Explore the Scriptures

(Editor's note: This is a book summary I wrote for an assignment. Since I am so behind on writing articles on this blog I decided to post it. Hope you find it helpful!)

How do you summarize the most important book in history? Where would you even start? Well, In his commentary Explore the Scriptures: An Overview of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, John Phillips does an excellent job outlining, condensing, and evaluating each book of the Bible.

 Each chapter in this book starts out with a basic outline. It highlights the major chapter divisions in the book and gives references to every bullet point. This is helpful if you are just looking through and need to find a major idea, theme, or event. Every point is alliterated which makes these short outlines horribly helpful.

Phillips also does an excellent job of condensing each book of the Bible into a manageable fashion. Each chapter is only about three or four pages long. Only the main points are highlighted in Explore the Scriptures, so it is very easy to get a broad idea of the point of the passage. There are also very useful maps and diagrams which help the stories to come just a little bit more alive.

The final aspect to highlight is the evaluation from Phillips. It seems that Mr. Phillips takes a very traditional approach to the searching of the scriptures. When he comes to a controversial passage he give several of the popular interpretations of the passage and lets you decide which is the closest to scripture.

Over all I thought Mr. John Phillips did an excellent job just giving a brief survey of the book we stake our life on. He wrote very useful outlines, helpful summaries, and good interpretations. No book can replace the Bible, but if you want to better understand your bible and get the big picture, this is an excellent resource.

Trent's RAPID REVIEWS #1

Books on the Internet and Technology

 

 

In the last few months, I've spent time thinking about how I approach the gargantuan behemoth of the information, entertainment, and communication source which we collectively call the Internet. It's something which I think a lot of us take for granted, and perhaps we don't give it enough thought and consideration. Some who know me may have noticed that I'm not around on social media anymore, or just not as much. This has been somewhat of an self-experiment, and honestly it doesn't feel like I'm missing out on anything.
So I've been reading. A lot. And these are the different books which collectively gave me a better understanding and the "big picture" of how we as both an individual and as a collective culture use and are used by this new technology. Some of these are new, some are older. Some are really good, some are not as good. This are just a list of what I've absorbed, and whether I think you will get a lot out of it as well.

Onto the books!

The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr

The Shallows is part neuroscience, part social science, part history. It gathers a lot of fascinating scientific data and studies surrounding our minds, attention spans, intelligence, and motivation. The conclusion it comes to is easy to see coming (read the subtitle of the book maybe?), and yet it still will have a significant impact. I agreed with the thesis, and it definitely made me approach the problem from a different angle.

As for the book itself, it is a fairly quick read, never slows its pace, and is interesting all the way through. I HIGHLY recommend you find a copy to read, even if you don't think you'll find the subject matter interesting. It'll make for a good conversation in the very least. 

The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom by Evgeny Morozov

This book is probably the most different from any other on this list. Rather than focusing on the affect the internet has on a person, Morozov documents the affect that the internet has on the people, or entire cultures, or nations even. In the last ten years especially, it's easy to look at significant world events and credit them to the progress of technology. Morozov fights against this idea, and instead argues that the internet might actually be hurting the status of democracy than helping it.

Although it's pretty compelling in places, I think it maybe was a bit too long. He kept repeating his main thesis pretty often, and I think that the lack of differing viewpoints made his views seem a little one-sided. I'd still recommend it if a political-tech book sounds appealing.

Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology by Neil Postman

Postman, one of the greatest social critics of the twentieth century, is more well known for another book on this list. This book is a history of how the progress of technology has been reflected in the culture's attraction and usage of said technology. There isn't much to say about this - just go read it. It's actually a good preface to any of the other books here. It's a quick read and you will enjoy it.

Hamlet's BlackBerry: Building a Good Life in the Digital Age by William Powers

This is one I was recommended to by none other than the internet. IRONY HAHA!!
But I found the title funny, liked the subject matter, and thought it would be a good addition to this library. It had a good introduction, and his main point was solid. Powers basically says that he's found a better life by using the internet sparingly, only as a tool, and not relying on it for everything.

Except... that it really isn't that good of a book. It reads like a blog post that went on for 250 pages. I really almost didn't finish it due to the repetitive middle section. I'd say instead, go read The Shallows and form your own opinion of how you should live your cyber-life. Don't recommend.

