Dover Thrift Editions

April 20, 2016April 8, 2016 / J.K. / Leave a comment

This isn’t quite a series or book review, but if you haven’t been looking for the Dover Thrift Editions when you are buying books, you need to start. These are pretty much all classics of Literature at about as cheap as you can get.

I’ve bought these editions for as low as $1, and box sets at $8. For the most part, Kindle and other ebooks can’t even compete with the prices. If you have Prime you have free shipping already, but if not or you pruchase from somewhere else, you can load up on seven to eight books for super cheap and have then mailed for free.

If you like classics or have any interest in reading them, I highly recommend doing it with these editions. I buy all the classics I read this way. Though, maybe they are not always the best translations. If you are reading Tolstoy or someone else who’s book translations are disputed, do a little research first, it may not always be best.

I’m not getting paid, nor is this whatever the hell those fake post are called, to write this. I just like books and happen to have Prime. I’m also trying to hit a lot of the classics I missed in school or are just now hearing of. That being said, remember I do have an amazon store, so if you want to go browse it, you can click on Dover Thrift Editions to see what all they have to offer.

Updated Reading Challenge

April 12, 2016April 9, 2016 / J.K. / Leave a comment

My 2016 Reading Challenge

Through a quarter of the year, I’m on pace to reach my goal. So far, I’ve read 11 books, which would put me on track to read about 44 this year, easily meeting my challenge of 31. I doubt I’ll actually keep this pace, but it’s a nice thought. I’m geeking out a bit with the Goodreads tracking function, because it allows you to order the books by page numbers (as in below, with the exception of Tyndale) and also tells you the number of pages you’ve read (0f books you’ve finished). I’m at 2,163 in case anyone was interested. Actually, it looks like they are only counting eight books in that number, not sure why.

Books so far:

I’m currently reading Bavinck, Crime and Punishment, Thinking Fast and Slow, The American President, and The Last Girl, as well as Morning by Morning.

A few more on my list (whether I get to them this year or not):

Novels – Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Hyperion, Girl on the Train, and probably some free kindle stuff.
Christiany books – Don’t Waste Your Life, Disciplines of a Godly Man, Radically Normal, Lost World of Genesis 1
Bible Study – pretty much all the Minor Prophets, using the New American, Tyndale and Word Biblical Commentaries.
Non-fiction – Misbehaving, Jimmy Carter’s Reflections at 90, Sapiens

Book Review: Pirate Latitudes

April 6, 2016July 11, 2016 / J.K. / 1 Comment

Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton

My Rating –If You are Looking for Something

Level – Easy & quick, medium length

Summary

It’s about pirates. If you are like me, what more do you need? Actually, it’s technically not about pirates, it’s about privateers and they are very particular to make it clear that they are not pirates. Anyway, if follows an English privateer in Port Royal (like, from Pirates of the Caribbean) who has a chance to attack a Spanish fort, that is considered impenetrable, to get to a Spanish Galleon that he hopes is carrying lots of gold.

He assembles his core team, which is of course a color, ragtag bunch, as well as a few dozen other unnamed crew members and sets sail. With storms, other ships, and of course, a kraken, the mission takes on almost an “Odyssey” feel. There are number of interesting twist and turns as the adventure takes much longer than expected. Read it and decide if it has a happy ending or not.

My Thoughts

I’m a fan of anything pirates or Michael Crichton, so I wasn’t disappointed. The book is a little long, and meanders a bit at the end, before finally concluding. I’m also a big fan of the ‘round-up.’ The part where the protagonist sets off to assemble is crew. Crichton does a great and entertaining job of this, early on in the book. If anyone cares, I’ve read that this book is incredibly accurate in regards to maritime history, but, obviously, I can’t confirm that.

There are parts that are predictable and cliché, and an anti-climactic dual that was disappointing, but overall, if you are heading to the beach and want a fun book to read, this is a great option.

Commentaries on 1 Peter

March 30, 2016March 30, 2016 / J.K. / 1 Comment

That would be ‘first’ Peter, not ‘one’, for those unfamiliar with the Bible.

So, I’m not going to review 1 Peter here, at least not in the usual book review sense. I may put a few notes out there later, but for now I want to leave a few thoughts on the commentaries I used.

First and foremost, you should be using a commentary.

We just wrapped up our study on 1 Peter this morning. It has been a great eight week study that had us deep in the text and introduced me to a few guys at our new church. I used a few different commentaries in my study – Tyndale was my main one, which I read word for word. I consulted Baker Exegetical , New International, as well as a little bit in the New Bible and the abridged Expositors.

I was surprised to find how readable Baker’s was. I have to say it was probably my first choice overall, the one I found the most insightful. I would definitely recommend Baker’s if you are going for a highly technical one.

Tyndale’s commentary was, as usual, highly readable and approachable, but 1 Peter was written by Wayne Grudem, so it is certainly technical enough. As he has written one of the most of the most popular and readable systematics, it’s not surprise this one pack so much in. If you are watching your budget, take Tyndale over Bakers, but if you can, do both.

