There were many reasons for me not to read this book. I was told I would cry while reading it. Psh. If you know me, you’d know that was pretty silly (or if you know me really well, …well. Nonetheless, I was skeptical.) I also have a pretty high bar for what I consider to be good writing, and after skimming the first 3 pages of this book, I wasn’t sold. Also, being a diligent researcher, I looked the book up on Amazon and read the reviews. Eh, mixed. The consensus, however, was that the last third of the book was worth waiting for. This is also what was told to me by the person who recommended the book. So, even while in middle of reading another book, and because I needed a major distraction with an easy read, I decided to take a stab.

Me, Myself & Bob is a memoir written by Phil Vischer. If you don’t know who he is, you might’ve heard about his company, Big Idea. If that doesn’t ring a bell, Bob the Tomato probably would. If that doesn’t cut it, you should come out of the hole you’ve been living in and take a shower or something. When I say “his company,” I really should say, “ex-company” since he is no longer the CEO of Big Idea, the workings behind things like VeggieTales, 3-2-1 Penguins, and the Larryboy shows (the latter are lesser-known.) He now runs Jellyfish Labs (there’s a really good reason behind that silly-sounding name. You get there at the end of the book.)

The first two-thirds of the book outlines the massive success of his company and the massive failure it became. I was pretty surprised—and impressed—by getting an insider’s look (and take) on the world of animation at that time. The show was pretty impressive and I’ll probably never look at another episode the same way. Vischer then outlines the agonizing process through which his dream was taken from his hands. He candidly shares his experiences and talks about instances where it seemed that God could’ve intervened to save the company, but didn’t. He shares those times when prayer, good intentions, ministry, and talent couldn’t save a company, or a dream, from dying.

The last third of the book really is worth getting to. Especially if you’ve ever struggled with losing something—a dream… whether it be your dream job, your dream relationship, your dream ministry event. Especially if the dream explodes into a fantastic fireworks show that was completely and unnecessarily horrendous and hurtful to everyone and left you spiritually reeling not unlike a boxing knockout. …Can you tell this was personal?  I found myself nodding and realizing familiar territory, while at the same time being re-challenged and reawakened at the realization that I am not alone in this, and that God really, really does change lives.

With all that said, the book is not without its faults. The prize at the bottom of the cereal box take a little bit of mucking. Vischer’s style (he not only wrote most of VeggieTales’ initial scripts, but was the voice of Bob the Tomato) is kind of like what you would expect from someone who wrote most of VeggieTales’ scripts and was the voice of Bob the Tomato. He’s a little scattered, not the best writer, and a little (ok, a lot) rambly. I suspect his editors gave up on trying to shut out his hopelessly cartoonish style of thinking (and speaking, and writing.) To be fair, I got used to it after chapter… fifteen, and it became a bit like a friend yammering about his life. I just sat back and listened (I tried to find this on audiobook, but it’s not there.) And then you get a shot in the face by chapter twenty-one. Even the latter chapters wasn’t the powerhouse I was expecting. Once I got there, I was starting to get a little nervous: is this what they were telling me to wait for? Uh-oh. But man. It pays off.  If anything, it’s the story of success from ashes: seeing redemption work from beginning to brutal end to glorious rebirth.

Bottom line: Even if you’ve never experienced bewilderment at God dashing your most earnest of intentions, even if you’ve never had a dream of changing the world through ministry, even if you’ve worked it all out and are right with God… there’s a lot this book has to offer. I don’t particularly believe that his story must be our story, and that his experiences are templates that are applicable to others. But it’s a story about how one man handled his grapplings with God, and as for me, his voice was something my soul was familiar with. Maybe it’ll be the same for you. And ok, if you promise not to tell anyone, I did it. I cried.

JS

It definitely took some adjusting, but soon, I learned to love hymns and found much of the music from my past as too light and fluffy (and some of it even too ridiculous) to these “new” songs I learned. Never one to love poetry, verse put to music made me concentrate on the words in a different way. These lyricists had a profound experience with the God of whom they wrote about, and I wanted to experience the things the spoke of in their songs.

Almost ten years after I fell in love with hymns, I stumbled across a short devotional book based off of hymns. Open Your Hymnal: Devotions That Harmonize Scripture With Song was available for free, so I picked it up, and I’m glad I did. The author, Denise K. Loock, wrote many of the 30 devotional originally for a church newsletter, which is evident from the way the book reads. This is not a criticism or critique of the style by any means. I appreciated that it was an easy read (I read the whole book in the afternoon), and her simple prose offered a magnificent contrast to the rich verbiage of the lyrics she expounded upon, really causing me to examine again some of the songs I thought I was very familiar with.

