New Kid on the Blog

It's been fun catching up on the blogosphere, and following a link from Quilly I ended up at insanity prevails where was posted a reading meme, so here's my version.... 1. Do you remember how you developed a love of reading? I can't remember a time when I didn't love reading, at school I used to (metaphorically) devour books, and read them again and again - I used to love the imagination that went into comic books (especially Marvel & DC) and just read and read and read and read. 2. What are some books you loved as a child? I used to read the professor Branestawm books, Harry Harrison's 'Men from p.i.g. and r.o.b.o.t', there was a lot of sci-fi in my early reading, and I had read H G Wells' 'The War of the Worlds' about a dozen times before leaving Primary School. I did like Roald Dahl books, though I tended to read things like his short stories rather than his children's books! As mentioned above I read lots of comic books and particu...

Or without a point, as in last night. I stayed up late to watch Die Hard 4 last night. I really enjoyed it, but it made me ask some questions as to why many people 'buy into' the idea that violence can offer some form of redemption or hope. But maybe more of that later... I have to say that my movie preferences are often the butt of my friend's humour - as I like lots of stuff that people consider rubbish mainly because I like the premise of it. I love big concepts, and good landscapes and cinematography - as well as outlandish stories, so sci-fi movies tend to be favourites of mine. I also love films which have things i like in them, so movies with motorbikes ( Torque [2004] ,) Biker Boyz [2003] tend to get my attention whilst leaving friends cold. Even if they are terrible, i think that some movies are so bad they're good! I used to struggle with whether there was stuff that I should and shouldn't watch, and whether as someone who claimed to be a follower ...

...I did a book review Here's one that came on my jaunt to Paris last weekend. It's a very well written, well researched book, which gives a massive (and well informed) overview of how the Jewish and Christian Scriptures came to us. Talking about origins, construction, with historical and sociological insight, alongside a consideration of how Scripture has been viewed and used over the past twenty or more centuries, Karen Armstrong presents a beautifully crafted and accessible insight into exactly what the Bible is, where it comes from and the many different understandings of how it should be used, studied, considered and critiqued which have accompanied its development. Some of a more conservative bent might be concerned by the way she states as matter of fact that, for instance, Genesis has no concern to be a literal work, or that other compilers of scripture freely contradict, re-interpret and re-cycle each others ideas. It does present, though, a pretty dispassionate, th...

I seem to be spending a lot of time musing at the moment and not a lot of time doing. I mean, I am doing all the things I normally do, but not really doing more than that. I think part of it is because of the huge amount of work i did in January and February, followed by a week in France, I don't feel as though I have quite reconnected with everything yet. In fact, things are eerily quiet in the parishes - I've done some visiting of the sick, I've had quite a lot of meetings, I've led a number of services, I've been out and about, I've had a day at Ely Cathedral finding out about what it means to be a 'Day Chaplain' (I will tell you more when I've done a day) and I've spent a lot of time with the family as wife and children have had very heavy colds which has meant no one has been completely healthy (except me) for a week or so. Even so, that bit of spare time that has cropped up hasn't really seen me doing stuff - I've not been writing...

Saving some of the best until last here is one of my favourite books of all time.. So good that even though it is out of print, as far as I can tell, I will still recommend it. Though i see Amazon have a variety of imprints available through their marketplace, and I am sure Amazon.com do as well as our .co.uk branch! The story of the quest for truth and meaning, as seen through the eyes of a supermarket trolley - Scepticism inc is a funny, thoughtful, satirical look at philosophy, institutional religion and ultimate truth. Bo Fowler takes us throught the development of 'metaphysical betting shops' with a funny and intelligent look at the nature of belief, of not believing, of wanting and not wanting to believe - most of the angles covered in the belief department there! It's fun to read and contains lots of food for thought (a sort of metaphysical shopping trolley then) - it does make you ask lots of questions but at the same time you can just lose yourself in the su...

Still NaBlo posting, i have surprised myself really this month! A fun offering which I have used lots of times to tell the Christmas story in a different way! It's not one which can be reviewed at length, which is probably a good thing as I am prone to waffle. It tells the nativity story, with very bright, cheerful and funny illustrations, from the perspective of a grumpy inkeeper, with a surprise ending.. It is a delightful book, and though 'Jesus's Christmas Party' is meant to be a children's book, it will appeal to most people who read it. Not all, there are always some grumps :-)

Another post for NaBloPoMo A deeply passionate and sometimes disturbing book De Berniers has a way of weaving the comic with the tragic which seems to hit the spot every time. Amidst the gentle life of a greek village he weaves stories of love, hate, pain, despair, joy, hope and some of the most stomach churning atrocities committed in war. This is a powerful novel, and not an easy read, I found some of the descriptions of tortures and mutilations committed in the Greek-Turkish war extremely disturbing, yet I am really pleased to have read this novel. It makes you think about what makes us human, and indeed what makes us inhuman. Read it, it is worth the effort.

