Books | Aaron Buer

March Book Reviews

I did a little reading in March. In an effort to cut back spending I actually cancelled my audible.com account for a while…GASP! In case you were wondering, audible.com is part of why I am able to read so many books. I always listen to books on my drive to and from work.

Anyway, now I’m getting my books from the local library which is forcing me to make my reading choices based on what’s available. It’s been a good exercise for me. Here’s what I read this month and what I thought about the books.

I love Gaffigan’s comedic material so I thought I would check out his book. While he is a much better stand-up comic than writer I still laughed my way through this book and actually thought he had great insights on the wild adventure of parenting. If you have kids, and a lot of them, this book is a riot.

I kept hearing from friends that I needed to read this book so I finally picked it up. There’s no doubt that Steven D. Levitt is a genius and I love the way he approaches difficult questions. The style of the book reminded me of Malcolm Gladwell who is one of my favorites. I was engaged from start to finish.

Sigh…yes, I actually read this. What can I say? I wanted to know what the hype is all about. This isn’t my first foray into the genre of “adolescent girl thriller” either. I hesitate to admit that I loved the Hunger Games. Anyway, about Divergent...the story is gripping from start to finish. I couldn’t put it down and it made a flight from Minneapolis to Phoenix feel like 5 minutes. With that said, the book has this nasty habit of getting steamy in a physically juvenile kind of way that made me repeatedly look around and make sure no one noticed that I was reading the book. In spite of that, I loved it and I’m sort of embarrassed to tell you that I’m almost done with the second book in the series.

This man was born in a secret North Korean prison camp and escaped to China, South Korea and then the United States. He is the only known person to be born in a North Korean camp and escape. It’s an incredible story and terribly heartbreaking. Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans are brutally mistreated in government camps. This isn’t 1943 Nazi Germany. This isn’t the Soviet Gulag. This is 2014 and it’s slavery and worse. Everyone needs to read this book.

January Book Reviews

The first month of 2014 is already over and here in Michigan it’s been the snowpocalypse. Maybe that’s why I’ve been reading so much. Here’s what I polished off this month…

I read to my kids nearly every night because I want them to love books and because I believe that reading to them will build a sense of adventure and a thirst for knowledge. It took us a long time to work through this classic but they loved it.

I started this series because I was considering reading it to my kids. I think it’s a little too scary for my younger kids but as it turns out I love the series! Maybe it says something about my maturity level…or maybe that the books are great! I’m looking forward to continuing the series.

I’ve written before about my love of Bill Bryson. I don’t always agree with his viewpoints but his writing style and humor are fantastic. I enjoyed this book in particular because it’s about the history of the English language in the United States. The book is full of little stories explaining the odd phrases that we use without knowing where we got them.

I’m obsessed with history and I love literature and writing so Made in America was a perfect fit. I know, I know, the topic probably sounds boring but I was constantly laughing. It’s was highly entertaining.

I just finished this book and I’m still processing it. This was a much heavier read than the other books I read this month–in a lot of ways. I picked it up because I love the outdoors and also a gritty story of struggle. The book definitely delivered in both categories. I couldn’t put it down.

What I didn’t love was the crassness. It was dirty to the degree that I can’t really recommend it which is disappointing because Cheryl Strayed is a incredibly expressive writer. She conveys emotion and pain wonderfully.

So, what are you reading? I’d love to hear of any reading recommendations you have.

40 Book Reviews in 5 Minutes

You might say I’m a bit of a reader. I always keep a list of the books I read over the course of a year. It’s a way of motivating myself and keeping track of what genres of books I’ve been reading.

I believe deeply in the power of reading. It’s how I stay fresh, informed, inspired, and young. Here’s the 44 books I read this year and a extremely short review for each. My hope is that something will catch your eye and you’ll be inspired to read a little more in 2014.

Simply the best book I’ve ever read on church culture and leadership. It’s a must for church workers.

I read this when I learned I’d be taking over our high school ministry last summer. Very helpful.

Had to read it again before watching the movie!