She links each of the hymns with a passage of Scripture and an illustration of some sort, whether from her own life, from the Bible, or from the author of the hymn lyrics. Her applications for most of the hymns are really practical, which I also appreciated. At the end of each devotional there was a prompt question, sometimes with a Bible verse for further consideration.

Honestly, I didn’t read this book in the way it’s intended to be read–a little bit at a time, contemplating the words on the page as well as the words she draws on from the Bible. I definitely think this book is worth giving some time to, chewing it over, appreciating both its beauty and simplicity. Yet, I was still able to come away with appreciation for its pages. My personal favorite devotionals were on It Is Well With My Soul and When We All Get to Heaven, and I loved her illustration regarding pickles. And I’m certain having read this book will have me opening another book again–my copy of the church hymnal.

AS

I’m pretty crazy about this book – it’s a real-life thriller. Displayed on my bookshelf since 2009, I finally picked it up in December 2011. The book is an absolute page-turner; I think I finished it in 2-3 days.

Written by David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager and the architect of the grassroots movement that brought Obama’s presidential victory, the book walks you through the life of the campaign right from the beginning, before Obama even decided to run for president. It’s a neat, hopeful, from-underdog-to-victory type of story. I love how the book conveys the world-changing experiences of those in the eye of the storm, and my favorite parts in the book are the moments when it dawned on those involved that they were in the middle of something great and unprecedented.

It is enlightening to see how that greatness is composed of a mixture of many mundane day-to-day tasks and fewer on the spotlight events. Plouffe is quite honest and sometimes brutal in his appraisals of competing campaigns, as well as of his own team and candidate. But all throughout, the multitudinous volunteers in his campaign have his highest regard and praise.

For those who haven’t read the book and have some extra time, an idea that would be fun to try is to watch the YouTube videos alongside with the key moments, speeches, and debates referred to in the book. It would be a way to relive those moments and to try to understand what the campaign team was going through in real time. I did it for just a handful of events, such as Obama’s “A More Perfect Union” speech, and although I probably would not go through the book again, I would highly recommend trying this video plus book combo since Obama is such a good orator.

This book is an absolute must-read for leaders and those interested in grassroots movements. Here are two of the most important lessons I gained from the book.

Use of technology – In this day and age, any effective grassroots movement needs to engage the creative use of technology to mobilize its members. Aside from dispensing information, the Obama campaign website is also a tool for anyone who wants to help volunteer for the campaign. It has a personalized section where one can find resources and video trainings on how to hold events, organize local communities, to reach out to neighbors, etc. The campaign headquarters for each important state track down every street whose doors have been knocked. The key idea is to empower the individual, no matter who or where they are, to do something. It doesn’t matter if it’s a small contribution. The morale boost after accomplishing any task will feed to the next round of contributions, creating a wave of excitement.

Face-to-face interaction – There is nothing that can replace the synergy of a team that works in the same place physically. The face-to-face interaction, the ability to brainstorm and bounce back ideas right then and there, is fundamental to any successful teamwork. This personal interaction is also very effective in winning the population. Yes, technology is important, but it doesn’t replace the people. Rather, it should enable more effective personal interactions.

In this election year, I’m curious about how their campaign strategies will change. The grassroots movement will have to adopt new methods simply because the situation is different now compared to 2008. And that’s not a bad thing at all. After all, change is necessary in a movement.

JE

Amy Chua, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, New York:The Penguin Press, 2011.

This book is a memoir, not a parenting guide. This was my repeated explanation as to why I–a single, childless, underemployed young attorney–was reading Amy Chua’s Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. I was relieved to see that is what the author herself thought of her book as well when I reached the end. “My book’s not about telling other parents what to do. I think there’s been a lot of misunderstanding because of the Wall Street Journal excerpt…Battle Hymn is just my family’s story. And it’s partly about my mistakes, my own transformation as a mother.”

I borrowed the book on my Kindle via my local public library’s digital loan service. I was surprised to see that it was one of few books that didn’t have a waiting list for check out. After reading it I’m even more confused as to why. People really just need to give it a chance.

This book reinforced an idea that’s been gaining momentum in my mind as I have entered adulthood. Even if they do things completely differently than their children would have liked them to, or than those children would raise their own children, all parents want the same thing. They want what’s best for their children.

Of course, difference in culture comes into play when trying to define what “best” means. And it seems many Americans could not fathom the possibility that Ms. Chua’s notions of what was best for her daughters would mirror theirs at all. But I would disagree. For example, take the idea of fun. Not being a parent, I would assume that most parents would hope that their children would find ways to have (good, clean) fun. Ms. Chua doesn’t seem to disagree with this–she just points out that nothing’s fun until you’re good at it. To get good at something takes work. Children don’t like work, so when the child’s interest wanes, it takes the parent to keep the child focused. This makes complete sense to me. Anything worth doing is worth doing well.

