Skeletons in the Closet:

Skeletons in the Closet: (Laundry Hag Series, Book 1) By: Jennifer L. Hart
Fiction: Mystery, E-book
E-Book Count: 5
Book Count: 6

Maggie is a penny pincher who with the "help" of her friend ends up starting a cleaning service.  Her first client is the rich socialite that resonantly moved into the neighborhood with her creepy husband that collects medieval torture devices.   Because of her job cleaning the house, she witnesses the wife's affair and is the husband's alibi when the wife ends up murdered.  And then like all mysteries of this type, she then gets caught up in the mystery and has to solve the case as she bumbles along from one misadventure to the next.  So she almost gets shot by a little old lady, looses her wheelbarrow on a shopping trip, hosts Thanksgiving for in-laws she hates, and hires assistants ranging from a very pregnant teen to a grumpy old man that spends his time flirting with the older clients and complaining about food.  

Autumn's Breath:

Autumn's Breath: A Horror Short Story by: M. R. Mathias and Michael Robb
Fiction: short story, horror, e-book
E-Book Count: 4
Book Count: 5

First a note, the e-book count has been changed from the last time, but not the book count, as this book was only a short story and not a full book length. 

A boy and a girl at make out point, ghosts, monsters, a killing frost, aliens?, time travel?, the FBI?, hell freazing over?, there are many things that might have happened  in this story.  Much like the protagonist we don't get the whole story in a clear format, but a mix of people and things as seen by her so knowing what really happened is unclear. 

Making Radical Disciples: Make and Multiply Disciples Like Jesus Using Ten Contagious Disciple Making Lessons:

Making Radical Disciples: Make and Multiply Disciples Like Jesus Using Ten Contagious Disciple Making Lessons: By: Daniel B. Lancaster
Non-fiction: Religion, E-book
E-Book Count: 3
Book Count: 5

Some people enjoy B-grade horror films for their cheesy badness.  Some people watch films that they know has bad/missing/incomprehensible plot lines, bad dialog and cheesy special effects just to enjoy how bad it really is.  You might wonder why I would start a book review with that, and the reason why is that most people that do anything related to disciple making, point out that there is no magic bullet that will work on everyone. But this book is a magic bullet to make disciples in 10 easy lessons!!!!  So I only read it to see how bad it was.  (And of course because it was free, as I might spend a couple of dollars on a movie I know is bad, but I'm not spending book money on this.) This is also why I am not counting it in my new year's resolution count.

The main idea of the book is that, this is a series of lessons that they made up teaching people how to be disciples in southeast Asia, where they do not have a Christian history so that even non-Christians have some idea about the religion, like in America.  Although it says it isn't a "just teach this lesson" way of doing things that doesn't work, it then gives step by step instructions on how to teach the lessons.  This includes having the people repeat what you taught them exactly how you did it multiple times so they learn it.  And having them look up things in the Bible  for answers and then making them keep redoing it until they get the answer that you want them to have. 

It also teaches 8 pictures of Jesus to help the people learn about Him, including hand movements and has people recite memory verses over and over again for each lesson.  Both of these things make it feel like it was designed for children, or as they stated in the beginning, people with no knowledge of Jesus.  If it was for kids I could see it working, not to make sure they are a disciple, but as a Sunday school class.  If it was for adults that were new Christians or wanted to learn about Christ, and didn't have any pre-existing knowledge, I would be concerned; as when reading it, it talked about Jesus a lot and it talked about God, but it didn't talk about Jesus as God.  There were times that it did say Jesus was God's son, but reading it, if you weren't familiar with the idea of the trinity, it would sound like Jesus was some sort of demi-god, or ideal human as it emphasized the  separation between Jesus and God the Father or the Holy Spirit more then most people do. (It was in the context of how we should be like Jesus and listen to the Holy Spirit, etc. but reading it, it just hit me that I don't think it said Jesus was God and if I wasn't Christian I don't think I would learn it in the actual lesson parts of the program.)   Besides that I could see the pictures useful in teaching people about Jesus, but teaching someone about Jesus is not the same thing as helping them be a radical disciple. 

