Category: In Medias Res Page 1 of 2

The Existence and Attributes of God by Shephen Charnock, edited by Mark Jones: This Time-Honored Classic Matches Its Reputation

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On January 14, 2024

In In Medias Res, Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

I’m not sure I have much to say now that I didn’t say after I finished volume 1 back in June, but I figure I should give it a shot.

The Existence and Attributes of GodThe Existence and Attributes of God: Updated and Unabridged

by Stephen Charnock, edited by Mark Jones

DETAILS:
Publisher: Crossway
Publication Date: October 18, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 1,615 pg.
Read Date: January 1-December 31, 202323
Buy from Bookshop.org Support Indie Bookstores

What’s The Existence and Attributes of God?

Crossway has given the world a gift by publishing an unabridged edition of Charnock’s classic work on God’s attributes. Over 14 Discourses (that really could be published individually as books), Charnock describes some of God’s attributes. He starts with almost 100 pages on God’s existence—mostly drawing on the so-called “Classical” proofs, then he moves on to eleven attributes of God, with two bonus discourses on related practical matters.

The topics in the first volume were God’s Existence (and practical atheism), God’s Being a Spirit (and spiritual worship), God’s Eternity, Immutability, Omnipresence, and Knowledge. Volume Two covers His Wisdom, Power, Holiness, Goodness, Dominion, and Patience. No easy reading there (but the effort is more than worth it).

Some (but not all) of the language has been updated (there’ve been some footnotes added to help explain the bits that haven’t been), punctuation has been modernized, as have paragraph sizes (maybe sentence length, too). Jones cleaned up some of the section numbers and whatnot, too.

Jones has also provided footnotes showing more of Charnock’s citations than the original manuscripts did, demonstrating the wide range of sources he drew from. The nicest addition to this edition from Jones, however, (unless you’re a student or someone wanting to plunge deep into his citations) are the summaries of each discourse, helping the reader to know what they’re in for and what to keep an eye out for.

So, What Did I Think About The Existence and Attributes of God?

This is just a great work—it’s not the easiest read in the world, but it’s not that bad, either. Charnock’s on the accessible end of the Puritan spectrum. (Jones’ editorial work no doubt helped a bit with that).

I wasn’t crazy about the two practical discourses—Discourse 2: On Practical Atheism and Discourse 4: On Spiritual Worship. Which were offshoots of Discourse 1: On God’s Existence and Discourse 3: On God’s Being a Spirit. Not that there was anything wrong with them or that I didn’t benefit from the experience of reading them—I absolutely did. But they’re not what I came for, I was reading for explorations of God’s attributes and/or existence. Now, if each discourse had a practical follow-up, I wouldn’t be writing this paragraph. But these two outliers just seemed out of place.

Charnock does a fantastic job explaining these attributes. I’ve read a handful of works (largely shaped by him) in the last few years on these ideas—and I still learned something from each chapter, rather somethings.

Obviously, this isn’t a definitive, exhaustive work—it cannot be (and would be blasphemous to suggest otherwise). But when you’re in the middle of a chapter, it’d be easy to think it is. Not just because of the depth he goes into on each topic, but the angles he approaches it from. In the middle of the Discourse on God’s Knowledge, I was astounded, for example, by how many different ways he talked about it.

Now that I’m looking back over the whole first volume, the chapter on God’s eternity is the one that stands out as the high point. The discourses on God’s Wisdom and Goodness were the standouts for me in Volume Two. But they’re all beneficial (although the practical discourses, and the final one, “On God’s Patience” didn’t seem to pack the same punch as the rest) both in terms of didactic and doxological value.

It’s easy to see why this work has stood the test of time and can’t imagine anything in the 21st Century topping it (maybe someone will get their act together in the 22nd). Most highly recommended.

5 Stars

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, the opinions expressed are my own.

