Permanent current book reading thread

[William Thornton]

Feel free to offer here any current books you are reading, along with commentary, likes or dislikes, and/or excerpts. I will delete any reading assignments offered here.

[William Thornton]

I'm reading Paul Theroux's latest grimy travel book, "The Last Train to Zona Verde."

[Haruo]

[Tim Bonney]

I've been using "Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A Volume 1" for those who plan worship by the Revised Common Lectionary. So far I've been very pleased with the resource.

I've also been re-reading "Celebration of Discipline" by Richard J. Foster. I used it for a Sunday School study on spiritual Disciplines. It isn't new. But it is a good book that gives practical advise on spiritual disciplines.

[William Thornton]

You guys are evidently much more spiritual than I am....

[Tim Bonney]

[Haruo]

[Tim Bonney]

[ET]

Currently trying to wrap up John Ragosta's "Wellspring of Liberty: How Virginia's Religious Dissenters Helped Win the American Revolution and Secured Religious Liberty ". Started it back in the spring during my daughter's volleyball season....set it aside and now trying to finish off the last 1/3 of the book. Good history, even if I find it a bit more of an "academic paper" read than something written for us reg'lar folks.

[Sandy]

Germany 1945: From War to Peace, by Richard Bessel.

[Stephen Fox]

That said I am now reading Walter Johnson's Twelve Yrs a Slave and Ben Fountain's Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk.

I guess for suggestions some of you will have to wander to Public Policy from which Rev Thornton stole my thought.

But that's okay. His respect for Yates Frady will cover a multitude of sins.

[James]

I just finished Cade's Cove: the Life and Death of a Southern Appalachian Community 1818-1937. by Durwood Dunn, professor of History and Political Science at Tennessee Wesleyan College. The book is based on family histories of the Oliver family, the first settlers of the Cove, and records of the Primitive Baptist Church and the Methodist Church and County records. Dr. Dunn takes on many southern Appalachian stereotypes and shows how inaccurate these stereotypes are in relation to Cade's Cove and its inhabitants. I found the chapters on religion and the Civil War to be the most interesting reading. The Primitive Baptist Church set the moral and spiritual code for the Cove and most of its inhabitants and, surprisingly, the Primitive Baptists found no conflict between theology and science. This ensured that educational standards and practice and farming methods were among the most progressive in the entire state of Tennessee.

I also got reacquainted with Fly Boys, one of the most gruesome war histories I have ever read. The book pretty much proves that war can be declared for legitimate and just reason, but when the shooting starts the methods of war are seldom just and humane. If any of you are readers of WWII history, you need to read some of the histories published after 1995. That date is significant for one reason. All of the millions of pages of official reports classified SECRET at the end of the war are now unclassified.

[William Thornton]

The Cade's cove book looks interesting.

[Stephen Fox]

The Fox family owned 1,000 acress over in the Walland Community about 20 miles NW of Cades Cove as the Crow flies. In the Walden's Creed Community about five miles East of Pigeon Forge.

Thanks for this recommend James. Gonna post it on an extended Fox Family Facebook site of us East Tennessee Foxxes.

[Mrs Haruo]

I just finished "Dressmaking for Real Women" by Lorna Knight. Its for us "full figured gals" on how to flatter the curves we want to keep and camouflage the ones we don't. Also "The Feisty Stitcher-Sewing Projects with Attitude" by Susan Wasinger. It has some interesting uses for re-purposed materials. There was a fake fur lined trapper's hat that would make a great "Church Hat" for the Iditerod dog sled race. Now back to cataloging 400 Esperanto books that got donated to our library....

[Lamar Wadsworth]

I'm definitely going to check out the book on the Sacred Harp tradition and the Cades Cove book. If you enjoy fiction set in a country church in west Georgia, check out my latest novel, Remembering Miss Addie. Available in print or e-book from Amazon, B&N. It would be a good gift for someone exploring a call to ministry, or a gift to thank an older person who has been a mentor and encourager to others.

[Ed Pettibone]

[KeithE]

Just finished Sycamore Row by Grisham. It is one of his better ones.

