Grace

Every time I see a new book by Max Lucado, I snap it up. I love his writing style and the sincerity that rings through each page. Yet... this book was kind of disappointing. And I'm not completely sure why.

Perhaps - as another reviewer noted -  it's the sense of flippancy throughout? Points were well made, and many of the illustrations used were beautiful and poignant; however, I had a very hard time sinking my teeth into this one. Grace is a heavy topic, but it felt like I was left with little to chew on.

This hasn't turned me off to Lucado altogether. I'll definitely keep an eye out for his next book.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers through BookSneeze - their book review program. I wasn't required to post a positive review. These are my own opinions on this book.

Unbroken

Just a heads up - if you're not up to reading about brutality and suffering in POW camps, this book might not be for you. That's not to say - in any way - that I didn't enjoy this book. I absolutely did, and I highly recommend it. The story is compelling, the writing brilliant, and the research outstanding. It's an extremely detailed, meticulous account of a true hero: Louis Zamperini.

It's a gripping adventure story all wrapped up in absolutely inspiring storytelling. The subtitle sums it up well: Survival, Resilience and Redemption. Once again, highly recommended reading.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah through Blogging for Books - their book review program. I wasn't required to post a positive review. These are my own opinions on this book.

"Make: School’s Out Summer Fun Guide" by O'Reilly

This was a pretty awesome edition of  Make magazine. Apparently, this School's Out Summer Fun Guide is an ongoing annual thing - and I'll definitely be on the look out for next year's! This issue is chock full of crafts and hands-on activities for parents and kids. It provides hours of screen-free entertainment that'll encourage creativity and get parents and kids interacting. If you parents have heard "I'm bored" one too many times this summer, this summer issue might just be the fix.

I wasn't actually aware of Make magazine before checking out this issue. From what I gather though, it basically caters to the crowd that likes to make stuff - all kinds of stuff. There are super simple crafts and there are uber-complex projects that require welding, soldering and wiring. Basically, there's something for everyone.

This particular issue has some 3-D features (the printed copy comes with 3D glasses), and one of the articles actually is a little how-to on making your own 3D images. The rest of the magazine covers all sorts of projects in eight different categories: Combat, Outdoors, Rainy Day, Craft, Music, Pranks, Flight, and Electronics.

I'm passionate about encouraging creativity in children - and now I'm gonna be promoting this magazine to every parent I know.

The Searchers

This book takes a deep look at a story I had given little thought to previously. It's the story of the two men on the road to Emmaus. They're heartbroken - crushed - because the one thing they had centered all their hopes and dreams on has been snatched away. Jesus had just been crucified. They truly believed that He was the Messiah, the One who was going to change things - the One worth giving up everything to follow.

Historian Joseph Loconte sets this story as the backdrop for our modern world - a world fraught with heartbreak and disappointment. Though at times it seems that God has failed us, that all is lost, Jesus is present and is calling us to look beyond the hopelessness to what He's doing just beyond our line of sight.

It's a very beautiful take on an extremely emotional story. I'd suggest, however, that you take your time with it. There's a lot of food for thought, and you can't expect to digest it all in one sitting. I read a chapter a day, and spent the rest of the day chewing on it. This is definitely one I'll come back to.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers through Book Sneeze - their book review program. I wasn't required to post a positive review. These are my own opinions on this book.

The Fourth Fisherman

When the story of the fishermen hit the news a few years back, I was intrigued (as was much of the world, obviously). So when I had the opportunity to review this book, I jumped at it. While the story was interesting, it left me feeling a little "meh."
Joe Kissack weaves the story of the fishermen with his own life story. Theirs is a beautiful story of dependence and faith in God; his is a story of a rich guy realizing that he needs God. I had a hard time understanding why or how the two fit together.
Honestly, his parts kind of annoyed me. I know he was only talking about his success to make his point, but it kind of left me wondering what (if anything) he really did to help the fishermen. Ultimately, the book isn't really about the fishermen - it's about Joe. The fishermen almost play supporting roles to his story, which I feel is kind of unfortunate. He went in promising to get their story out to the world, but it almost feels that he used it as a springboard for his own.
I don't want to criticize this book too harshly, as I did enjoy much of it. It kept me interested, and the message was good in many ways.
Disclaimer: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah through Blogging for Books - their book review program. I wasn't required to post a positive review. These are my own opinions on this book.