Also, it's method of multiplying disciples was presented in such a way that it made Christianity sound like a pyramid scheme with getting a gold star from God as the prize. (Note: it did not suggest that you would get a gold star, only candy.)  

In closing: this book does have a number of useful pieces in it, but I do not know how following it exactly (as it states you should do) will result in making all sorts of radical disciples as the title states.  It could be a useful tool in teaching people who don't know anything about Jesus things, but it wouldn't be the only tool needed.  Also it is so much easier to write long reviews of books I don't like then ones that I do like, as I don't worry about giving too much away. That is why a number of the reviews on mystery books are just a list of characters and the opening events.  And I am glad that this book actual worked for all the people that gave it 5 stars on Amazon, I just don't know how it did.  

Sent Together: How the Gospel Sends Leaders to Start Missional Communities:

Sent Together: How the Gospel Sends Leaders to Start Missional Communities: By: Brad Watson
Non-fiction: Religion, NYR, E-book
E-Book Count: 2
Book Count: 4

So I read this book because it relates to something that we are trying out at church and that I am working on. Although, as I told one friend when talking about it, I knew that it was going to be a Protestant book when I got it, but then it really cinched it by quoting (and there forth meaning that the author actually read,) one of the documents of Vatican II.  As seen by a conversation that I only overheard part of, but which I think was someone complaining about the same church activity that caused me to read this book, which included the line, "You know that Vatican II really said. . ." and was stated by someone that I am almost positive never read any of the actual documents.  (Side bar to the conversation that I had: I think I have read the document that was quoted in the book. Maybe if it looks like he needs a laugh sometime, I will confess it to my priest. . . " Father forgive me, It's been 2 months since my last confession: I actually read things that the popes said before forming an unmovable opinion on it, oh and here is the bottle of water you asked for.")

And now onto the actual book, which from the title you might have guessed is about making mission communities/church planting/neighborhood outreach or what ever you might want to call many similar activities of that sort.  It includes practical advice, questions to ask yourself/group, personal stories of how things have worked or not worked for them in real life, and a Bible based set of reasons why to do something like this.  It includes a loose framework to do these things, including suggestions for more exact things you might pick from to do depending on where your group is: spiritually, in life, physically, etc.  It also has a large number of quotes from the Bible, and Christians from various backgrounds relating to each chapter. And some great, simple explanations of the kerygma/Gospel/Salvation story.  At the end there is a series of appendixes for all planning activities suggested in the book.

Rediscover Jesus:

Rediscover Jesus: an Invitation By: Matthew Kelly
Non-Fiction: Religion,NYR, 187 pages
Physical Book Count: 2
Book Count: 3

First here is a link to my friend's review of this book. (Even if he does hate everything that Matthew Kelly writes as Kelly doesn't write for where he happens to be spiritually right at this time.  And he had more grammar problems in that post then most any other post that he has done.)
Anyway if you haven't clicked on the link, this book is written in 40 short chapters that are made so that you can read one in a few minutes every day, with the idea being that you can read one each day during Lent. (Not counting Sundays, and with a prologue and opening that are not part of the 40 count.)  At the end of each chapter is: a point to ponder that sums up the reading, a Bible verse, a question to ask yourself about the chapter, and a short prayer. It is written for people that might be new Christians, or have been Christians for some time but wants to renew or grow their faith/love.  Also although it is written for reading during Lent and is from a Catholic organization, it is written in a general Christian tone that people of different branches of Christianity would not find issue with any doctrinal differences in the book, as it isn't concerned with it.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team:

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable By: Patrick Lencioni
Non-fiction: Business, 224 pages
Physical Book Count: 1
Book Count: 2

I read this book because it was given to me in a meeting at church.  It is apparently the book that is going threw all the ministry groups for this year.  Also the author is friends with Matthew Kelly and does a similar thing of taking all the things that they used in the business world to help churches.  This book is much more just business, but it deals with problems that would be helpful for all sorts of organizations. And it deals with group dynamics and meetings, two things that are very important to church groups.

