Author: HCNewton Page 370 of 624

My Favorite 2019 Non-Fiction Reads

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On January 2, 2020

In Audiobook, Dogs

Like every single year, I didn’t read as much Non-Fiction as I meant to—but I did read a decent amount, more than I did in 2018 (by a whole percentage point, so…). These are the best of the bunch.

(alphabetical by author)

You Can Date Boys When You're FortyYou Can Date Boys When You’re Forty: Dave Barry on Parenting and Other Topics He Knows Very Little About

by Dave Barry

My original post
Barry at his near-best. This reminded me for the first time in a few years why I became a life-long devotee in high school. I could relate to a lot of it, and what I couldn’t was just funny. His reaction to Fifty Shades was a highlight—the chapter about his family’s trip to Israel was fantastic, funny and moving.

4 Stars

Have You Eaten Grandma?Have You Eaten Grandma?: Or, the Life-Saving Importance of Correct Punctuation, Grammar, and Good English

by Gyles Brandreth

My original post
I remembered rating this higher, but I’m not going to second-guess myself now. I’ll steal from my original conclusion for this: It’s the kind of thing that my college-bound daughter could use on her dorm bookshelf (and will probably find), and I know more than a few people who find themselves writing reports and the like for work who could use something like that. If you need help, might as well have a good time while you’re at it—and Have You Eaten Grandma is just the thing.

3.5 Stars

Dreyer’s EnglishDreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style

by Benjamin Dreyer

I haven’t written a post about this yet, but it’s a great book. I can see why it was so popular this year—so much so that it got its own card game! The only more useful book I read in 2019 was the next one on the list. I’m not sure if I read something that made me laugh more. Fun, smart, incredibly quotable, and a resource you’ll return to time and time again.

5 Stars

How Not to DieHow Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease

by Michael Greger M.D. FACLM, Gene Stone

My original post
One of the doctors that I’m seeing this year recommended this book to me, and it’s literally been a life-changer. This is an information-packed resource. But it’s not dry—Greger tells this with humanity, wit and concern. It’s a great combination of theory and practice.

4 Stars

The Art of WarThe Art of War: A New Translation

by Sun Tzu, James Trapp (Translator)

My original post
The classic text about military strategy—a great combination of psychology and management. It’s simple and profound, and approachable enough that there’s no excuse for not reading it.

5 Stars

What the Dog Knows Young Readers EditionWhat the Dog Knows Young Readers Edition: Scent, Science, and the Amazing Ways Dogs Perceive the World

by Cat Warren, Patricia J. Wynne (Illustrator)

My original post
I loved the “adult” version of this a couple of years ago, and this is just as good—but edited so that middle-grade readers can tackle this exploration of the life of Working Dogs and their handlers.

4 Stars

2020 Reading Challenges and Other Plans

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On January 2, 2020

In Books, News/Misc.

I don’t have a lot of reading plans for this year, but I’ve got a couple of things I want to tackle.

First, I’m going to finally read Tom Jones (more on this tomorrow).

Secondly, I’m going to re-read the first twelve Spenser novels by Robert B. Parker—I’ve been wanting to re-read the series for a while now, and I’m going to force it this year. I used to read the entire series over a three-day weekend each year, but once I got married, my wife seemed to want me to interact with her for those 3+ days, and I only sporadically read individual volumes since then. It should actually work out pretty well this way, I do one a month (should have no problem fitting that in) which allows me to cover the best of the series, ending with a transition point to the series.

Thirdly, I’m part of the Book Blogger Novel of the Year Award Panel. You’ll hear more about that later.

And that’s about it—otherwise, it’s just read whatever seems interesting that I can get to.

I’m tweaking my approach to Reading Challenges this year. Bookstooge asked in a comment section a few months ago why I did these things* and it got me thinking about it—I’m tired of just doing the “How Much of X Have You Read?” Challenges—they really don’t do anything for me other than getting me to track stuff that I don’t need to. I prefer the ones that make me think of book selection differently than I usually do—preferably the ones that have some sort of interaction between participants.

* Yeah, it may take me longer than it should, but I do try to respond to everything.

