I love it when writers I enjoy get reflective and journal their process — when they slice open their artistic arteries and bleed out on the page, revealing what courses through their hearts. That’s why I enjoy [reading] writing books like Stephen King’s memoir on writing, as well as David Morrell’s,…
Killer squirrels attack. Oh, the irony.
In a completely non-churchy, frivolous post, I had to share this with you. My head is reeling with the story, and I’m amused that a piece of “creative” fiction I wrote doesn’t seem as far-fetched as I once thought. First, the news item, via the BBC. Last Thursday, a pack…
The One Book Meme. My Response.
I keep seeing these posts where memes get passed around, where one person “tags” another as an inducement to answer a list of questions. One is presumably supposed to answer the questions, post the response, and tag a handful of others. I had been secretly glad that I’d never been…
The Problem with Pentecostal Distinctives
Christianity Today just published an interview with Ben Witherington III, professor of New Testament at Asbury Seminary in Kentucky. It’s a concise and interesting interview, well worth the read. It comes on the heels of his latest book: The Problem with Evangelical Theology: Testing the Exegetical Foundations of Calvinism, Dispensationalism,…
Stranger in a Strange Land: John Wilson reflects on Anne Rice
The ever-brilliant (and most widely-read man I know) John Wilson over at Books & Culture, reflects on the pre-conversion writing of Anne Rice (especially Interview with the Vampire) and concludes with a comment on her conversion (see: “The Vampire and the Cross”). John’s take on Rice’s writing is succinct and spot-on:…
Anne Rice’s ‘Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt’ is in hand
Okay, I stopped by Border’s on the way home from a medical followup today, and I picked up Anne Rice’s Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt. I’ll soon be diving into it. Already I’m concerned. A phrase from the back of the book jacket caught my eye: the young Jesus Christ is…
Anne Rice channels the Jesus you never knew…
So, the word is out: On November 1, 325,000 copies of Anne Rice’s latest literary offering will be hitting the shelves. Big deal, right? Yes. When the main character is no longer a blood-sucking vampire but is, instead, the seven-year old, blood-shedding savior: Jesus Christ. (Listen to an audio excerpt…
Recent fiction I’ve read
Not that anyone really cares what’s on my bookshelf, but I do. I always keep wishing I’d kept a reading journal starting back when I was a kid, because, mercy, I’ve read a lot of fiction. And a bit of non-fiction. But the fiction? A tsunami of ink has flowed…
The Art and Craft of Preaching
I recently received a copy of The Art and Craft of Biblical Preaching: A Comprehensive Resource for Today’s Communicators, and have been browsing through it from time to time. Whether you’re a full- or part-time preacher or even if you spend any time at all speaking in front of others as…
Older white folks pontificating on the postmoderns?
It’s dated, but I just stumbled across this. Stanford U. Chi Alpha pastor Glen Davis guffawed at the news and then blogged about a book put out last year by the Assemblies of God’s Gospel Publishing House (GPH): Pentecostal Gifts and Ministries in a Postmodern Era, compiled and edited by…
Donald E. Westlake’s The Axe
Donald E. Westlake: The Axe Read: June 6, 1998 I’m harboring an armed and dangerous man,a merciless killer, a monster, and he’s inside me. This is a disturbing book, and it’s haunted me for the days since I first read it. I’m a veteran fantasy, sci-fi, mystery, murder & suspense…
Graziunas and Starlin’s: Predators
Graziunas, Daina and Starlin, Jim: PredatorsReading: 2/11/98. Okay, I’ve got to admit up-front that the premise is hokey: What do you get when a telepath suffers the loss of his family to a serial killer’s madness? You get this book—which initially reads like a first-novel, but does pick up somewhere…
Follet’s Pillars of the Earth
Ken Follett: The PIllars of the EarthRead: 2/20/1998. This is a phenomenal read! While I wasn’t exactly on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book, it was surprisingly satisfying. I initially bought this book on the enthusiastic recommendation of a Hasting’s clerk. So, I wound up being leery of…
Stephen King’s, The Dark Half
I finished reading an old Stephen King novel, The Dark Half, last night. Wow, what a read! (I’m not sure I’ll have much time for this post … the kids are about to wake up from their nap and I need to take them shopping. So, I’ll try to be…