In Media Res: The Existence and Attributes of God by Shephen Charnock, edited by Mark Jones

By

On June 18, 2023

In In Medias Res, Non-Fiction, Theology/Christian Living

The Existence and Attributes of GodThe Existence and Attributes of God: Updated and Unabridged

by Stephen Charnock, edited by Mark Jones

DETAILS:
Publisher: Crossway
Publication Date: October 18, 2022
Format: Hardcover
Length: 1,615 pg.
Buy from Bookshop.org Support Indie Bookstores

What’s The Existence and Attributes of God?

Crossway has given the world a gift by publishing an unabridged edition of Charnock’s classic work on God’s attributes. Over 14 Discourses (that really could be published individually as books), Charnock describes some of God’s attributes. He starts with almost 100 pages on God’s existence—mostly drawing on the so-called “Classical” proofs, then he moves on to eleven attributes of God, with two bonus discourses on related practical matters.

Some (but not all) of the language has been updated (there’ve been some footnotes added to help explain the bits that haven’t been), punctuation has been modernized, as have paragraph sizes (maybe sentence length, too). Jones cleaned up some of the section numbers and whatnot, too.

Jones has also provided footnotes showing more of Charnock’s citations than the original manuscripts did, demonstrating the wide range of sources he drew from. The nicest addition to this edition from Jones, however, (unless you’re a student or someone wanting to plunge deep into his citations) are the summaries of each discourse, helping the reader to know what they’re in for and what to keep an eye out for.

So, What Am I Thinking About The Existence and Attributes of God?

This is just a great work—it’s not the easiest read in the world, but it’s not that bad, either. Charnock’s on the accessible end of the Puritan spectrum. (Jones’ editorial work no doubt helped a bit with that).

I wasn’t crazy about the two practical discourses—Discourse 2: On Practical Atheism and Discourse 4: On Spiritual Worship. Which were offshoots of Discourse 1: On God’s Existence and Discourse 3: On God’s Being a Spirit. Not that there was anything wrong with them or that I didn’t benefit from the experience of reading them—I absolutely did. But they’re not what I came for, I was reading for explorations of God’s attributes and/or existence. Now, if each discourse had a practical follow-up, I wouldn’t be writing this paragraph. But these two outliers just seemed out of place.

Charnock does a fantastic job explaining these attributes. I’ve read a handful of works (largely shaped by him) in the last few years on these ideas—and I still learned something from each chapter, rather somethings.

Obviously, this isn’t a definitive, exhaustive work—it cannot be (and would be blasphemous to suggest otherwise). But when you’re in the middle of a chapter, it’d be easy to think it is. Not just because of the depth he goes into on each topic, but the angles he approaches it from. In the middle of the Discourse on God’s Knowledge, I was astounded, for example, by how many different ways he talked about it. Now that I’m looking back over the whole first volume, the chapter on God’s eternity is the one that stands out as the high point.

Ask me in a month, and I’m sure I’ll say something else.

So far, I’ve read about God’s Existence (and practical atheism), God’s Being a Spirit (and spiritual worship), God’s Eternity, Immutability, Omnipresence, and Knowledge. Coming up are discourses on His Wisdom, Power, Holiness, Goodness, Dominion, and Patience.

I’m looking forward to diving in. It’s easy to see why this work has stood the test of time and can’t imagine anything in the 21st Century topping it (maybe someone will get their act together in the 22nd).

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, the opinions expressed are my own.

In Medias Res: A Man With One of Those Faces by Caimh McDonnell, Morgan C. Jones (Narrator)

By

On May 14, 2021

In Currently Reading, Fiction, In Medias Res, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

As the title implies, I’m in the middle of this book, so this is not a review, just some thoughts mid-way through.

A Man With One of Those Faces
A Man With One of Those Faces

by Caimh McDonnell, Morgan C. Jones (Narrator)

Book Blurb:

The first time somebody tried to kill him was an accident.

The second time was deliberate.

