I must say, I didn’t expect my weekend to be so full. Nonetheless, it was good and a lot accomplished. Friday started with a book review I posted here. The book is one of those that are so good if is often hard to find the right words to tell how much you enjoyed the story or how much the story impacted you without giving spoilers. Funny thing is that after I turned in the reviews to the publishers, more thoughts came to me about what I could have written. Oftentimes I will sit on a review in cases such as this but decided to just turn the review in and pray the review inspires someone to read the book when it comes out. The important thing is that I got my point across that I really love the story. It certainly impacted me on an emotional level.
Saturday was stitch book day on my YouTube channel and we are exploring leaves and dots this month while combining previous prompts and themes to stitch books. This month we are also making a stitch book cover for our fall prompts. Fun stuff!
The day carried on with watering the plants, cleaning house and dog sitting for my brother. Charlie is my brother’s dog’s name and he is a cutie. After that, the day ended with reading, “Two Times Murder”
by Adam Oyebanji. This story includes a bit of themes that have captured our modern society’s attention and has impacted us greatly. That is all I am going to say on the matter for now. As far as the mystery aspect goes, I’m finding it intriguing. I have not read this author’s work before and I believe this is Oyebanji’s second book? He has an interesting writing style but I’m adjusting and enjoying the story so far. I’m also reading, “A Feast of Folklore” by Ben Gazur. Wow, I have so much to say about this book!
Sunday, I met with a dear friend for coffee and stitch time. She is teaching me to knit. A few years ago, she started to teach me and other distractions happened. This time I am sticking to it and I’m really enjoying the endeavor. Knitting is so calming and I can totally see this activity being habit forming to say the least. Luckily, I have a stash of yarn already and will be making myself get through most of the stash before purchasing anymore yarn. At least that is what I’m telling myself.
How much reading did I get in this weekend? Well, not as much as I would have liked but a fair amount. I did expect to finish a book and start drafting a review from the notes I took. Hoping to be able to have time to do that tomorrow. I’m working towards turning at least two book reviews in a week. That is the plan anyway. How was your weekend? Did you get any reading time in? How is the weather your way? The season is starting to change!
Acquiring books and reading them are entirely two different hobbies. I must say in the last few years, I have been working on curating my home library and working out what criteria I want to set to grow my stacks.
Many books I’ve donated over the decades and many I have kept. I must confess there were a few books I’ve regretted donating but have found copies at library sales that I added back to my book stack. There are also books that are out of print I want to acquire again or read for the first time. The hunt is on and the journey is exciting!
In this book stack series, I’m going to be sharing books I’ve previously read and review from Netgalley and want to obtain a physical copy for my home library. I have found a few over the years already but no time like the present to blog about this journey. May this series inspire you and perhaps you will discover books you want to add to your stacks. First up…
Going all the way back to 2014 for my first pick to share is, “A Matter of Grave Concern by Brenda Novak”. I remember enjoying this story, found the themes intriguing and would definitely like to read it again and add it to my library. I need to go see if this was a stand alone or if this turned out to be a book series. The book title highlighted above is a link to my review here on Layered Pages. By the way…I love the book cover!
About the Book:
When Maximillian Wilder hides his noble identity and joins the notorious body snatchers known as the London Supply Company, the last thing on his mind is love. He’s worried about Madeline, his vanished half-sister, who was last seen in the company of Jack Hurtsill, the gang’s conscienceless leader. Raiding graveyards, stealing corpses, and selling them to medical colleges as dissection material is dirty work, but Max knows he must gain Jack’s trust. He’s determined to find out what happened to Madeline—and to bring Jack to justice if she was murdered for the coin her body could earn.
Beautiful, spirited Abigail Hale, daughter of the surgeon at Aldersgate School of Medicine, detests the challenging, hard-bargaining Max almost as much as Jack. But she must procure the necessary specimens if she is to save the college and her father’s career. She believes she is going to be successful—until Jack double-crosses her. Then she’s swept into a plot of danger and intrigue, one where Max must intervene to protect her, no matter the risk to his plan…or his heart.
Secrets of the Stones is the second book on my backlog I’ve read since starting back reviewing books. I went way back on my list with this one. I can’t get over that it is from 2016! How in the world did I miss this? I know the answer but still…Glad I chose this to review next. Catching up with one book at a time. Be sure to read some of my thoughts on the story below.
