Sunday, January 14, 2018

Trouble In Mind: Bob Dylan's Gospel Years - What Really HappenedTrouble In Mind: Bob Dylan's Gospel Years - What Really Happened by Clinton Heylin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book at the same time as listening to the newly-released Trouble No More, Bootleg Series, Vol. 13. Great combination, detailing specifics of Dylan's turn to Christ and his "Gospel Albums" & tours between 1979 - 1981. When I first heard that Bob Dylan--the 60s revolutionary folkie & rock 'n roller--had come to Christ and was naming Jesus' name, it was hard to believe. I rushed out and bought "Slow Train Coming" and was blown away...and have been ever since with Dylan's work, both pre & post-conversion. It stands the test of time.


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The Fallow Season of Hugo HunterThe Fallow Season of Hugo Hunter by Craig Lancaster
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loved this spin-off from Lancaster's Edward series [600 Hours of Edward]. This book was a read-aloud by my own personal audible.com, my wife Chris. We had some driving time on our trip back to the US in Nov.


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The West and the Rest: Globalization and the Terrorist ThreatThe West and the Rest: Globalization and the Terrorist Threat by Roger Scruton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very insightful book on the whole issue of the "global terror threat," delving deep into the philosophical, religious, and political underpinnings of Western & Islamic civilizations. There are serious differences in how modern-day countries (and national political entities are a relatively new construct) have developed their governmental policies versus how traditional Islamic civilizations have evolved. Unfortunately, in recent years, as the author points out, there are many who have come from Muslim majority countries ("The Rest") to make their homes in Western countries--yet they have not become nationalized, but under their new political/religious freedoms have sought to take advantage of and to bring down countries/cultures which have Western political values ("The West").


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Saturday, January 13, 2018

Truly Madly GuiltyTruly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think this is my 4th Liane Moriarty book--but my first Audiobook version of one of her novels. It was thoroughly enjoyable--both the unfolding story & tension and hearing that peculiar Aussie accent. Even at 1-1/2 speed that accent was intriguing! And the narrator did a fantastic job with the various voices. Probably most intriguing was the voice for Vid--the Slovakian or Slovenian that he was. Moriarty is the master of the chronologically cut-up & from differing perspectives story. Bit by bit you get more & more revelation of what went on at a certain climax point--the build-up & characterizations to that point so key to a fuller understanding of all that took place at that particular moment in time. Each book of Moriarty's that I've read has been better than the last. Looking forward to another one soon!


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