Book Review
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Book listsDavid Wiesner: weird and wonderful
Super creative? Ultra creative? Mega creative? Every good picture book author is imaginative, but somehow David Wiesner (1956- ) manages to be all the more…
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Culture ClashesHow the Bible made the world a better place
Though most wouldn’t want to admit it, the Bible has made the world a better place even for those that don’t believe it. How can…
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Book lists30+ Christian fiction suggestions for your 10-15-year-old boys
I was recently asked for some reading suggestions for boys aged 10-15. This is when boys can sometimes stop reading, so I didn’t want to…
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Book ReviewsCorrie ten Boom: the courageous woman and the secret room
by Laura Caputo-Wickham 2021 / 24 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Give For such a short one, this picture book sure fits a lot inside. We meet Corrie ten…
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Book ReviewsScout: The Mystery of the Abandoned Mill
by Piet Prins 1982 / 127 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Piet Prins’ Scout: The Mystery of the Abandoned Mill is a book for all ages. It’s the…
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Adult fictionShane
by Jack Schaefer 1949 / 176 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Sometimes I reread children’s literature because I enjoy being captured again by the quality of writing and…
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Book ReviewsOn the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
by Andrew Peterson 284 pages / 2008 Rating: Good/Great/GIFT My wife hasn’t read this book, but she enjoyed it too. As I made my way…
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Book ReviewsThe Bark of the Bog Owl
by Jonathan Rogers 2014 / 248 pages Rating: Good/Great/GIFT Our hero, Aidan Errolson, is a medium-sized twelve-year-old with dreams that are far bigger. When we…
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Book ReviewsManga Classics: Anne of Green Gables
by L.M. Montgomery adapted by Crystal S. Chan 308 pages / 2020 Rating: GOOD/Great/Gift Anne is an orphan girl living in the Prince Edward Island of…
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Book ReviewsBell Mountain
by Lee Duigon 267 pages / 2010 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Jack and Ellayne are two children on a mission from God: they are going to ring the…
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Book ReviewsLuther: Echoes of the Hammer
by Susan K. Leigh illustrated by Dave Hill 2011 / 144 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give I think this is the perfect complement to Luther: the graphic novel,…
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Book ReviewsCanada at War: a graphic history of World War II
by Paul Keery, illustrated by Michael Wyatt 176 pages, 2012 Rating: Good/Great/GIFT Halfway through Canada at War, I realized it was filling in an odd…
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Adult biographiesDancing Under the Red Star
by Karl Tobien 368 pages / 2006 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give This is American Margaret Werner’s perspective on the USSR’s forced labor camps – the Gulag – that…
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Book ReviewsThe Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster 1961 / 255 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Give What kind of book is suitable for study in the Fifth Grade, and in First-Year university English…
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Adult non-fictionIn the Beginning: Listening to Genesis 1 and 2
by Cornelis Van Dam 2021 / 371 pages Dr. C. Van Dam begins his latest book by explicitly laying out his presuppositions. He’s upfront about his…
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Apologetics 101Surviving Religion 101: Letters to a Christian Student on Keeping the Faith in College
by Michael J. Kruger 2021 / 262 pages. Rating: GOOD/Great/Give From time to time I search online for “ex-Can RC.” I’m curious as to why people would…
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Book ReviewsAnansi and the Moss-Covered Rock
by Eric A. Kimmel 32 pages / 1988 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Things begin with Anansi (uh·naan·see) the spider making quite the discovery: a strange moss-covered rock that…
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Adult non-fictionMen and Women in the Church: A Short, Biblical, Practical Introduction
by Kevin DeYoung 2021 / 170 pages Kevin DeYoung’s latest tackles an always timely topic. In the last few years, the “women in office” issue…
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Adult non-fictionTwo on worship…and the prevention of worship wars
With the restrictions on church attendance easing, many people are saying: “Can’t wait for Sunday.” Did you know that there is also a book with…