Here's a light hearted offering for today. Have you ever felt frustrated that there are no words to describe everyday occurences which we all go through? For instance, who has not felt the need for a phrase to describe the feeling of sitting on a warm toilet seat? Or the emotions felt when first riding off on a new motorbike? Or the guilt felt when caught pulling hairs from one's nose and secreting them in one's pocket? Well all this and more can be found in ' The Meaning of Liff ' - a wonderful companion that uses place names from the most obscure parts of the United Kingdom, and indeed all over the world, to give us the vocabulary we really need. Often imitated, never bettered, The Meaning of Liff is wonderful! And I know this sounds like a sales pitch, but I do love this book, and think every home should have one. though some of the ruder ones might need to be kept from the children!

Very tired today after a late night coming back from London. This morning had lots to say but have lost energy to say it due to meetings and assembly at the local school, i also have a meeting tonight so I might leave what I was going to say until another day. So I thought I would go ahead and post my book for today, its another of the ones that have been hanging around in the sidebar for ages, and by the end of the month i do plan to change them all! But even though it has had a tacit plug by being in my sidebar, I think I'll say a bit more about it because it is the book that we have chosen next for our 'book club'. Brian McLaren infuriates some, and works others into an almost idolatrous frenzy. I happily fall between the two. I do like his style, and I think he is saying some valuable things to the Church and about Christian faith in general. In a society where any kind of spirituality seems valid, or at least that's the impression that is given, McLaren is act...

Book club last night went well. We talked through and around John Ortberg's 'God is closer than you think' which is a great book. I have previously recommended this as part of my post a day for November , so I am going to move on and recommend a book i should be reading TODAY because I want to use it as a basis for some thoughts tonight.... So Prayer is perhaps one of the most difficult things for many of us to get a handle on, particularly when we feel prayers aren't answered, or that we aren't quite sure what the purpose of prayer is. In fact, this is what I am meant to be talking about at Holy Joes this evening, so when I have some thoughts together perhaps I will get back to you on that. From what I have read of this book so far, it has some very good thoughts on the subject. Interestingly it relates to a lot of what Ortberg says in God Is Closer Than You Think , when he talks about when God feels absent and what our prayers do and don't or may or may n...

has certainly kept me thinking and writing, and revisiting a few books which I am really enjoying thinking about again, and today's is no exception The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger is a great book, a wonderfully written novel with a huge scope. I love books with big imagination, and this is biiiiiiiiiiiig imagination. A man with a kind of genetic time-travelling disorder flits back and forth through time without being able to control these journeys. It could have descended into a kind of farce with him nearly meeting himself over and over, but it doesn't - there's lots of touching and thought-provoking encounters with the woman who becomes his wife, and lots of reflection on the nature of time, life and who we are. It's a very striking and powerful book, though some of the language in it will upset those of a delicate constitution, it is a great novel.

Today's book is a slight departure from previous days Joanne Harris' masterful 'magical realism' is tied up with folklore, history and evocative descriptions of France, as most of her novels are set in different parts of la republique... This is a powerful description of an island divided against itself, with traditions and attitudes which bind and blind the people. On returning to the island the main character sets about disturbing the status quo, and the whole island finds itself changed, include the protagonist, by the events which occur through the story. I can't put into words how descriptive Harris' prose is, and how it seems to get beyond the mind into the heart, filling the imagination, and creating a powerful sense of yearning to be a part of this world, whilst being grateful one is apart from it. All of her books are good, I've not read her last couple of novels, but everyone I have read I found to be rich, rewarding and most enjoyable. With som...

And we're still here, consistent and steady, rolling through November with a burgeoning library. The question is, of course, what do these books say about me? I leave that for you to decide... Today's book of note is another from the sidebar I warm to much of McLaren's content, though I find his style a bit grating sometimes. There are certain points in this book where you want to say 'stop telling us you don't have the answers and just keep telling us what you believe!' Having said that, the book genuinely feels like a humble attempt to get us to look again at believing and the church and the life of faith - asking questions 'why' with regards to what we do, how we do it, what we expect of church. Its an honest book, and one which is very personal, whilst at the same time one that is obviously written by someone who is well read, thoughtful, committed to Christ and genuinely seeking to grapple with the complications of faith and the burdens often pl...