Linux Pocket Guide by Daniel J. Barrett

I’ve got quite a bit of programming experience; however (oddly enough) I’d done very little work with Linux. On starting a new job, I needed to learn Linux FAST. I needed to quickly understand the language and the power of the command line.

As a stroke of luck, O’Reilly happened to be offering a review copy of the Linux Pocket Guide by Daniel J. Barrett to their bloggers. I snapped that thing up fast and blazed through it over the weekend. Though I’m no pro, I’d have to say that just about anyone who uses Linux would benefit from this guide. It’s not a huge, unwieldy reference book (less unwieldy still if you have it on your iPad/reader), and it’s easy to find just about any shell command you’re after.

This book does cover the basics, though it does assume that the reader has some familiarity with Linux already. It goes into descriptions on logins/logouts, filesystems, system directories, etc. which was handy info. It also lists general Linux commands with their syntax and an explanation of what each command does. I like that it’s written simply enough for beginners to understand, but offers enough solid information to be a decent reference book as well.

It’s a really handy book to keep nearby as you work. It’s nearly impossible to remember every single command, and while I can certainly go and Google whatever it is I’m looking for, this is a quick reference and saves me a lot of time.

A Shot of Faith to the Head

As a big fan of apologetics - rather, as a fan of good reasoning - I quite enjoyed this work by Mitch Stokes.  Mitch takes an interesting stance in this book. Rather than a defensive tack (i.e. defending the Christian faith), he uses an offensive approach, directly and systematically taking down the New Atheist philosophy.

The author himself is a Christian philosopher, and obviously a brilliant man who quite eloquently makes his case. Yet he does so in a way that is fully readable and understandable by the common man. I enjoy good rhetoric; however, when a writer gets too "heady" or over complicates concepts and arguments, I'll quickly put a book down. This one definitely kept my interest.

I'd recommend this book to just about anyone. Whether you have a deeply held belief, or you're just starting out on your walk of faith, we all have moments where that faith is shaken. Questions arise, doubts enter in, we read or hear things that cause us to wonder. In those times, we need a "shot of faith to the head" - a reminder, if you will, of why we believe what we believe.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers through BookSneeze - their book review program. I wasn't required to post a positive review. These are my own opinions on this book.

Dug Down Deep

Dug Down Deep is a highly touted book by author and pastor Joshua Harris. I expected big things after all the hype - and after reading the work of his twin brothers (Do Hard Things). I'll give you a walk through of my feelings toward this book.

The first part was excellent. Harris describes his youth in a traditional Christian church and household. His experiences resonated with me. The idea of a consumer-focused youth ministry, centered around making Bible learning "fun" and "cool" is something I can completely relate to - and something that grew more and more distasteful to me as I got older.

He got to a point where his soul started longing for a true, deep connection with God, and that's where the "dug down deep" comes into play. He set out on a journey toward an orthodox theology, striving to deeply understand the Bible and know God. Up to this point, he had me completely.

From there on though, Harris goes into explaining doctrine. As meaningful as the first part of the book was, the second part was dry and rehashed material. I nearly quit half way through.

I still give this book four stars for the first half. The second part will likely be helpful to many as well. Perhaps I've just read much of the same, so was a little disappointed that the book went in that direction.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah through Blogging for Books - their book review program. I wasn't required to post a positive review. These are my own opinions on this book.

Programming Collective Intelligence by Toby Segaran; O'Reilly Media

First of all, I would say that at least a cursory knowledge of Python would help greatly in grasping and implementing the concepts in this book. The author is obviously quite fixated on Python; thus, code is written in Python, and sample data (as far as I can recall) all Python related.

The book is, however, a pretty good introduction to machine learning. Explanations are clearly laid out and concepts are well explained, making them easy to grasp. While it’s by no means a comprehensive study guide, it should whet your appetite for further study.

My suggestion: Seeing as this book can only cover so much, I feel a list of resources or a bibliography could be a nice addition to future versions. It would be really helpful to have suggestions of further material for a more in-depth study of the topic.

Godforsaken

I was really excited to read this book. I am fascinated by apologetic, and this book seemed right up my alley.

