Author: Jason Boyett

Book Name: O me of little faith

I’m Glad it Wasn’t Called: Shirtless, Constipated Boys

Book Synopsis in Twitteresque 140 characters or less: Jason Boyett admits, “I’m a Christian but I’m a big fat doubter.” And as it turns out, he likes it that way.

Where I Bought It: Jason sent me a free review copy, probably because he feels bad for heckling me so often about the fact that I used to work at McDonald’s and stuff chicken fajita meat into my pockets.

Paid for With: This blog post. I told Jason I’d review the book on the blog. He wanted the review to go up in early May. It is now early July. I stink.

How Long it Took Me to Read: Well, I read half of the book during a week-long vacation in Myrtle Beach. Then we came home and I didn’t read anything for over a month. Then I picked up the book again and finished it over a 2 week period. I didn’t find it riveting enough that I just HAD to read it, but I always got sucked backed in when I did pick it up.

the OTHER jason boyett

Who I WOULD NOT recommend this book to: people who think doubt is a dirty heathen word, people who hate footnotes in books, and people who hate having a book recommended to them. I would also not recommend this book to the OTHER Jason Boyett. Ya know, the one who set the Oklahoma state record for the largest typical whitetail buck. He’s too busy killing deer to read.

Who I WOULD recommend this book to: Christians who struggle with doubt and non-Christians who think they need to be “all in” on this faith thing before checking it out.

What I used for a bookmark: in the beginning I was dog-earing pages, which goes against everything I stand for. I like to keep my books pristine while reading them. I HATE HATE HATE creases in the binding of a book from opening it too far. Anyone else with me? Near the end I stopped dog-earing and used a “One year of WIRED magazine for $10″ Business Reply Card. I’m thinking of subscribing.

What did I like about the book: I liked Jason’s honesty. I admit that I would have had a difficult time writing this book. “What will my family think…what will my pastor and my church family think…what will my kids think when they read this in 10 years?” I’m sure Jason struggled with similar questions, but he wrote it anyway. I also liked Jason’s analogies and stories (he’s great at making those work) and I liked his knowledge and research (he’s a nerd like me).

What did I like that was not in the book: I liked watching The Princess Bride with my kids for the first time a couple weeks ago (there was no mention of this in the book).

What did I not like about the book: During the whole first half of the book I kept thinking, “Man, Jason is presenting a lot of great reasons why he doubts aspects of his faith. This could really be detrimental to some people. I wonder if he’s ready to accept responsibility for that?” It’s a question Jason has talked about in interviews, including this good one he did with my friend Shawn Smucker. I didn’t dislike this about the book, but I admit it did make me uncomfortable.

Expectations Going In: I’ll be honest, I did not have high expectations for this book. I consider Jason one of my favorite online friends, respect Jason’s writing immensely, and always enjoy his blog…but I figured this would be a typical treatment to a subject I’ve read about too many times. Even though Jason’s a funny dude, I figured the book would be boring.

Cannarf Rating: My assumptions going into this book turned out to be wrong. I was not bored at all. It was engaging, challenging, and even encouraging. At first I wondered if it would be a good book to give to someone struggling with doubt, but by the end I was convinced that it might be just what they need to read. The Rating: +2.5 cannarfs. (what’s a cannarf?)

Have any of you read O me of little faith? What did you think?

Author: Jon Acuff

Book Name: Stuff Christians Like

I’m Glad it Wasn’t Called: I am the George Washington of Christian Satire and this book is the literary equivalent of the Battle of Valley Forge.*

*Jon has never claimed to be the George Washington of Christian Satire, but I’m about to make a joke about George Washington and it will be marginally funnier if it’s a callback.

Book Synopsis in Twitteresque 140 characters or less: Jon uses intelligent satire to poke fun at a group he is a part of, clearing away the clutter of Christianity to see the beauty of Christ.

Where I Bought It: Amazon.com, a small online retailer you’ve probably never heard of.

