by Jason Joyner | Jan 3, 2011 | 2010, Blog, fiction, top books
A new year already? Sheesh!
I haven’t been able to read as much this year. I hope it changes, but I still read some good books and want to feature the best I’ve read from 2010. The first link is to the book’s Amazon page, and the second link is to content here at Spoiled for the Ordinary (SftO).
5. The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead. The opening salvo in the 5 book Bright Empires series, Lawhead continues his skillful use of British legend for story fodder. StfO discusses it here.
4. Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes. Good writing is good writing, whether a book is written primarily for a male or female audience. This book is considered “contemporary fiction” even though it may seem geared toward a female audience. Anyone who appreciates well-written fiction will enjoy this tale of a terminal woman making a way for her young daughter in the hometown she left behind years ago. I give it a manly thumbs up in this review.
3. Lost Mission by Athol Dickson. This book sparked a lot of discussion during the CSFF tour, and was one of the most provocative we’ve reviewed. The book started slow, but those with patience will find a rich tale of faith that wrestles with issues of immigration, legalism, license, and grace set in the Southwest in both the 1700’s and modern day in an intricately woven tapestry. There is much more in these posts.
2. Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand. This book introduces us to Roland March, a Houston detective nearing burnout. In a gritty, true-to-life voice, Bertrand draws us in to the ups and downs of March’s last chance at getting back into homicide investigation. Noted in SftO posts here.
1. Listen by Rene Gutteridge. She has hit the #1 spot in my list before with one of her comedic books. This time she brings a tale of suspense that deals with the power of words. Conversations in a small town start being posted on an anonymous website, causing a lot of strife when private words become public. This is what I wrote in my review this year:
However, the book is more than an entertaining read. The theme of the power of words is well-crafted, and it invites anyone to take a thoughtful look at their own use of language to hurt or heal. Some books try to beat you over the head with a message – this story takes you along for the ride but leaves you pondering it afterwards. It is not preachy, but it is a valuable part of the whole message.
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There was one very near miss that could easily make my list – Wonders Never Cease by Tim Downs. It is different from his usual style, but highly entertaining nonetheless.
Here’s to more great books in 2011!
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by Jason Joyner | Jan 3, 2011 | 2010, Blog, fiction, top books
A new year already? Sheesh!
I haven’t been able to read as much this year. I hope it changes, but I still read some good books and want to feature the best I’ve read from 2010. The first link is to the book’s Amazon page, and the second link is to content here at Spoiled for the Ordinary (SftO).
5. The Skin Map by Stephen Lawhead. The opening salvo in the 5 book Bright Empires series, Lawhead continues his skillful use of British legend for story fodder. StfO discusses it here.
4. Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes. Good writing is good writing, whether a book is written primarily for a male or female audience. This book is considered “contemporary fiction” even though it may seem geared toward a female audience. Anyone who appreciates well-written fiction will enjoy this tale of a terminal woman making a way for her young daughter in the hometown she left behind years ago. I give it a manly thumbs up in this review.
3. Lost Mission by Athol Dickson. This book sparked a lot of discussion during the CSFF tour, and was one of the most provocative we’ve reviewed. The book started slow, but those with patience will find a rich tale of faith that wrestles with issues of immigration, legalism, license, and grace set in the Southwest in both the 1700’s and modern day in an intricately woven tapestry. There is much more in these posts.
2. Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand. This book introduces us to Roland March, a Houston detective nearing burnout. In a gritty, true-to-life voice, Bertrand draws us in to the ups and downs of March’s last chance at getting back into homicide investigation. Noted in SftO posts here.
1. Listen by Rene Gutteridge. She has hit the #1 spot in my list before with one of her comedic books. This time she brings a tale of suspense that deals with the power of words. Conversations in a small town start being posted on an anonymous website, causing a lot of strife when private words become public. This is what I wrote in my review this year:
However, the book is more than an entertaining read. The theme of the power of words is well-crafted, and it invites anyone to take a thoughtful look at their own use of language to hurt or heal. Some books try to beat you over the head with a message – this story takes you along for the ride but leaves you pondering it afterwards. It is not preachy, but it is a valuable part of the whole message.
—
There was one very near miss that could easily make my list – Wonders Never Cease by Tim Downs. It is different from his usual style, but highly entertaining nonetheless.
Here’s to more great books in 2011!
—
by Jason Joyner | Dec 23, 2010 | 2010, Blog, lessons, life, love
Well, 2010 is 8 days away from being in the history books. Quite an amazing year, went by amazingly fast!
I’ve been considering things I’ve learned in the last year. Lesson 1 and lesson 2 are already up. What is the 3rd lesson for the year?
Lesson #3: Love a lot.
A friend of mine recommended I check out “The Peasant Princess” podcast series by Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. I’m not turning into a Reformed acolyte any time soon, but there were many good things in that series. I noticed he liked to talk about being a servant and being generous, and that sums up a heart of love. I have tried to show love to my wife more in the last few months, and I think it has made an impact in both our lives.