The two exceptions to this are the Goodreads Challenge, which takes no effort at all and the Library Love Challenge—yeah, it’s largely a “how much” challenge, but there’s good interaction over on Goodreads, and I like the idea of celebrating Libraries anyway.

So, here’s what I’m going to be up to:

Library Love ChallengeThe Fourth Annual Library Love Challenge
Hosted by Angel’s Guilty Pleasures & Books of My Heart.


The Third Annual While I Was Reading Challenge

Ramona Mead’s got some great categories this year, and while the Facebook group isn’t super-active, it’s an interesting little group. I’ve had plenty of fun with this challenge the last two years and figure I’ll keep it going.

2020 TBR Reading Challenge
2020 TBR Reading Challenge

I saw this one while blog hopping recently, and it looked like fun. Similar to the above, but it’ll stretch me in different ways.

I’m supposed to tag 5 people to go along with this…hmmm….Okay, I challenge kerrimcbooknerd, Witty & Sarcastic Book Club, happytonic, Kelly Curtis, and brainyjaney. You all should give this a shot.

#ARMEDWITHABINGO
#ARMEDWITHABINGO

Similarly, I saw this on Twitter a week or so ago and it also struck a chord.

So, some fun ways to track reading and think about what I’ll read, and some moderate goals. Leaving 2020 for a lot of “whatever seems like a good idea at the time” kind of reading.

All this needs to be taken with a grain of salt, obviously. Maybe a salt lick. Remembering all too well the poet’s lines:

But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!

Looking back at 2019 for Books and the Blog

By

On January 1, 2020

In Calendar Items, News/Misc.

Programming Note: Over the next few days, I’ll be looking back over 2019—but trying to come up with some new material, too. I know a lot of people have already done that, but I’m a stickler—I can’t start doing this kind of thing ’til the year is over (for good reason, I read 3 things that will likely end up on best-of lists after I started seeing “Best of 2019” posts).

As we kick off 2020, as is my custom, I wanted to take a glance back at 2019. 275 books read (plus comics, picture books, short stories, and the like that I don’t know how to count)—I exceeded my goal (nothing like exceeding an arbitrary number to boost the ol’ ego), too; more than 83,000 pages; 378 posts (short of my goal by a couple hundred, but 98 more than last year, so…yay). I had some strong gains in traffic—views and visitors—actually, strong gains doesn’t quite cut it. Consider my mind boggled. I’m also seeing good growth in followers here and on various social media fronts, which is encouraging as all get out—not just growth in numbers, but the level of and amount of interaction is up to the point that my socially awkward self doesn’t really understand it.

So here’s my breakdown of books by genre. Genre labeling is more difficult lately as I’m reading a lot of hybrids (most of us are, they’re being produced more), but I tend to go with the overarching genre (for example, Brassley’s The Drifting Lands books are fantasy novels in a SF setting, I went with Fantasy). Basically, everything’s the same, with just a percent or two of adjustment. It’s been forever since I’ve read a Western, although I had one checked out from the Library for a couple of months, but I couldn’t manage to get to it. Theological books went up a tad in actual numbers (thanks to the Vos set). Still, for someone who doesn’t plan too thoroughly, the percentages stay remarkably consistent from year to year—tastes (and series I follow) apparently stay the same.

Genre 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
Children’s 7 (3%) 11 (4%) 7 (3%) 5 (2%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Fantasy 28 (10%) 30 (11%) 7 (3%) 31 (13%) 17 (9%) 11 (7%) 15 (8%) 12 (6%)
General Fiction/ Literature 21 (8%) 22 (8%) 29 (10%) 27 (11%) 17 (9%) 7 (4%) 30 (16%) 30 (14%)
Horror 1 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (.4%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Humor 4 (1%) 3 (1%) 1 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (1%) 3 (2%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 105 (38%) 107 (38%) 102 (37%) 61 (25%) 64 (34%) 62 (37%) 63 (33%) 73 (35%)
Non-Fiction 25 (9%) 22 (8%) 10 (4%) 11 (5%) 8 (4%) 4 (2%) 2 (1%) 11 (5%)
Poetry 0 (0%) 1 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Science Fiction 30 (11%) 25 (9%) 27 (10%) 37 (15%) 16 (8%) 17 (10%) 14 (7%) 11 (5%)
Steampunk 1 (0%) 3 (1%) 1 (0%) 2 (1%) 7 (4%) 3 (2%) 3 (2%) 11 (5%)
Theology/ Christian Living 34 (12%) 25 (9%) 30 (11%) 33 (14%) 42 (22%) 42 (25%) 37 (19%) 10 (5%)
Urban Fantasy 25 (9%) 29 (10%) 45 (16%) 36 (15%) 19 (10%) 20 (12%) 26 (14%) 48 (23%)
Western 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 1 (0%)

Have a great 2020, hope you find plenty of good things to read!