Who Owns the Future? by Jaron Lanier

This one is kind of crazy. It's a economic science-nonfiction social discourse. Yeah, that probably didn't make any sense. Basically Lanier has created a massive theory on how our future is going to progress due to the internet, and especially how it affects the economy. I wasn't completely sure what I was getting into when I picked it up, but I still found it refreshingly readable. The style and tone of the author is mostly what sets it apart. I'm still not sure whether I can recommend it - it's definitely not for everybody. I'd say go check it out if you are interested.

Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business by Neil Postman

This is the big one. Originally published in 1985, what can this book about television have to do with the internet?

EVERYTHING.

I'm not kidding when I say that this book has probably increased in relevance even from when it first was released. Postman brilliantly provides an explanation on how the style and presentation of television has massively impacted both how we think as an individual AND as a people. He explains that instead of Nineteen-Eighty-Four happening, we've instead gone in the reverse direction and have been polluting ourselves with the garbage of what we think we love. Alex Huxley's Brave New World is his comparison point instead.

If there's one book your read on this list, make it this one. I read it in a single afternoon because it was so absorbing and horrifying. I truly think that it's probably the most relevant thing I've read on this list. Read this book!

Wrap up:
I hope you enjoyed reading this write up. If you like the format of this multi-review, leave a comment and tell me. I liked doing this more than any of the other reviews I've done. Thank you for reading!

App Time!

Goodreads

            This is the ultimate app for Book nerds. I like to call it Netflix for the intelligent individual. But whatever you call it, it is amazing. Basically it is a digital book catalogue. There are several places within the app to discover new books. There are some unique categories of books that are constantly changing such as Dystopian YA or Best YA Fiction. They also have the typical biography, fiction, cooking, arts, and much more. My favorite section is Classic. I have found so many good books there.

            My favorite part about the app is the fact that it is not just a catalogue. You are encouraged to rate the books by giving them stars and writing reviews about them. (I usually don’t write there because I post reviews here!) It is also nice to read what your friends or other authors and experts have to say about a book you are thinking of reading.

            The reason I compare Goodreads to Netflix is the instant queue. Just like Netflix you get to customize your list of books by marking books: Read, To-read, and Currently reading. But you don’t only have those lists, you can make many more to get a high level of personal personalization. Some of the ones I have on my account are To-re-read and school, plus a number of traditional categories.

            The final feature I would like to highlight is the challenges. This is a newer feature I believe, but I am thoroughly enjoying it. This year I am working on the 50 books in one year challenge. I’m just about halfway done, but I hopefully can get cranking and knock out the last 25 books.

            Well I hope this has been a help to you! I know I love Goodreads and I hope you will too. It is the perfect app to organize and prioritize your reading list.

Until Again,

         Lance Fillmore

Think Smart

It is said that the human brain is only able to access 10% of its capacity imagine what you could do with 100%. Just kidding the book that I'm reviewing isn't about being able to stop the world or learn Chinese in five minutes or anything like that, but it is about neuroscience so lets get started.

 Think Smart is written by Richard Restak M.D. and let me just start out by saying I really did like this book. Its purpose is to give a prescription for improving your brains performance. It lays out different strategies for helping to improve your brain. Now some of you may be thinking that this sounds boring, but it is actually a quite enjoyable read, granted I personally am fascinated by the study of the brain and cognitive development so I especially found this book intriguing. But even if you are not super into neuroscience this book is still enjoyable, mostly because of the writing style. Richard Restak does an excellent job of combining easy to understand vocabulary and really good information. Overall it is a well written, informative book, I would highly recommend it to any one.

Go Get 'Em!

We are living in a time where being lazy is normal. It's not even that were always lazy. We're just not always Go-Getters. I heard about The Go-Getter from Dave Ramsey. He said it was a required read for the members on his team so I decided to give it a shot. And let me tell you I was not dissapointed! Peter Kyne, the author, was very popular when he was writing in the early 1900's. He is well known for his book about the three wise men translated into a wild west tale, but he is perhaps most famous for his short story character Cappy Ricks and how he finds a Go-Getter.

This is a very short story with some very powerful principles. I really don't want to tell you much about the parable because it is so short, but I will tell you you don't want to miss reading this! And right now you can get The Go-Getter from Dave Ramsey's store for only $5.00! It's normally $15 so you don't want to miss this deal! Whether your young or old all of us can learn so much about how to do more and be a Go-Getter!