Great research and perspective for high school to college transition ministry.

Read this to my kids. They liked it but much preferred the first in the series.

One of the best books I read this year. I laughed, cried and walked away inspired to love people. If you haven’t read it you MUST!

This is great history of the Cold War arms race…utterly terrifying.

Confession: I love reading about military Spec Ops. This is one of the best I’ve ever read.

Funny, so very funny.

I love reading WWII history. However, this is the dark aftermath of the conflict. Very disturbing and yet important history.

This is such a great read. We use it as part of our high school to college transition curriculum.

Uh…yeah, I love Han Solo.

Maybe I was a little obsessed with Duck Dynasty last year.

This book is incredible. A powerful, beautiful and heartbreaking story of life in the slums of Mumbai.

I always enjoy Acuff’s humor and style.

More WWII…this was a great story and a great reminder that most average German citizens were not evil.

Powerfully challenging and unsettling.

My church has supported and partnered with this man for years. What an incredible story.

This is Acuff at his best. A great read. This was very influential in me starting my blog.

I loved this. I wish our national character still reflected the values of the WWII/Depression generation.

If you’re blogging this is a must. Very well written and informative.

This book is great for marketing and ideas.

I read this book as I considered how I wanted to lead meeting with my team. It’s very helpful and a short read which is always nice.

I love Francis Chan. This was a great reminder that student ministry must be about mentoring.

I appreciated the perspective provided in this book: Student ministry from the eyes of a lifetime volunteer.

Again, I was slightly terrified to take the reigns of our high school department so I read a ton on leadership and management.

A novel about sex trafficking in Ukraine and Russia. It wasn’t a great idea for me to read this after our failed adoption.

Somehow I never read this as a kid. Loved it and enjoyed the movie.

I’m a huge Bill Bryson fan. This was a fascinating read about the things we find in our homes.

I was such a huge fan of Ender’s Game and then things got weird.

Like I said, I enjoy reading about special operators. They are a unique class of men.

Yup, reading more about leadership and management. Lencioni is a genius.

This book blew my mind. This guy survived so much of WWII. Amazing.

This was my first foray into the world of N.T. Wright. He’s as smart as they say.

Say what you will about Rob Bell but he is arguably the best communicator of our generation and worth reading.

My friend’s ongoing struggles with father abandonment inspired me to reread this. Don Miller is my absolute favorite author.

I loved Ender’s Game and then things got really, really weird.

So far, this is Miller’s best work. This was my 2nd read. This book inspires me to live a life worth living.

This is Bryson’s latest. I loved it and so will you if you are at all interested in American history or baseball.

I read everything by Gladwell. He has such a unique approach. I didn’t love the way he handled the Bible in this book but overall it was fantastic!

Such a simple but powerful approach to business or church leadership.

I was looking for a fun series to read to my kids. I really enjoyed it! So far the 2nd book is even better.

After reading Peterson’s book I had to go back to my favorite fantasy series ever. Brilliant.

Well, that’s it. I read 44 books in 2013 most of them were great. I hope you found something to add to your reading this for this year. Please send me your recommendations. I’m looking for great books to add to my list form 2014.

What I’ve Been Reading

I’ve read some great stuff over the last few weeks. Here are a few blog posts that I really liked…

Grand Theft Auto 5 made $1 billion dollars in three days. Half the universe is playing this game. Wanna know what it’s all about? A couple youth workers played it for a few minutes in order to review it for a parent resource website. Warning, it review is NOT for the faint of heart.

http://www.jonathanmckeewrites.com/archive/2013/10/08/kill-a-hooker.aspx

A friend recommended this post to me in response to a piece I wrote about guys not leading girls in our culture. It’s pretty strong. I’d love to know what you think:

http://theresurgence.com/2012/08/28/5-notes-on-dating-for-the-guys

This post on teaching middle school students is fantastic. If you teach students you should definitely check it out:

http://uthmin.net/np-communicating-to-students-2/

I already posted about Malcolm Gladwell’s new book David and Goliath. Here’s the post if you missed it. In his book he argues that being a big fish in a little pond is better than being a little fish in a big pond and how that relates to choosing the right college. Here’s an article about this concept.

