Not Alone: Reflections on Faith and Depression by MonicaA. Coleman – Great book! This is a
collection of reflections that are from Coleman’s blog, Beautiful Mind. I really like that it is a forty day
devotional, as opposed to one for the whole year-Coleman knows that people with
depression have trouble with commitment.
I love Coleman’s theology and her devotionals are thought provoking and
affirming. Her writings are not condescending,
cheesy, or trite the way some mainstream devotionals tend to be, but ring with truth as Coleman is a theologian who
experiences depression herself. She
tells it like it is and I really appreciate that. If you are looking for a devotional that isn’t
just a collection of syrupy sweet sayings, then I heartily recommend this book.
Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionate Politics by Bell Hooks – I started a feminist book club and this was our first book. This book isn’t quite what I thought it would
be in that I think sometimes Hooks is so broad that one doesn’t get a clear
picture of what a feminist looks like. What
I like about the book is that it touches on a lot of issues and how feminism
still applies to them-the book would have been perfect for when I was a student
in college and I was assigned to answer the question of why our society still
needs feminism. I knew without a doubt
that we still needed feminism, but I had trouble coming up with compelling
reasons for the class debate. I wouldn’t
have that problem now! All of the people
in my book group could feel that Hooks was holding herself back from fully
delving into deep explanations and we shared a feeling of frustration in
reading the book. Still, I like Hooks’
simple definition of feminism and have found it very useful. Unfortunately, even though the book was
written in the nineties, the book still seemed very out of date, as Hooks
barely talked about body image, eating disorders, trans rights, or ableism at
all-all of which are hot topics now. I
would recommend the book for any feminist newbie, with the hope that it would
inspire the feminist to research the topics much further.
Candide by Voltaire – This was a fun read! I read this for my classics book club and it
was nice to have a light book that made me loud out loud. The book is a satire written in the 1700s,
which makes fun of the idea that everything is the best of all possible
worlds. I’m sure we all know people who
are insufferable optimists that believe that everything is the best of how it
could possibly be, but talk to an oppressed person and you will know that that
isn’t true. Everything in the book is
outlandish and absurd. I really liked
the ending.
The Silent Years by Alan W.C. Green – This was my least
favorite book of the month. In fact, I
didn’t even finish the book, but I am required to review it for Speakeasy. It’s a novel written about Jesus from the
perspective of one of his relatives. The
relative is a Pharisee and by getting to know Jesus, he comes to change his
perspective on what following his religion means. To me, this book just wasn’t innovative or
progressive enough. For instance, Mary’s
virginity is taken as a truth, when I think most modern adult Christians have
come to the realization that Jesus’ virgin birth was a propaganda myth. Also, it portrays Joseph as being so
understanding and forgiving towards Mary that I found his point of view
completely unbelievable. I have always
loved Joseph, because I always imagined that he must have wrestled with extreme
anger and disbelief and yet he chose to forgive Mary and love her anyway. The Joseph in this book is so sweet that he
does not seem human. After a few
chapters, I continued to find the characters to be completely unrelateable and
gave up.
Currently Reading:
The Odyssey translated by Samuel Butler
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