December 2019 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

By

On January 1, 2020

In Books, Calendar Items, Currently Reading, News/Misc.

December was a low(er) month for numbers of 26 books but 7,828 pages (or the equivalent) is nothing to sneeze at, and an average rating of 4 stars is likely my best yet!

I’m trying to not complain about how little I write (something new, I know)—but man…I did a bad job this month. But I really liked a couple of my posts more than I usually do, so there’s that. Still, I’ve got to work on my planning so I can not fall so behind.

But that’s for another day. Here’s what happened here in December.

Zombie Spaceship Wasteland (Audiobook) Thereby Hangs a Tail (Audiobook) Blue Moon
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
Friends A Cultural History Skinwalker (Audiobook) What the Dog Knows Young Readers Editionbook6
3 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
The Heart of Christ in Heaven Towards Sinners on Earth Twenty-one Truths About Love Hacked
4 Stars 5 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
The Martian (Audiobook) Food: A Love Story When We Were Vikings
5 Stars 4 Stars 3.5 Stars
Grace & Glory 46% Better Than Dave Leo & The Lightning Dragons
5 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
The Last Unicorn The Art of War Circle of the Moon (Audiobook)
3 Stars 5 Stars 4 Stars
Find Your Weigh Look Alive Twenty-Five Leviathan Wakes (Audiobook)
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
No Sweatbook22 None Greater Dreyer’s English
3 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars
The Cartel Furies of Calderon (Audiobook)
5 Stars 4 Stars


Nothing! Wrapped it all up without time to start anything new.

5 Stars 6 2 1/2 Stars 0
4 1/2 Stars 2 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 10 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 2 1 Star 0
3 Stars 6
Average = 4


Physical Books: 2 Added, 7 Read, 27 Remaining
E-Books: 4 Added, 2 Read, 28 Remaining
Audiobooks: 2 Added, 2 Read, 1 Remaining

2019 Library Love Challenge

2019 Library Love Challenge

  1. Thereby Hangs a Tail by Spencer Quinn, Jim Frangione (Audiobook)
  2. Zombie Spaceship Wasteland by Patton Oswalt (Audiobook) —(link forthcoming)
  3. Blue Moon by Lee Child
  4. What the Dog Knows Young Readers Edition by Cat Warren, Patricia J. Wynne
  5. Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks
  6. The Martian by Andy Weir, R.C. Bray (Audiobook)
  7. Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan (Audiobook)
  8. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey, Jefferson Mays (Audiobook)
  9. No Sweat by Michelle Segar —(link forthcoming)
  10. Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher, Kate Reading (Audiobook)

While I Was Reading 2019 Challenge

✔ A classic you’ve been meaning to get to: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
✔ A book mentioned in another book: The Art of War by by Sun Tzu, James Trapp (Translator)
LetsReadIndie Reading Challenge

#LetsReadIndie Reading Challenge

  1. Hacked by Duncan MacMaster
  2. 46% Better Than Dave by Alastair Puddick
  3. Leo & The Lightning Dragons by Gill White, Gilli B
  4. Find Your Weigh by Shellie Bowdoin —(link forthcoming)
  5. The Heart of Christ in Heaven Towards Sinners on Earth by Thomas Goodwin
2019 Cloak & Dagger Challenge

2019 Cloak & Dagger Challenge

  1. Hacked by Duncan MacMaster
  2. Thereby Hangs a Tail
  3. Blue Moon by Lee Child
  4. Look Alive Twenty-Five by Janet Evanovich
  5. The Cartel by Don Winslow —(link forthcoming)
Humor Reading Challenge 2019

Humor Reading Challenge 2019

  1. 46% Better Than Dave by Alastair Puddick
  2. Zombie Spaceship Wasteland by Patton Oswalt —(link forthcoming)
  3. Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan (Audiobook)
2019 Cloud of Witnesses Reading Challenge

2019 Cloud of Witnesses Reading Challenge

  1. The Heart of Christ in Heaven Towards Sinners on Earth by Thomas Goodwin
  2. Grace and Glory by Geerhardus Vos

How was your month?

