Let me explain though. I’m pretty solidly rooted in the “give me a real book” camp and if I’d been using my own hard-earned cash it isn’t too likely that I would have purchased this for myself. But birthday money is birthday money and I was throwing caution to the wind. With so many books that are out of copyright available for free, I really couldn’t turn down the opportunity.

What sold me on the Kindle over the Nook (and a few others) was the fact that there was no backlight. The whole reason I choose not to read books on my MacBook is because of the eyestrain. I spend enough time here writing and reading blogs, no need for me to add to that. The E Ink technology that’s used in the Kindle is really cool. My worry the entire time was that I couldn’t get past the fact that what I’m reading is not physically a book. But this technology has brought us something that looks like a page on a book. It’s clear, easy to read, and something I’m very comfortable with now, just a few days after unboxing it.

The weight and the way you hold it helps as well. It feels somewhat like a book and you hold it in a fashion similar to what you would a traditional book. All the things I thought would hold me back are just not there.

So, here I am. A convert. No, I won’t be throwing all my books out and it’s doubtful that I’ll drop my PaperbackSwap account. I haven’t bought any full-priced Kindle books yet and I think it may be a while before I do. There’s so much available for free out there!

And the “Collections” feature? Something this OCD person can totally get behind.

Nope, Amazon didn’t give me diddly-squat for this. I just like my Kindle.

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2000 years in the making, The Red Letters Project is a dynamic, one-of-a-kind Rock and Pop tour-de-force built on the real Rock, Jesus. Using the words of Christ as found in the Gospel of Matthew (New Living Translation), The Red Letters Project is an unique alternative to spoken-word audio Bibles and traditional rock albums, blending the timeless life-changing text with a musical medium resonant with a new generation. The Red Letters Project is an excellent gift for teens, young adults, lovers of God’s Word, and any fan of rock music, regardless of age.

This was not my cup of tea, at all. I listened to each and every song on all three discs, hoping that the vocalists would be different, the style would change, that a tune would be catchy or something.

Nothing. For me it got very old listening to the same two or three artists (all unknown to me) sing the verses. Probably because there was little change in the vocalization, but it might also be because the book of Matthew is not one of the poetry books of the Bible and for me it didn’t work to set it to music.

I’m not sure who will like this. Maybe people a little older than me who grew up listening to Christian groups like Petra or MxPx? I can’t say for certain. Being around today’s youth quite a bit I can say that I don’t think they’ll enjoy this. You have to be a big fan of a very particular type of music and not mind that the same 3 people are singing all 40 tracks on this compilation. For me it would have worked better if there had been a wide variety of some notable Christian artists who had taken part in this.

Great idea; poorly executed.

A complimentary copy was provided by Tyndale House Publishers for the purpose of reviewing.

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The 40 days leading up to Easter, known as Lent, are set aside as a time for reflection and self-denial in preparation for the celebration of Easter. This year at Lent, orient your life toward Jesus Christ with this unique devotional taken from Holy Bible: Mosaic. Encounter Christ by reflecting on the words of Scripture and the art and writings of Christians across time and cultures. Includes full-color artwork; contemporary and historical writings; prayers, poems, and hymns from throughout church history. Full text of each week’s devotional Scripture readings is also included.

These are tiny booklets, great for handing out to friends and family (what I did) and provide devotions for each week of Lent. I didn’t use them to go through Lent and unlike last year, I didn’t give anything up. However, the devotions and scripture readings were wonderful. My mom, because she thought I was turning Catholic, was asking about the devotions sitting on the coffee table and I offered her some to take home. She even gave one to a pastor at their church.

I appreciate Tyndale’s generosity in handing these out for free (almost) in time for Lent and I think that if you are looking for something for a small group to use next year during the Lenten season, this would be a great booklet to check out.

A complimentary copy of this title was provided to me by the Tyndale Blog Network for the purpose of reviewing.

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This week I had the privilege to review a book by one of my favorite Christian fiction authors, Liz Curtis Higgs. Her latest book, Here Burns My Candle, does not disappoint. Higgs once again tells the story of characters in Scotland with a biblical tale superimposed over their lives. This time we’re looking at the story of Naomi and Ruth. Theis book was a delight to read and I never wanted to put it down. Higgs has a way of doing that. Her books are some of the very few romances that I enjoy reading. there is something about the way that she handles the characters that I really love. They are round, believable, and most importantly — real.

Here is the publisher’s summary:

Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets. A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.

Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.

His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory’s many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.

One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.

A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland, Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.

Here Burns My Candle is available for purchase from the publisher.

This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

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It is in their new collaborative work–Love & War–that John and Stasi Eldredge discuss how men and women operate in marriage offer their advice on how to find “the marriage you’ve dreamed of.” I usually go into books like this with a critical eye because I’m not sure that anyone has it figured out, but I am always up for listening to wisdom from those who have been married for many years. The Eldredges have a good track record and more than likely I would have bought this book on my own had I not be offered the opportunity to review it before I had the chance to get to the bookstore.