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Adult non-fictionDevoured by Cannabis
Weed, liberty, and legalization by Douglas Wilson 2020 / 99 pages Why shouldn’t Christians smoke marijuana? The go-to answer to that question used to be:…
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Adult biographiesJohn MacArthur: Servant of the Word and Flock
by Iain H. Murray 240 pages / 2011 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attack in 2001 John MacArthur has been a help and a…
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Adult non-fictionBroken Beauty – Reflections of a Soul Refined by Cancer
by Helena Bolhuis 252 pages / 2020 It’s kind of exciting when someone you are personally acquainted with publishes a book. It’s a bit of…
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Adult biographiesR.C. Sproul: A Life
by Stephen J. Nichols 2021 / 400 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Stephen J. Nichols has produced the first biography of Sproul since his death in December…
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Book ReviewsGod’s Big Book of Animals
Edited by Shirley Rash 248 pages / 2019 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Did you know that baby elephants drink three gallons of milk each day? Or that…
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Adult non-fictionForesight: How the chemistry of life reveals planning and purpose
by Marcos Eberlin 2019 / 147 pages Back in 1996 “Irreducible complexity” was Michael Behe‘s contribution to the origins debate: he argued that some biological…
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Adult fictionA better brand of Christian historical fiction
As a history buff, historical fiction has long been one of my favorite genres. Unfortunately, I rarely read fiction anymore, as much of modern historical…
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Articles – BooksWhy you should keep reading to your kids
Parents read to their pre-school kids on a pretty regular basis – it’s a great way to snuggle up for some one-on-one time with mom…
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Book ReviewsGod’s Story: A Student’s Guide to Church History
by Brian Cosby 144 pages / 2014 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give This small book is an introduction to Church history written for students at the high school level….
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Adult biographiesThe hardest peace
Expecting grace in the midst of life’s hard by Kara Tippetts 2014 / 189 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give In this part biography, part devotional Kara wants…
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Adult biographiesSaving my assassin
by Virginia Prodan 2016 pages / 336 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give How would you respond if you were staring down the barrel of a gun held…
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Adult biographiesWinston Churchill
by John Perry 158 pages / 2010 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Though the man himself has been gone 50 + years now, the myth is enjoying a revival….
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Adult fictionDawn of Wonder
by Jonathan Renshaw 2015 / 708 pages Rating: Good/Great/GIFT This might, at first glance, seem to be your typical boy-meets-girl, boy-dares-girl-to-jump-off-of-a-thousand-foot-high-bridge-into-the-icy-cold-stream-below-and-girl-shows-him-up-by-actually-doing-it story. And, as many a…
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Adult fictionThe Auschwitz Escape
by Joel C. Rosenberg 2014 / 461 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Joel Rosenberg is a fantastic writer, a New York Times best-seller, but his political thrillers…
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Book ReviewsThe Biggest Story
How the Snake Crusher brings us back to the garden by Kevin De Young 120 pages / 2015 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give I read this over three…
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Adult non-fictionThe legacy of 25 Scripture verses on Parliament Hill
by Lynette Bloedow 68 pages / 2020 Perched atop my “to be read” pile, this caught the eye of a visitor who sat down, started…
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Adult non-fictionWonderful & Bizarre Life Forms in Creation
by Jerry Bergman 144 pages / 2020 Have you ever wondered what’s going to be on the bookshelves come the New Earth and Heavens? Will…
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Book ReviewsThe Plot to Kill Hitler: Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Spy, Unlikely Hero
by Patricia McCormick 184 pages / 2016 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Dietrich Bonhoeffer was the youngest son in a large, loving, and intellectual family. When he, at a…
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Adult non-fictionJust do something
or how to make a decision without dreams, visions, fleeces, impressions, open doors, random Bible verses, casting lots, liver shivers, writing in the sky, etc….