Another example is self-esteem. I still remember from my days in middle school sitting through an assembly where they made us sing this ridiculous song “I am smart, I am successful, I am special, I am somebody–that’s right!” I didn’t have to sing that song as an earliteen to know those things were true–my parents made sure I was successful. Success built confidence, and confidence encouraged positive self-esteem. This might mean my parents must have done a little tiger parenting, because this is exactly what Ms. Chua emphasized. “One of the worst things you can do for your child’s self-esteem,” she explains, “is to let them give up. On the flip side, there’s nothing better for building confidence than learning you can do something you thought you couldn’t.” This explains why I, like her daughter, wasn’t allowed to quit piano lessons. Unlike her daughter, I didn’t make it to Carnegie Hall.

Though she didn’t quite put it in these terms, it seems to me that Ms. Chua’s memoir reflects an attempt at building strong characters in her daughters: “the best way to protect their children is by preparing them for the future, letting them see what they’re capable of, and arming them with skills, work habits, and inner confidence that no one can ever take away.” Shouldn’t such development of character be the primary concern on all parents minds?

You should read this book. It was not only an interesting window into the lives of another family, but also allowed opportunity for me to reflect on my own experience growing up. Even though this isn’t a parenting guide, and even though I’m childless, it definitely provided some wholesome food for thought on how my own parenting style may look one day.

AS

This book has been quietly sitting in my bookshelf for years. I used to have the habit of sketching (in pencil) the month and year I purchased a book on the inside cover (I really should do that again), but this book either missed that wave or got forgotten in some burp of the mind. Both are highly possible.

I must’ve read through at least the first few chapters of it when I first purchased the book, because I typically mark in the margins and make notes within the lines with pencil, and there are some residual circlings and underlinings from that time. Now, looking back and re-reading the back cover reminded me of my initial impressions of the book when I first got it: popular, but potentially “nothing new.” The summary from the publishers promised to answer certain “timeless questions” by providing a “seminal reading of the dichotomy between “cheap grace” and “costly grace.”"

Nothing new, right? Apparently, I thought so because I stopped reading. Recently, I had a chance to pick it up again and read it with a good friend of mine whose stick-to-it-iveness when it comes to finishing books came in very handy towards the latter part of the book.

Discipleship is divided into four sections: I: Grace and Discipleship, II; The Sermon on the Mount; III: The Messengers; IV: The Church of Jesus Christ and the Life of Discipleship. There is also a Memoir and an Introduction that serve as a preface to the book, which I readily consented to read and would recommend going through. I think re-reading the memoir will help me gain some more perspective now that I’ve finished the book.

Part I, Grace and Discipleship, seems like the groundwork section. There is a lot of defining, and there were some stipulations that made me think a little deeper about the meaning of discipleship. It’s better read as a devotional than as a handbook, however, and I found it helpful to constantly refer back to my personal experience. Bonhoeffer also makes bold statements that is sometimes surprising, and perhaps is a result of (1) a deep experiential encounter with persecution and (2) his personal theological beliefs. There are many points which, granted, is “nothing new,” but there is something in the voice of Bonhoeffer’s writing that allowed me to let it ring truer for me. I loved many of the points made in some of these chapters. They resonated with my soul.

The second section of this book, The Sermon on the Mount, is basically an exposition on the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount. Towards the end of the section, there are chapters with titles like, The Hidden Righteousness, The Hiddenness of Prayer, The Hiddenness of the Devout Life, and The Simplicity of the Carefree Life. I particularly liked some passages within these chapters. There is a familiarity with which Bonhoeffer speaks of the deep things of a devout life that awakens the soul to desire it, or at the very least to desire to have more of it. And in some cases, to know that it is not within one’s possession.

The last section is one I struggled with the most. It sounds more doctrinal and the author discusses topics such as baptism,  the body of Christ, communion, etc. Of all the sections, this is the one where Bonhoeffer’s Lutheran background expresses itself in a more foreground kind of way. There are discussions about certain sacraments which Bonhoeffer seems to feel strongly about. Again, possibly a section I would have stopped reading at had I not been held accountable. All in all, a worthwhile section.

Ultimately, the consensus is this: sometimes we know what discipleship is. We know what the cost is. Some of us have lived it, done it, and are continuing to do it. This book often speaks like a soft-spoken pastor, gentle and chiding, but often very fatherly. There is something in what he writes that my soul recognizes, and in him I found community and conversation that I might not get in my everyday discussions within my social circles. I’d recommend this read, not only because it’s a “seminal book” that everyone thinks everyone should have read, but because it’s worth it. Carry a pencil and write in it.