Twenty-one Thoughts About Twenty-one Truths About Love by Matthew Dicks

By

On December 31, 2019

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature

Twenty-one Truths About Love

Twenty-one Truths About Love

by Matthew Dicks

Hardcover, 352pg.
St. Martin’s Press, 2019

Read: December 5-9, 2019
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

NOVEMBER 4
8:10 AM

5 Problems with Lying
1. We lie most often to the people we love.
2. There is no greater shame than getting caught in a lie.
3. A lie often requires additional lies, making it impossible to ever come clean.
4. Liars are the worst human beings.
5. Lies always cover up the worst parts of you.

NOVEMBER 4
8:40 AM

How liars with the best intentions are like the owners of every iteration of Jurassic Park
They never set out to hurt anyone.
They operate with enormous hubris.
Denial both perpetuates and intensifies the problem.
The situation inevitably gets worse and worse as time goes by.
The end is never pretty.

1. Yes, that’s how this entire book is written.

2. No, it doesn’t get old or tiresome or start to feel overused. In fact, you’ll probably end up wishing you could read more books written like this.

3. But you’ll know if you did, they’d feel like cheap rip-offs of this great idea.

4. Some time back Daniel Mayrock’s therapist wanted him to keep a journal, making lists about his life/likes/thoughts was the compromise they reached. Now, this is how he processes things in his life, tracks ideas, and even occasionally plans things (including incredibly stupid things that even he realizes that he shouldn’t be planning).

5. A year ago, Daniel quit his job as a teacher to open a bookstore.

6. The bookstore is struggling, and he’s losing money

7. The lying that he’s focused on in that quotation above (and throughout the book) is primarily focused on that—Daniel’s lying to his wife to the extent she thinks they’re turning a profit

8. Other things that Daniel lies to Jill about include: his interest in/preparedness for having a baby (not just about the financial strain this would be, but that’s a big chunk of it); and the amount of jealousy he has toward his wife’s first husband, who died young.

9. The book contains the cutest authorial cameo this side of the stand-alone novels that Brad Parks has been putting out lately.

10. This guy is so addicted to Little Debbie Snack Cakes, I’m beginning to wonder if the frosting is laced with nicotine.

11. We don’t get to know Jill very well, because this book is about what’s going on in Daniel’s mind, with a focus on his issues, not the people around him. We know she has trouble with the principal at her school, that she really wants a baby, is still in love with her dead husband—and is apparently crazy about Daniel (not that he’s great at seeing it).

12. The other big thing we learn about her is that she is really bad at putting away clothing after it’s been laundered.

13. I mentioned earlier that Daniel plans something incredibly stupid, with the goal of helping finances. It is incredibly stupid, but along the way, he unintentionally makes a friend. My sole complaint with this book is that we don’t get to spend more time with this friend. Thankfully, we get enough to enjoy him.

14. I spent a lot of time thinking this plan was a fantasy/daydream kind of thing that he was indulging in—and liked it. When I realized (later than I should have) that Daniel was serious about it, I worried that this would ruin the book for me. It didn’t, so I’m glad I didn’t give up on it.

15. You’d think that given the unique way this book is written in that you’d speed through it in an afternoon.

16. You’d be wrong—it’ll take you about as long as any other 350-page book would take to read. You end up having to think a little bit more about the words than usual to piece together the story from the snippets given in the lists. (this is not a complaint, it’s an observation)

17. This is one of the funniest books I’ve read this year. But it’s not all about the laughs—there’s brutal honesty, there’s the inherent ugliness of jealousy, the despair of hopelessness, Daniel’s self-loathing at lying to his wife . . . Daniel’s a great, flawed, human character that you can’t help but root for (including rooting for him addressing some obvious character flaws).