Now Paul Mulchrone finds himself on the run with nobody to turn to except a nurse who has read one-too-many crime novels and a renegade copper with a penchant for violence. Together they must solve one of the most notorious crimes in Irish history…

…or else they’ll be history.

I’m at the 48% mark—and this is just ridiculously fun. A great mix of dark humor, some silly humor, gritty crime drama, some fascinating characters, and three very different kinds of police detectives.

For me, this experience has been like the first time I read one of Jay Stringer’s Sam Ireland books—Ways to Die in Glasgow

I get the impression that Detective Bunny McGarry is who I’m supposed to be the most focused on, but he rankles me. Poor, incredibly ordinary-looking, Paul Mulchrone and the nurse, Brigit Conroy, who got him into this mess are who I’m the most invested in. But the DI Jimmy Stewart is the star of this book—I could listen/read to a five-book series about him starting tomorrow.

I can’t think of a way to sum up the plot or even speculate about what’s going to happen next—like I normally do in these posts. I just can tell that whatever happens next that I’m going to have a blast listening to it, and I’m prepared for just about anything to happen.

A Beginning At The End by Mike Chen: Love, Uh, Finds a Way in this Optimistic Dystopian Novel

By

On February 10, 2020

In Fiction, In Medias Res, Mike Chen, Science Fiction

A Beginning At The End

A Beginning At The End

by Mike Chen

Hardcover, 391 pg.
Mira Books, 2020

Read: January 28-February 4, 2020
Grab a copy from your local indie bookstore!

“Mommy’s not coming home.”

“No! Mama now! Want Mama!” Desperation had taken over the child’s face, eyes pooling With the Whiplash turn of raw emotions. She tossed the plastic spoon across the prison-cell-turned-living-space, her voice ramping up in volume and intensity. His arms wrapped around his daughter, even though she punched at his thigh in frustration; he held her as if she was the last thing in the world.

Rob blinked as the realization came to him. She was.

His home, his old life was gone. His parents and brother, killed by MGS. Their friends, their community, scattered and ravaged. And now Elena gone too.

Sunny was all he had left.

Well, I really painted myself into a corner with my In Medias Res post about this book a couple of weeks ago. I’m not sure what else there is to say! Oops.

I was more right than I was wrong about where Chen was taking some of the story—but while I had the destination correct the route he took totally caught me off-guard (and it was so good!). The parts of the story I was wrong about, however. I could not have been further off the mark if I’d tried. Both of those results are so satisfying to me, Chen nailed the nuts and bolts bits of plotting—conclusions that seem right and expected (and earned) while being very unexpected.

While Chen knows how to plot a book, characters are his strength (see also Here and Now and Then).
I could absolutely see where Moira was coming from and understood (and applauded) what she did to change her life. I felt like I got Krista’s pain and the way she reacted to her mother and uncle made sense to me (I’m not sure she was fair to her college boyfriend, even if he should’ve known better than to do what he did). And Sunny should win over even the most jaded reader. But Rob? The way Chen wrote him made me empathize with Rob to a degree that I wasn’t prepared for. That sentence I quoted above, “She was,” just about broke me.

I assume that other readers will gravitate to other characters (and Moira is probably my favorite in the novel), and they should. But Rob is going to stick around in my subconscious for a while.

All of this happens against the backdrop of a world trying to recover from a global pandemic that wiped out an unimaginable number of people. Sure, other apocalyptic scenarios seem worse (zombies, whatever lead to Panem, the First-through-Fifth Waves, etc.)—but what makes this scenario chilling is just how possible it really seems. And I’m not just saying that with one of my sister’s kids dealing with being quarantined in Asia around the time I read this.

Nevertheless, Chen’s novel is optimistic. Human beings, human society, human families prevail. Like Dr. Ian Malcolm famously said, “Life, Uh, Finds a Way.” So does humanity in Chen’s world.