I don’t think one is enough (ever really), but especially when you some tricky topics, such as Jesus proclaiming to the spirits in prison. Baker’s Jobe as posits a somewhat different view of the audience than you’ll likely read in other commentaries. I found it very compelling and would say it’s very much worth the read. The New Bible Commentary entry was a bit short, but I will probably find that more and more as I use other, larger commentaries. Probably still a worthwhile read as an into to a book.

The abridged Expositor’s I found somewhat lacking. I’ll admit I didn’t jump into the unabridged, so, I may be more a byproduct of the editing than of the overall content itself. And of course, I used one of my study Bibles, in this instance, it was the Reformation one and it was also great as an overview.

It was overall a great study, sad to see it over. However, Mrs. MMT and I are now jumping into the first 11 chapters of Genesis. Her and I have never done a study, just us two, so I’m excited and interested to see how that works out. As always, I’ll have thoughts on the commentaries used and hopefully a few mediocre study notes posted.

If you are interested, you can buy the commentaries I mentioned:

1 Peter (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries)
1 Peter (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament)
The First Epistle of Peter (The New International Commentary on the New Testament)
Hebrews – Revelation (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary)

Book Review: Confessions

March 24, 2016July 11, 2016 / J.K. / Leave a comment

Confessions– St. Augustine

My Rating – If You Have Time

Level – Moderate, seems longer than it is.

Summary
Basically his autobiography for the first nine chapters, then a chapter on memory, and wraps up his last three chapters in discussing the first chapters in Genesis. His life story is interesting enough, his mother was a Christian and that influenced him. He went off to school and talks about his shenanigans with his boys.

Later on he joins up with the Manicheans but, after the death of a friend, becomes disillusioned with them. Eventually he hears Ambrose preach and after discussion with friends and reading Romans in a garden, he converts and is baptized.

My Thoughts
My confession: I didn’t really like this book. It’s considered a seminal work in Christian Literature, but I just never got into it. Maybe because of the translation (Penguin Classic), but I didn’t like the writing. It was one of those, say in 20 words what you could say in five type writing styles.

His time at school was probably the most interesting to me. His pondering as to why he would steal pears when he had his own, probably better ones. It certainly should make most people question these things in general, and resonates with males who engaged in general jackassary as adolescents in particular. The thoughts on memory are interesting in a philosophical way, and his chapters on Genesis are worth reading for his style of exegesis.

Overall, I just wasn’t a fan. I hesitated to rank as I have, instead of lower, at the same time, feeling I should rank it higher, due to its place in history. So, I guess, if you have time, check it out and see for yourself.

Book Review: Atlantis Trilogy

March 23, 2016July 11, 2016 / J.K. / Leave a comment

The Origin Mystery (3 Book Series) by A.G. Riddle

My Rating – Must Read for Sci-Fi or historical fictions fans. Put It On The List for everyone else.

Level – Fairly easy and medium length, reads quickly.

Summary
So, this is actually three books, but you knew that, because… ‘Trilogy’: The Atlantis Gene, The Atlantis Plague and The Atlantis World . I’m not really sure how to summarize this. Starts out with some spies, then a bunch of attacks across the world, then you get everything for the rest of the series – global plaques, ancient history, Nazis, aliens, cool Tibetan Monks, long (very long) running timelines and conspiracies. Just go buy it.

My Thoughts
I actually found the first book on the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library on one of the rare cases that it worked. I ended up reading the rest of the series through it as well. I found myself driving home after work thinking about the story and wondering what would happen next, looking forward to getting home and reading for an hour or so before Mrs. MMT and Sprout got home.

The story kind of bounces around different categories, as mentioned above, but I suspect, that overall if you don’t like some nerdy things, you may not like it. If you have any interest at all, the book will be great. I have to admit, towards the end of the third book, it winds down as if he (the author) isn’t sure how to ended, and it was just kind of done. You begin to see the ending coming anyway, so I don’t think it detracts too much, but it does end with a fizzle.

Still, go buy all three in paperback and knock them out at the beach or lake over the summer.

Zondervan Counterpoint Series

March 17, 2016April 8, 2016 / J.K. / Leave a comment

I’ve posted many articles about reading recently and wanted to highlight a series here. I first came across these a few years ago and was instantly intrigued. I thought it was a great way to show differing views with the spectrum of Evangelical Christianity. After reading a few, I’ve put them on my list of must haves for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of a topic.

The book starts with a topic (Adam, Hell, Women in Ministry, etc.), and then has three to five people make their case for their particular view. The authors are usually scholars who have written many books or commentaries on the subject. However, the generally do well writing to a broad lay audience. After each makes their proposal, the others make short critical responses. The original author then has a chance to briefly respond to the criticisms.

I really can’t imagine a way for Christians to get such an in-depth, but (fairly) short and simply written scholarly discourse. Every Christian who has an interest or struggle in belief in a certain issue should start with the Counterpoint series.

If you are interested in buying, you can find them quickly through my amazon store.