18. I remember in a Creative Writing Class in College spending about 40 minutes going over the rules/strategies involved in using lists in fiction. I’m pretty sure that Dicks breaks half of them—and the book is better for it. I’d love to discuss this book with that instructor. (Unlike a lot of what I read, I can see her enjoying this book and appreciating the craft). The execution is perfect—and it’s easy to tell that, if it wasn’t this would’ve been a disaster of a novel.

19. No, I did not sit in my car weeping while reading the end of this book.

20. If the eponymous title was Thirty-Six Truths . . . I might have. I probably would have. (It might have only taken 25 truths)

21. I’ve been telling myself for years that I needed to pick up another Matthew Dicks novel, and I’m so glad that I did and that it was this one. It’s one of my favorite reads of 2019.

5 Stars2019 Library Love Challenge

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Look Alive Twenty-Five by Janet Evanovich: A local rock star with ambition, a shoplifter, and a mysterious deli fill Stephanie Plum’s 25th novel.

By

On December 30, 2019

In Fiction, Janet Evanovich, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Stephanie Plum

Look Alive Twenty-Five

Look Alive Twenty-Five

by Janet Evanovich
Series: Stephanie Plum, #25

Mass Market Paperback, 306 pg.
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2019

Read: December 25, 2019


Someone that Vincent Plum Bail Bonds had put up the bail for skipped town, and he’d put up his deli as collateral. Vincent’s father-in-law (the owner of the Bail Bonds) has decided he wants to diversify, so he’s hanging onto it. The catch is, the last several managers have disappeared while working. So Vinnie’s decided that 1. Stephanie is the new manager; 2. She needs to find out what’s going on to get the other manager’s kidnapped/killed/whatever; 3. She can take care of her bond enforcement job during the off hours.

That’s pretty much all you need to know. Stephanie’s running a strange little deli with Lulu as the assistant manager/sandwich guru. There are three other employees there who really know what they’re doing (mostly doing drugs while toiling away at a minimum wage job). Hijinks ensue—her car is stolen, she tracks down a couple of skips, she looks into the disappearances (with help from Joe Morelli and Ranger), and things get weird at the deli (particularly due to Lulu, who becomes a social media sensation of the moment).

I must say that Stephanie seems more competent at this gig than a lot of the other jobs she’s held over the course of this series—either in an undercover assignment or because she was trying to do something other than bond enforcement. If it wasn’t for the distraction of the investigation (and Lulu), she probably could’ve made a decent go of it and changed the series for good. It was pleasant to see her not horrible at something.

We get a little bit of another of Stephanie’s supernatural acquaintances, Gerwulf Grimoire (Wulf), here, but in such a small amount that I’m really not sure why Evanovich bothered. That said, if she was determined to use Wulf, this is precisely as much as she should.

I still don’t get what Stephanie sees in Joe, or what Ranger sees in Stephanie, or why Joe or Ranger let this stupid triangle continue. But I’m at peace with that—I’ll never get it, and Evanovich will never change it, why fight it?

If this had been part of any other story, I’d say the solution stretches credulity too far. But as it’s a Plum novel, I really don’t think I can. Honestly, it was only as I was gathering wool a couple of days later that I gave it any thought.

One last thing: I’d read the blurb for Twisted Twenty-Six a few weeks earlier, and was looking forward to reading it more than I have since the mid-teens (I’m guessing). So, it turns out that I was already primed for the near cliff-hanger last couple of pages. I don’t feel too bad saying that because it really doesn’t have much to do with this novel (although events in it do tie-in), but it’s something I have to talk about because I don’t remember Evanovich doing this in the previous twenty-four novels.* Evanovich doing anything new at this point is something to note and celebrate.

* Feel free to correct me in the comments.

This wasn’t anything special, but there wasn’t anything annoying about it, either. Which sets it apart from the last handful. Evanovich ticked all the boxes she needed to; got Stephanie into a new situation and had her handle it in a non-disastrous way; and capped the book off with something new. I can’t imagine Evanovich will return to the comedic heights of the early series—and I imagine even less that she feels any compulsion to do so. I just hope for a reliable level of moderate entertainment, and that’s what she delivered. It’s a decent time, but if you’re new to Plum—go back to One for the Money and immerse yourself in the first dozen or so of these before taking the plunge into the higher numbers.