Like all good Science Fiction, this is more about our present than it is our future. In a survivor’s group, Rob has a lot to say about living in fear with the source of the past hanging over is and letting the two dictate our lives. Without trying I could think of a dozen ways that could be applied to pre-apocalyptic Americans (who knows how large the number would be with some effort).

There’s more I feel like I should say, if only just to flesh out some of what I’ve put down—but at this point, I think I’ve said enough about this book over the two posts, so I’m going to stop here (so much for that corner I painted myself into). I want to do 400-600 words on the title alone (many of which would be devoted to the indefinite article).

A Beginning at The End is the kind of SF that should appeal to SF readers. It’s the kind of SF that should make non-SF readers (including those antagonistic to genre fiction) think there’s something to the genre after all. Because this isn’t “just” a SF novel. It’s a novel about humans being very human, with hopes, fears, loves, joys, sorrows, failures, and successes—it just happens to be set in a post-apocalyptic future. Chen’s first novel was among the best I read in 2019. I fully expect that this will be among the best I read in 2020. I’m going to jump on whatever Chen has coming in 2021 without bothering to note the title or even skim the blurb. He’s earned an auto-read from me for at least the next two novels.

4 1/2 Stars

2020 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.

January 2020 in Retrospect: What I Read/Listened to/Wrote About

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On February 1, 2020

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

January in sum: 17 books read, 4,453+ pages (two books—1 audio, 1 e-ARC—don’t have that information available), with an average of 3.8 rating (4 5-star reads!!). I’d have preferred a few more books in general and the ratio between print and audio favors audiobooks more than I’d like, but work’s been so heavy I haven’t been able to read as much (and I can listen while I work most of the time), that trend may continue for the next couple of months. Not going to complain (too much)…probably.

As per usual, I didn’t write quite as many posts as I wanted to, particularly the review-ish kind. But adding a section about non-review-ish posts to this wrap-up makes me feel a lot more productive because I don’t normally think of those posts when I look back at the month. So that’s a cool thing (although most months won’t be as filled with them, I realize).

Anyway, here’s what happened here in the first month of 2020:
Books Read

The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction The Bookish Life of Nina Hill Audiobook Junkyard Cats
5 Stars 5 Stars 3 Stars
Not Dressed The Tattooed Potato and Other Clues Come Tumbling Down
4 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 Stars
A Plague of Giants Audiobook Deep Dark Night Wizard Ring
5 Stars 4 1/2 Stars 2 Stars
Be Frank With Me Operation Large Scotch: O.L.S. Lost Hills
3.5 Stars 1 Star 4 1/2 Stars
Stone Cold Magic The Godwulf Manuscript The Winter Long Audiobook
3.5 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars
The White Man's Guide to White Male Writers of the Western Canon Winterkill
3 Stars 3.5 Stars

Still Reading

Tom Jones Original Cover Institutes of Christian Religion vol 1 The Identity and Attributes of God
A Beginning At The End Bloody Acquisitions

Ratings

5 Stars 4 2 1/2 Stars 0
4 1/2 Stars 2 2 Stars 1
4 Stars 3 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 4 1 Star 1
3 Stars 1
Average = 3.8

TBR Pile
Mt TBR January 20

Breakdowns
“Traditionally” Published: 12
Self-/Independent Published: 5

Genre This Month Year to Date
Children’s 1 (5%) 11 (5%)
Fantasy 3 (16%) 3 (16%)
General Fiction/ Literature 3 (16%) 3 (16%)
Horror 1 (0%) 0 (0%)
Humor 1 (5%) 1 (5%)
Mystery/ Suspense/ Thriller 6 (32%) 6 (32%)
Non-Fiction 1 (5%) 1 (5%)
Science Fiction 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Steampunk 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Theology/ Christian Living 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
Urban Fantasy 4 (21%) 4 (21%)
Western 0 (0%) 0 (0%)

Review-ish Things Posted

Other Things I Wroteotherwriting
Other than the Saturday Miscellanies (5th, 11th, and 18th), I also posted:

How was your month?

