The Open Table – Book Reviews
Jesus was known –some would say notoriously so—for His “open table” eating style. In the Gospels, Jesus loved to share life at the table with others and never refused an offer to eat with someone. Most of Jesus’ great discussions with His disciples and others happened around the table. In honor of that model, The Open Table is a forum where all are welcome to join in the conversation about the books suggested and more. It’s a place where book reviews will be served up, but also where other thoughts, observations, and life happenings can be discussed and ideas savored. Your participation is encouraged. All contributions will be valued and nourished. Good manners are expected of course at The Table. Welcome to The Open Table. I hope we can meet here often. Great times are ahead! –thyrkas
Peace Like a River
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger As part of the preparation for writing this review of Peace Like A River, the bestselling novel by Leif Enger published by Grove Press, I checked the information page in the front and was shocked to see a publication date of 2001. I'm...
Wearing God
Wearing God Clothing, Laughter, Fire and Other Overlooked Ways of Meeting God by Lauren F. Winner Some books are read sip by sip, like brandy. Some are read one coffee cup at a time. And then there are those into which you put a straw and drink the whole book in one...
Blue Mind
Blue Mind The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected and Better At What You Do by Wallace Nichols The mantra "In-the-name-of-Science" has fostered many kinds of research over the years, but...
God’s Hotel
God's Hotel A Doctor, a Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine by Victoria Sweet Where can you find a story that links together the last almshouse in America, the most obstreperous medical patients ever, a medieval female physician, and modern healthcare?...
Go Set A Watchman
Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee How would you react to the news that an unpublished book by a favorite author had been found and was going to be released to the public soon? Would you be jubilant, perform a happy dance around the living room, then message family and...
ME and WE
ME and WE God’s New Social Gospel by Leonard Sweet ME and WE: God’s New Social Gospel by Leonard Sweet is a lively and lovely introduction to a re-imagined, metaphorically rich present/future church. This church, Sweet writes, must learn how to face three of the...
All the Light We Cannot See
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr A dazzling book, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, published by Scribner in 2014, concerns a subject that would not necessarily bring the word "dazzling" to mind -- war. World War II and the Holocaust are the...
Let Your Life Speak
Let Your Life Speak Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker J. Palmer Perhaps one of the most universal questions asked of people from early childhood on is, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The question changes somewhat as the child ages, and the...
The Boys in the Boat
The Boys in the Boat Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics By Daniel James Brown “Competitive rowing is an undertaking of incredible beauty preceded by brutal punishment.” George Yeoman Pocock - Master designer and builder of racing...
The New Normal
The New Normal A Diagnosis the Church Can Live With by Tom Ingram It seems the phrase, “the new normal,” has been popping up in conversations everywhere, especially since the US economy faced its most challenging downward shift since the Great Depression. I think the...