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Adult non-fictionKilling Calvinism
by Greg Dutcher 2012, 111 pages We can thank God that many “young and the restless” Christians are turning to Calvinism to find the rest…
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Adult non-fictionChosen by God
by R.C. Sproul 1986 / 187 pages While most Christians joyfully acknowledge God’s sovereignty in His providence – his protective care – many are less…
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Adult fictionRide Sally, Ride
by Douglas Wilson 294 pages / 2020 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give This might be the weirdest bit of fiction I’ve read, but the author’s point is that…
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Adult non-fictionSong of Songs: The Greatest Love Song
by Matthew H. VanLuik 210 pages / 2015 Way back in 1979, Victor Kiam coined a phrase in a Remington electric razor commercial: “I liked…
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Book ReviewsKitten Construction Company: meet the house kittens (2 books)
by John Patrick Green 70 pages / 2018 Rating: Good/Great/GIFT The author of Hippopotamister is back with another charming treat for early readers. The story…
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Book ReviewsPro-life kids!
by Bethany Bomberger 48 pages / 2019 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give What I most liked about this book is that my kids just picked it up and…
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Book ReviewsNoah: A wordless picture book
by Mark Ludy 60 pages / 2014 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Mark Ludy’s wordless account of Noah’s life will fascinate young and old. There’s so much to…
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Book ReviewsGod made me unique
Helping children see value in every person by Joni Eareckson Tada and friends 32 pages / 2019 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Everyone is unique, but some of us…
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Book ReviewsIn Grandma’s Attic
by Arleta Richardson 1974 / 144 pages Rating: Good/Great/GIFT When Arleta was a little girl she would visit her grandma, where she’d play up in…
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Book ReviewsYellow & Pink
by William Steig 1984 / 32 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Sometimes one encounters a work of art, a poem, piece of music, figurine or painting which is…
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Adult fictionHidden: Stories of War and Peace
by Christine Farenhorst 303 pages / 2020 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give “I was a Stranger” is reason enough to pick up Christine Farenhorst’s newest short story collection. The…
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Book ReviewsPrince Martin wins his sword
by Brandon Hale 52 pages / 2018 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give At bedtime, my dad reads a lot of books to us – me and my two…
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Book ReviewsThe life of Frederick Douglass
A graphic narrative of a slave’s journey from bondage to freedom by David F. Walker Illustrated by Damon Smyth 2018 / 173 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Frederick…
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Book ReviewsAnimal Farm: The Graphic Novel
by George Orwell (& Odyr) 2019 / 172 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Give For those that don’t know the original, Orwell wrote his allegory in World War II…
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Book ReviewsHunger Winter
by Rob Currie 2020 / 236 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Author Rob Currie drops his readers right into the action in the opening scene, with an anxious…
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Book ReviewsBrave Ollie Possum
by Ethan Nicolle 373 pages / 2019 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give If you were ever a scaredy-cat, or if you might have one in your family, this…
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Adult fictionThe Winter King
by Christine Cohen 351 pages / 2019 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give 15-year-old Cora lives in a time of horses, and swords, and meat pies. It’s also a…
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Book ReviewsThe City of Ember
by Jeanne DuPrau 2003 / 270 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Give 12-year-old Doon wants to save his city but he’s got quite the problem because he has no…
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Adult fictionThe Seraph’s Path
by Neil Dykstra 2019 / 475 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Maybe I should have gotten someone else to review this, what with me sharing the same…
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Adult non-fictionThe Gospel Comes With a House Key: an instructive, inspiring, downright intimidating look at Christian hospitality
by Rosaria Butterfield 2018 / 240 pages This is a scary book. I have heard of several people putting it down after only reading a…
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Adult fictionGreg Dawson and the psychology class
by Jay Adams 2008 / 149 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give This is a novel, but it’d be more accurate to call it a textbook masquerading as…
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Adult biographiesThe question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life
by Armand M. Nicholi Jr. 2002 / 244 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Give While C.S. Lewis was 40 years younger than Sigmund Freud, he was well acquainted with…
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Book lists5 powerful pictures book
Julia Gonzaga by Simonetta Carr 64 pages / 2018 This is another book in Simonetta Carr’s “Christian Biographies for Young Readers” series and it is…
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Children’s fictionLove That Dog: a novel
by Sharon Creech 2001/ 86 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give As I started reading the very first page of this book, I thought it was dumb. I’ve never…
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Adult non-fictionWhat’s your worldview?
