Every month we show what is on our reading table.
Comments on current reads:
- “Monsters and Magical Sticks: There’s No Such Thing As Hypnosis?” (208 pages, paperback, reprint 2017) by Steven Heller and “How to Hypnotise Anyone – Confessions of a Rogue Hypnotist” (112 pages, paperback, reprint 2014) by The Rogue Hypnotist. I always thought that hypnosis was hokey fiction: “Breathe deeply, follow this watch, you are getting sleepy, when I snap my fingers you will bark like a chicken, when I count to three you will awaken with no memory.” But Scott Adams’ books and Robert Cialdini on “Persuasion” convinced me to give hypnosis a serious consideration.
- ” The Scent of Corruption” (320 pages, paperback, 2015) by Alaric Bond. I read and reviewed the first six books in this British Naval Fiction, “His Majesty’s Ship”, “The Jackass Frigate” True Colors”, “Cut and Run”, “The Patriot’s Fate” and “The Torrid Zone”. I give them high marks. Now that I read the first five installment in the series, I like it even more. I learned that the author does not center the series and each book around the captain. All the other series are about the captain rising from humble or noble beginnings to the end of an illustrious career. In Bond’s world, he follows a cross section of the crew, from the lowest to the captain. You are never sure who will survive and who won’t.
- “The Passion and the Cross” (128 pages, paperback, 2015) by Ronald Rolheiser: “His beautifully written meditations on the passion and the cross invites you to a new understanding of redemption and offers insight into the meaning of your own loss and suffering. Take a journey into the deeper meaning of pain with guidance from a trusted spiritual advisor.” I’m reading this based on my review of “The Holy Longing”. There are some great observations in here. For example, on page 69 this quote from Henry Nouvin, “I used to get upset about all the interruptions to my work until one day I realized that the interruptions were my real work.” Absolutely true.
- “The Power and the Glory” (240 pages, paperback, 1940) by Graham Greene: I am a big Graham Greene fan and am re-reading this book because it came up in a conversation about charging late fees at our medical practice, Ahwatukee Health and Recovery. We just started charging late fees and no-show fees since everyone was taking advantage of our mercy. In the book, the ‘whisky’ priest is advised that he should always charge for giving Mass and baptisms or the peasants will not appreciate the sacraments.
- “Fourfold Kingdom of God” (239 pages, paperback, 2020) by Gerald Paul Kooye: I bought this book after reading “The Holy Longing” based on a recommendation from the Stanford Magazine. The book looks at God’s kingdom from a mathematical and physics perspective.
- “The Encyclopedia of Commercial Real Estate Advice” (528 pages, hardback, 2020) by Terry Painter: Still in work. The few times I dipped into it; I was impressed. This is dragging on and it shouldn’t be. The content is interesting. We just closed one commercial loan refinance ($750K) and are working on another ($6M) so I should have some motivation.
- “Intercessory Prayer” (275 pages, paperback, 1996) by Dutch Sheets: I just started reading this. I have read the first two chapters. If the rest is as good, and as documented, this is an OUTSTANDING book on what is intercessory prayer and how to do it. I like his explanation of theology and how he backs each claim with scripture.
- “The Drama of Scripture” (272 pages, paperback, 2014) by Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen: Recommended by Pastor Jeff. I skimmed the first two chapters and really like this approach. Let’s see how it ends.
Not pictured above:
- “The One Year Bible” with help from the “Lutheran Study Bible“.
As of now, I have only finished #3. You will see and hear about that in our next Floating Book Review.