Book Description:
Within the mysteries of the body, especially those who have been murdered, 18th-century anatomist Dr. Thomas Silkstone specializes in uncovering the tell-tale clues that lead towards justice… Newly released from the notorious asylum known as Bedlam, Lady Lydia Farrell finds herself in an equally terrifying position–as a murder suspect–when she stumbles upon the mutilated body of Sir Montagu Malthus in his study at Boughton Hall.
Meanwhile Dr. Thomas Silkstone has been injured in a duel with a man who may or may not have committed the grisly deed of which Lydia is accused. Despite his injury, Thomas hopes to clear his beloved’s good name by conducting a postmortem on the victim. With a bit of detective work, he learns that Montagu’s throat was slit by no ordinary blade, but a ceremonial Sikh dagger from India–a clue that may be connected to the fabled lost mines of Golconda. From the mysterious disappearance of a cursed diamond buried with Lydia’s dead husband, to the undying legend of a hidden treasure map, Thomas must follow a trail of foreign dignitaries, royal agents–and even more victims–to unveil the sinister and shocking secrets in the stones…
My Thoughts:
I absolutely love a good historical mystery thriller and this one fits the bill. I believe this story is the sixth in the series and I started with this one first. Why am I always doing that? Sigh. I don’t know. Well, I’m happy to report that after reading this book I want to go back and read the first five.
Eighteenth century anatomy interest me in several areas. Particularly the dissection of the human bodies and their analysis on how they died and perhaps leading to why and other considerations from scientific purview. The author certainly has a lot of material to work with when writing about crimes and mysteries in the eighteen-century due to the general public’s discovery of deaths through the publication of newspapers and such.
Dr. Thomas Silkstone is a fascinating character to say the least. He used scientist evidence and clues to help solve crimes. Which is refreshing when looking at how crimes are often concluded by ignorance, no evidence, convenience, mob rule and pure speculation throughout history. It makes me shudder to think how many innocent people have been convicted of crimes they did not comment and the punishments and the lifetime imprisonments they have endured.
I must admit, I was fascinated with the aspect of Silkstone’s method in investigating the crimes commented more so than his romantic involvement with Lydia- at first, I couldn’t see the attraction. Towards the end, she grew on me a little despite being in the background quite a bit more than I expected.
In this story, Lydia seemed to have the worse luck and finds herself in continual trouble at every turn. As I read this story I couldn’t help wonder if this was the case in the previous books. I cannot attest to the development of Lydia’s character since I haven’t read the other books in the series but I have my suspicions that she may be portrayed as a fragile woman and constantly needs recusing-you know, “Damsel in distress”. Towards the end of the story, there was an instance where Lydia was in the presence of Silkstone’s colleagues and one of the colleague’s brother discussing the crime(s) and their wary of Lydia’s “sensibilities” irked me a bit as they chose their words carefully or omitted them in her presence. Was it out of the “polite society” of the time, or was it because men considered women the “weaker sex” and felt the need to shelter them? Or it could be just plain out of respect for her that they guarded their tongue. I’m still undecided on that score. I will say that death was all too common during those times as it is in our century and women are made of tougher stuff than we are often given credit for in many situations. I can assure you this is not a slight on the author’s story-telling what-so-ever. On the contrary, she portrayed that quite well in the scene and has given me a lot of food for thought about certain topics and cultural norms when it comes to stuff like this. Again, keep in mind I’m not too certain of Lydia’s characterization.
I must say there were a lot of characters to keep up with and at times I was frustrated with that fact. Nonetheless, this story was well written, entertaining and a brilliant historical mystery read. As the clues were stacking up, the danger escalating, there was very little left to chance as Silkstone raced to solve the mystery before more people were murdered.
I must caution the reader and mention that there are gruesome details in how the crimes were commented. Beware of that fact.
Overall, the author does well in presenting multiple motivations for murder to have you fully immersed in the story to find out the conclusion.
Without a doubt, historical fiction mystery lovers will enjoy this adventure.
Stephanie Hopkins
I obtained a galley copy of this book from the publishers through NetGalley for an honest review.
Kate Khavar’s debut book is the first book on my netgalley backlog list I’ve read since recently starting back reviewing books. This is one of those stories I’m torn about. More of my thoughts below…
Book Description:
Saffron Everleigh is in a race against time to free her wrongly accused professor before he goes behind bars forever. Perfect for fans of Deanna Raybourn and Anna Lee Huber, Kate Khavari’s debut historical mystery is a fast paced, fearless adventure.
