surpass them all!”
Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
  but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.

Proverbs 31:28-30 (NLT)

Books I Read in 2021, Vol. V

 

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO TOM HANKS: The Life, the Obsessions, the Good Deeds of America's Most Decent Guy
Gavin Edwards

"Niceness gets a bad rap these days. Our culture reveres those who troll the hardest and who snark the most. At times, it seems like there's no place anymore for optimism, integrity, and old-fashioned respect. Enter 'America's Dad': Tom Hanks. Whether he's buying espresso machines for the White House press corps, rewarding a jovial cab driver with a night on Broadway, or extolling the virtues of using a typewriter, Hanks lives a passionate, joyful life and pays it forward. [This book] takes readers on a tour behind the scenes of Hank's life: from his less-than-idyllic childhood, rocky first marriage, and career wipeouts to the pinnacle of his acting career and domestic bliss with the love of his life, Rita Wilson. Contemplating the life, the achievements, and the obsessions of Mr. Tom Hanks may or may not give you the road map you need to find your way, But at the very least, it'll show you how niceness can be a worthy destination."

I wasn't planning to read this book, but when I saw it on the library shelf, I couldn't pass it by. Hanks is all the things the publisher's write-up (above) claims he is and I personally find it hard to pass by any YouTube video that features him on a talk show or at a Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame induction (his speech about the Dave Clark Five should be in a hall of fame all its own). Any movie he's in is on my must-see list. That being said, there is a lot of info in this book that was revelatory to me...and enjoyable to learn. Two thumbs up for this not-really-a-biography biography.

First line: Tom Hanks is a really nice guy.

Page 56/5th Sentence: "One thing I find myself doing is removing the question marks from my dialogue," Hanks said.

Last Line: Four decades later, Hanks could say that he had turned himself into the kind of actor that he had always wanted to be.

Books I Read in 2021, Vol. IV

THE DARK HORSE: A Longmire Mystery
Craig Johnson

"It's more than Mary Barsad's beauty and wealth that set her apart in a place where most criminal cases are generally 'Bubba shot Skeeter while they were drinking beer in the cab of Skeeter's truck and trying to figure out if Bubba's Charter Arms revolver was loaded.' .... Wade Barsad, a man with a dubious past and a gift for making enemies, burned his wife's horses in their barn; in return, she shot him in the head six times, or so the story goes. But Sheriff Walt Longmire doesn't believe Mary's confession and is determined to dig deeper."

This is the fifth book in the Longmire series, and I'm glad I've decided to read through all of them. Craig Johnson has a way with words that describe geography and character without getting bogged down in dry exposition. This book's central mystery is compelling, with a mostly-unexpected twist that doesn't feel like a gimmick.

First Line: It was the third week of a high-plains October, and an unseasonably extended summer had baked the color from the landscape and had turned the rusted girders of the old bridge a thinned-out, tired brown.

Page 56/5th sentence: Sit down.

Last Line: Dog started and made a move to fetch it, but I grabbed his collar, and we both watched as the black hat hung over the void of the Powder River, pitched to one side, and disappeared into the northbound water below.

Books I Read in 2021, Vol. III

 

ONCE THIS RIVER RAN CLEAR
Peter Martin

"In 1950, as "progress" becomes another name for "greed," a sixteen-year-old boy learns from the people surrounding him. He and Urs, a bear-like man, live in a shabby cabin on the Nawaakamig River, existing happily on other people's trash and on the carp which pollute the water. Urs' land is coveted by a developer, setting off a chain of painful, tragic events, which overtake unlucky people, including the hobos who spend summers with Urs. The boy bounces from the humble cabin to the local elite to an Ojibwa community, using what he learns from each situation to find his self and settle a score."

Having spent over 20 years putting Pete's storytelling to life on the stages of Giant Step (Children's) Theatre and the Dakota Chautauqua, I was excited to read his first novel. The biggest adjustment I had to make was reconciling myself to the decidedly "earthy" language the narrator of this tale uses. But the nature of the tale and the heart of the narrator won me over within two pages. 

This is a satisfying read, and I was glad to have taken the journey. I hope Pete writes a sequel to keep the tale a-spinnin'.

First Line: If I knew the misery Laurence Larkin the Third was gonna cause I'da shot him dead the first time he showed up at our cabin.

Page 56/5th Sentence: The water was down even more and there were places with carp stranded half outta water.

Last Line: I let it take me south toward the train stop at Parker's Crossing, where I hoped to find a helpful man named Eustis, who would show me the train headed for a city with two shelters, three parks, a library, and, hopefully, a man with a long white beard and a hickory walking stick.