In Medias Res: A Beginning At The End by Mike Chen

By

On January 30, 2020

In Currently Reading, Fiction, In Medias Res, Mike Chen, Science Fiction

As the title implies, I’m in the middle of this book, so this is not a review, just some thoughts mid-way through.

—–

A Beginning At The End
A Beginning At The End

by Mike Chen

Book Blurb:

Six years after a global pandemic wiped out most of the planet’s population, the survivors are rebuilding the country, split between self-governing cities, hippie communes and wasteland gangs.

In postapocalyptic San Francisco, former pop star Moira has created a new identity to finally escape her past—until her domineering father launches a sweeping public search to track her down. Desperate for a fresh start herself, jaded event planner Krista navigates the world on behalf of those too traumatized to go outside, determined to help everyone move on—even if they don’t want to. Rob survived the catastrophe with his daughter, Sunny, but lost his wife. When strict government rules threaten to separate parent and child, Rob needs to prove himself worthy in the city’s eyes by connecting with people again.

Krista, Moira, Rob and Sunny are brought together by circumstance, and their lives begin to twine together. But when reports of another outbreak throw the fragile society into panic, the friends are forced to finally face everything that came before—and everything they still stand to lose. Because sometimes having one person is enough to keep the world going.

I’m a couple of chapters shy of the halfway point, but I’m pretty excited about this book and want to get something out there about it—also, I have to take a break because I forgot about a book tour I have next week, and I really should read that book first.

So, like last year’s Here and Now and Then, Chen uses SF trappings to tell the kind of story that you don’t normally associate with Science Fiction (especially if you’re an anti-genre fiction snob).

I’m a chapter or two past a Speed Dating scene. On the one hand, it’s like every other Speed Dating scene you’ve seen from TV or the movies and/or read before. On the other hand, this is after most of the population of the earth is gone and people are trying to rebuild a facsimile of their lives in the midst of tragedy, so you’ve got the awkwardness, the insanity of the whole speed dating thing, and people dealing with unspeakable trauma at the same time. Chen makes this feel incredibly familiar and incredibly alien (yet relatable) at the same time, mildly humorous and miserable, tinged with hope and despair. And that’s just one scene. The book is full of stuff like this.

At its core (I think), this is a novel about how our past defines us, even after the apocalypse. Two characters here want to redefine themselves from the pre-pandemic lives, and somehow still can’t (at least not totally). Two characters need to redefine themselves from their post-pandemic past, and can’t seem to find the will to. It’ll take no time at all before you’re invested in these characters—you’ll want what the former two want, and hope that the latter two can somehow make things work.

Also, you’ll find you have some pretty strong feelings about Moira’s father. And they won’t be at all positive. But that’s all I’m going to say about that.

I have a few ideas where the stories are going/may end up, yet I’m reasonably certain that Chen’s ideas are better. Regardless, these are all building toward a satisfying pay-off or three. Maybe late next week I’ll have a chance to talk about this more, but for now, let me say I’m digging this and expect that about 80% of the people who read this blog on a semi-regular basis will, too.

Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner: This novel is as Troubled as the Eponym

By

On November 5, 2019

In Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, In Medias Res

Fleishman is in Trouble

Fleishman is in Trouble

by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

Hardcover, 373 pg.
Random House, 2019

Read: October 22-23, 2019

Hr, which was what his preferred dating app was called, was now his first-thing-in-the-morning check. It had replaced Facebook, since when he looked at Facebook, he became despondent and overwhelmed by the number of people he hadn’t yet told about his divorce. But Facebook was also a landscape of roads not taken and moments of bliss, real or staged, that he couldn’t bear. The marriages that seemed plain and the posts that seemed incidental and not pointed, because they telegraphed not an aggressively great status in life but a just-fine one, those were the ones that left him clutching his heart. Toby hadn’t dreamed of great and transcendent things for his marriage. He had parents. He wasn’t an idiot. He just wanted regular, silly things in life, like stability and emotional support and a low-grade contentedness. Why couldn’t he just have regular, silly things? His former intern Sari posted a picture of herself bowling at a school fundraiser with her husband. She’d apparently gotten three Strikes. “What a night,” she’d written. Toby had stared at it with the overwhelming desire to write “Enjoy this for now” or “All desire is death.” It was best to stay off Facebook.

