Category: NonFiction

On Death

by Timothy Keller, 2020 Short, little book on death by Tim Keller, based on a sermon he preached at Kathy’s sister’s funeral, Terry Hall, on 1/6/2018. First he talks about how we fear death. One reason we fear it is because we don’t see it any longer. Our medical establishment has made it so we […]

I’d Like You More If You Were More Like Me

by John Ortberg, 2017 Highly entertaining book about intimacy and how important it is to be intimate and how God is our ultimate example of true intimacy. He became flesh and dwelt among us. He tells many hilarious, adorable stories of his family, like how his wife comforted their infant daughter by saying, “Honey, honey, […]

The Doing of the Thing

The Brief Brilliant Whitewater Career of Buzz Holmstrom by Vince Welch, Cort Conley, Brad Dimock, 1998 Excellent book recommended by Adam because Buzz Holmstrom was a “Boatman’s Boatman,” like Adam. Takes place in the 1930s and 1940s and tells the story of this young man from Oregon who built his own boat and started running […]

Nature Wants Us to Be Fat

by Richard J. Johnson, MD Scientific book about the survival switch, a set of responses triggered in our body when we eat sugar (especially fructose). It is there from millennia ago to keep us from starving. It causes our body to store fat and lower our metabolism. The switch turns on when we eat salty […]

We Came, We Saw, We Left

by Charles Wheelan, 2021 Loved this book! It is our second Old Town Library Book Club selection for the 2022-2023 year, and so refreshing! It was fun and funny. Charles Wheelan is an incredible dad. He teaches Economics at Dartmouth but loves to travel. He and his wife, Leah, decide to take their three teenagers […]

The Frackers

by Gregory Zuckerman, 2013 Everything you ever wanted to know about fracking. Very detailed. This book was one of the books about oil that the Economist recommended. Thanks to the perseverance against all odds by a few determined men, the U.S.A went from being dependent upon OPEC for energy to being an exporter of energy. […]

White Sands

by Geoff Dyer, 2016 This is the second book I have read by this author. I learned about him when Christie let me know about his newest book, The Last Days of Roger Federer. The first book I read of his was Yoga for People Who Can’t Be Bothered To Do It. That book was […]

Gmorning, Gnight: little pep talks for me & you

by Lin-Manuel Miranda, illustrated by Jonny Sun, 2018 Sweet book with inspirational, short, loving messages for the morning and the night. They come from his tweets. He loves Twitter. Here’s an example: “Gmorning. ‘You’ve had too many apps open for too long. ‘Close your eyes. ‘Check all systems. ‘Soft reboot.” “Gnight. ‘Don’t wait until low […]

Christian Mission in the Modern World

by John Stott, 1975 (Americanization 2008); updated and expanded by Christopher J.H. Wright, 2015 Work by John Stott explaining how a Christian should live in the world; what our lives should look like as far as Mission, Evangelism, Dialogue, Salvation, and Conversion. He wrote it in 1975, Americanized it in 2008, and Christopher J.H. Wright […]

Moonshine

by Alec Wilkinson, 1985 Captivating book about a revenuer in North Carolina in the 1950s and 1960s, names Garland Bunting. He’s an ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) officer in Halifax County. He is fearless and talented and a brilliant strategist and tireless and a great actor and entertainer and lovable and friendly and a salt-of-the-earth kind […]

The Radical Disciple

by John Stott, 2010 This was John Stott’s last book. He is writing about what our lives should look like as Christians. Sanctification (being made holy) is purely the work of the Holy Spirit, but in this book he covers 8 aspects of our lives that we have neglected. Wayne’s comment on Dependence (#7 below): […]

Basic Introduction to the New Testament

by John Stott, 1951, revised by Stephen Motyer, 2017 He covers the books of the New Testament (except Jude), giving the history of the authors, the culture and context in which written, and the message. The message, over and over, is that salvation comes through Jesus, not through works. I started out loving this book […]

Basic Christianity

by John R. W. Stott, 1958, 2008 Tim Keller recommended this book in one of his books. It was very good. I flagged just about every single page. It all comes down to the Gospel, again and again. Without Jesus, we are doomed. Each and every day of our lives, we can live joyfully and […]

Facing Your Giants

by Max Lucado, 2006, 2020 He delves into David’s life from beginning to end as told in 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, and 1 Chronicles (various passages in each), showing that when David trusted in God, walked with God, prayed to and consulted God, good things happened, even miraculous things. But, when David forgot God, bad […]