David Giffels is a writer from Akron. He wrote a column which I enjoyed for the Akron Beacon Journal for years. Then he started writing books which I also enjoy. He now writes and teaches at the University of Akron. I recently finished reading his latest book, “Furnishing Eternity.” It was so good that I …
From Off the Shelf
Oswald Chambers: Abandoned to God
I mentioned before that I have been reading “My Utmost for His Highest” for my morning devotions. At one point I got curious about the author, Oswald Chambers, and looked him up on Wikipedia. From that I found that he died from appendicitis when he was only 43 years old. In fact, he didn’t write …
Walden Two Intentional Community
About a year ago I reread the book “Walden Two” by B. F. Skinner. Walden Two is a novel about a Utopian society based on the new behavioral science principles. The book was a product of its time, published just after World War II. It isn’t a book I recommend, although I think it was …
Pioneers: Settlers Who Brought American Ideal West
I recently finished reading a book that I enjoyed very much, so I thought I would share it with you. It is David McCullough‘s latest book titled: “The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West.” It is a rather long title and a little misleading. When I think of pioneers …
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Have you ever read a perfect book? One that is so good you never want it to end? When you have finished it you are disappointed you are at the end? That is the way I felt when I read “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.” I wanted it to go on forever. …
Moment of Lift: Empowering Women
I recently read the very good book by Melinda Gates called “The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World.” I am an admirer of Bill and Melinda Gates because they worked hard with a new idea (Microsoft). While they made a fortune from it, they have worked just as hard at giving it …
Presence of Jesus is a Present
I’ve been reading a little book for my devotions with the title “Jesus Calling.” The book is by Sarah Young and she writes each devotional as if Jesus is speaking. The devotionals are very short and I read about six each day, so it won’t take me long to finish the year. But the notion …
One Dollar Book Swap in Dayton, Ohio
During our too-short stop in Ohio, Tom and I wanted to go to Dayton. We had two reasons for going. First, we wanted to see second “son” – Steve and his wife Amy. They just bought a house and we wanted to see where they are living now. The second reason to visit Dayton was …
Warner Boys and Far From the Tree
Six years ago I read the excellent but difficult book, “Far from the Tree,” by Andrew Solomon. Ever since I read this book, I have been interested in stories about parents facing the challenge of raising children who are disabled. Thus I added the book “The Warner Boys: Our Family’s Story of Autism and Hope” …
Resistance to the Beast
My devotional book for the week is “Inspired” by Rachel Held Evans. I reviewed her book, “Searching for Sunday” in January. “Inspired” is a different kind of book. It is a Biblical Scholar meets storyteller book. The ideas are mostly scholarship that I have been dealing with since seminary (a long time ago). But Rachel’s …