Back with my In Medias Res post about this book, I pretty much covered everything I want to say about this book. I was hoping that the last half would pick up (and I almost decided it did). But, really, it just kept doing what it had been and ended up killing almost all my interest in the book.

The official blurb says:

Toby Fleishman thought he knew what to expect when he and his wife of almost fifteen years separated: weekends and every other holiday with the kids, some residual bitterness, the occasional moment of tension in their co-parenting negotiations. He could not have predicted that one day, in the middle of his summer of sexual emancipation, Rachel would just drop their two children off at his place and simply not return. He had been working so hard to find equilibrium in his single life. The winds of his optimism, long dormant, had finally begun to pick up. Now this.

As Toby tries to figure out where Rachel went, all while juggling his patients at the hospital, his never-ending parental duties, and his new app-assisted sexual popularity, his tidy narrative of the spurned husband with the too-ambitious wife is his sole consolation. But if Toby ever wants to truly understand what happened to Rachel and what happened to his marriage, he is going to have to consider that he might not have seen things all that clearly in the first place.

A searing, utterly unvarnished debut, Fleishman Is in Trouble is an insightful, unsettling, often hilarious exploration of a culture trying to navigate the fault lines of an institution that has proven to be worthy of our great wariness and our great hope.

I’d summarize it as: two messed-up people in a very troubled marriage (that had been troubled for a while), going through a divorce and bringing out the worst in each other and themselves. Hurting careers, friendships, their children and each other along the way. By the time we meet them, they’re like many going through a bitter divorce, and are (at least then) terrible, horrible, no good, very bad people doing terrible, horrible, no good, very bad things to each other (while exonerating themselves of all but a few faults). And this is supposed to be comedic.

All of which could have been addressed years ago if they’d just talked to each other and worked together, rather than keeping score, justifying themselves, assuming the worst of each other and holding grudges. But that’s neither here nor there.

There were some saving graces:

  • Brodesser-Akner’s writing, there are some great passages, great insights, and sentences worthy of praise, study, and quotation. As I said previously, the prose is delightful, there are turns of phrase that I’ve stopped to re-read. Brodesser-Akner has a sharp wit and an equally sharp eye for observation/social commentary. If/When she publishes a second novel, the technical aspects of b>Fleishman is in Trouble were strong enough that I’ll be back.
  • When Toby (a hepatologist) is at work and caring for patients and/or instructing his interns, he’s a great character. Inspirational even. I’d read a book about him at work dealing with the bureaucracy of a hospital, insurance companies, young doctors and suffering patients and probably do little beside sing its praises. This, it should be stressed, is not that book.
  • Toby’s friend Libby. I don’t approve of (not that she asked)/appreciate a lot of her choices and attitudes. But she feels real, she’s genuine, she’s relatable (even—especially—when she’s treating her husband like garbage for no good reason), she deals with her problems (and her friends) in a way that most readers can see themselves in. She actually has a greater role in the novel than you think she will in the first half (or more), but the book would really benefit for more of her.

    • I have neither the time, inclination, or interest in listing my problems with this novel—just see my summary of the novel as a whole, and we’ll call it good.

    Based on some of what I’ve read about this novel, and my own observations, you could get away with calling this a Feminist John Updike. Which is a pretty good summation of why I wouldn’t recommend it, actually. It’s also reductionistic, so you probably shouldn’t say it. However, if a Feminist Updike sounds like something you’d really enjoy (not just are mildly curious about)—you might find yourself enjoying this.