by James N. Anderson 112 pages 2014 Rating: Good/Great/GIFT If you’ve got fond memories of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books you’ll really enjoy this adult update. This time…
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Adult non-fictionStill Thinking: more delightful doodles, and deep thoughts
by Jason Bouwman and friends 187 pages / 2019 Rating: Good/Great/GIFT This creative, challenging, accessible, readable, godly book is quite hard to describe. Oh, sure,…
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Adult non-fictionTimothy, Titus & You: a Study Guide for Church Leaders
by George C. Scipione 55 pages / 2018 (originally 1975) Crown and Covenant Publications Many Bible study books are full of questions. Questions can be…
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Book ReviewsThe Amazing Dr. Ransom’s Bestiary of Adorable Fallacies
A Field Guide for Clear Thinkers by Douglas Wilson & N.D. Wilson illustrated by Forrest Dickison 320 pages / 2015 These are the adventures of…
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Adult non-fictionProverbs
by Jay E. Adams 1997 / 231 pages Rating: Good/Great/GIFT I grew up with a set of Calvin’s Commentaries at my disposal for my Young…
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Adult non-fictionThe Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the plot to kill Hitler
by John Hendrix 176 pages / 2018 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give The world “pastor” is not often paired with words like “plot” or “kill.” But when the…
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Book ReviewsBolivar
by Sean Rubin 224 pages / 2017 Rating: Good/Great/GIFT New York is the busiest city in the world, and people there are simply too busy…
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Adult non-fictionYou Who? Why you matter and how to deal with it
by Rachel Jankovic 235 pages / 2019 Rating: Good/GREAT/Gift I began reading my wife’s copy of You Who? only after she shared comments from the…
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Adult non-fictionKnow why you believe
by K. Scott Oliphint 2017 / 221 pages There’s a need for different types of books on apologetics. We need the books on theory –…
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Children’s fiction5 great chapter books
With the start of summer what parents everywhere need are some fantastic reads for their young’uns. The chapter books below come in all shapes and…
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Adult fictionLord Foulgrin’s and Screwtape’s letters: why you should read this devilish correspondence
The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis 1942 / 200 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Lord Foulgrin’s Letters by Randy Alcorn 2001 / 208 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Normally,…
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Adult non-fictionThe Genesis Account: A theological, historical, and scientific commentary on Genesis 1-11
by Jonathan Sarfati 786 pages / 2015 Outside of sermon preparation, it is not often that I read a commentary from front to back. If…
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Adult non-fictionAn interview (of sorts) with “Gay Girl, Good God” author Jackie Hill Perry
Jackie Hill Perry is an American poet and recording artist on the Humble Beast label. Married to Preston, she is the mother of two children….
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Children’s picture booksGod made Me and You: Celebrating God’s design for ethnic diversity
by Shai Line illustrated by Trish Mahoney 32 pages / 2018 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Reformed rapper Shai Linne has written a children’s book about racism and God’s…
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Adult non-fictionCalvin’s Institutes: Which edition should you read?