London, 1923. Newly minted research assistant Saffron Everleigh attends a dinner party for the University College of London. While she expects to engage in conversations about the university’s large expedition to the Amazon, she doesn’t expect Mrs. Henry, one of the professors’ wives to drop to the floor, poisoned by an unknown toxin. Dr. Maxwell, Saffron’s mentor, is the main suspect, having had an explosive argument with Dr. Henry a few days prior. As evidence mounts against Dr. Maxwell and the expedition’s departure draws nearer, Saffron realizes if she wants her mentor’s name cleared, she’ll have to do it herself. Joined by enigmatic Alexander Ashton, a fellow researcher, Saffron uses her knowledge of botany as she explores steamy greenhouses, dark gardens, and deadly poisons. Will she be able to uncover the truth or will her investigation land her on the murderer’s list?
My Thoughts:
I believe it is safe to say that the book cover and title caught my attention first to this story.
Saffron Everleigh is quite the character. One moment you want to shake her and the next you want to hug her. She tends to be a bit reckless and puts herself in dangerous situations without thinking it through. Eveleigh is a woman of intelligence in a male dominated field and has to work even harder to been taken seriously. You see the struggle through the story and she doesn’t give up but her reckless actions wasn’t helping much for her I kept thinking. When I thought she’s finally learned her lesson she goes and does another life altering dangerous thing and puts herself and a colleague’s life on the line. I must say I had wondered how she was going to get out of that sticky situation to say the least!
While I wasn’t feeling the chemistry between Saffron and Alexander, I did enjoy their interactions and talking through the what ifs on who is the perpetrator.
While I felt a few details and characters could have been fleshed out a little bit better and the pacing was slow at times, this was an entertaining story. As for this story being a series, I’m hoping what I felt needs to be approved upon happens in the books after this one.
I did enjoy the Botany aspects of the story very much.
Stephanie
Side Bar: I may get to the other books in this series at some point in time. I would like to keep up with Saffron and seeing what other trouble she might get into.
A big thank you to Crooked Lane books for a galley copy through Netgalley for an honest review.
In the last two previous posts, I discussed new beginnings and a never-ending compilation of books. I had taken a bit of an extended leave in blogging and reviewing books. The blogging part at least was random at best however. My blog post titled, “A Never-Ending Compilation of Books Part I,” is about my long overdue visit to NetGalley. You see, I haven’t reviewed books in a long time. I wasn’t even sure I was ever going to again. I had my reasons but that is no longer relevant.
Deciding not to select, accept or request new books to review until I either went through my backlog to decide if I wanted to catch up on a few or decide if I still wanted to review them quickly changed! Sigh. It’s a book enthusiast curse me thinks. At least that is my poor attempt of an excuse. Maybe or maybe not. I have an idea. Hear me out please and don’t judge. I know there are a few of you out there that are in the same state of mind (Insert laugh). I got to thinking, perhaps I could accept or requests slowly while working on my backlog. Did I execute that idea? You bet. Shameful-I Know-but in my defense, I requested a few to see what would happen as an experiment thinking there is not a chance on a bookshelf, I would be approved to review them. Well to my utter shock, I was approved for four of them except two! Those still may go through. Maybe. One never knows with NetGalley. It’s a bit of a lottery it seems like at times, except for the publishers that auto-approve you. I’m actually quite surprised I’m still auto-approved by several publishers considering I have been inactive in reviewing for a very long time. Someone is surely smiling down on me and I’m grateful and thankful that I still may have standing in the reviewing books circle or at best a fresh start. Cheering!
Below is a slideshow of the first group of books I’m going to review. This includes books from my backlog. So far, I’ve finish “The Bad Neighbor by Jenifer Ruff” and I’m almost finished reading, “The Resistance Bakery by Siobhan Curham. Off to an excellent start I must say!
Side Bar: I thought it would be fun to start a reader’s log. Something new and a little different.
It has been quite sometime since I browsed NetGalley for new and upcoming titles and it was delightful to search and discover books to add to my sorely neglected wish-list or to consider reviewing. I felt as if I was visiting a long-lost friend and we literally picked up where we left off as if it didn’t seem we were ever separated but for a short time.
I came across five books that sparked an interest and I look forward to further investigating and perhaps read in the future. Hopefully, read sooner rather than later. For now, I must purchase a new Kindle so that I may access my books on NetGalley. I definitely want to work on catching up to date on books that need to be reviewed or books I need to decide if I still want to review them before accepting new ones. Meanwhile, I’ll gleefully explore their galley of books to blog about and perhaps read one day.
Do these below titles interest you as well? There are so many reasons why these stories interest me and can’t wait to talk more about them!