Until Again,
Lance Fillmore

The Phantom Tollbooth

A while back I was listening to the quiz show Wait, Wait Don't tell me and I heard an interview with the author Norton Juster. The Book he was discussing was called The Phantom Tollbooth and it sounded fascinating! I decided then that I wanted to read the book, but I had a hard time finding it. Well this year we moved to another city and that meant another library to scour. The first book I checked out - Well one of the first. Who goes to the library and just checks out one book?- Anyways the first book I checked out was The Phantom Tollbooth. So after years of waiting I finally read it. So let's dive into the content.

The Watchdog

The story is about a little boy named Milo, who never wants to be where he is, but never cares to go anywhere else. One day he finds a toy toll booth in his room that transports him to a magical land filled with all sorts of amazing creatures. There is a WatchDog, Spelling bee, Math-a-magician and many other people. Milo sets off on a quest to rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason. Along the way he encounters many perils and learns to use all his senses. He discovers that there are many wonderful things in the world and he can explore them all. It is a delightful  story and masterfully executed.

The book focuses on wordplay and is very fun to read especially if you enjoy a good pun. There are many quotable lines throughout the story and some very thought provoking statements. One of my favorite lines from the book is said by Princess Reason, "What you can do is often a matter of what you will do." Another one by the same person is, "You often learn more by being wrong for the right reason than being right for the wrong reason." Both statements are simple yet so profound. Though it is a children's book, there are many lessons for adults to learn as well.

Stylistically the book is crafted well. The use of many adverbs really gives you the feel of being in the new land. The dialogue is well written and like I said the use of words is very appealing. Milo, himself, develops much throughout the story, but the rest of the characters are fairly flat and static.  But I think you'll find that doesn't really matter much especially as you approach the end of the book.

Over all I was very impressed. I half expected to find a cheesy kids book, with juvenille jokes, but I am happy to say that I was wrong. The humor is elevated making this book a wonderful read for children and adults alike.

 Until again,
Lance Fillmore


You can grab your copy of  The Phantom Tollbooth here.

Chris, Crichton, and Castles (Don't Judge Me for Alliterating)

The past can often seem very distinct and separated from the present. We, humanity, often glorify even the bloodiest of battles. We make heroes of villains and change the facts as we chose. Often it doesn't matter because we don't have enough facts to make an accurate judgment of the past, yet we do it anyways. My point is we often make history what we want it to be.  Well what if we didn't have to. What if we could travel to the past and observe what really went on in the pages of our text books. This is part of the premise in Michael Crichton's sci-fi adventure novel about the past.

Chris, Stern,Kate, and Marek are part of a archeological team unearthing the ruins in the Dordogne river valley of France. Professor Johnston, one of the leaders at the site, has been visiting the mysterious ITC, the company funding the dig, hedquarters in New Mexico. But when the team in France doesn't hear from him at the scheduled time, they begin to get suspicious. Their suspicions are founded when they discover a 14th century manuscript with the words "Help Me" written in perfect English. Through a series of events, (I'm trying so hard not to reveal to many details.), the team is sent back to 14th century France to save the professor. The only catch... They just have 37 hours to complete the task. That might not seem to hard, but don't forget the is a dark period in history. Slaughter abounds and it is a whole new world. This book combines so many aspects that different readers will enjoy such as: Archeology, Knights, Castles, Science Fiction, and a heartless CEO.

While I enjoyed reading this book there were just a few things that bugged me. My biggest problem was with the story's main villain. He seemed almost cartoonish in his wish to exploit and control the archeology and the surrounding land. Maybe I'm just misreading his intents, but them seem very juvenile and not really deserving of his end. On the other hand his passive attitude about death and those he injured was disturbing and well crafted and justified his end better than his plans for exploitation. I also found a few of the characters just sort of lackluster. Yet there was good character development throughout the story which I think makes up for it.

A big part of my enjoyment of this book was the science aspect of it. While the author gives enough detail for you to know what's going on. He doesn't drown you in a sea of useless information. He is quick and to the point.

While there are a few downsides to the book, there is much more to be gleaned from it about our view of history and the time in which we live. As much as we enjoy history, We're never going back the past is in the past, so we must do all we can to make the most of the present.


Lance Fillmore (PSEUD)

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Author's note: If you enjoyed the book... Do not watch the movie version!!!! That is all.- 07/16/14