John Calvin published five different Latin editions of his Institutes, expanding on it with each new edition. The 1536 edition was just 6 chapters long,…
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Children’s picture booksDance at Grandpa’s
by Laura Ingalls Wilder illustrated by Renée Graef 33 pages / 1994 Rating: GOOD/Great/Give I’d expect most everyone has heard of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on…
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Adult non-fictionBeating the college debt trap
Getting a degree without going broke by Alex Chediak 212 pages / 2015 In Canada, the average student debt among university graduates is now more…
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Adult biographiesi am n
Inspiring Stories of Christians Facing Islamic Extremists by the Voice of the Martyrs 293 pages / 2016 Rating: Good/GREAT/Give The “n” in the title is…
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Adult non-fictionChrist’s Psalms, Our Psalms
edited by Rev. Peter H. Holtvluwer 383 pages / 2018 The Psalms are a rich treasure for God’s people: so many inspired words of comfort,…
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Adult non-fictionBlame it on the Brain?
Blame it on the Brain?: Distinguishing chemical imbalances, brain disorders, and disobedience by Edward T. Welch 1998 / 208 pages A boy won’t sit still so…
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Adult non-fictionGod has a wonderful plan for your life
by Ray Comfort 128 pages / 2010 Why doesn’t the modern evangelistic message “work”? In this book Comfort is confronting an enormous problem that he…
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Adult non-fictionCan I smoke pot? Marijuana in light of Scripture
by Tom Breeden and Mark L. Ward Jr. 103 pages / 2016 This book is valuable in two very different ways. First, it’s valuable for…
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Adult non-fictionThe Story of Reality
The Story of Reality: How the World Began, How It Ends, and Everything Important That Happens in Between by Gregory Koukl 2017 / 198 pages…
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Adult non-fictionGod and government
Biblical Principles for Today: An introduction and Resource by Cornelis Van Dam 330 pages / 2014 Any Christian who wants to be involved in politics,…
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Book lists3 great Christian novels
If the fiction section in your local Christian bookstore is all-Amish all the time, then here are 4 recommendations of a very different sort: a…
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Children’s non-fictionThe Sweet Taste of Providence: 74 devotional episodes from history
by Christine Farenhorst 2016 / 296 pages Rating: GOOD/Great/Give Seventy-four! When Christine Farenhorst comes out with a new collection of short stories, the big question I…
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Adult non-fictionSex Matters
Sex Matters is a book intended for Christians – McKee provides answers from the Bible and explains the Bible’s message using research and real life…
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Adult biographiesTrue Right: Genuine Conservative Leaders of Western Canada
by Michael Wagner 128 pages / 2016 Feeling like you’re the last true conservative left in Justin Trudeau’s Canada? Then you need to read Michael…
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Book ReviewsWings of Dawn
by Sigmund Brouwer 1999 / 456 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Give Why would anyone go through all the trouble of building an immensely strong castle in the…
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Adult non-fictionThe Thunder: A novel on John Knox
by Douglas Bond 2012 / 400 pages Rating: Good/Great/GIFT John Knox turns five hundred this year and I can’t think of a better way to…
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Book ReviewsThe Hunger Games: doesn’t tackle the issue it raises
A book about kids killing other kids, that is written for the teen market? If that doesn’t grab your attention, then you must not be…
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Adult non-fictionTHE DISCIPLINE OF GRACE: God’s Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness
by Jerry Bridges 2006 / 144 pages The title of Discipline of Grace seems to express a contradiction. Isn’t grace a free gift and discipline…
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Adult non-fictionRESPECTABLE SINS: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate
by Jerry Bridges 2007 / 192 pages Rating: Good/GREAT/Gift We’re not into drugs, or pornography; we’re not committing adultery or stealing or beating our children….
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Book ReviewsTwilight: a horrible book that fathers should consider reading with their daughters
In 2005 Stephanie Meyer published Twilight, a novel for teens she described as a “suspense, romance, horror, comedy.” It tells the story of Bella, just…
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Adult fictionIs There Balm in Gilead?
There is a balm in Gilead To make the wounded whole; There is a balm in Gilead To heal the sin-sick soul. Some times I…
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Book ReviewsThe Purpose Driven Life
Reformed reflections on Rick Warren’s book To say “The Purpose-Driven Life” is a popular book is to be a master of understatement. Over 16 million copies…