Library Loot ~ July 31-August 6

God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World — and Why Their Differences Matter ~ by Stephen Prothero, 2010

Islam ~ The Way of Submission
Christianity ~ The Way of Salvation
Confucianism ~ The Way of Propriety
Hinduism ~ The Way of Devotion
Buddhism ~ The Way of Awakening
Yoruba Religion ~ The Way of Connection
Judaism ~ The Way of Exile and Return
Daoism ~ The Way of Flourishing
A Brief Coda on Atheism ~ The Way of Reason

Stephen Prothero makes a fresh and provocative argument that, contrary to popular understanding, all religions are not simply different paths to the same end — and why this matters greatly for us.

The Genesis Enigma: Why the First Book of the Bible Is Scientifically Accurate ~ by Andrew Parker

Andrew Parker is known within the scientific community as the man who best explained the "big bang" in the diversity of life that occurred over 500 million years ago. Stimulated by that research, he became interested in the biblical account of Genesis. Light is mentioned twice; life first emerged in the sea; and then birds . . . The more he looked, the more he found parallels between Genesis and accepted scientific truths about the evolution of life. In The Genesis Enigma, Parker steps day by day through the week of biblical creation to explain the science that verifies its account. A brilliant work of scholarship, Parker's unprecedented rational argument for the existence of God will fascinate intellectually curious believers and nonbelievers alike.  According to Booklist (starred review):  "The single Darwinian bicentenary publication most liable to reconcile religion and science."

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire @ The Captive Reader and Marg @ The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages us to share titles of books we’ve checked out of the library.  Add your link any time during the week, and see what others got this week.

Beginning ~ with a conversation

Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future ~ by Margaret J. Wheatley, 2009

"I believe we can change the world if we start listening to one another again.  Simple, honest, human conversation."

This is the July choice for my online book club.  I ordered the book online, and it finally arrived this afternoon.  It isn't a long book, and I've been told it doesn't take long to read.  My friend Donna also ordered a copy of the book, so I'll also be able to discuss it with her.  Do you want to start a conversation with me?  Maybe we can change the world.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays. Click here for today's Mister Linky.

Library Loot ~ July 24-30

Mother, Daughter, Me ~ by Katie Hafner, 2013, memoir (California)

This memoir is an exploration of the year Katie Hafner and her mother, Helen, spent working through, and triumphing over, a lifetime of unresolved emotions.   Dreaming of a “year in Provence” with her mother, Katie urges Helen to move to San Francisco to live with her and Zoë, Katie’s teenage daughter.  Katie and Zoë had become a mother-daughter team, strong enough, Katie thought, to absorb the arrival of a seventy-seven-year-old woman set in her ways.  Filled with fairy-tale hope that she and her mother would become friends, and that Helen would grow close to her exceptional granddaughter, Katie embarked on an experiment in intergenerational living that she would soon discover was filled with land mines:  memories of her parents’ painful divorce, of her mother’s drinking, of dislocating moves back and forth across the country,  and of Katie’s own widowhood and bumpy recovery.  Helen, for her part, was also holding difficult issues at bay.  Katie Hafner’s brave and loving book answers questions about the universal truths of family that are central to the lives of so many.

Only one book this week. No, the cover isn't torn and badly taped back together — that's the way it's designed.  I imagine it's to indicate the "torn" relationships being patched back together, but I still don't like it.  I've never liked things made to appear old or broken or "fixed" like this.  I hope designers will get over it someday soon.

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire @ The Captive Reader and Marg @ The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages us to share titles of books we’ve checked out of the library.  Add your link any time during the week, and see what others got this week.

Hello! Hello! ~ by Matthew Cordell

Hello! Hello! ~ by Matthew Cordell, 2012, children's, 9/10

The
whole
wide
world is trying to reach you.  [Notice the www.]

The first pages, as the girl tires of her electronic gadgets.

After she has discovered the great wide world and gotten her parents and brother to join her in it.

Got the picture?  Get the book.  Rated 9 of 10, an excellent book.

Monday Mindfulness ~ be present

Library Loot ~ July 17-23

The Stockholm Octavo ~ by Karen Engelmann, 2012, fiction (Sweden)

From the publisher:  Life is close to perfect for Emil Larsson, a self-satisfied bureaucrat in the Office of Excise and Customs in Stockholm of 1791.  He is a true man of the town — drinker, card player, and contented bachelor.   Until one evening, when Mrs. Sophia Sparrow, proprietor of an exclusive gaming parlor and fortune teller, shares with him a vision she has had — a golden path that will lead to love and connection for Emil.  She offers to lay an Octavo for him, a spread of eight cards that augur the eight individuals who can help him realize this vision — if he can find them.  Emil begins his search, intrigued by the puzzle of his Octavo and the good fortune Mrs. Sparrow’s vision portends.  But when Mrs. Sparrow wins a mysterious folding fan in a card game, the Octavo’s deeper powers are revealed.  No longer just a game of the heart, collecting his Eight is now crucial to pulling his country back from the crumbling precipice of rebellion and chaos.  This novel is set against the backdrop of late 18th century Stockholm, as the winds of revolution rage through the great capitals of Europe.

I learned about this book, my only "loot" for this week, from Wendy @ Caribousmom.  This map of Stockholm is from the author's page, where there's also a tour of Stockholm.

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire @ The Captive Reader and Marg @ The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages us to share titles of books we’ve checked out of the library.  Add your link any time during the week, and see what others got this week.

Bad Girls of the Bible ~ today's the day!

Bad Girls of the Bible: And What We Can Learn from Them ~ by Liz Curtis Higgs

Ten of the Bible’s best-known femmes fatales parade across the pages of Bad Girls of the Bible with situations that sound oh-so-familiar.  Eve had food issues.  Potiphar’s Wife and Delilah had man trouble.  Lot’s Wife and Michal couldn’t let go of the past, Sapphira couldn’t let go of money, and Jezebel couldn’t let go of anything.  Yet the Woman at the Well had her thirst quenched at last, while Rahab and the Sinful Woman left their sordid histories behind.  Let these Bad Girls show you why studying the Bible has never been more fun!

My friend Donna and I went to Nashville on February 26th for the taping of a video to accompany this Bible study.  I told you about it and shared photos.

Join two dozen women in a cozy coffeehouse setting, as author and speaker Liz Curtis Higgs explores the lives of ten of the Bible’s best-known femmes fatales.  From Eve to Jezebel to Delilah, each woman’s story and struggles come to life, as Liz brings home this vital truth:  “No one is good — except God alone” (Luke 18:19).

The book and video are being released today.  The 288-page paperback has a study guide and discussion questions, and the video shows us women listening to Liz tell stories.  In the following short video, Liz sings about the "bad girls" (this isn't the one I'm in):



Meet all ten Bad Girls in less than two minutes.  Liz Curtis Higgs says, "I'm not really a jazz singer.  You've been warned."

UPDATE:  After I put up this post, I commented under Liz's video on Facebook:  "Liz, I wrote about today's release of your book and the accompanying study video."  Minutes later, she replied:

BLESS YOU, Bonnie, many times over! :>)

If the video quits working, you can watch it on YouTube.