Back on track with my book a week for 2007 plan. Almost half way there. Surprisingly all 4 books got nothing less than an A-.
The Rough Guide To Shopping With A Conscience (A+)
This book isn’t exactly a novel. It’s more or less a “resource” book. Meaning that you can turn to any section and read a few pages while you’re sitting on the toilet. Which is basically how I read this book. It’s the only book out of my those I’ve been checking out from the library that I will ultimately buy. Just because it is full of excellent resources for “shopping with a conscience”. There are tons of websites . . . great articles on individual companies . . . and some good overall portraits of entire industries. Not bad for a toilet read. The only bad thing was that I usually didn’t have my computer with me on the toilet to check out the links they gave.
Oil On The Brain: Adventures From The Pump To The Pipeline (A)
This was an absolutely great book. I was a little nervous about it. Expecting it to be pretty boring and borderline conspiracy theory-ish. It was anything but. It was honestly one of the most informative, engaging books I’ve read in a while. Not once was I bored while reading it. And I really feel like I learned a whole lot. The author basically lays out the process of how we get our oil. Starting with the pump and working backwards towards the refineries, derricks, and pipelines. She even spends time discussing 5 countries that are (re)shaping the oil industry. The book is super-balanced (which I honestly was hoping it would give me reasons to boycott gas companies that I already mega-loathe). She is fair. Honest. And extremely insightful. The stories of the workers from the countries like Venezuela, Iran, and Niger are heart breaking. Realizing that my constant “being on the go” is so far removed from their poverty.
The Watchmen (A-)
This book is for the nerds. It’s a graphic novel. Which basically means it’s a comic book. But in a meta-fictional way. So if you want to read a 250 + page comic book . . . this is the one for you. It’s considered the classic of graphic novels. I picked it up because it is by the author who wrote V Is For Vendetta (which was also a graphic novel before it became a movie). And the producers of Sin City and 300 are making a movie out of it. The producers of LOST also said it was one of the most influential books of all time and that they borrowed heavily from it. Without giving away the plot, it’s basically the LOST comic book. It’s really good. The only reason I gave it an A- instead of something higher is that it ended rather abruptly and was left open-ended. Which I’m finding myself less and less a fan of. If you like LOST you should definitely read it. And if you like comic books . . . I’m sure you’ve already read it.
Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense (A)
N.T. Wright does it again. He’s brilliant. Literally the most brilliant theologian of all time. I put him up there with the “greats”. And he’s still living. If you haven’t read any of his works . . . then you’re missing out. This is by far his most accessible books. While I have read and love most of his other works, I would never recommend them to anyone because they are basically for theology nerds. Extremely wordy. Extremely heavy. Extremely weighty. One of his books took me over 8 months to read. And I was reading from it 3 to 4 times a week. This book isn’t like that. I read it in 4 days. It’s great. If you ever wanted to know “my theology” . . . why I believe what I believe . . . or what I believe . . . this is it. I know most of my friends and family think I’m a raging heretic (maybe so?) . . . but this book explains my theology better than I could. A lot of people are comparing it Mere Christianity. While I wouldn’t compare the style to it . . . I think it has the potential to be that vital in scope. It’s a breath of fresh air. And really, really good.
[tags]Alan Moore, David Gibbons, The Watchmen, Rough Guide To Shopping With A Conscience, Oil On The Brain, Simply Christian, NT Wright, Lisa Margonelli, Book Reviews[/tags]
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2 Comments
i found the last 6 chapters to be the better 1/3 of the book.
it is funny some would say you are a heretic. what he lays out in the book is pretty down the line orthodox.
i will add these books to my list.
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[...] also very moving and the illustration was really great. So when I first heard that The Watchmen was good and that it heavily influenced the creators of LOST…well, I knew I wanted to read [...]