Stephanie Hopkins
The Sinners All Bow
Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne by Kate Winkler Dawson
Description
Acclaimed journalist, podcaster, andtrue–crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson tells the true story of the scandalous murder investigation that became the inspiration for both Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and the first true-crime book published in America.
On a cold winter day in 1832, Sarah Maria Cornell was found dead in a quiet farmyard in a small New England town. When her troubled past and a secret correspondence with charismatic Methodist minister Reverend Ephraim Avery was uncovered, more questions emerged. Was Sarah’s death a suicide…or something much darker? Determined to uncover the real story, Victorian writer Catharine Read Arnold Williams threw herself into the investigation as the trial was unfolding and wrote what many claims to be the first American true-crime narrative, Fall River. The murder divided the country and inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter—but the reverend was not convicted, and questions linger to this day about what really led to Sarah Cornell’s death. Until now.
In The Sinners All Bow, acclaimed true-crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson travels back in time to nineteenth-century small-town America, emboldened to finish the work Williams started nearly two centuries before. Using modern investigative advancements—including “forensic knot analysis” and criminal profiling (which was invented fifty-five years later with Jack the Ripper)—Dawson fills in the gaps of Williams’s research to find the truth and bring justice to an unsettling mystery that speaks to our past as well as our present, anchored by three women who subverted the script they were given.
Save Our Souls
The True Story of a Castaway Family, Treachery, and Murder by Matthew Pearl
Description
From the bestselling author of The Taking of Jemima Boone, the unbelievable true story of a real-life Swiss Family Robinson (and their dog) who faced sharks, shipwreck, and betrayal.
On December 10, 1887, a shark fishing boat disappeared. On board the doomed vessel were the Walkers—the ship’s captain Frederick, his wife Elizabeth, their three teenage sons, and their dog—along with the ship’s crew. The family had spotted a promising fishing location when a terrible storm arose, splitting their vessel in two and leaving those onboard adrift on the perilous sea.
When the castaways awoke the next morning, they discovered they had been washed ashore—on an island inhabited by a large but ragged and emaciated man who introduced himself as Hans. Hans appeared to have been there for a while and could quickly educate the Walkers and their crew on the island’s resources. But Hans had a secret . . . and as the Walker family gradually came to learn more, what seemed like a stroke of luck to have the mysterious man’s assistance became something ominous, something darker.
Like David Grann and Stacy Schiff, Matthew Pearl unveils one of the most incredible yet little-known historical true stories, and the only known instance in history of an actual family of castaways. Save Our Souls asks us to consider who we might become if we found ourselves trapped on a deserted island.
A Feast of Folklore
The Bizarre Stories Behind British Food
by Ben Gazur
Description
Folklorist Ben Gazur guides you through the dark alleys of British history to uncover how our food habits have been passed down through generations of folklore.
Who was the first person to throw salt over their shoulder? Why do we think carrots can help us see in the dark? When did we start holding village fairs to honour gigantic apple pies? Or start hurling ourselves down hills in pursuit of a wheel of cheese? Gazur investigates the origins of famous food superstitions as well as much more bizarre and lesser-known tales too, from what day the devil urinates on blackberries to how to stop witches using eggshells as escape boats.
Hilarious and fascinating, A Feast of Folklore will introduce you to the gloriously eccentric folk who aren’t often noticed by historians. Here lies a smorgasbord of their dark remedies and deadly delicacies, waiting to be discovered.
Sisters in Science
How Four Women Physicists Escaped Nazi Germany and Made Scientific History by Olivia Campbell
Description
The true story of four women pioneers in physics during World War II and their daring escape out of Nazi Germany
In the 1930s, Germany was a hotbed of scientific thought. But after the Nazis took power, Jewish and female citizens were forced out of their academic positions. Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer and Hildegard Stücklen were eminent in their fields, but they had no choice but to flee due to their Jewish ancestry or anti-Nazi sentiments.
Their harrowing journey out of Germany became a life-and-death situation that required Herculean efforts of friends and other prominent scientists. Lise fled to Sweden, where she made a groundbreaking discovery in nuclear physics, and the others fled to the United States, where they brought advanced physics to American universities. No matter their destination, each woman revolutionized the field of physics when all odds were stacked against them, galvanizing young women to do the same.