The 5 interrelated dysfunctions that it talks about are: lack of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoiding accountability and inattention to results.  The book tells a story of a business to show how all of these things work together to cause a group to fail.  It also induces more traditional non-fiction style writing at the end with charts and data covering the same info in a more condensed format.  

Change in book counting:

I have decided to change up our book count method.  As you might have noticed in the past I have only noted the number of physical books that I have read.  But there are a number of books that are full length books, but I read on an e-book format and so I did not count it, making my book count much lower then it really was. So for now on I will count both full length e-books and physical books under the book count.  And then list all the things that I read either as a physical book count, or an e-book count, even if the e-book is a novella.  So my book count will be the number of full length books that I have read in the year, as well as a count of the number of physical books and e-books that I have read in the year.

Mother Night:

Mother Night by: Kurt Vonnegut
Fiction: humor,e-book
E-Book Count:1
Book Count:1

Note: this is my first attempt at writing this on a new screen, that does not seem to hate me yet.  But I am sure auto correct shall torment me soon on it.

This book is the story of a Nazi living in a run down apartment in NCY years after loosing the war.  And it is the story of a American spy that had nothing really left to live for with the war over. And it is the story of a writer whose wife and muse is gone, leaving him with nothing but memoires. And it is the story of a man hiding who he is, who becomes best friends with a Russian spy who is also hiding his true self. And as you might have guessed, all these men are the same guy, who is writing down his life story as he sits in an Israeli jail waiting to see if he will be killed for his war crimes or if proof that he was working for the USA will come in time.

Hexes and X's:

Hexes and X's: (Z & C Mysteries#3) by: Zoey and Claire Kane
Fiction: Mystery, E-Book

This is book 3 in the series, but is a stand alone story.  In this book they are dealing with missing people, murder, witches, a horrible storm, and a pirate treasure.  Also there is a river of poop, because some how the traps, clues and other things set up by the original owner of the antique house they are in, did not get changed in any way.  This includes the part that is connected to the cities sewer system, because that is realistic.

New Year's Resolutions:

As I stated yesterday, I will not be making resolutions that could not be done by the Amish, because then the machines won't win.  At least not this time.

1.- Required weight lost goal-  Less cheat days/foods.
2 - The spiritual goal - To read 12 books/essays/pieces by saints, religious leaders, and/or others on the subject.   Note to my kindle: Just because I loaded you up with things that fit this, doesn't mean that I don't have a supply of paperbacks that could work just as well, so don't get any ideas.
3- The writing goal- To work on at least 3 pieces this year. Note to the computer: I can write this with paper and a pen, given the attitude that the printer has, I might just start out this way with them.

So for my IRL friends, there is the list of things that you can bug me about this year.  Now I just need to eat all this junk food before midnight.

Last Year's Resolutions:

As you might remember from my earlier post, computers have decided to turn on me this year.  So almost everything that I had planned to do, I gave up on after having to deal with crashes, breaking and disappearing data.  So I  did manage to read the 12 books that I wanted too, and I think they all ended up on the FB list with rating, but besides that, I think this next year none of my resolutions should be dependent on electronics.

A Night of Horrors:

A Night of Horrors:A Historical Thriller about the 24 Hours of Lincoln's Assassination by: John C. Berry
Fiction: History, E-book

Yes, this another book that deals with an historic event by writing a novel style story based on the facts and information written by people that were there.  In this case it is the story of the events surrounding the assassination of Lincoln, and the plot to kill other members of the government at the same time.  This story is told from many different point of view, including that of Booth.  It also deals with what is happening in multiple places at the same time, so that you can read about what the president and other government and military members were doing at the same time as what Booth and the others working with him were doing.