http://www.businessinsider.com/malcolm-gladwells-david-and-goliath-2013-10#ixzz2huVNGsFf

And, if you missed it, here’s an interview with Gladwell about how writing this book drew him back into faith.

http://thinkchristian.reframemedia.com/malcolm-gladwell-on-jesus-underdogs-and-his-own-evolving-faith

I’m halfway through this book and loving it. Bill Bryson is one of my favorite authors. If you haven’t read him you need to get on it. For real. Go get one of his books right now…

My Don Miller Mystery Note

The year was 2003. I was perusing the shelves of a local bookstore the day before a cottage weekend with some buddies. The plan was to eat good, relax, play obnoxiously nerdy board games and do some studying. I needed a good book–something compelling with a story that gripped but wasn’t pointless.

The book I chose did not disappoint. I picked it off the shelf, not knowing the author in the slightest, and it instantly became one of my favorite books. I read it from cover to cover before we even left for the retreat. I simply couldn’t put it down. Then I read it again.

Blue Like Jazz was unlike anything I had ever read before. It was like Salinger meets theology conversations in the lounge of my college dorm. It was compelling, hilarious and real. Not much of what I was reading by Christian authors at the time was real. I loved it and it launched me on a journey of deeper thinking and healthy spiritual exploration.

Since that time I’ve read every Don Miller book there is. Searching for God Knows What is the best, if you want to know the truth. I’m so obsessed that I even read Prayer and the Art of Volkswagen Maintenance and Through Painted Deserts even though they are the same book. I couldn’t help it. I love the authenticity of Don’s style and the fresh way he approaches the Christian faith. His books have helped me rethink, jettison or shore up many of the ideas I grew up with. Quite simply, he’s my favorite author–which brings me to the point of this post.

You see, I like to use Don’s Storyline book as part of our college transition curriculum. It’s a great tool for exploring who you are and what exactly God might be calling you to. I love the idea of drawing students into the mission of Jesus as they explore their future.

Anyway, I ordered about 30 of the Storyline books and not only did they ship exceptionally quickly but they also came with a handwritten note.

Now, I’m sure you can understand my excitement in receiving a handwritten note from Don Miller, whose books have so deeply shaped my thinking. And, this isn’t one of those photocopied prints of a handwritten note that important people sometimes give out. This is the real deal. Or is it…

As I looked closely at the note, I couldn’t help but notice that it appears a certain “Dan” wrote it and not Don. Who is Dan? No offense but I don’t know you, Dan. Or wait, is the note from Don and he sort of ran the “o” into the “n?” Now I’m really confused.

Don, if this is from you could you please work on your handwriting? And Dan, if this is from you, do you think you should be going around signing notes with simply “Dan” when you work with “Don?” I’m just saying. I mean, I feel bad for not being happy with a handwritten note from you “Dan,” but the truth is, you aren’t a famous author an I haven’t read each of your books 3 times. Perhaps you could switch things up and go with “Danny” or “Dan-o” so that people don’t get confused.

But, on the off-chance that this is from “Don,” thanks for writing a handwritten note. That’s classy. And yes, I would like some help with my story. Could we do coffee? Or maybe we could ride bikes across the country? A trip in a Volkswagen van to the grand canyon? I still have a blockbuster card. I can come to you. My sister lives in Portland. Call me.

Read This Book!

I just polished this book off last week. Of all the books I’ve read this year, this one might be the best.

As it turns out, not everyone agrees. There is a rather ugly debate raging on some of the specifics of Gladwell’s arguments and also the genre of his writing style itself.

this guy thinks Malcolm Gladwell is an idiot

Malcolm Gladwell defends himself.

Wherever you land on the debate, Malcolm Gladwell’s hair clearly wins..

