Category - Books

I didn’t remember ordering anything.

Pauline emailed me at work yesterday to say there was a box at home for me. It was a parcel that had been sent from New York. Why would someone send me something from New York?

I didn’t know if it was a big or small box, heavy or light. All I knew was that there was a parcel waiting for me and it could have been something wonderful or it could have been somewhat of a let down.

Pauline’s email arrived in the morning and I wasn’t going to be getting home until the afternoon. The suspense was killing me.

I suppose I could have asked Pauline to open it for me but then I’d miss the surprise of opening it for myself. On the other hand if it wasn’t anything exciting it would have put me out of my misery.

Finally I made it home. I wandered into the house and looked for the box. It was a reasonable size. Not too big. Not too small. Whoever packed it had done a good job with the packing tape so I grabbed my trusty pocket knife to slice through the tape and open the box.

Inside were two books. That’s when it clicked. I’d noticed an offer on a website a month or so back. They were offering a couple of free books and were saying that they were surprised at how few people had taken up the offer. I gave them my details and then forgot about it.

The box was remarkably large for the size of the books but I guess that added to the surprise.

I don’t often have parcels turning up on my doorstep but I love it when they do. What about you? Do you enjoy letting your mind racing through the possibilities? Do you wonder if it’s a prize or if some kind person has sent you a gift?

Oh well, looks like I’ve got some reading to do.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

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I finished my first book for the year …. but I cheated.

Saturday morning means cycling. I look forward to getting up early and heading off to catch up with a group of friends. We cycle about 50 kilometres before spending half an hour dissecting the ride over a coffee and muffin then head home to arrive soon after 9:00 a.m. It’s a great way to start the weekend.

What that means is that I try to get to bed reasonably early on Friday. I need to be well rested to keep up with the other guys when the testosterone kicks in.

Unfortunately that wasn’t going to happen this week. I got to bed at a reasonable time but decided to finish Martin Dugard‘s book Chasing Lance before lights out. I started reading the book late last year but only ever got a couple of chapters in, so I can’t really say that this is the first book that I’ve read fully in 2007 but it certainly is the first one I’ve finished in 2007. I grabbed a few moments here and there through the past week to read bits and pieces and got through the final pages on Friday night.

Since finishing the book I’ve read a few reviews from other readers. Many give a glowing account of the book but one review I read was absolutely scathing. I tend to think the truth is somewhere in between.

If you’re a fan of Lance Armstrong or of the Tour de France I reckon that this book’s well worth the read. It’s not a big book so it shouldn’t take you too long to get through. There are lots of snippets describing what goes on behind the scenes at the Tour that will give you a better understanding of the race and those involved. Dugard describes the phenomenon of Lance Armstrong throughout the 2005 Tour de France. It was Lance’s final race and it was his historic 7th win.

Through most of the book Dugard takes a chapter for each stage, though a lot of the time he’s writing more about his own experiences at the Tour rather than the Tour itself. I found it a little odd that the final week of the event wasn’t given quite so much attention. Admittedly the race was pretty much all over after the mountain stages but the space given to the final days made it seem like Dugard’s publishers told him to hurry things up. It feels like he simply abandoned the chapter per stage idea and crammed everything from the last week into a couple of chapters.

The book gives some fascinating historical background to some of the areas the race passes through. It also gives the reader an insight into some of the spectators that follow the event.

If you’re looking for something that gives you a bit more insight into the Tour de France without being overly technical, this is a great read. It’ll never make to my list of greatest books but it’s certainly worth spending the time to read it.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

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How do you recover when the person you should have been able to trust the most has betrayed that trust?

Samantha Nelson is co-founder and Vice President of The Hope of Survivors, a Christian ministry addressing the issue of pastoral sexual misconduct.

Samantha holds a degree in Biblical Counselling and has worked with hundreds of families who have been abused by those in spiritual authority. She has recently written a book titled Reaching the Hurting – A Biblical Guide to Helping Abuse Victims – which aims to facilitate healing in the lives of those who have suffered all types of abuse.