Paid for With: A credit card that has since expired. Now there’s something George Washington never had to deal with 250 years ago…expiring credit cards. Of course, I’d rather deal with that then having multiple bouts of dysentery and doctors who thought “bleeding” people was a medically sound treatment option.

How Long it Took Me to Read: 20.5 days, give or take a month.

Who I WOULD NOT recommend this book to: people who have no idea what a “Christian” is. Without some type of context for Christianity, I don’t think the book will make any sense. Lucky for Jon, that only eliminates about 75 of the 300 million people in the U.S.

Who I WOULD recommend this book to: definitely any Christian. If you can’t read this book and laugh at yourself, then I don’t know why you’re reading my website right now. At the same time, I think non-Christians will get a kick out of the book too. (Kinda like the Romans used to enjoy watching us getting eaten by lions, but without the barbaric vitriol and horrific sound of teeth on cartilage.)

What I used for a bookmark: nothing. For some reason I thought I could remember what page I was on in this book because every time I put it down (usually at the end of a cable-laying session) I was at a page number I thought I could remember. “Ooh, I’m on page 100, that will be easy to remember”…”Okay, I’ll read to page 144, which is 12 squared, that will be easy to remember”. Needless to say, I spent the first ten minutes of every dump trying to figure out where I left off.

What were some interesting true stories from the book: Not a lot of stories in the book, just a lot of things that make you laugh. I’d recall some of my favorites, but I gave the book away already. (Ooh, but I have to mention this. In the book Jon suggests that Christians asking God for “a hedge of protection” might not be scary enough to ward off evil. I laugh every time I hear that now because I picture one of Jon’s replacement ideas: lions on trampolines.)

What were some interesting true stories NOT from the book: Jon and I hung out for 2 days at Catalyst in October last year and it was good fun. Jon even took me out to dinner with his publisher, which I wrote about last year. Why none of this stuff was in the book is a mystery to me. (And no Jon, the shout out in the acknowledgments section doesn’t make it all better, but nice try.)

Expectations Going In: Confession: I think Jon is very funny, but sometimes I don’t read his longer blog posts. I kinda thought the book would be the same way. I’d read some pages and skim others. I expected a funny book, but not an amazing book.

Cannarf Rating: Jon took my expectations, built an altar around them, soaked them with clown tears, and called down comedic fire to consume them. Stuff Christians Like blew me away with consistent creativity and unpredictable humor. I laughed at the new material, I laughed at the old material, and I laughed at material that was having a mid-life crisis and was driving around in a tricked out Nissan Cube . Can’t recommend this book enough.  The Rating: +3 cannarfs. (what’s a cannarf?)

Have any of you read Stuff Christians Like? What did you think?

Author: Matthew Paul Turner

Book Name: Hear No Evil

I’m Glad it Wasn’t Called: Marry Me Amy Grant, You Smoking Hot Vixen of Gospel

Book Synopsis in Twitteresque 140 characters or less: From childhood dreams of being the Christian Michael Jackson to facilitating others’ dreams at a coffeehouse, MPT’s playlist is a fun read.

Where I Bought It: I didn’t. It was sent to me by Matthew himself. Or maybe it was his publisher. I was hoping it would be autographed with raven’s blood, but it wasn’t. Instead I drew a mustache and goatee on the kid in the cover picture with red ink to make him look like a nerdy devil boy.

Paid for With: This blog post. Which I probably should have posted a month or two ago. I guess I owe them interest or something.

How Long it Took Me to Read: Just under a month. It wasn’t the kind of compelling read that kept beckoning me to “come read another chapter” (I could probably say that about most memoirs), but every time I sat down with the book I was happy I did. Plus at 225 pages it’s not pointlessly long, either.

Who I WOULD NOT recommend this book to: Matthew’s writing isn’t for everyone, because if you think about it, nobody’s writing is for everyone. So basically that last sentence wasted 5 seconds of your life. But this book won’t waste your life, because good memoirs help you learn something about yourself. So I would NOT recommend this book to people who did not want to learn about themselves. For those people I would recommend therapy.