I will admit that I don’t like Gladwell’s telling of the David and Goliath story itself. I think he misses the point of the biblical story and uses some questionable interpretative techniques to arrive at his conclusions. However, the rest of the book is fantastic. Why? Because it is utterly compelling and moving. All I can say is that I listened to it while mowing my lawn and I was not crying. It was the dust. It’s terribly dusty this time of year.

The truth is that Gladwell is a marvelous storyteller. At several points I found myself mowing halfway into my neighbor’s yard because I was so captivated by Gladwell’s stories. In the audio book, Gladwell reads the story himself which magnifies the experience. Had the book not finished, I may have mowed every yard on my street just to keep listening.

The thing I love about this book is it’s central message. Gladwell doesn’t use this language but it’s essentially about redemption. Any bad experience or handicap can be redeemed. Gladwell writes about parental loss, dyslexia, persecution, and systemic racism. In each of these situations, through adaptation, perseverance and forgiveness, people or cultures become stronger, not in spite of their pain and struggle but because of them. The cure for lukemia, the will to oppose the Nazi’s, the fortitude to battle for civil rights and the strength to forgive were all birthed out of tremendous pain and loss.

This is a story that we need. Life is relentlessly painful, full of loss and disappointment. We either rebuild out of the ashes as stronger and better people or we fold.

Redemption is also the central message of the Gospel, which is perhaps why I loved David and Goliath so much. Jesus can redeem and restore any life no matter how dysfunctional and broken.

It seems that the process of writing about persecuted faith communities, forgiveness and redemption deeply affected Gladwell and his own faith journey. According to him, the journey brought about a return to faith in his own life.

Gladwell rediscovers faith

My recommendation would be to go out and by this book. If you are a church person, like myself, you will likely get annoyed in the early pages because of Gladwell’s spin on the David and Goliath story. Keep reading. I think you will love it and at the very least you will be inspired.

The 5 Best Books so far This Year

It’s June. Somehow we’re halfway through 2013. It’s time to talk about the books that have most influenced me so far this year. In no particular order, here they are…

Bob Goff is an amazing man. There aren’t many books that can make me laugh, get angry and cry—all within the span of 20 pages! The first half of this book was so powerful that I could barely stay seated.

I got to see Bob speak at the Orange conference this spring and he is the real deal. Rarely have I see someone so full of joy and courageous optimism. I guess there is more than a little Jesus going on inside that guy.

This book didn’t make me laugh at all. It broke my heart. If you haven’t read this book, you really should. The author lived in the slums of Mumbai for 3 years and this book is the story of what she witnessed.

The best word for it is “brutal”. However it is a story that needs to be told. There is a cost to development and the cost is usually people who are left in the dust of rapid advancement.

Jon Acuff’s first book was hilarious. When I read his second book I thought, “This is pretty good.” While reading Start as fast as I could I kept thinking, “THIS BOOK IS AWESOME!” If you are stuck, bored, or going through something difficult you should read this book. This book is the reason I went from thinking I should start blogging to actually starting to blog. It’s pure motivation.

If you’ve been living in a cave for the last few years, here’s Jon’s blog.

Speaking of blogging—a few months ago I didn’t know jack about blogging and I’ve never been very tech savvy. Michael Hyatt’s book changed all that for me. This book is the best “how to manual” for anything that I’ve ever seen. There’s great stuff in here about building a platform. If you already know quite a bit about blogging, e-business and publishing you’ll pick up a few helpful pointers. If you don’t know anything you better get ready for the fire hose treatment. Platform is a very well written book that I simply loved to read. If you aren’t following Hyatt’s blog you should be.

If you deal with ideas or the spread of information in any way this book is a must read. The central question of the book is what causes something to go viral? And, we’re not talking disease. We’re talking about ideas, You Tube videos, products, restaurants, and blog posts. It’s a fascination read and the author does a good job of describing how anyone in any field can employ his theories to achieve virality.

Honorable Mention

Hey Jack! I know it’s not very intellectual but I just can’t get enough of this show or this family. They are too funny! Besides, there are too many odd similarities between the Robertsons and my family…

What books have impacted you so far this year?

Category: Books