3 Stars

2019 Cloak & Dagger Challenge

Reformed Dogmatics (5 vols.) by Geerhardus Vos, Richard B. Gaffin Jr.: A Twentieth-Century Classic for Heart and Mind Alike

By

On December 29, 2019

In Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

This is going to be a record-setting header section here, get your scrolling finger ready..
—

Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 1: Theology Proper

Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 1: Theology Proper

by Geerhardus Vos, Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. (Translator and Editor)
Hardcover, 256 pg.
Lexham Press, 2012
Read: January 6-February 17, 2019
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!
Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 2: Anthropology

Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 2: Anthropology

by Geerhardus Vos, Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. (Translator and Editor)
Hardcover, 176 pg.
Lexham Press, 2013
Read: February 24-March 31, 2019
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!
Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 3: Christology

Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 3: Christology

by Geerhardus Vos, Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. (Translator and Editor)
Hardcover, 288 pg.
Lexham Press, 2012
Read: April 7-June 23, 2019
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!
Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 4: Soteriology

Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 4: Soteriology

by Geerhardus Vos, Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. (Translator and Editor)
Hardcover, 272 pg.
Lexham Press, 2012
Read: June 30-August 25, 2019
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!
Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 5: Ecclesiology, the Means of Grace, Eschatology

Reformed Dogmatics, Volume 5: Ecclesiology, the Means of Grace, Eschatology

by Geerhardus Vos, Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. (Translator and Editor)
Hardcover, 352 pg.
Lexham Press, 2016
Read: September 1-November 24, 2019
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!


Why am I talking about this as a set instead of individual volumes? That’s a decent question, but I guessed when I finished Volume 1 that I’d end up saying the same things each time. And now looking back on the set, I think I agree. Sure, I could’ve talked some in some more detail about each one, but I’m not sure there’d have been a lot of profit in that for anyone reading this.

Honestly, what I should do here is just post a link to Lane Tipton’s review/article, Vos’s Reformed Dogmatics and be done with it. Lipton says in two paragraphs, what I would flail around for 10-12 paragraphs to say:

Richard B. Gaffin Jr.’s editorial oversight of the translation of Geerhardus Vos’s Gereformeerde Dogmatiek has brought to light yet another theological treasure from perhaps the finest Reformed theologian since Calvin. The sustained depth of penetration of the traditional loci of systematic theological discussion is coupled with the warmth of a theological reflection pursued in vital communion with the absolute, triune God through Spirit-gifted, faith-union with Christ. This renders it ideal for both seminary instruction and devotional reading.

On the one side, Vos’s work displays the proper, and it seems to me necessary, task of retrieving creedal doctrine in the preservation of Christian theology. On the other side, his work displays the proper, and it seems to me equally necessary, task of reforming that creedal doctrine in the formulation of a confessionally constructive, Reformed theology, tethered to its preceding creedal and confessional expressions, yet advancing organically beyond both, through biblical and systematic theological methods of interpreting the inerrant Scriptures. Vos not only expounds orthodox creedal theology in a faithful way, but, within the boundaries of confessionally Reformed theology, he advances that confessional theology with unparalleled insight. His work presents us with an orthodox, yet constructive, expression of the truth of the Scriptures that faithfully serves to instruct the church in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But just pointing to (and/or reposting) Tipton would be cheating, albeit efficient. So let’s see what I can say.

This was my big project read for the year and was so worth it. As Tipton said, it’s great devotional reading—and you even learn a little bit. Okay, that’s a gross understatement, you can learn a great deal from these (relatively) slim volumes.

Vos displays a fantastic economy of words here—especially if you contrast his Dogmatics with, say, Bavinck. He’s basically the Hemingway of Reformed Theology. There are no wasted words here, he says everything he needs to say and you rarely say to yourself, “I wished he’d covered something more thoroughly.” The segment on Individual Eschatology, however, works as an example of something he could’ve done more with—if you ignore his addressing the errors like purgatory, soul sleep, and annihilation, there’s practically nothing there.

