Category: Book Reviews

  • !! Book Review !! ANF/NPNF Church Fathers – 1 Clement – A Whole Lot of Nothing Going On !

    Awhile back, as part of my Unschooled Master of Theology Program I embarked on a long desired task of reading the entire corpus of the Church Fathers. All 37 volumes.

    As of today, I finished the first letter in the series, 1 Clement to the Corinthians. Although so far the extra biblical documents have been pretty drab and uneventful, at least 1 Clement is not as entirely devoid of purpose as say the Didache was. It was more like the Book of Enoch, in it had several interesting points, but overall was utterly and fitfully boring.

    Despite this, let’s jump in and see what’s going on in the first century….

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  • !! Book Review !! The Testament – One of Those Surprises Sneaking Up on You !

    Part of my Unschooled Master of Theology Program is extensive reading in various, often interrelated subjects, and that includes fiction.

    This book, The Testament by John Grisham really took me by surprise. It was one of the books I got from the lending library at the office, and I brought it (with the rest of the books I’d collected) to the Eden property where they now sit in case I’m ever without a laptop or smart phone (hint, hint, come soon an apocalypse near you). I plan, once I’m through reading each book, either to return the copy to the lending library at work or, if it’s in bad shape (or a bad book), burn it in the campfire.

    So, let’s jump right in….

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  • !! Book Review !! Visioners – A Great Story !


    Part of my Unschooled Master of Theology Program is extensive reading in various, often interrelated subjects, and that includes fiction.

    I stumbled onto this book awhile back, maybe a year or more, but I finally managed to read it and, I have to say, what a great story it turned out to be!

    So, let’s jump in and find out why Walker Buckalew’s book
    The Visioners turned out to be an incredible story you won’t want to miss….

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  • !! Book Review !! Before the Fall – I’ve Never Yawned So Much in My Life !


    Awhile back, while at the Eden Property, I read a book as part of my Unschooled Master of Theology Program called Before the Fall by Noah Hawley.

    My workplace has a communal bookshelf where people can bring in their old books in trade for whatever’s on the shelf. I turned in a bunch of books I still had from my college years and Before the Fall was one of the books I got in exchange.

    At first, I thought it was the book the movie was made from. But, later I would discover the movie is actually called, Before I Fall, and it has nothing to do with this book. I’ve also never heard of Hawley before, but his blurb mentioned he got his break after meeting Po Bronson and joining the “Writers’ Grotto.” I’ve read Bronson’s book (which I thought was a huge disappointment, too), so I’m not surprised Hawley’s book was similarly disappointing.

    But, there was still something about the story that kept me going, despite being halfway bored most of the time.

    Let’s talk about what that unexplored spark might have been…

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  • !! Book Review !! Desert Solitaire – Discovery of What We Have Lost !


    Another book I read as part of my Unschooled Master of Theology Program was Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey.

    It was a recommendation by a coworker when he found out about the property I was working on, how I paddle an hour and a half each way to get out there, and currently when there I live in basically a tent.

    I didn’t have very high expectations. I’d never heard of Abbey before. But, I found a copy online and gave it a go anyway, despite my reservations. To my surprise, it turned out to be quite an interesting story.

    So, let’s find out what exactly it is we’ve lost…

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  • !! Book Review !! Earth’s Children Series Book 4 – Plains of Passage !


    Part of my Unschooled Master of Theology Program is extensive reading in various, often interrelated subjects, and that includes fiction.

    As a teenager, I had a rabid fascination with all things horror, especially Dean Koontz. But, as I became an adult and left home, I rarely found a book that held my interest for very long, let alone one that really captivated me like the novels of my youth, such as Lightning, or Lord of the Flies. But, despite this, I’ve made a concerted effort to include a robust list of fiction in my uThM program, both for general reading interests and also for craft exposure.

    Over the last year or so I’ve been working through The Earth’s Children Series by Jean Auel. For the longest time I’ve wanted to read Clan of the Cavebear, and to my surprise, I discovered it was a series of six books, and this week I finished the fourth book in the series, The Plains of Passage.