    2 1/2 Stars

    2019 Library Love Challenge

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

By

On November 1, 2019

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

30 books down! 9,183 pages! Wow! With an average of 3.7 Stars, too. Man…not much wrong with October, was there?

(At work I’ve been able to listen to a bunch of audiobooks this month, which was a lot of help)

I really don’t have a lot to say at the moment, so let’s just get on with what happened here in October.

System Failure A Bloody Arrogant Power Last Argument of Kings
4 Stars 3 Stars 5 Stars
The Rest of Us Just Live Here Don't Get Involved This is Where I Leave You
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
XYZ The Dead of Winter Theological Retrieval for Evangelicals
3 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars
The Dead Dont Sleep Flying Alone Anbatar
3.5 Stars Still Deciding 3.5 Stars
How Not to Die Alone Famous in Cedarville Back of Beyond
4 Stars 4 Stars 4 Stars
Because Internet The Abels The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant
3 Stars 3.5 Stars 3 Stars
Open Season Fleishman is in Trouble Side Jobs
4 Stars 2 1/2 Stars 4 1/2 Stars
The Highway Christianity and Liberalism Savage Run
3.5 Stars 5 Stars 3.5 Stars
Shattered Bonds Bearded Too When You Reach Me
4 1/2 Stars 4 Stars 3.5 Stars
The Right Stuff Maxine Unleashes Doomsday Look Both Ways
4 Stars Still Deciding 3.5 Stars

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

5 Stars 2 2 1/2 Stars 1
4 1/2 Stars 4 2 Stars 0
4 Stars 8 1 1/2 Stars 0
3.5 Stars 8 1 Star 0
3 Stars 7
Average = 3.7


Physical Books: 4 Added, 2 Read, 31 Remaining
E-Books: 0 Added, 0 Read, 24 Remaining
Audiobooks: 0 Added, 1 Read, 1 Remaining

2019 Library Love Challenge

2019 Library Love Challenge

  1. Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language by Gretchen McCulloch (link forthcoming)
  2. The Abels by Jeremy Scott, Eric Michael Summerer (link forthcoming)
  3. The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes, Kirby Heyborne (link forthcoming)
  4. Open Season by C. J. Box, David Chandler (link forthcoming)
  5. Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (link forthcoming)
  6. Side Jobs by Jim Butcher, James Marsters
  7. The Highway by C. J. Box, Holter Graham (link forthcoming)
  8. Savage Run by C. J. Box, David Chandler (link forthcoming)
  9. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead, Cynthia Holloway (link forthcoming)
  10. Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks by Jason Reynolds (link forthcoming)
  11. Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie, Steven Pacey
  12. The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness, James Fouhey (link forthcoming)
  13. Back of Beyond by C. J. Box, Holter Graham (link forthcoming)

While I Was Reading 2019 Challenge

Nothing this month.

LetsReadIndie Reading Challenge

#LetsReadIndie Reading Challenge

  1. A Bloody Arrogant Power by Malcolm J. Wardlaw
  2. Don’t Get Involved by F J Curlew
  3. The Dead of Winter by A. B. Gibson
  4. XYZ by William Knight
  5. The Dead Don’t Sleep by Steven Max Russo
  6. Flying Alone: A Memoir by (link forthcoming)
  7. Anbatar: Legacy of the Blood Guard by Anne Dolleri
  8. Bearded Too by Jeremy Billups
  9. Maxine Unleashes Doomsday by Nick Kolakowski (link forthcoming)
2019 Cloak & Dagger Challenge