Philadelphia (A Narrative History) by Paul Kahan
Pub Date Oct 29 2024
Description
Philadelphia is famous for its colonial and revolutionary buildings and artifacts, which draw tourists from far and wide to gain a better understanding of the nation’s founding. Philadelphians, too, value these same buildings and artifacts for the stories they tell about their city. But Philadelphia existed long before the Liberty Bell was first rung, and its history extends well beyond the American Revolution. In Philadelphia: A Narrative History, Paul Kahan presents a comprehensive portrait of the city, from the region’s original Lenape inhabitants to the myriad of residents in the twenty-first century.
As any history of Philadelphia should, this book chronicles the people and places that make the city unique: from Independence Hall to Eastern State Penitentiary, Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross to Cecil B. Moore and Cherelle Parker. Kahan also shows us how Philadelphia has always been defined by ethnic, religious, and racial diversity—from the seventeenth century, when Dutch, Swedes, and Lenapes lived side by side along the Delaware; to the nineteenth century, when the city was home to a vibrant community of free Black and formerly enslaved people; to the twentieth century, when it attracted immigrants from around the world. This diversity, however, often resulted in conflict, especially over access to public spaces. Those two themes— diversity and conflict— have shaped Philadelphia’s development and remain visible in the city’s culture, society, and even its geography. Understanding Philadelphia’s past, Kahan says, is key to envisioning future possibilities for the City of Brotherly Love.
Paul Kahan is an expert on U.S. political, economic, and diplomatic history. He earned his Ph.D. in U.S. history from Temple University and lives outside of Philadelphia with his family.
I’ve taken quite an extended leave of blogging and writing posts. That is not to say I haven’t been reading, writing or creating art. On the contrary, my journey steered me to a road of a deeper and more meaningful contemplation and study. The endeavor also brought reflection on how and when I was ready to blog again. This past Monday was the start and I began with sharing an art theme of “Weave” that I’m conducting on my YouTube channel and my thoughts on the project.
I have been a blogger for many years and it has had its highs and lows. It is thus for many, I’m sure. That subject may be for another time. While the absence of posting on this public forum may have injured my viewership, it has in no way dampened my love of sharing art, crafts, stories, and the written word nor does it discourage me to start anew while being aware of the time it will take to renew or reach an audience of like minds. I look forward to this new journey with you and may it inspire you.
Without further delay, I’m sharing two books I’m currently reading and highly recommend them to all you history lovers. What an adventure!
Stephanie Hopkins
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey by Candice Millard
Book Description:
At once an incredible adventure narrative and a penetrating biographical portrait, The River of Doubt is the true story of Theodore Roosevelt’s harrowing exploration of one of the most dangerous rivers on earth.
The River of Doubt—it is a black, uncharted tributary of the Amazon that snakes through one of the most treacherous jungles in the world. Indians armed with poison-tipped arrows haunt its shadows; piranhas glide through its waters; boulder-strewn rapids turn the river into a roiling cauldron.
After his humiliating election defeat in 1912, Roosevelt set his sights on the most punishing physical challenge he could find, the first descent of an unmapped, rapids-choked tributary of the Amazon. Together with his son Kermit and Brazil’s most famous explorer, Cândido Mariano da Silva Rondon, Roosevelt accomplished a feat so great that many at the time refused to believe it. In the process, he changed the map of the western hemisphere forever.
Along the way, Roosevelt and his men faced an unbelievable series of hardships, losing their canoes and supplies to punishing whitewater rapids, and enduring starvation, Indian attack, disease, drowning, and a murder within their own ranks. Three men died, and Roosevelt was brought to the brink of suicide. The River of Doubt brings alive these extraordinary events in a powerful nonfiction narrative thriller that happens to feature one of the most famous Americans who ever lived. From the soaring beauty of the Amazon rain forest to the darkest night of Theodore Roosevelt’s life, here is Candice Millard’s dazzling debut.
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage
byAlfred Lansing
Book Description:
The harrowing tale of British explorer Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 attempt to reach the South Pole, one of the greatest adventure stories of the modern age.
In August 1914, polar explorer Ernest Shackleton boarded the Endurance became locked in an island of ice. Thus, began the legendary ordeal of Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven men. When their ship was finally crushed between two ice floes, they attempted a near-impossible journey over 850 miles of the South Atlantic’s heaviest seas to the closest outpost of civilization.
In Endurance, the definitive account of Ernest Shackleton’s fateful trip, Alfred Lansing brilliantly narrates the harrowing and miraculous voyage that has defined heroism for the modern age.