There is so much to learn from this book. There’s no way I could cover it all in this review and I won’t begin to try. What I will tell you is that I love the way these two write together. It flows, isn’t choppy, and doesn’t feel like a constant narration of other people’s stories (which “Christian living” titles are wont to do).

One of my favorite parts of the book was at the beginning, when they brought up something that came up again and again throughout the rest of the text. In the first chapter they discuss how our marriages are a part of a much larger story–one that God has written. To quote them, “The Bible begins with a marriage, and ends with a marriage.” Like them, I’m not sure that I had ever noticed that before. The Bible is a story of love, devotion, and redemption. There are so many parallels to be drawn there and the Eldredges do a fabulous job of captivating the reader, drawing us into the story they weave, and telling us how, in their experience, the marriage of our dreams is possible. Not to say that it will be without the bumps in the road and various struggles that plague all human relationships. But with the love of Christ in our hearts we can learn to give ourselves fully and in turn experience a connection far beyond the fairy tales of childhood dreams.

At 222 pages it is a quick read and one that I will be going back through very soon.

This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

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I come from a religious background that really emphasizes spiritual experiences and it always struck me as odd that angels weren’t often included. Dr. Jeremiah’s book is a great bit of wisdom for those wondering how angels come into play in our daily lives, how God uses them, and how some people abuse the term “angel” and distort what the being truly is.

I was impressed with the amount of research the author put in and believe that you can trust the conclusions he comes to. There are plenty of references to the passages he uses from the Bible, along with a number of anecdotes he employs to show both sides of where most people stand on angels — including anecdotes featuring those that misuse the beings for the most part. It’s interesting because he brings up the fact that they are either telling a falsehood or that they are being betrayed. And I think we all know who the betrayer is here.

This book was such an interesting read. I would recommend to anyone who has ever wondered about angels and what their roles are — in Heaven and on Earth.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

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A lot of places, as it turns out. Without getting into all of the theological concerns I had about the book, it just wasn’t the spectacular read I was expecting. It is interesting, but most likely only for those who have a pedestrian knowledge of the series and who haven’t thought very deeply about the meaning of some of the symbolism. What Seay gives us is a very basic look at some of the Biblical symbols used in the series as well as examples of how redemption is a main theme.

I think I got that from the first season of the series, how about you?

The difficulty here is knowing who he is aiming this book at. Clearly, you must have some knowledge of the series before going in, but not too much or he’s going to lose your interest pretty quickly. Maybe this would be good for someone who is in the middle of Season 1 and who doesn’t know much about what’s going on. Then again, it’s riddled with spoilers and it is easy to see that the author put the finishing touches on right after Season 5 concluded. It doesn’t appear that the book will be relevant at all after the beginning of Season 6 (tonight, folks!), much less after the series has concluded.

One thing I hope I don’t see is this book in a religious section of a book store. It is a light commentary on some of the Biblical symbols as they are presented in the series. In no way does it make the deep connections that I believe may be possible to draw between what the creators of this series are doing and the Bible. There just isn’t a lot of quality material here.

Save your $14.99 and do the research yourself. Breaking out your Bible and employing a working knowledge of very basic Sunday School curriculum will provide you with a much deeper understanding of what the author is trying to get at than what he does himself.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided for me by Thomas Nelson.

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I give this one my stamp of approval. They succeed in using language that is relevant to pre-teens (Wait, you call them “tweens” now, right? I’m old. Forgive me.) with images that are just cutesy enough to appeal to those on the younger end of the spectrum they are aiming for, without making it feel too young for the older girls. I enjoyed this and I’m 25.

The subject matter is definitely age appropriate and focuses on key Biblical concepts that are important to grasp early on. Devotions are labeled by topic, all of which were things that girls of this age deal with (friends, relationships with parents, and one topic I found that accurately describes the opinion of many a middle school girl — “It’s Not My Fault!”).

For Girls Only! Devotions would make a great gift for any pre-teen girl and is the perfect starter to get our younger ladies in the habit of doing devotions.

A complimentary copy of this title was provided to me by the Tyndale Blog Network for the purpose of reviewing.

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This isn’t an easy read. Eggerichs quickly dives into some serious issues that couples deal with in their relationships, bringing up topics that aren’t always the most pleasant to discuss. But I think that’s the point. Talking about things and learning our different styles of communication can help us to overcome so many obstacles.

I can’t say that I learned a lot of new things in this book. There were a few books we read in our pre-marital counseling that covered the same topics and did it in a few chapters rather than a book. Honestly, I feel I got more out of those chapters than this whole book. It’s not a throwaway though. If you feel like you could stand to learn more about the importance of communication in marriage and how women and men really do speak different languages, this book is a great pick. If you’re already familiar with the topic you won’t find much new information here.

A complimentary copy of this book was provided for me by Thomas Nelson.

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