2019 Cloak & Dagger Challenge

  1. A Bloody Arrogant Power by Malcolm J. Wardlaw
  2. Don’t Get Involved by F J Curlew
  3. The Dead of Winter by A. B. Gibson
  4. The Dead Don’t Sleep by Steven Max Russo
  5. Open Season by C. J. Box, David Chandler (link forthcoming)
  6. The Highway by C. J. Box, Holter Graham (link forthcoming)
  7. Savage Run by (link forthcoming)
  8. Famous in Cedarville by Erica Wright
  9. Back of Beyond by C. J. Box, Holter Graham (link forthcoming)
Humor Reading Challenge 2019

Humor Reading Challenge 2019

  1. System Failure by Joe Zieja
  2. XYZ by William Knight
2019 Cloud of Witnesses Reading Challenge

2019 Cloud of Witnesses Reading Challenge

    Nothing this month.

How was your month?

In Medias Res: Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

By

On October 23, 2019

In Currently Reading, Fiction, General Fiction/Literature, In Medias Res

As the title implies, I’m in the middle of this book, so this is not a review, just some thoughts mid-way through.

—–

Fleishman Is in TroubleFleishman Is in Trouble

by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

This is going to be a tough one to write about when I finish, unless the last half is significantly different than the first (a possibility I’m open to).

It’s not the writing. The prose is delightful, there are turns of phrase that I’ve stopped to re-read. Brodesser-Akner has a sharp wit and an equally sharp eye for observation/social commentary.

But man, I’m just not enjoying this book at all. I don’t like the protagonist (I admire the lessons he gives his residents at the hospital)—and he’s easily the most likable character in the book. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve almost DNF’d this.

Here’s why I’m sticking with it—I’m curious. Partially to see what the fuss is about (if I can). But more than that, I’m curious about the ending—I’ve heard it’s a killer. And there are two things I want to see where Brodesser-Akner is going with (we might get the answers to all 3 simultaneously). I may not enjoy the book but she’s doing everything right to get me to keep reading. Still, I’m afraid this is going to end up being in The Best of Adam Sharp or The Heart of Henry Quantum territory, however–well-written books that I only remember suffering through.

Has anyone out there read this thing? Any encouragement for me?

In Medias Res: Dead Inside by Noelle Holten

By

On June 4, 2019

In Currently Reading, DC Maggie Jamieson, Fiction, In Medias Res, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller, Noelle Holten

As the title implies, I’m in the middle of this book, so this is not a review, just some thoughts mid-way through.

It’s been so long since I’ve done one of these, I’d forgotten it was a thing I do. Whoops.

—–

Dead Inside
Dead Inside

by Noelle Holten

Book Blurb:

When three domestic abuse offenders are found beaten to death, DC Maggie Jamieson knows she is facing her toughest case yet.

The police suspect that Probation Officer Lucy Sherwood – who is connected to all three victims – is hiding a dark secret. Then a fourth domestic abuser is brutally murdered. And he is Lucy’s husband.

Now the finger of suspicion points at Lucy and the police are running out of time. Can Maggie and her team solve the murders before another person dies? And is Lucy really a cold-blooded killer?

I’m at the 55% mark — and I’m hooked. Holten’s got this way to get into your head. While I’m loving every second of this book, I’m having a hard time shaking the bleak outlook on life and humanity that seems to be part and parcel of this novel.

Seriously, read a few pages of this book and see if you’re not willing to replace humanity as the apex predator with something careful and considerate — like rabid pit bulls or crack-smoking hyenas.

This is a slow build of a book — given the blurb, I figured the bodies would have piled up by now, but they haven’t (much). Slow, but things are happening and the story telling is gripping – pulling you further and further in with each chapter. I don’t have a clue who the killer is, but I think the motive is clear (but, honestly, if it’s something else, I’d be impressed that she did such a great job faking out the reader). I’ve got a list of candidates for the killer, and could make a case for each one — but again, I halfway expect Holten to shock me.

Unless everything falls apart in the next 40% or so, this is probably going to end up as one of the best Mystery/Crime Fiction novels of 2019.

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