Once we get past our selfish nature, loving isn’t a hard thing to do. We can do a lot of little things to show love around. I was in a Christmas gift exchange game this week, where we traded around DVD’s. When it came to my turn, the movie I wanted was “locked” by being traded too many times, and there wasn’t really anything else interesting. One woman was stuck with a set of creepy movies, and was bummed about it, because no one would steal hers.
So I did.
She got to pick out another movie, and was happy to get a chick flick. I don’t want the creepy flicks, but it seemed simple to let her have another chance to find a good movie. She was really touched by it. Not a big deal to me, but it meant something to her.
It’s a good lesson for this time of year: show some more love, people! Find a way to serve someone, to be generous. You’ll get a reward just as good back, I bet.
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by Jason Joyner | Dec 23, 2010 | 2010, Blog, lessons, life, love
Well, 2010 is 8 days away from being in the history books. Quite an amazing year, went by amazingly fast!
I’ve been considering things I’ve learned in the last year. Lesson 1 and lesson 2 are already up. What is the 3rd lesson for the year?
Lesson #3: Love a lot.
A friend of mine recommended I check out “The Peasant Princess” podcast series by Mark Driscoll at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. I’m not turning into a Reformed acolyte any time soon, but there were many good things in that series. I noticed he liked to talk about being a servant and being generous, and that sums up a heart of love. I have tried to show love to my wife more in the last few months, and I think it has made an impact in both our lives.
Once we get past our selfish nature, loving isn’t a hard thing to do. We can do a lot of little things to show love around. I was in a Christmas gift exchange game this week, where we traded around DVD’s. When it came to my turn, the movie I wanted was “locked” by being traded too many times, and there wasn’t really anything else interesting. One woman was stuck with a set of creepy movies, and was bummed about it, because no one would steal hers.
So I did.
She got to pick out another movie, and was happy to get a chick flick. I don’t want the creepy flicks, but it seemed simple to let her have another chance to find a good movie. She was really touched by it. Not a big deal to me, but it meant something to her.
It’s a good lesson for this time of year: show some more love, people! Find a way to serve someone, to be generous. You’ll get a reward just as good back, I bet.
—
by Jason Joyner | Dec 16, 2010 | 2010, Blog, Holy Spirit, lessons, life
On Tuesday I posted the first of a series of “lessons learned” for 2010. At the end of the post I mentioned that there was a corollary lesson that came from the same event.
Lesson #2 – The Little Things Matter
The things we do day by day matter. Little things can be a blessing to others or come back to bite us. In my first post I talk about a situation that may be overblown, but people are judging harshly. The flip side is that, if the person I know did things a little bit differently, they may not be dragged into this mess at all.
We never know what effect our actions will have. I realized a long time ago that if I act rude to another driver, I could be seeing them the next day in my job, or run into them in a position of needing their help. How would that go over if I acted like a jerk?
When we talk about God as watching everything, that should motivate us to walk in integrity when alone as well as before the crowds. Sadly, it seems we still need motivation. It comes down to our selfishness, doesn’t it? We give in to acting without thinking, being petty, joining in with the gossip, the bashing people behind their backs.
Still, I have had experiences where someone commented on something I did that was positive, that touched them, and I don’t recall it being a big deal. Little things matter both ways – for good or ill.
—
Lord, this reminds me of the importance of walking in Your Spirit daily. If we keep Your word in our hearts, if we keep our ears attuned to the still, small voice, if we put first the the Kingdom of Heaven, what a difference it makes in our lives. It also spills out to the people around us. Help us to learn to live like this more each day!
—
by Jason Joyner | Dec 16, 2010 | 2010, Blog, Holy Spirit, lessons, life
On Tuesday I posted the first of a series of “lessons learned” for 2010. At the end of the post I mentioned that there was a corollary lesson that came from the same event.
Lesson #2 – The Little Things Matter
The things we do day by day matter. Little things can be a blessing to others or come back to bite us. In my first post I talk about a situation that may be overblown, but people are judging harshly. The flip side is that, if the person I know did things a little bit differently, they may not be dragged into this mess at all.
We never know what effect our actions will have. I realized a long time ago that if I act rude to another driver, I could be seeing them the next day in my job, or run into them in a position of needing their help. How would that go over if I acted like a jerk?
When we talk about God as watching everything, that should motivate us to walk in integrity when alone as well as before the crowds. Sadly, it seems we still need motivation. It comes down to our selfishness, doesn’t it? We give in to acting without thinking, being petty, joining in with the gossip, the bashing people behind their backs.
Still, I have had experiences where someone commented on something I did that was positive, that touched them, and I don’t recall it being a big deal. Little things matter both ways – for good or ill.
—
Lord, this reminds me of the importance of walking in Your Spirit daily. If we keep Your word in our hearts, if we keep our ears attuned to the still, small voice, if we put first the the Kingdom of Heaven, what a difference it makes in our lives. It also spills out to the people around us. Help us to learn to live like this more each day!
—
