Books

Review: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

Review: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution by Carl R. Trueman.My rating: 5 of 5 stars I'm hoping to publish in a journal a more extensive review of this excellent—though long and at times...

The Truth about Marijuana

Tell Your Children: The Truth About Marijuana, Mental Illness, and Violence by Alex BerensonMy rating: 5 of 5 starsFor every book there is an equal and opposite book. I read Smoke Signals by Martin Lee in preparation for my own small coauthored book, Can I Smoke Pot?...

Review: The Innovators

Review: The Innovators

The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter IsaacsonMy rating: 5 of 5 starsSomehow some writers of biography end up sounding trite, both in their relating of their subjects' stories and in the lessons they draw...

How to Read More Books in 2020

How to Read More Books in 2020

I was asked by a friend to write this. Thirty minutes later, here it was: Watch less TV. Don't let it be your default evening activity. Love higher and better things.Don’t let social media be your default activity either. I periodically delete my Facebook app, and on...

Four New ESV Editions, Or, How Does Crossway Do It?

Four New ESV Editions, Or, How Does Crossway Do It?

I work for a Christian publisher, and we have made Bibles of various kinds. If you could listen to our internal discussions, you would hear quickly that Crossway sets the standard for Bible publishing. More beautiful typography and more innovative editions have come...

Review: Write Better, by Andrew T. Le Peau

Review: Write Better, by Andrew T. Le Peau

Andrew Le Peau is surely qualified to write a book on writing better: he has been an editor at IVP for forty years. But I hope I’m qualified to say that (most of) the book, though fine, didn’t scratch where I personally itch. His advice for the first two thirds of the...

An Example of What You Can Get out of a Self-Helpy Book When You Must

An Example of What You Can Get out of a Self-Helpy Book When You Must

My company offers incentives to employees every year to read business books. By this means I have gotten through some self-helpy stuff I admit I would have disdained otherwise. To be honest, I feel icky when I read books that purport to lead you to a successful life...

A Nerdy Post about Writing: An Excerpt from My Sent Folder

A Nerdy Post about Writing: An Excerpt from My Sent Folder

A non-Christian friend I talked to many times on the bus asked me a question about whether or not he should take an online fiction-writing opportunity he'd been handed. I appreciated being asked. He's a neat guy with real talent. I replied, and it gave me an...

Review: Ember Rising

Ember Rising by S.D. Smith My rating: 5 of 5 stars Loved it. So did the kids. (And the illustrations, by my respected friend Zach Franzen, were also excellent.) For a good while I was thinking that this book is The Benedict Option for kids—and for adults who dutifully...

Review: Educated, by Tara Westover

My heart goes out to Tara Westover. I rooted for her and felt defensive for her during 100% of the story. Other people’s epistemological sins harmed her. Precisely because of her love for her parents, those sins maintained a hold on her far, far into a life that, on...