Sex God: Exploring The Endless Connections Between Sexuality and Spirituality by Rob Bell

Summary 

Sex God is about what sex tells us about God. And about how relationships are what make us human and what it really means to be human.

It's a unique book. All the Christian books I've ever read about relationships until now were mostly about what to do and what not to do and how to do it and why. This book is kind of backwards of that. Instead of looking at sex and relationships from a human perspective, it looks at them from God's perspective.

What I liked

I liked the uniqueness of this book. It was new and a little exciting. The message was clear and Bell's writing is easy to connect with. He uses simple language to convey deep thoughts and he does it well.

What I didn't like

Bell's simple language includes a lot of repetition. That's not necessarily a bad thing and I think it's well used in this case.

Also, the writing often seemed a little vague and fluffy.

Conclusion/Recommendation

All in all, though, a very good book. The vague fluffiness might make it somewhat more accessible.

It's the kind of book that, if I had any children, I'd want them to read while they were still young. So I'll recommend it to most people, parents and children. It makes great fodder for discussion.

The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World by Lewis Hyde

Summary

This book was given to me as a gift by my great friend, Vince. 

I really don't know how to summarize this book. Someone named Zadie Smith comments that the book is "A manifesto of sorts." I tend to agree. It could be a sort of artist's manifesto...

It could be that. It could also be a sort of anarchist's manifesto, or a socialist's manifesto, or a communist's manifesto; or it could be a theological discussion, or an historical discussion, or an academic analysis, or an economic philosophy, or any number of other things.

The gift in the title is many things. At the beginning of the book it is a physical gift, one item given by one person to another. From there it morphs into a sort of spiritual gift: an act of grace, a service. It is also a sort of abstract gift, for example, the giftedness of a poet or painter or pianist. And it refers to the finished work of an artist as his gift to ... I'm not quite sure. To the world? No... not really. But not quite as specific as to only one person. ...It is a gift to any one who is truly able to appreciate it and who is changed by it, even if in some very small way.

It is very difficult to be precise with a summary of such a deep and broad book but I think I could say, without being too far off the mark, that this book is about the concept: art = generosity.

What I liked

This book stirred me. I like being stirred. It also inspired me. And I like being inspired.

The book is written in an academic style. It uses argument and logic, analysis and interpretation, examples and illustrations. It is very well written and flows excellently. Its sentences are magnificent. As a result, the book is relatively easy to ingest.

What I didn't like

Digestion, however, is slightly more difficult. The topic is deep and broad. The book is long. The chapters are long. The subsections are long. I often found my mind wandering while I read. I had to go back and reread whole pages and sections.

Conclusion/Recommendation

This is the book for you if:

-you have any artistic inclination

-you like to read before bed to help you sleep

-you need a new book by your toilet

-your name is Joanne and you're a nerd because you like long boring books

-you're interested in economic theory/history/literature/theology/etc.

-you like/dislike Walt Whitman or Ezra Pound

-you like/dislike gifts

OR

-you begin the spelling of your first or last name with an alphanumeric character

In other words, if you want to read a book that will be both rewarding and time consuming, read this book.

I won't be rating this book. It'd be just ridiculous. I'll just say that it exceeds perfection.

Proverbs

So Janelle had the fantastic idea of getting children to come up with endings for some common proverbs ... so we provided three of our friends Aoife, Eoin, and Ashlin with the first few lines and they filled in the blanks like this:

1. A bad penny always flies/ falls/ farts.
(A bad penny always turns up)

2. A fool and his money are not cool/ the same.
(A fool and his money are soon parted)

3. A man is known by his scream/ face/ name.
(A man is known by his friends)

4. A woman's place is in bed/ in her heart/ in the laundry room.
(A woman's place is at home)

5. All roads lead to a pickle/ destinations/ somewhere.
(All roads lead to Rome)

6. All the world loves a playground/ hope/ Eoin.
(All the world loves a lover)

7. As soon as a man is born he begins to cry/ grow.
(As soon as a man is born he begins to die)

8. As you make your bed, so must you wash your face/ get up.
(As you make your bed, so must you sleep in it)

9. As you sow, so must you hurt your thumb/ stitch.
(As you sow, so must you reap)

10.Barking dogs seldom stop barking.
(Barking dogs seldom bite)

11. Beggars can't be rich people/ winners.
(Beggars can't be choosers)

12. Business before charity/ noon.
(Business before pleasure)

My personal favourite is "business before noon."

V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd

Plot Summary
The Cold War didn't quite go as history records it. No, a nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union left most of the world in a rubble. England, however, was spared from most of the destruction. Severe climate change, however, has devastated the island nation and after a period of chaos a fascist government took control.

Now the people are oppressed. They are monitored by surveillance cameras in every public place and in their homes. There is no freedom of speech. All media is controlled by the government. Non-Aryans and homosexuals, and anyone who is different in anyway is outlawed. Most of those were exterminated ages ago when the government first took control.

Now, though, a persistent and elusive terrorist named V seems to have taken control of the government's systems. He has disabled the government's surveillance and communication systems bringing about a new era of chaos as the people rediscover their freedom.

What I liked
The characters were very well made and believable. And memorable. The character progression and growth is well developed and enriches the story. I like that.

The world of V for Vendetta is also very well made. The detail is very rich and the world is very believable.

It's a dark story. But it has many redeeming qualities. V is part superhero, part intellectual idealist, part terrorist. He's a very well-made and enigmatic character. I felt myself wanting to keep reading so I could find out more about him.

What I didn't Like
Surprisingly I liked the movie much more than the book. Although the movie changed certain things (like merging the characters of Almond and Creedy into one man) it preserved the plot very well and cut out many of the side stories and minor characters that were included in the book. I don't have anything against the side stories and minor characters, in fact, they contribute to the story by giving much greater detail to the collapse of the fascist government. However, they made the story seem so much more disjointed. To me, at least. I had a very hard time following what was going on.

I found many of the drawings difficult to decipher. I had a hard time making out which character was depicted and what they were doing. I had to rely on the dialogue to indicate who was speaking and what was going on. Many of the characters look alike, it was hard to tell them apart. Maybe this was intentional. It certainly underscored how good the dialogue was.

Maybe graphic novels just aren't my thing... Maybe someone with more experience in the genre would have less difficulty deciphering it.

Conclusion/Recommendation
It's a rich story full of deep characters. But it takes a considerable amount of concentration to wade through all the vagueness in the drawings.

In the end, though, I feel that the book was well worth reading. So I give it a rating of 4/5 masked freedom fighters.