Keeping up the daily posting with a classic book which is worth reading What can I say about this book? The master of surreal sci-fi and humourous observation's most famous book, taken from the radio series of the same name and followed by a TV series and movie which are all equally funny. Arthur Dent is about to have his house demolished to make way for a bypass when his friend Ford Prefect takes him off to the pub and reveals that he (Ford) is an alien who is writing for the Galaxy's most popular publication 'The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy' and has discovered that there is a fleet of Vogon Constructor ships on the way to demolish earth for a hyperspace bypass. Getting off the planet by stowing away on one of the ships with the aid of an electronic 'thumb' Arthur and Ford get through a number of increasingly strange adventures as they seek the meaning of life and basically try to stay alive in order that Arthur doesn't have to go to heaven with...

Still posting too, must be almost a record to keep going so long without a break Had a long day today, so this is posted later than usual, perhaps more about that another time... For now its And the book for today is I love Terry Pratchett, and you may well get a recommendation from his Discworld collection later on in the month, but for now this funny novel co-written by Neil Gaiman is a great one to read if you like stuff that has eternal battles between good and evil, the four other horsemen of the apocalypse and a race to the finish sports car chase along with your wit, wisdom and surreality. Basically the story of an Angel and a Demon who are trying to avert the apocalypse because they are quite happy with things as they are, thank you very much. It has lots of improbable events, along with the real reason the M25 is the world's largest car park. Pratchett is his usual witty self, and Gaiman injects a bit (or a lot) of dark humour too! Not your standard fantasy fare, nor ...

Another NaBloPoMo post I may get around to telling you about my life, but first a book I am currently reading, and getting a lot from I don't know how he does it, but Ortberg seems to hit the mark again and again, his book The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People (terrible title, sounds like self-help rubbish, better understood by its subtitle 'Spiritual Disciplines for ordinary people') is one of the best 'everyday Christian' books which I've read - by which I mean he takes some quite difficult ideas, and ancient spiritual practises, and makes them accessible and usable in our everyday walk of faith. God Is Closer Than You Think is nothing short of excellent, at least what I have read so far is. As always, it is written in an engaging and accessible style, which is entertaining and amusing enough to make me laugh out loud in the coffee shop this morning (I do get some down time!) and yet at the same time doesn't shy f...

Continuing my NaBloPoMo trek through a few faves, or ones I want to read, here is today's offering: Prolific as he is, Coupland seems to sum up current 20/30 something mentality perfectly. I started reading his stuff as part of my 'Postmodernity' module on my MA and have picked up a number of his novels which I have enjoyed and which give some insight into contemporary culture. Generation X is a good one to start with in terms of getting to grips with cultural shift whilst still being entertained, but JPod is one of his latest - slightly more surreal than other ones I've read, and more self-referential (perhaps this is a postmodern thing) he even appears frequently as one of the protagonists, weaving himself into the story by meeting the main character in some unlikely settings and variously stealing information from the main character by taking his laptop and personal files as the story progresses. It's all based around a group of games programmers who work tog...

Sometimes I like to lose myself in a good thriller, and this is one, though Dan Brown gets a lot of stick, especially from those who take his writing too seriously (a la DaVinci Code) he does seem to have the hang of writing a good page-turner. i read this one on holiday and it was a ripping yarn and most enjoyable... I won't give any of the plot away, but like most of Brown's books, it is full of twists and turns with real characters and lots going on. Even if I said what the premise was it would give away one of the early twists so you'll have to take my word for it that it's a good story and well put together.

One thing I really like about going away is that I get time, or make time, for some reading. I got through a load of novels on this trip, and though I took a load of theology, it somehow never really made it out of my bag! So here's some of them... I couldn't believe that this was a first novel, it is so well written and evocative - a murder mystery set in the freezing wastes of Canada in the 1800s. Its mixture of three dimensional characters and powerful language made is a compelling read, it is insightful, sometimes challenging and a very good read. As always, a fun read from Dan Brown, the man always delivers the goods - its about spying, politics, geology, extraterrestial life and extreme cold. All the old cliches fit - ripping yarn, page turner, racy, exciting etc etc etc... Having been nice about Brown above, this one outshines the DaVinci code and out-Browns Brown..., whilst taking a similar 'religious mystery' approach. It's a compelling, well researche...

I have noticed recently, and it was mentioned by Brian to me a few weeks back (not on his blog, as that seems to have conked out) that as I go about my daily life I find myself thinking 'this is how I would say this in my blog page'. I do it without thinking consciously about it, but though I don't blog about everything that happens much of what I do is framed mentally in terms of what I would say about it if I were to post it. Perhaps this is why I've not been blogging as much lately, my brain is saying 'this is way too insidious'! Anyway, this came to mind particularly as I was reading the book by Richard Dawkins 'The God delusion' - as i read it I was thinking 'how would I review this for my blog'. Perhaps feeling that there is no other way to respond to it - the book is clear, concise, well written, engaging, thought provoking, and yet there is a feeling that Dawkins throws out meaningless and uninformed statements about Religion which hav...