The downside to his style and vocabulary is, like Hemingway, you can look at his writing and think “oh, this is simple and basic” and read too quickly and without reflection. This is a giant mistake. Vos is subtle. He’s profound. He’s also, thankfully, clear. You read this carefully and you’ll benefit greatly.

As the titles of the individual volumes suggest, he covers the major loci, and not much else. But he covers everything you’d need to cover in those, the topics covered are:

bullet The Knowability of God
bullet Names, Being, and Attributes of God
bullet The Trinity
bullet Of God’s Decrees in General
bullet The Doctrine of Predestination
bullet Creation
bullet Providence
bullet The Nature of Man
bullet Sin
bullet The Covenant of Grace		 bullet Names of Christ
bullet Person and Natures of Christ
bullet Offices of Christ
bullet States of Christ
bullet The Ordo Salutis
bullet Regeneration and Calling
bullet Conversion
bullet Faith
bullet Justification
bullet Sanctification		 bullet The Doctrine of the Church
bullet Essence of the Church
bullet Organization, Discipline, Offices of the Church
bullet The Means of Grace
bullet Word and Sacraments
bullet Baptism
bullet The Lord’s Supper
bullet Eschatology: The Doctrine of Last Things
bullet Individual Eschatology
bullet General Eschatology

Which looks like a lot for so few pages, but Vos somehow pulls it off.

I expected that I’d have a favorite volume or two out of the set, but I really didn’t. There were sections within each I found more interesting/useful to me, but I am willing to bet that your list would vary from mine. Except maybe the section on the covenants in Volume 2, I can’t imagine there’s anything else in that one nearly as interesting to anyone. Not that the rest of the volume is lacking or uninteresting, it’s just that it’s so good.

The book is clearly written for his Dutch-speaking students in Michigan, focusing on that Church Order and controversies in contemporary Holland. So there are bits and pieces of it that will seem awfully foreign to those of us not in those circles. But even those parts have something we can profit from if we don’t get too bogged down in trying to suss out names/positions/etc.

Gaffin does provide the occasional footnote to explain the text or translation choice, but he’s largely silent, letting Vos speak for himself. I wouldn’t have minded a little more commentary, but honestly, it wasn’t necessary (but maybe was helpful).

I’m glad I read this and will be returning to it in years to come, both for reference and re-reading. I’m also glad that I found an electronic copy on sale over a year ago, so I can keep it on my phone for easy reference. One side-benefit of his pithiness is that you can do a quick check on the high points while having a conversation (something you can’t do so easily with Hodge, Turretin or Bavinck). Scholarly, yet approachable, simple and profound—oh, and piously orthodox–I really can’t recommend it highly enough.

5 Stars

2019 Cloud of Witnesses Reading Challenge
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase from one, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

Saturday Miscellany—12/28/19

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On December 28, 2019

In Books, News/Misc.

No time for an intro this week—too much to read before Jan. 31 to bother rambling on. (mostly a joke)

Here are the odds ‘n ends over the week about books and reading that caught my eye. You’ve probably seen some/most/all of them, but just in case:

    A Book-ish Related Podcast Episode you might want to give a listen to:

  • Under a Pile of Books’ Episode 43 – SPECIAL EPISODE: Top Coverart of 2019—Calvin Parks attempts (and largely succeeds) to convey his favorite bits of cover art on an audio podcast. This is a heckuva feat.

Lastly, I’d like to say hi and extend a warm welcome to Mental Health •Lifestyle •Finance, Kelly Curtis, and brainyjaney (also, welcome to the weird world of book blogging) for following the blog this week. Don’t be a stranger, and use that comment box, would you?

2019 While I Was Reading Challenge

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On December 27, 2019

In News/Misc., While I Was Reading 2018 Challenge

I finished this challenge last week and posted about the last couple of items this week (the other reading challenges I participated in this year were just “how many of X can you read?”, so there’s no real endpoint). Like last year, I thought it’d be no trouble whatsoever to get this done, and I’d just finish this by reading what I’d normally read. I was almost right. But not really.