I recently spoke to Samantha about the book. Our interview will be broadcast on 98.5 Sonshine FM this Sunday night and replayed on Monday night.

While Samantha’s main focus has been to bring healing to those abused by those in spiritual authority, her book gives a clear way forward for anyone who has been abused.

‘Reaching the Hurting – A Biblical Guide to Helping Abuse Victims’ is available in Australia through The Story Factory (Call 1800 452 133) or you can visit Samantha’s US website, The Hope of Survivors.

You can listen to our discussion using the media player below.

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I had an interesting discussion this morning with my regular Wednesday morning guest on 98.5 Sonshine FM. Ross Clifford is the Principal of Morling College in New South Wales and current President of the Baptist Union of Australia. Each week we chat about a range of issues relating to spirituality and belief.

Today we were talking about books that have made an impact on our lives. The discussion was prompted by an article at Christianity Today titled The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals.

The opening line of the article says, “People and movements can be defined by the books they read and remember.” This is obviously true for all of us, not just people of faith.

We opened our discussion listing the 5 books we would rescue if our bookshelves were about to go up in flames. It’s an interesting exercise to think about which books have made a lasting impact on who you are and the way you think.

You can listen to our chat while you continue to browse the web by clicking here.

Which 5 books would you save from a fire? Which 5 books have impacted your life? We specifically targetted Christian books in our discussion but I’d be interested to know about your top 5 even if you don’t consider yourself to be a spiritual person.

Please click on the comment link below this post and list your top 5. By the way, you can’t choose the Bible. That makes it just too easy for Christians. We’ll simply assume that as a bonus 6th book. I’m keen to get a good discussion going so please feel free to ask the same question on your own blog and direct people to this post. What are the books that have influenced you?

For what it’s worth my five were, in no real order, Faith, Tried and Triumphant by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Joy Unspeakable by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus, The Shaping of Things to Come by Mike Frost and Al Hirsch and The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges. It’s an interesting mix and I could probably pick some very different books on any other day.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

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Technorati Tags: Books – Christian Books – Spirituality – Radio – Sonshine FM

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Michael McGirr’s life in Gunning on the old Hume Highway in New South Wales is a long way from the twenty years he spent as a Jesuit or the seven years he was a Catholic priest.

He was a founding staff member of Eureka Street and has been a regular newspaper columnist and reviewer for newspapers such as the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times. He has a fortnightly segment during the morning programme on Canberra’s ABC Radio.

He’s also a great author.

When I received a copy of his book, Bypass, for Father’s Day last month I had never heard of Michael McGirr. As it turns out, Pauline had found the book on a discount table and thought that as it had a bicyle on the front cover, and was related to a long distance cycling trip, I might enjoy it. She was absolutely right.

Considering that it can often take me longer to read a book than it did for the author to write it, Bypass obviously grabbed hold of me fairly quickly. I started reading it on our flight to Melbourne a few weeks back and finished it yesterday. With the busyness of our holiday and then trying to get back into routine over the past week, it’s a miracle that I found time to read at all but I just had to find out what happened next in the story.

Michael tells the story of his ride from Sydney to Melbourne and he tells it well but I’d be misrepresenting the book if I claimed that that’s all it’s about. It’s also about the history of the Hume Highway, about so many of the events that have happened along its length, about the characters he met during the journey and so much more.

The book also gives you a very close look at his personal life at the time. Why would a 40 year old decide to take on such an adventure with a bike, and a body, not at all suited for the trip? What caused him to re-evaluate his life and leave the priesthood? Did he lose his faith or just his commitment to his former vocation? What part did, Jenny, his travelling companion play in the journey?

You’ll find more indepth reviews of the book here, and here.

If you’re looking for a read that’ll help you understand a little more about Australian history, about one man’s journey to a new life, and perhaps a bit more about yourself, Bypass is well worth a read.

It was published in 2004 so it may be harder to find than new releases but I reckon it’s worth the look.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

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