Some of you may know I’m currently reading, Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World by Eric Metaxas and I’m enjoying the biography so much, I’m taking my time and reading slowly through the pages. I’ve already marked quite a few passages for my annotating. Metaxas’s detailed account of Martin’s life and the period is exceptionally written. As I have been reading this book, I decided I must read all his works and shortly after, I remembered I have a paperback copy of, Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery! I will be reading that story next! I’ve had that book a few years and I know the history through other sources. I do remember leafing through its pages and reading a bit here and there. I had intended to read it straight away and I’m not sure what happened! No time like the present, I say. Maybe it was meant to be. Regardless, I’m delighted to already own two of Metaxas’s works.
After reading both books mentioned above, there are two other books I’ve already chosen to read. I discovered and Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Letter to the American Church on YouTube. Metaxas’s channel and his guest appearance at churches and various interviews suddenly appeared this past Tuesday on my feed. Algorithms are useful at times, interesting and a bit unsettling all at the same time.
Stephanie
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy
Who better to face the greatest evil of the 20th century than a humble man of faith?
As Adolf Hitler and the Nazis seduced a nation, bullied a continent, and attempted to exterminate the Jews of Europe, a small number of dissidents and saboteurs worked to dismantle the Third Reich from the inside. One of these was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a pastor and author.
In this New York Times bestselling biography, Eric Metaxas takes both strands of Bonhoeffer’s life–the theologian and the spy–and draws them together to tell a searing story of incredible moral courage in the face of monstrous evil.
In Bonhoeffer, Metaxas presents the fullest account of Bonhoeffer’s life, including his:
heart-wrenching decision to leave the safe haven of America to return to Hitler’s Germany
involvement in the famous Valkyrie plot and in “Operation 7,” the effort to smuggle Jews into neutral Switzerland
lifelong dedication to sharing the tenets of his faith
This edition, revised and with a new introduction from the author, shares the deeply moving story through previously unavailable documents, including personal letters, detailed journal entries, and firsthand personal accounts to reveal never-before-seen dimensions of Bonhoeffer’s life and work.
Letter to the American Church
In an earnest and searing wake-up call, the author of the bestseller Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy warns of the haunting similarities between today’s American church and the German church of the 1930s. Echoing Bonhoeffer’s prophetic call, Eric Metaxas exhorts his fellow Christians to repent of their silence in the face of evil before it is too late.
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil.
Not to speak is to speak.
Not to act is to act.
God will not hold us guiltless.”
Can it really be God’s will that His children be silent at a time like this? Decrying the cowardice that masquerades as godly meekness, Eric Metaxas summons the Church to battle.
The author of a bestselling biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Metaxas reveals the haunting similarities between today’s American Church and the German Church of the 1930s. Echoing the German martyr’s prophetic call, he exhorts his fellow Christians to repent of their silence in the face of evil.
An attenuated and unbiblical “faith” based on what Bonhoeffer called “cheap grace” has sapped the spiritual vitality of millions of Americans. Paying lip service to an insipid “evangelism,” they shrink from combating the evils of our time. Metaxas refutes the pernicious lie that fighting evil politicizes Christianity. As Bonhoeffer and other heroes of the faith insisted, the Church has an irreplaceable role in the culture of a nation. It is our duty to fight the powers of darkness, especially on behalf of the weak and vulnerable.
Silence is not an option. God calls us to defend the unborn, to confront the lies of cultural Marxism, and to battle the globalist tyranny that crushes human freedom. Confident that this is His fight, the Church must overcome fear and enter the fray, armed with the spiritual weapons of prayer, self-sacrifice, and love.
About the Author:
Eric Metaxas is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther, If You Can Keep It, Miracles, Seven Women, Seven Men, and Amazing Grace. His books have been translated into more than twenty-five languages. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and the New Yorker, and Metaxas has appeared as a cultural commentator on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. He is the host of The Eric Metaxas Radio Show, a daily nationally syndicated show aired in 120 U.S. cities and on TBN. Metaxas is also the founder of Socrates in the City, the acclaimed series of conversations on “life, God, and other small topics,” featuring Malcolm Gladwell, Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, Baroness Caroline Cox, and Dick Cavett, among many others. He is a senior fellow and lecturer at large at the King’s College in Manhattan, where he lives with his wife and daughter.
On January 19th I posted about a few selected non-fiction books I have added to my wish-list. There are too many to count and not enough time in the hours of a day that direct our attention elsewhere! A bibliophile’s struggle one might often say. This topic is an enjoyable pastime to discuss among fellow book lovers and I’m delighted to be sharing this book blog entry with you.