I struggled to find one in a country I wanted to visit, well, just one, anyway–but Ireland (preferably Ronan Boyle’s Ireland, if it only existed) did the trick. I purchased another book for the “one word title” item, but didn’t find the time for it. Thankfully, Jacka’s books are always one word, so I ticked off that box anyway. I’d picked the last two books months ago, but struggled to find time for them. It all worked, it was nice to have something to force me to read some of these and

I’m doing this challenge again next year, I like the way that Romana Mead makes me think a little differently about what I choose to read—and because I enjoy reading some of the discussion on Facebook between participants. Am hoping I don’t have to race to get this finished next year, but . . . I think I know better.

Here’s my official list:

While I Was Reading 2019 Challenge

✔ A book with a curse word in the title: The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t with Her Mind by Jackson Ford
✔ A memoir or biography of a favorite celebrity: Riding the Elephant by Craig Ferguson
✔ An essay collection: Death Valley Superstars by Duke Haney
✔ A book with a one word title: Fallen by Benedict Jacka
✔ A classic you’ve been meaning to get to: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
✔ A book written by a comedian: Riding the Elephant by Craig Ferguson
✔ A book set in a country you’d like to visit: Ronan Boyle and the Bridge of Riddles by Thomas Lennon, John Hendrix
✔ A book by an author you’ve never read before: Flight of the Fox by Gray Basnight
✔ A book recommended by someone you trust: An Accidental Death (Audiobook) by Peter Grainger, Gildart Jackson
✔ A book with your favorite animal on the cover or in the title: Heart of Barkness by Spencer Quinn
✔ A book mentioned in another book: The Art of War by by Sun Tzu, James Trapp (Translator)
✔ Read a book with “how to” in the title: How to Kill Friends and Implicate People by Jay Stringer

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle: A Beautifully Written Fairy Tale that Really Didn’t Do Anything For Me

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On December 27, 2019

In Fiction

The Last Unicorn

The Last Unicorn

by Peter S. Beagle

Paperback, 294 pg.
ROC, 1991 (originally published 1968)

Read: December 13-18, 2019

Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

The true secret in being a hero lies in knowing the order of things. The swineherd cannot already be wed to the princess when he embarks on his adventures, nor can the boy knock on the witch’s door when she is already away on vacation. The wicked uncle cannot be found out and foiled before he does something wicked. Things must happen when it is time for them to happen. Quests may not simply be abandoned; prophecies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit; unicorns may go unrescued for a very long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story.

This is the tale of a Unicorn—quite possibly the last in the world (hence the title). On some random day, she discovers that she might be the last of her kind, and so leaves her forest to go throughout the world, searching for others of her kind.

She falls into some trouble after a while, and is helped out by a magician she comes across who ends up traveling with her, as well as a woman associated with a band of outlaws who is looking to get away from them. They travel until they find the cause of the disappearing unicorns and seek to return them to the world.

This is some of the best prose that I read this year. The language is just beautiful. There were several times I had to stop and reread a sentence/paragraph/passage three or four times because it was so good. More than once, I had to force myself to move on or I’d never have made any progress in the book.

That little quotation at the beginning is just a taste of the meta-commentary on fairy tales (specifically) or story (in general) scattered throughout the book. I laughed a lot at some of them, and thought all were very thought-provoking. It’s like a more ambitious <b>The Princess Bride</b> in this regard (probably others, too, now that I say it, but I don’t have time to tease this idea out).

I dug the characters—Schmendrick the Magician (the world’s worst) was wonderful. Molly Grue is an inspired creation, and the kind of character more people need to write. And, of course, the Unicorn herself…

There were several scenes that were just delightful—unique, entertaining. When not unique, Beagle is playing with, twisting, riffing on fantasy/fairy tale mainstays.

But when you put them all together . . . I just didn’t see the point. A combination of these characters, these scenes, and the meta material alone should’ve been a home-run for me. Throw in that language? I should be making plans to re-read it regularly. But somehow, the whole ended up less than the sum of its parts. I just didn’t care about any of it, it never connected to me. I spent so much time trying to figure out why that was the case—and I got nowhere. I’m going to have to try in a couple of years again, see if it was just bad timing or something.

This is one of those books that everyone loves—and as far as I can tell, there’s plenty of reason to love it. Sadly, I didn’t. If you haven’t read this yet, you probably should—I just hope it works out better for you.

3 Stars

✔ A classic you’ve been meaning to get to

This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase from it, I will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. As always, opinions are my own.

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