Mark's #39 - A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole

Ignatius J. Reilly is an overweight 30-year-old deluded eccentric that lives at home with his widowed mother in New Orleans circa 1960.  While that plot beginning doesn't sound like it would make for a great read, this is truly one of the best books I've ever read.  As the title suggests, each character is a fantastic dunce in their own way.  The author weaves together a hilarious and intricate tale of mishaps, plunders, and comic tragedy (winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1981). I've tried to write a plot review of this great book several times now, but each time my review seems unworthy of communicating the genius of Toole's writing, humor and characters.  As such I'll leave you with just a few quotes from the book:

"With the breakdown of the Medieval system, the gods of Chaos, Lunacy, and Bad Taste gained ascendancy."

"You can always tell employees of the government by the total vacancy which occupies the space where most other people have faces."

“I avoid that bleak first hour of the working day during which my still sluggish senses and body make ever chore a penance. I find that in arriving later, the work which I do perform is of a much higher quality.”

“I am at the moment writing a lengthy indictment against our century. When my brain begins to reel from my literary labors, I make an occasional cheese dip.”

I've also read that they are making a movie of this great book, where Zach Galifianakis is slotted to play the protagonist... which sounds about right.  Do yourself a favor and read the book first though.

JRF's #22 - The Gospel Focus of Spurgeon by Steven Lawson

The doctrines of grace, often labeled Calvinism, have often and unfortunately been misused, misunderstood, and misrepresented throughout church history.  Some misunderstand the Scripture's teachings on election and predestination to mean that humanity has no responsibility for the state of their heart and behavior.  Others misuse the sovereignty of God to foolishly and blasphemously cultivate a pride that they are elect and others are not.  Still others suppose that the predetermined and unalterable plan of God's redeeming work in the world negates the need to be obedient to His command to preach the Gospel to all nations.  Perhaps most commonly, Calvinism is often misrepresented as portraying a cold, distant God whose eternal sovereignty overrides man's free will in a way that allegedly makes a truly loving relationship between Creator and creation impossible.

Charles Spurgeon stands in the pages of history with such greats as William Carey, Jonathan Edwards and Calvin himself as a example of one who was driven by a deep commitment to the doctrines of Sovereign Grace while not veering into the dangers of misunderstanding and misapplying them.  Not only did Spurgeon not see a contradiction between the absolute sovereignty of God and the absolute necessity of evangelism, his conviction of the former drove his passion for the latter.

Pastor Steven Lawson does an excellent job of showing this connection through navigating the reader through many well chosen quotes from Spurgeon himself.  There are so many quotes in fact that in fairness I think Spurgeon should be listed as the co-author of the book.

I highly recommend this book to all believers, but especially those who may have doubts about Calvinism and/or those who may have found that their version of Calvinism has sadly produced a cold numbness towards the lost.

"The Holy Spirit will move them by first moving you.  If you can rest without their being saved, they will rest, too.  But if you are filled with an agony for them, if you cannot bear that they should be lost, you will soon find that they are uneasy, too." - Spurgeon

"Spurgeon boldy declared that preaching unconditional election is evangelistic.  He said, 'I have never preached this doctrine without seeing conversions, and I believe I never shall.'  When people asked him how he reconciled preaching election with extending the gospel, he asserted, 'There is no need to reconcile them, for they have never yet quarreled with one another.'  He was right.  Divine sovereignty and gospel evangelism go hand in hand, the former preparing the way for and ensuring the success of the latter."

Mark's #38 - Brothers, We Are Not Professionals by John Piper (2002)

For the past year or so, I have been reading through this book with the Men's leadership team at The Harbor.   Each time we meet, we read one of the thirty chapters written by the preeminent pastor of our time, John Piper.   These chapters comprise Piper's passionate plea to pastors and church leaders addressing a wide variety of pastoral issues and concerns.   The readings have led to great discussions amongst the leadership team and helpful reminders to keep us focused in the right direction as we shepherd the flock God has entrusted us with.  In chapter is typical of pastor Piper's theology; God-centered and Christ exalting. Personally, the most impactful of these chapters were;

4. Brothers, Live and Preach Justification by Faith

8. Brothers, Let us Pray

9. Brothers, Beware of Sacred Substitutes

14. Brothers, Show Your People Why God Inspired Hard Texts

16. Brothers, We Must Feel the Truth of Hell

22. Brothers, Tell Them Copper Will Do

25. Brothers, Give Them God's Passion for Missions

If you are a pastor or lay leader in the church, this should be on your 'must read' list.

Mark's #37 - Eating The Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman (2009)

Analayzing a wide-range of topics, Pop-culture philosopher Chuck Klosterman's prose displays a rare ability to ask interesting and revealing questions about who we are and why we do what we do in today's culture.  Whether he's writing about the evolving nature of football, the 'fight the system' attitude of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, the debacle that was the U.S. governments handling of David Koresh and his Waco compound, the feasibility of time travel, or the astute technological observations by the Unabomber, Klosterman helps the reader to pause and think in an age of shallow thinking. Some of the articles (which best describes the chapters since there is no overarching theme or connection between chapters), I found a bit boring, particularly the ones relating to musicians and bands.  I realize that pop music, its stars, and its lyrics have a wide-reaching effect on culture, but it's just not my thing.

For a better review of this book, read Ron's - I'm glad Ron will be able to talk with me about the West Coast Offense (if he remembers), and I'll be able to relate to him through his love for ABBA (confession: I skimmed over this chapter, since I have no interest in ABBA).

Drew's #15 -- Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

 

OK story.  A little more of  a "young adult" than I expected, but an interesting concept.  Basically, a young fry cook in a small town named Odd Thomas can see dead people and demons; following his encounters, he tries to anticipate catastrophes, console troubled spirits, or even avenge the dead with the help of his girl friend and other familiars in his town.  Kind of  an extrapolation from the movie "The 6th Sense" with Bruce Willis with a little more predictable plot.  Lots of chatty back-and-forth/smart-mouth banter, TV show characters, and Elvis's ghost--just for fun.  OK, but nothing to go out of your way for.

JRF's #21 - The Thirty Nine Steps by John Buchan

As one of the characters in this book exclaims when the protagonist recounts his adventure, "...It's all pure Rider Haggard and Conan Doyle!"

Indeed Scottish writer John Buchan's thriller deserves a place at the table with the giants of early 20th century adventure classics.

The story follows Richard Hannay, a jack of all trades recently returned to London from South Africa, as he get caught up in a German plot to steal British military secrets on the eve of World War I.  Hannay is very much like the literary Dr. Watson and at many times the story felt like something that would happen if Sherlock wasn't around to deduce them out of danger, and Watson instead had to punch, run, or shoot his way out.

A fun read (minus a sprinkling of anti-semitism) that I happened upon while perusing the free book shelf at the Iwakuni BOQ.