The Lost Tribe of Coney Island:

The Lost Tribe of Coney Island: Headhunters, Luna Park, and the Man Who Pulled Off the Spectacle of the Century By: Claire Prentice
Non-Fiction: History, E-book

1st- We are back from our month(ish) of writing, and then gift buying. (We did finish a non-Nanowrimo piece today.)
2nd- This title was so long that I had to look up the book on-line to read it all.
3rd- All computers hate me, it is the only reasonable answer for this year, I do not know what I did to anger them, but they are mad.
4th- A review of the book. . .

This book is about the true story of when America first gained control of the Philippines and became enamored with the native peoples, especially the Igorrote tribe that were headhunters from the interior of the country.  They were first shown in the World's Fair in America and then Truman Hunt, got the idea to make money by showing them around the USA.  This started with a place on Coney Island, and ended up with them touring any county fair or amusement park that he could find, as he mismanaged funds, lied to governments, and kidnapped the tribes people after the one year term of their contract with him ended.  It is written in a novel format, but is based on all of the records that the author could find.  It also ends with more info on what happened to all the people, or at least all of the info they could find on them, as many of the records were lost, or there were not necessary much records to begin with. (For example, the records of people that went back to tribal life are almost nonexistent.)  It also deals some with other people that showed tribes people around America and Europe and the degrees in which the either also mistreated them, or treated them well, as well as the issues that this brought up

Rags & Bones

Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales ed By: Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt
Fiction: Short Stories, Classics, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Paranormal 350 pages
Book Count: 48

This collection of short stories are all based on other works: classics, fairy tales, etc.  Each one retells the story in some way; changing the time and place, point of view, or even taking the ideas in a whole new direction.

Happy Halloween!!!!!

Strange Histories:

Strange Histories: The trail of the pig, the walking dead, and other matters of fact from the medieval and Renaissance worlds By: Darren Oldridge
Non-fiction: History, Paranormal, Religion 175 pages
Book Count: 47

This book is about many unusual beliefs that people had in the Middle ages and during the Renaissance, and how given their world view and what the knew to be true, all of these things were logical.  It also talks about how this relates to things that we now think are logical or facts my be based more on world view and not scientific facts.  It deals with the arguments that people had over details for these things and how they were thought out and logical given what they knew.  For example, devils flying witches to locations was seen as more likely then them traveling there in spirit. Because, in the Bible it says the Devil transported Jesus to the top of the Temple, so demons must be able to move  matter.  And as only God has the power of life and death, removing a soul from a body was argued to also be something that only God can do.  So while a modern person might see the inverse as more logical, because it doesn't go against the rules for flight and many people have heard of out-of-body experiences, medieval people had logical reasons for coming to a conclusion that people today see as strange and unbelievable.

How To Write A Novel The Easy Way:

How To Write A Novel The Easy Way Using the Pulp Fiction Method to Write Better Novels. By: Jim Driver
Non-fiction: Writing, E-book

A quick read on how the quickly write novels using the methods that pulp fiction writers used.  Like the other book I have read from this author he used books and movies as examples, but in this one he explained them more, so you didn't have to already be familiar with the work.

Victorian San Francisco Stories

Victorian San Francisco Stories By: M. Louisa Locke
Fiction: Mystery, Short Story, History, E-book


This book is a collection of short stories all based of characters in the author's novels.  They all take place around a boarding house in Victorian San Francisco who's owner is a widowed young woman that pretends to be a physic as that is the only way that she can get paid for giving out financial tips at that time.  One story is like a prequel  to the books and explains how she started faking being physic, because she couldn't be a financial adviser otherwise.  The other storied mostly revolve around her boarders.  There are historic notes at the end for each story.

Star Trek The Starfleet Survival Guide

Star Trek The Starfleet Survival Guide By: David Mack
Non-fiction: Sci-fi, Pop Culture, 177 pages
Book Count: 46

This book is the companion to the "Starfleet Basic Survival Manual" that everyone gets at the academy.  It includes what to do in the various situations that the Enterprise always gets into.

Witches: A Horror Short Story Collection

Witches: A Horror Short Story Collection By: Mav Skye
Fiction: Short story, Paranormal, E-book

A collection of short stories having to do with witches, Halloween, and other horror things.  It also has a poem in it.