somewhat thought provoking
934712
Nice movie for a quiet evening at home. Good cast and somewhat thought provoking, especially in today's complex world of dating regardless of age.
3312834
The author has an interesting thesis  that American Protestant thought which provided the intellectual/social/philosophical center of the American political experiment is gone and has yet to be replaced, including by American Catholic thought.  He chose to prove it by walking through a brief history of Protestant thought in America, followed by thoughts on American Catholic thought.  While a crucial part of his thesis, it can be a bit of heavy going for the reader.  It also points to a larger issue with the book: at times it can't decide whether it's an academic work or a long personal essay.  While not a major problem, it can be distracting.
That said, if the reader can get through the early (but necessary) going, the rest of the book is worth it.  The thesis is thought-provoking, for all Americans, Protestants, Catholics and others.
I'd recommend this book as one of several which one might read on the current state of American religious life and its implications for American political life and American society.
3145482
It was a fairly interesting read. A little too preachy for my tastes but that was to be expected considering their background. Personally, I could have done without the chapter on politics. They mostly discuss how they support conservative Christian candidates and how you (the reader) can (and should) do the same because 'conservative Christian principles are what the nation was founded upon'. Even though I disagree with many of their beliefs (I am not a Christian), there are still many good concepts that can be meditated upon and applied to one's own life without necessarily having to use Christianity as the vehicle for change.

The most striking part of the book (for me) was how their parents deal with unpleasant emotions such as anger (particularly their father). If the children feel that their father is getting angry (and about to yell, or say unpleasant things), they will tap him on the shoulder to alert him to his heightening emotions and keep him accountable to his children.
4685058
Although repetitive on some things, it did offer some useful advice and really made me think about how I think and react to different life situations. Overall, not bad.
3314321
To me it seems the author is speaking from a very personal place to express some insights from his own experiences and feelings. Interesting read it didn't hit home with me the way some of his other books have. That title though.
3822853
I'm not sure if I enjoyed this book or not. I think I'm sitting on somewhere in between. I found it interesting. It is certainly concept that captures your attention, but I did struggle with some aspects. Firstly the writing style. I found this book to be a fairly slow read. There were sections of this book that felt long. During excessive and sometimes repetitive recountings I would find myself thinking, I know this already, we've covered this before. Also, there is a whole lot of introspection in this book. Not necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes I found there was just too much and it slowed the book down. The ending seemed abrupt in comparison to the rest of the book - a quick resolution, of sorts, that didn't fit with the rest of the book. Although, I'm not sure how else it could have been handled, and it does work.

And now to the plot itself. This storyline seems to have captured people's attention - how will the topic of immaculate conception be handled? What angle with the author take? Well, this is not a retelling of the story of Mary, mother of Jesus. This book does not set out to prove the existence of God. The main character struggles with these questions herself and seems to settle on almost the opposite conclusion. Instead this book is about the reactions of Mina herself and the reactions of her friends, family and that of the wider community. It's about choosing to believe in something, anything, even if you yourself are unsure about what that is. And ultimately, I hope that people find it's about not casting judgement - not judging people for having faith and not harming others if they have a faith that differs from your own. Maybe that's not what the author set out to achieve, but that's what I took from it.

Is this book sacrilegious? I can't answer that. I think it's important to remember that this book is filed under fiction. It's a story, just like any tale about dragons, time travel, or a boy and a girl falling in love. It asks the question What if?

The publishers provided a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
4180765
I really liked the premise of this book but the book itself turned out to be slower and more boring at times than I would have imagined. The ending was very good, but to get there was a little slower than I would have liked.  Not exactly a page turner but it had some very good sequences.  If the trial had come sooner in the book and maybe the auther had left some surprises for it, that would have made it more interesting and not  feeling so redundant.  Overall, a thought provoking story theme and worth reading.
1893450
I read this book for a book club...and found it interesting on many levels.  It makes you think about theology, about the judicial system, about history and the inter-relatedness of the universe.  However,  at a certain point the author went too far out for my liking.
Lots to think about on the subject of guilt, innocence, and especially  forgiveness.
2678206
Some books make you rethink your views on very important issues of life and death. This is one of them. Its an uncomfortable read, in the sense that it questions your beliefs. Very good for an open minded person to revisit why they have certain beliefs and how to accept people with different beliefs.

In all, I liked the book but found the author's views on some subjects like racism very limited. It was too black and white for my taste. These subjects are far more complex and cannot be skimmed over the surface. I wish it had more depth.
907250
At times I think the author is not clear in where he is going with his thoughts so I found it hard to follow at times. But the basic message is we are all flawed by sin and we have the choice to repent of it and live a more fullfilling life for ourselves and the ones we love.
3668755
The title of this book evokes the feeling that
it may be a

simple-minded recitation of those basic Catholic beliefs that

 one may be given in Sunday school as a child.  It is not.  It

 is a thoughtful book on the role of the Roman Catholic Church

 within the "whole scheme" of the Catholic faith.
2438682
I enjoyed the concept of this book the idea that we need to focus more on God and be more 'vertical' focused then worldly focus. But I felt that the book turned into a Christian self help book, as in how to get to be someone you aren't right now. Which yes is a good idea, but not the way I see the idea of the gospel or the cross compelling people to live. Yes, moral guidelines are correct but can we finally leave the elementary ideas behind? Furthermore for being a self-help book I don't see it giving any strong godly examples how to live life the other way, nor any ways that you could chase after it.
 I will say this it did do a great job of showing what areas are impacted the most by our current culture here in America; and how many times we don't differ from our culture that we live in to Christianity that we should be living out.
1669782
Writen and edited by a Budist so you get an odd perspective of life and death. What evens things out is the other views presented by Jewish and Christian contributors who have stories and thoughts on how to embrace life to the fullest that way we have no regrets or fewer of them when we move on. It focus's on not just drifting through life like so many of us do and have a more mindful / thought driven life experience that way you don't feel like you wasted your life or are living a wasted life and whats the point kind of thing.
Good and inspiring, yet I felt it could have been more together. Kind of disjointed but the subject matter was worthwile, just did not flow well.
1186307
A bit of a one trick pony.  Does make one realize to be thoughtful regarding how one gives and to whom.
1175403
Thought provoking, but doesn't really offer any solutions.  Depending on what your thoughts are regarding privacy, the information presented here may excite you about the possibilities of the future, or make you reconsider your use of the internet.
1455327
Good read with some nice metaphors for thinking about life.
765981
Interesting perspective. Kind of views I have