    So, let’s jump in and see what Ayla and Jondalar are up to…

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  • !! Book Review !! When We Die – A Thorough Review of Death and How I’ll Die !


    I’m getting to the end of the books I recently finished as part of my Unschooled Master of Theology Program. You can check them all out here. This book in particular was okay. Not really impactful, but it was still somewhat informative. The book is When We Die, by Cedric Mims, a discussion of the science, culture and ritual of death.

    So, let’s jump in….

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  • !! Book Review !! Biocentrism – A Shallow Take on an Old Idea !


    Robert Lanza is the author of the book on consciousness and science, Biocentrism: How Life and Consciousness are the Keys to Understanding the True Nature of the Universe, released in 2010. It is now the first book in series with the follow-up Beyond Biocentrism and further talks with his publisher for a third and both books are part of my Unschooled Master of Theology Program

    The gist of Lanza’s argument is a Theory of Everything, that would incorporate all the known laws of classical and quantum physics into a conducive whole, cannot be achieved through physics alone, but must take into account the biological origin of the external world itself.

    Let’s see, shall we?

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  • !! Book Review !! Confrontations with the Reaper – An Interesting Exploration of the Value of Death !


    As you might have figured out, I recently finished reading several books as part of my Unschooled Master of Theology Program. You can check them all out here if you would like.

    Unfortunately, the results were less than stellar on many of these titles. Most were quite disappointing. So, I guess my reviews make up a list of what not to read if you’re interested in what to avoid.

    Though I’m chomping at the bit to really dig into and explore my research questions properly, I think it’s important to do my due diligence and document my progress, even the blind alleys and failures.

    The book I’m now reviewing is much closer to my research subjects than the first several I’ve already reviewed thus far. This one, Confrontations with the Reaper by Fred Feldman, a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, was an interesting read, to say the least.

    So, let’s jump in and see what this one is all about….

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  • !! Book Review !! Stoya – Philosophy, Pussycats & Porn – An Underwhelming Endeavor !


    I finished several books this week as part of my Unschooled Master of Theology Program. You can check them all out here. During this marathon, I finally finished Philosophy, Pussycats, and Porn, which I had hoped would be an interesting philosophical treatment from the perspective a pornstar, but found instead a trivial diary of what seemed like a twelve year old girl.

    There were no real gems of wisdom here. No fascinating philosophical or metaphysical insights, no substantive take on the human condition or even the mind of men (you would think there would at least be that).

    But Let’s jump in anyway and take a look at what is supposed to be the wilder side of life. Hint. It doesn’t appear to be.

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  • !! Book Review !! PhD: An Uncommon Guide – Nuts and Bolds of Surviving Academia !


    I finished several books this week as part of my Unschooled Master of Theology Program. You can check them all out here. One of the books I finished was PhD: An Uncommon Guide by James Hayton.

    This was a book I picked up in hopes of getting a better understanding of what it’s like in grad school, beyond the cursory exposure I had with two semesters before I dropped out. This book’s author chose to get his PhD in a hard science, then left academia for the self-employed teaching and lecture circuit, where he now coaches other PhD candidates on how to finish their studies (interesting).

    I came away with shabby notes, but a little better perspective on what it could be like going for a terminal degree. It certainly cemented (along with many other anecdotal evidences) how right I was to drop out of grad school when I did, before I wasted a bunch of money and time.

    But, let’s take a closer look and see what it could have been like….

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  • !! Book Review !! Celibacy in Crisis – The Unspoken, Unteachable State of the Church !


    I finished several books this week as part of my Unschooled Master of Theology Program. You can check them all out here. In this frantic reading sprint, the second book I finished was Celibacy in Crisis, which was supposed to be a treatment of celibacy in the Church. I assumed the “crisis” portion of the title was referencing the lack of celibacy given the modern compromising culture we live in today, but instead, the bulk of the book focused on child abuse by the hands of priests. Despite this, I persisted and found some interesting ideas, even though it was a bit off the subject of my current research.

    Let’s take a look, shall we?

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