Dennis' Pile of Books: March 2016

Welcome to Dennis' Pile of Books

If you were to walk into my office, either at the church or at my house, one thing you would most likely notice many, many books. I have piles of books everywhere so it seems. I love books and surround myself with them wherever I am (at work, on vacation, in the bathroom... you get the picture). So welcome to my pile of books!

On one of my other blogs (Immersed in Mystery) I have a running list of books I have recently read, and ones I am currently reading. In the past few months I began writing short comments after each book title, these were sort of like mini-book reviews, really mini. I thought that rather than lose these comments in the future (I only keep 10 titles on the list at any one time) I would create a blog dedicated to the books I have read.

Having this blog dedicated to the books I have read will also allow me to expand on my comments, perhaps even expanding into a full book review on occasion. Each book will have its own entry, and after the initial 10 entries future books will be noted in this blog when I finish them (in other words the date of the blog entry will indicate the date I finished that book). Mostly this blog is for my own benefit (to help remember all I've read), but I also like to share good books with others. Occasionally I feel the need to warn people about a disappointing book - our free time is scarce enough as it is, no use wasting it on a book that isn't worth the time or effort.

I welcome other comments on these books, it is always interesting to hear how others react to a book I've read - so feel free to leave comments on this blog. And I'm always open to book suggestions from others, I've encountered some great books because of other people's suggestions. Enjoy browsing through my pile of books.

Saturday, March 12, 2016

Mr g: A Novel About the Creation

by Alan Lightman

An imaginative and entertaining book that gives us God's point of view regarding the creation of time and the universe. The book is more based in science than spirituality, but is done so in an engaging manner. There is even a Trinity of sorts, not Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but rather Mr. g and his Aunt and Uncle. Evil shows up as a trinity as well, but more in the sense of the Hebrew concept of the devil found in the Book of Job, than the enemy of God found in the New Testament. The novel presents a novel interpretation of NDEs, but one that is ultimately unsatisfying, even to one of the characters in the book. This book was recommended to me by a student - thank you Ms. Kasha!