Book Review: Do More, Better

March 16, 2016July 11, 2016 / J.K. / 1 Comment

Do More Better: A Practical Guide to Productivity by Tim Challies

Rating – Add it to your list (for most); probably not worth the time (for people already well organized)

Level – Readable, short, step-by-step approach

Summary – It is really difficult to write a summary that doesn’t just rip off the table of contents. Basically, he explains the system that works for him. This includes a mission statement (he calls this a productivity catechism), then finding things that get in the way of your productivity and finally the tools to tackle the problems.

I want to focus on the tools here, because in the month or so that I’ve read this book, I’ve tried to adopt them all. The first tool is a basic task manager. He recommends Todoist, and I’ve jumped on the bandwagon. It’s very intuitive and I use it multiple times a day. The price of the book may be worth this chapter alone. Second tool is a calendar; he recommends Google, it’s nice enough. I use a calendar for everything at work, but never tried to apply that idea elsewhere. It’s been most helpful in keeping me aware of when I have time to do things and when I don’t; which, in turn, helps my task management.

The final tool, I still haven’t gotten a hold on. He calls it something to gather your information and recommends Evernote. I really like the web clipper extension, but haven’t found much else that is helpful, yet.

He wraps it up by reminding us that for the system to work, you must live on the system and you must maintain it consistently.

Review – I particularly like the lazy-busy excuse/productivity thieve; it hit close to home. There are many things I’d like to do (though I sometimes put it on God) and I wish I was more productive. After adopting the first two of his recommended tools, I’ve already noticed a difference. It sounds like a cheesy add, but not only am I getting more done, but I have more time. This book could be very helpful to anyone who needs a productivity boost.

On Commentaries

March 15, 2016March 26, 2016 / J.K. / 1 Comment

I’m a big believer in the use of commentaries. I put them second on my list of books to buy, once you have the basics. This is mainly because some parts of the Bible are just strange. Others are thousands of years old and in a geography you may not be familiar with. The books of the Bible were written in different languages than we speak today and was given to an audience with a vastly different understand of the world. Finally, good commentaries can give you the differing views out there on a particular difficult topic, or even historical views that have changed due to some new information.

Which ones should I buy?

The unfortunate (for your wallet) answer is, all of them. Seriously, maybe not everything that exist (dozens of commentaries on each of the 66 books), but I have come to believe that you should get the best one you can find for each book, though some can be grouped together. A friend of mine told me this once and I really didn’t like it. It’s tedious and expensive, but it really is the right answer. Well, actually, it is the best answer for some. Most people aren’t going to go buy something like that New International Commentary full set of 46 volumes that cost about $1,500. If you want that many and are willing to spend, it’s better to go book by book.

Why is this case? Honestly, some volumes of a set are just weaker than others. I’d also argue that some books (of the Bible) are more familiar to you with less technical issues, in which case, you can get by with a cheaper, less in-depth commentary.

There are multiple levels of technicality, depth and type of commentary to buy. First would be a single volume(ish) and this is where I’d recommend starting if you haven’t used commentaries before. The second level is for Bible study or devotion, these will be shorter, less technical and written more to a believer about a text and growing in the Word. Third level is for those prepping to lead a Bible Study or a pastor for a sermon; or someone looking to invest the time for a deeper understanding. Final level is academic. These may be highly technical and not always translate the original languages. They will be most engaged in scholarship and least engaged in personal growth. Most people will never need/use these if they aren’t a pastor, seminary student, professor or big nerd.

Example of a commentary length/depth based on 1 Peter (which is only 5 Chapters) –

New Bible Commentary – 17 pages

Expositor’s Bible Commentary – 80 pages

Tyndale Commentary – 248 pages

Word Biblical Commentary – 416 pages

My Recommendations

Single Volume(ish) – I say ‘ish’ because, while there are good intentions of getting a commentary to one volume, that leaves you with one big-ass book. I personally use and recommend the New Bible Commentary. I also use the abridged version of the The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, which is actually two books, Old and New Testament.

Bible Study/Devotion:

Expositor’s Bible Commentary – This is another great into/first step, offering lots of great info from an evangelical perspective and can be had at a great price when you buy use or the old (12 volume) edition.
NIV Application – Has its feet in both the study and devotional side, though is quite large at 42 volumes.
Sets like the Weiserbe and Boice (I haven’t used either, put Boice is on my list) that are more focused on devotion is something I have in mind here. If you ever buy an entire set from a single author, it must be for devotional purposes, as no one person can be an expert on every book of the bible.

Message preparation:

New American Commentary – These are solid scholarly written books, while remaining somewhat brief (41 volumes, so combing some books). Easy to find used volumes for $10-15.
Tyndale – Probably the least technical of those I’d recommend. Also, great prices, they printed them in paperback and you can find old copies or used ones at a great price. Olive Tree often has them on sale for $99, which is a hell of a deal.

Academic:

Baker Exegetical Commentary
New International Commentary
New International Greek Commentary
Word Biblical Commentary

Other Places for Recommendations:

You’ll probably notice that I didn’t go into detail about which commentary for which book. Two reasons for this, my main goal is to give you an idea of what’s out here and secondly, I haven’t read multiple commentaries on every book of the Bible. Instead, I use these guys to help me select which commentaries to get.

You can also find all the commentaries I’ve used or recommend at my amazon store.