JS

I first picked up this bulky book at an airport because I ran out of reading materials during a delayed layover. Among the limited options at the newsstand, this one stood out to me, not because of its size, but because the author was a woman who kicks butt.

In No Higher Honor: A Memoir of My Years in Washington, Condoleezza Rice recounts the tenure of her service as the National Security Advisor during President George W. Bush’s first term, and then as the Secretary of State in the second. With 9/11 happening in her first year of service, this 2001-2008 memoir makes one interesting and complex story.

Regardless of whether one agrees or disagrees with her political convictions, the tenacity required of the author in her line of work is quite unbelievable. The fact that such heavy responsibilities can be laid on one person and that she could come out of them alive, sane, and well, is a testament to the human’s high capability of true grit. It is simply admirable.

In spite of its length, the book is incredibly easy to follow, largely because it is extremely well written. I think this is one of the most immaculate books I’ve ever come across, props to the author and her editors. Should you choose to read this book, you don’t have to worry about forgiving the author for sentences that sound weird. They simply don’t exist. The tone is neither casual nor pretentious, combining the seriousness of the author’s roles with the down-to-earthness of simply being a human being, such as having to care for dress code, especially as a woman in public service.

No Higher Honor is edifying for me in more ways than one. First, I read the book during a time when I had to pull 14-hour workdays on average, consistently without any break or weekends. Looking to someone who worked 17 hours everyday for many months after 9/11, whose vacation days were often sabotaged by work over 8 years, and who felt honored by all of the above, was such an encouragement and inspiration. On a less personal note, the book reveals the workings of a complex world, how certain individuals just have massive spheres of influence, how sometimes history simply happens out of anyone’s will, and how there’s much more to reality than what the media portrays.

Basically, this book is a worthwhile read. I wouldn’t necessarily say that you have to read it, although you will learn a lot if you do. After all, it is 784 pages, so you’d have to invest some real time to finish it. I’d recommend reading it during a long travel, since I believe in the merit of reading a memoir/biography in a short period of time.

To conclude, if you have interests in foreign affairs, then this is a must-read. If you want an example on how to bear and face high-pressure situations gracefully, then I believe this is an example of that. And oh, it makes a fine addition to the bookshelf too.

JE

A young Christian woman in a Korea governed by Japanese imperialists who have recently begun a program of mandatory Shinto shrine worship with the penalty of imprisonment, torture, and likely death for those who disobey–no, I didn’t find myself in a situation like hers at all.  But, or maybe for that very reason, the testimony of Esther Ahn Kim (Kor. 안이숙, or Ahn Ei-Sook) towed me along for several hours.

Notwithstanding some rather large emotive and logical gaps* probably owing to subpar translation from the original Korean–if you’re able, read it in Korean!**–Ahn’s simply written testimony is an easy and worthy read in the opinion of this BookWom.  It doesn’t feature scene after scene of excruciating torture or a fantastical writing style; it was the vignettes of quotidian Korean life and the drudgery of a jail cell, which make up a large part of the book, that touched me most deeply.

Two of my take-aways from the book:

1) I was impressed and rebuked by Ahn’s constant references to Scripture throughout her story.  When everything is taken away, you still have the Word of God that has been stored in your mind.

2) It’s amazing what prayer will do.  God can move mountains, jailers, apples (see cover…and inside the book!)…

Lastly, I’ve often wished that there was an East Asian version of the Great Controversy: you know, how we can interpret Korean or Chinese history from a Biblical, spiritual perspective.  This book helped me to understand a bit better the Japanese occupation of Korea in light of its impact on Christianity in the country.

And if you’re still not convinced that you should read the book, maybe the fact that Ahn almost single-handedly changed the attitude of Japanese officials towards Christians in an entire country (Korea) pique your interest?

ML

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*For example, particularly in the early parts of the book, there aren’t clear explanations for some of the decisions and comments that Ahn makes.

**The Korean version is titled “죽으면 죽으리라.”

We simply want to share personal reviews of the books we’ve read with each other and with the world. There are no rules to the reviews (except that you have to have read the book, of course), so anything from “THIS BOOK IS TOTALLY AWESOME!!!!” to a serious, New York Times-worthy review is acceptable.

It’s supposed to be a fun experiment, combining humor, reflections, critiques, and all that a book blog can possibly bring out. A few of us have ambitious reading targets this year, so this is a great way to prevent literary obesity.

So with that, come back and visit often, and hopefully you’ll find a new entry and enjoy it.

Now, who’s gonna do the first review?

JE