I was somewhat disappointed. It actually started off pretty well, but quickly got bogged down until I was slogging through page after page, trying to make it through. Honestly, I had a hard time finishing this book.

I'm not sure if it was the author's writing style, or what, but his way of tackling the problem of pain and suffering left an unpleasant taste in my mouth. The odd thing is, this book doesn't present anything particularly new or helpful to a Christian, yet it really isn't a book I'd offer to an unbeliever either. I wouldn't recommend this book.

I received a copy of this book free of charge from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to post a positive review; these opinions are my own.

Great Day Every Day

Despite all the talent, all the blessings, all the many things that we are given on a daily basis, so many of us are bogged down, focused on the stuff we don't like. Sometimes we're bogged down by something truly serious: a death, an illness, a bankruptcy. Most of the time though, it's the minutiae that gets us down. A traffic jam, a headache, an annoying co-worker, or a frustrating spouse.

Is is possible to have a "great day every day," in spite of our problems - large or small? That's the premise of this fantastic new book from Max Lucado.

Granted, I'm a huge fan of Lucado's work, but this one is truly excellent. It's a challenge to live a joyful, passion-filled life, no matter what you may be facing - and it gives the tools to accomplish that goal.

The writing is beautiful and the examples deep. I read the whole book aloud to my husband, and it provided loads of discussion and food for thought. I highly recommend this book for your 2012 reading list.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers through BookSneeze - their book review program. I wasn't required to post a positive review. These are my own opinions on this book.

Surprised by Laughter

I had just finished reading C.S. Lewis’s autobiographical “Surprised by Joy” when I came across this book. Something noticeable throughout Lewis’s work is his contagious sense of humor and his comedic outlook on life and humanity. The sheer brilliance of his work often overshadows the incredible wit that is infused throughout his writings. Terry Lindvall, PhD, offers quite a fascinating look at this side of Lewis that seems (to me) under appreciated.

Unfortunately, the first few chapters are dusty dry it’s almost ridiculous. It’s just strange that a book written about the humor of Lewis could be so lacking in mirth whatsoever.

It is, however, an interesting look at the life and work of C.S. Lewis – that is, once you get to the third or fourth chapter. Lindvall’s work is a good one. I did enjoy the book, though readers should be forewarned that it is not, overall, a funny book. If you want wit and humor, spend your time reading Lewis’s own work rather than this dissection of it.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers through BookSneeze - their book review program. I wasn't required to post a positive review. These are my own opinions on this book.

“Head First HTML5 Programming: Building Web Apps with JavaScript” by Eric Freeman and Elisabeth Robson

This isn’t a reference book. It’s a step-by-step guide - complete with exercises - that will set you well on your way to programming in JavaScript with the knowledge necessary to build outstanding websites. Eric Freeman and Elisabeth Robson, co-founders of Wickedly Smart, have put together quite a comprehensive introduction to working with HTML5.

If you’re new to JavaScript, this book is a great introduction. The book is aimed at beginners, and thus, it offers (I believe) a helpful focus on programming fundamentals while leaving the reader with a practical and workable understanding of the core material. The authors are clear from the start, however, that they do expect readers to have a decent grasp of HTML4 and CSS before launching into this book.

The Head First series takes an interesting approach to teaching, using lots of puzzles, pictures and gaming techniques to help readers grasp and master the various concepts. Perhaps not everyone will find this approach helpful or conducive to learning; however, I found it made the learning process enjoyable.

An aspect that I particularly appreciated was the very relevant, believable examples used throughout. By using interesting, yet realistic, examples, the writers have made it easy to translate concepts into every-day application.

http://shop.oreilly.com/home.do

Switched!

I've been looking for some good Christian/positive fiction for kids after a friend asked for a recommendation for her boys. Honestly, I nearly didn't bother with this book on seeing the cover... though, as they say, you can't judge a book by its cover, and this one definitely fits the bill.

Once I got past the cover art and typography, the story was surprisingly good. It's apparently the fifth book in Bill Meyers' "TJ and the Time Stumblers" series. The kids in the story stumble from one crazy situation to the next, making for some funny events and dialogue. Most importantly, however, the author manages to weave valuable lessons into the story without making it too obvious or overbearing (not an easy task).

I'd recommend this book for kids up to 8 or 9 years old.

I received a copy of this book free of charge from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to post a positive review; these opinions are my own.