This past weekend I began reading Martin Luther by Eric Metaxas and I’m enjoying his telling of Luther a great deal. I wanted to read a highly regarded biography on Luther and was delighted to find a copy at Half Price Books. I was fortunate to obtain a hardback that is in excellent condition. Below you will find the description of the Luther book and a few other titles that may pique your interest.
Martin Luther: The Man Who Rediscovered God and Changed the World by Eric Metaxas
Description
On All Hallow’s Eve in 1517, a young monk named Martin Luther posted a document he hoped would spark an academic debate, but that instead ignited a conflagration that would forever destroy the world he knew. Five hundred years after Luther’s now famous Ninety-five Theses appeared, Eric Metaxas, acclaimed biographer of the bestselling Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery, paints a startling portrait of the wild figure whose adamantine faith cracked the edifice of Western Christendom and dragged medieval Europe into the future. Written in riveting prose and impeccably researched, Martin Luther tells the searing tale of a humble man who, by bringing ugly truths to the highest seats of power, caused the explosion whose sound is still ringing in our ears. Luther’s monumental faith and courage gave birth to the ideals of liberty, equality, and individualism that today lie at the heart of all modern life.
Ben & Me
In Search of a Founder’s Formula for a Long and Useful Life by Eric Weiner
Pub Date 11 Jun 2024
Description
New York Times bestselling author Eric Weiner follows in the footsteps of Benjamin Franklin, mining his life for inspiring and practical lessons in a book that’s part biography, part travelogue, part personal prescription.
Ben Franklin lingers in our lives and in our imaginations. One of only two non-presidents to appear on US currency, Franklin was a founder, statesman, scientist, inventor, diplomat, publisher, humorist, and philosopher. He believed in the American experiment, but Ben Franklin’s greatest experiment was…Ben Franklin. In that spirit of betterment, Eric Weiner embarks on an ambitious quest to live the way Ben lived.
Not a conventional biography, Ben & Me is a guide to living and thinking well, as Ben Franklin did. It is also about curiosity, diligence, and, most of all, the elusive goal of self-improvement. As Weiner follows Franklin from Philadelphia to Paris, Boston to London, he attempts to uncover Ben’s life lessons, large and small. We learn how to improve a relationship with someone by inducing them to do a favor for you—a psychological phenomenon now known as The Ben Franklin Effect. We learn about the printing press (the Internet of its day), early medicine, diplomatic intrigue and, of course, electricity. And we learn about ethics, persuasion, humor, regret, appetite, and so much more.
At a time when history is either neglected or contested, Weiner argues we have much to learn from the past and that we’d all be better off if we acted and thought a bit more like Ben did, even if he didn’t always live up to his own high ideals. Engaging, smart, moving, quirky, Ben & Me distills the essence of Franklin’s ideas into grounded, practical wisdom for all of us.
Drawn Testimony
My Four Decades as a Courtroom Sketch Artist
by Jane Rosenberg
Pub Date 13 Aug 2024
Description
A penetrating, compulsively readable memoir about the four-decade career of America’s top courtroom sketch artist, for fans of Lab Girl and Working Stiff
Jane Rosenberg is America’s pre-eminent courtroom sketch artist. For over forty years, she’s been at the heart of the story, covering almost every major trial that has passed through the New York justice system. From mob bosses to fallen titans of finance, terrorists and sex abusers, corrupt cops and warring entertainment icons, she has drawn them all.
In Drawn Testimony, Rosenberg brings us into the high-stakes, dramatic world of her craft, where art, psychology and courtroom drama collide. Over the course of her legendary career, Jane has had a front row seat to some of the most iconic and notorious moments in our nation’s recent history, sketching everything from Tom Brady’s deflate-gate case, to John Lennon’s murder trial to cases against Ghislaine Maxwell, John Gotti, Harvey Weinstein and most recently, the indictment against former President Donald Trump. Readers will learn how she has honed her unique powers of perception, but also what her portraits reveal, not only about her subjects, but about the human condition in general.
Fearless, fascinating and gorgeously written, Drawn Testimony captures the unique career of an artist whose body of work depicts history as it’s happening.
My Roman History
A Memoir
by Alizah Holstein
Pub Date25 Jun 2024
Description
In this exquisite and profound memoir, a medieval historian traces her lifelong obsession with Rome and the encounters with the city’s past and present that became fulcrum points in her life
From the time she first felt called to its gates as a high school student fascinated by Dante and Italian thanks to a life-changing teacher, Rome has been a fixed star around which Alizah Holstein’s life has rotated—despite the fact that she bears no Italian heritage, and has never lived there long enough to call it home.
