Commentaries

I haven't done a "weekend read" post in a while, but I did want to post about a different kind of read. If anyone takes a look at my Amazon wishlist, it is obvious that one of my favorites read is Bible commentaries. I have recently created the goal of studying all of the Bible with a commentary and this is also includes owning a different commentary on each book of the Bible. My collection has steadily been growing one great aid in this endeavor is buying used on Amazon.com. A website that I recently discovered is Bookfinder.com which will find the cheapest prices for books online.

Some of the commentary series that I would recommend are

The Bible Speaks Today - Section by section exposition with analysis of context and verses. Easy to find application and very accessible. This series is a fairly new and have all been written in my lifetime. A bonus about this series is that it covers every book of the Bible.
Crossway Classic Commentaries - This is quickly become one of my favorite commentary series. It includes commentaries written by Calvin, Luther and Hodge but modified from their original language for easier comprehension. Unlike the Bible Speaks Today this includes verse by verse exposition, which I prefer because it makes it easier to follow along with the text. The only downside to this series is that it isn't available for every book of the Bible.

Essential commentaries that are not in a series:

Anything by James Montgomery Boice - I only have his series on Genesis and the Minor Prophets, but I definitely plan to add others to my collection. His commentaries are a verse by verse exposition, but they read like a sermon and are very nourishing for my soul.
Treasury of David - It's a verse by verse exposition of the Psalms by Spurgeon! Really, does anything else need to be said?
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible - Let's say you are not like me and only wish to own one commentary, this is the commentary to own. From Genesis to Revelations this commentary is a verse by verse exposition with detailed explanation of passages in a devotional format that is very practical. Even if you do plan on owning many commentaries this is a great one to start your library with.
J.C. Ryle's exposition of the Gospels - I recently got this set when I was honored at a small group leader's retreat. I have yet to really dig into it, but from what I've read in it as I've skimmed different sections, it definitely has potential to become one of my favorites. Ryle is very practical and instructive in these writings that deal section by section with the gospel's. He uncovers sins and points to grace with each page.

Snow Falling on Cedars

March is here, the temperature is in the 50’s and instead of snow in the forecast it’s rain. If you’re not like me and aching for the snow to stick around a little bit longer then might I suggest to you David Guterson’s first novel, “Snow Falling on Cedars.” I am not a fan of most contemporary authors, so the fact that I enjoy all of Guterson’s writings is saying a lot.

Before writing this review I decided to run a wikipedia search on the book and it turns out that Guterson was a teacher and from the 1960’s-1980’s and he would write the book little by little in the morning. Once the book was published and became a huge success he quit his teaching gig and started writing full time. Since he began writing fulltime in 1995 he has published three other novels. His latest two novels, “East of the Mountains” (highly recommended) and “Our Lady of The Forest” (good, but his weakest work in my opinon), I’ve read and will review in the future.

“Snow Falling on Cedars,” takes place in the pacific northwest and set in a post world war II time period. I read this book as a high school assignment and part of the reason why I enjoyed it so much is because it is told from the point of view of the town’s newspaper editor, which at the time is what I aspired to be when I grew up. The plot revolves around racism between the white-Americans that live in the community and the Japanese-American fishermen with the backdrop of a murder trial that is very Lee Harper-esque. As the narrator tells the story, you also get personal flashbacks to his youth and a forbidden romance. This is without a doubt a story that has it all, courtroom drama, love triangle, a morality tale, a historical novel and a story about racism told from the perspective of an excellent author.

Grade: A- 91% (missed the A ranking because it isn't exactly family friendly. There is some violence and other content that actually has this book placed on the banned book list).

Confessions by Augustine

I've decided to start a new series on this blog called "Weekend Read." My goal is to publish the weekend read near the end of the week. It's main purpose is for all the people who are contemplating a weekend trip to Border or Barnes and Nobles to pick up a book to start for that weekend.

Initially I thought about maybe the "Weekend Read" being something I posted monthly. My goal is to do it weekly, but honestly with my schedule I'm not going to be legalistic about if I miss a week or anything like that. I had thought before about doing it monthly, but I've read a lot and don't plan on slowing down.

Here are something to expect:

1)This will range the whole gamut from theology, classic literature, plays, sports books, etc.
2)Wide spectrum of quality of books will be covered, so all book will be graded. Just an fyi, only two books will receive a 100%
3)I can sometimes be turned off when I come go to Amazon.com and someone has written a review that is a novel in and of itself. None of these reviews will be ultra long, but don't expect one sentence earlier.

My first weekend read was inspired by Robin's review of Confessions in the CLC newsletter. If you read Robin's endorsement of Confessions and are still undecided about if it is for you, then hop off the fence and join the many who have read Confessions and realize why it isn't just theological, but a classic as well.

Confessions begins with the famous line: "You made us for yourself and our hearts find no rest in you." The plot of Confessions is simple (unlike Augustine's other famous work, "City of God), it tells the tale of Augustine's conversion. Essential to Augustine's conversion is the goodness of God (evidenced by the quote above) and the nature of sin. Augustine, like all of us, was a hedonist, but unlike the rest of us, Augustine does not make excuse for his sin but says that the reason why he sinned is because it was his desire.

The beauty of reading Augustine is that he was a great thinker and philosopher. In his Confessions we see how the philosophy of his day influenced him in his younger years, but as Augustine gets older we also see the care and love of Monica (his mother) which aids in his conversion as Augustine is confronted with the supremacy of God's Word over any philosophy. Confessions, unlike modern conversion stories (see: Blue Like Jazz) is theologically sound and presents a holy God that is the source of man's joy.

Grade: A 95%

Few things that I would change about this book. It doesn't reach the perfect standard, but few books do. This is one of those books that not only affected my theological understanding, but also application specifically related to my joy found in God.