Back a week ago, finished all of by Douglas Amy (as I have promoted herein). It is a real delineator between right and left in this country (angers many, resonates with many). Look at it’s online reviews (6 5 stars, 5 1 stars, no 2,3,4 stars). All in all it clarifies the chasm we have. I have always appreciated many government services that many take for granted, but Part I of the book shows me many ways I had not even considered. Part II (about the Crusade against government starting with Russell Kirk’s The Conservative Mind in 1953 thru the Tea Party in 2011) is OK but not as complete or insightful as by George Tyler or by Hedrick Smith. Part III was a real treat to this progressive about Revitalizing Democracy and Government starting precisely as I see it with strict public financing of political campaigns. He sees government as watchdog (I use the term accountability), consensus builder (perhaps impossible), law enforcer, acknowledges defense, provider of value-added jobs to grow the economy and more than anything use the power of creative ideas. Full of hopeful visionary ideas that have been proven out in smaller “state=level” programs (not much into learning from international approaches). Highly recommended if you want to understand the progressive mind (or even if you don’t). I do wish it had an index.

My son and daughter have been after me to read for some time. I’m have had some trouble getting into the “colors” of thinking in that book - must be a generational thing. But I’ll give it a longer try and that will probably take me into January. If any of you have read this or a follow-on book my son really wants me to read: by Ken Wilbur, I’d love to hear your thoughts on these new paradigms.

On the side for the last year or two, I have been trying to read 1 Lesson/week (as able on weekends) in by Richard Feynman, et.al. Still in Volume I (lecture 36) of III volumes. I find it interesting, but I’m a geek.

So many books I've bought that deserve reading. I’ll admit that I’m addicted to buying books and although I’m a moderately fast reader, I do not have that much time. Still pondering retirement but having too much fun at work these days. If that ends, I’ll retire.

[William Thornton]

Finished Theroux, , and have started .

I've always been drawn to Theroux, partly because of my bent towards vicarious travel and partly because of his incessant irascibility. I recommend Zona Verde to my mod/lib friends so they can see what a society structured for the benefit of the ruling, corrupt elite really looks like. My views on short term mission tourism and 'do good' NGOs are colored by Theroux's stark descriptions of what he has seen in Africa.

In Zona Verde he makes the point that "One of the paradoxes of tourism is that people go on vacation where people are having a tough time,” an apt description of many of our short term mission trips, ubiquitous in my religious circles. We spend a good chunk of money, sometimes more than the annual per capita income of the country we visit, operate out of a western hotel far beyond the reach of the people among whom we minister, leave after a week or two, and congratulate ourselves on the splendid work we have done.

[Sandy]

[Stephen Fox]

Kudos to Thornton for good turn of a phrase and also his vocabulary in last post. Good use of vicarious.

Some facebook friends of some influence the last couple weeks have been sharing their top ten most influential books, in reverse order. I have joined that banter and may share thoughts here soon.

May search out, Thornton, the Charleston Civil War book as I finished Walter Johnson's River of Dark Dreams, a few weeks ago; about which I have been gah gah since reading the Delbanco review, Lincoln's Long Game in New Republic six months ago. An easy google I heartily recommend all.

Harry Potter's new book is about a small town in England that has enough back biting for Collinsville, Alabama. I heard the hour long panel review on drshow.org last week and may be enough there for me to jump in to continue to gain popularity here in the town where Momma was baptized.

Pearl, slave girl in the Novel The March by Doctorow coulda been Rosa Parks had she lived in that era. Sandy should read that novel and both her and Thornton as well as Lamar must see Patsey The slave of the Movie 12 Yrs a Slave on the biggest screen they can find. Great movie, likely Oscar winner and the death knell on the Daughters of the Confederacy cause their lies have no more currency. See also Thompson on the daughters in easily googled Salon piece.

[Stephen Fox]

I've read Johnson and Doctorow two of the best books out there and made kind reference to your or Sandy's choice. That with a reference to ten books that have had influence on me and likewise some other friends.


Otherwise have a good Christmas. The thoughts on 12 Yrs a Slave are key to Sandy's evolving thought on the Civil War.

[Tim Bonney]

I've been reading but have not finished, "Square Peg: Why Wesleyans Aren't Fundamentalists." - Al Truesdale

I believe the author is Nazarene. The book was recommended to me by a Nazarene pastor. I think it is a good read and has a very good explanation of a Wesleyan theological understanding of the inspiration of scripture etc.

[Haruo]

do earn qualify?

[William Thornton]