In this kaleidoscopic yet intimate memoir, her shifting relationship to a vibrant city layered with human history becomes a lens on why we look to the past, on the mysteries of affinity and desire, and on what it means to grow up. Holstein weaves the stories of Romans past and present, and encounters with the city of historical figures from Petrarch to Freud, into the narrative of her evolution from a curious student abuzz with the thrill of discovery, to a lonely researcher in a city to which she feels she belongs despite knowing no one, to an ambitious young historian struggling to find her place in the halls of academia. Following a trail of memories—that first taste of a tartufo cioccolato in Piazza Navona, the ancient walls of the Via Appia blurring from the back of a motorcycle, the smudge of ink on a manuscript left by a scribe’s hand over seven hundred years before—she explores what it means to be romana, Roman—and to find solace and self-knowledge in the presence of the past.
An enveloping, original, and deeply resonant account, set against one of the world’s most beguiling cities, of the unexpected things that give our lives meaning, My Roman History is a profound depiction of the winding path to self-realization, which—much like history itself—is mysterious, captivating, and ever-unfolding.
I’ve been on the search for books on Systematic Theology, further Biblical teachings of Christ’s ministry and Christian application with a non-Calvinistic view point and came across Norman L. Geisler. I found information saying he is considered “moderate Calvinist,” and that he is not a “Five Point Calvinist.” I find that to be somewhat reassuring in my search for the reading material I’m looking for. I am definitely willing to give his books a read. You see, I’m not a Calvinist nor am I a protestant. That said, I am not closed minded from reading different viewpoints; I’m just looking for particular studies for the moment. Mater of fact, I respect and listen to a lot of what protestants have to say.
Also, I’m planning on reading the books in my father’s library on Systematic Theology as well as adding to my own library.
First, what is Systematic Theology according to Oxford Languages? The theology is “a form of theology in which the aim is to arrange religious truths in a self-consistent whole.” In a nutshell, the systematic view is to give an orderly format of the doctrines of Christian faith. And let me tell you, I have seen and heard many different viewpoints. Below are a few books by Geisler that I’m interested in reading.
The Big Book of Christian Apologetics: An A to Z Guide (A to Z Guides)
The Big Book of Christian Apologetics is a comprehensive resource designed to equip motivated believers with information to help defend and explain their faith. Examining nearly every key issue, person, and concept related to Christian apologetics, this book clarifies difficult biblical passages, clearly explains various philosophical systems and concepts, examines contemporary issues and challenges, and offers classic apologetic arguments, all with the aim of giving readers the background to intelligently and persuasively talk about their Christian faith with skeptics. An expertly abridged version of the Baker Encyclopedia on Christian Apologetics, this resource brings leading apologist Norman L. Geisler’s seminal work to the masses.
A Popular Survey of the New Testament
Understanding the New Testament is a daunting but exciting task. Our world is so different from that of the first century. Yet it is important to understand the context and content of the New Testament if we are to be faithful followers. Now in paper, this survey addresses the who, what, where, when, why, and how questions that readers of the Bible may have, such as: How can we tell if what is written in the New Testament is true history or just mythology? When were these books written and why? and What can today’s believers get out of letters addressed to people who lived two millennia ago? Written in an easy, informal style, this survey is accessible and enjoyable to anyone who wants to better understand the New Testament.
Defending Inerrancy: Affirming the Accuracy of Scripture for a New Generation
According to the authors, the doctrine of inerrancy has been standard, accepted teaching for more than 1,000 years. In 1978, the famous “Chicago Statement” on inerrancy was adopted by the Evangelical Theological Society, and for decades it has been the accepted conservative evangelical doctrine of the Scriptures. However, in recent years, some prominent evangelical authors have challenged this statement in their writings.
Now eminent apologist and bestselling author Norman L. Geisler, who was one of the original drafters of the “Chicago Statement,” and his coauthor, William C. Roach, present a defense of the traditional understanding of inerrancy for a new generation of Christians who are being assaulted with challenges to the nature of God, truth, and language. Pastors, students, and armchair theologians will appreciate this clear, reasoned response to the current crisis.
Note: Also, I would like to mention a book of his I’ve had on my wish-list and at first, the author’s name escaped my memory. I’m delighted to know he has written the book along with Frank Turek of whom I know his work.
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Foreword by David Limbaugh)
Geisler and Turek argue that Christianity requires the least faith of all worldviews because it is the most reasonable. A valuable aid to those interested in examining the reasonableness of the Christian faith.
Layered Pages 