Who I WOULD recommend this book to: People with a good sense of humor, anyone who grew up listening to Christian music, and other white kids who grew up striving to be the Christian Michael Jackson. I would also recommend this book to Amy Grant because Matthew really digs her and if she ever is having a bad day all she needs to do is crack open this bad boy and realize there’s a nerdy devil boy out there who thinks she’s amazing.

What I used for a bookmark: A mini-flyer for the Andy Osenga show I put on last month, just so I could name drop Andy Osenga in this post.

What were some interesting true stories from the book: I enjoyed the bits about Ms. Lansing, the piano teacher who challenged Matthew to use his imagination. And the scene at Sea World where Matthew was blocking his ears to drown out the devilish syncopated beat still makes me laugh. My favorite stuff though, is probably near the end of the book when Matthew becomes editor of CCM Magazine, just because I used to LOVE reading CCM.

What were some interesting true stories NOT from the book: The story about the time that I met Matthew at a blogger meet-up in Atlanta was interesting, but it was not in the book because the book had already been written. I’m hoping it makes it his next book, Bryan Has a Big Nose in Real Life Too.

Expectations Going In: I really enjoyed Matthew’s last book, Churched, so I had fairly high expectations that this would be equally entertaining.

Cannarf Rating: I was expecting a great read and lucky for me (and all of us), Matthew delivered once again. As someone who has attempted to write a funny memoir, I know a little bit about the degree of difficulty involved. It ain’t easy to tell your stories AND be funny, folks. But Matthew does just that. Pretty sure you won’t be disappointed with this one. I was going to give him 2 cannarfs, but considering I owe him some interest, we’ll bump it up a bit. The Rating: +2.5 cannarfs. (what’s a cannarf?)

Have any of you read Hear No Evil? If so, what’s your cannarf rating?

Author: Donald Miller

Book Name: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life

I’m Glad it Wasn’t Called: Let Story Guide You: Why some lives make sense and others don’t, which was the original title for the book when Don first conceived it. (I even have the original cover art for the book, which I’ll show you at the end of the post.) I’m also glad it wasn’t called Auteur: Why some lives make sense and others don’t, which was another title they were throwing around back in the Fall of 2007.

Book Synopsis in Twitteresque 140 characters or less: While writing a movie based on his stories, Don discovers that the same elements that make up a good story, also make a good life.

Where I Bought It: Got it at a bookstore in King of Prussia, PA. (though I should note that I didn’t end up purchasing the one I bit. So somewhere there’s a copy of this book with my dental records all over it.)

Paid for With: Visa. I’ve always been a Visa guy and not a Mastercard guy. No idea why.

How Long it Took Me to Read: Not long. I read the first 40 pages in an airplane in Microsoft Word since someone had sent me a pre-release illegal copy (shh, don’t tell anyone). After I bought the book a few weeks later I read the whole thing in about a week.

Who I WOULD NOT recommend this book to: Someone on their death bed. It’s pretty inconsiderate to ask someone who’s about to die to read a book about writing a better story with their life. It’s downright rude, actually.

Who I WOULD recommend this book to: Just about everyone. Whether you’re chasing your dreams, trying to figure out what your dreams are, or enjoying the dreams you’ve caught, there’s something in here for you.

What I used for a bookmark: A candy corn. Totally screwed up the book’s binding.

What were some interesting true stories from the book: Don’s story about finding and meeting his father was huge. As you get to the end of it, you’re like, “oh crap, my eyes are about to get watery, aren’t they?” and then it’s too late. It was also fascinating to read about Don’s failed relationship that he and his fiancee broke off. Not just because it’s Don, but because rarely do successful Christian authors write about their failed relationships.

What were some interesting true stories NOT from the book: I got to hang out with Don and Susan Isaacs on their tour bus the other day, which was a lot of fun. They’re just as kind in person as they are engaging on stage, but I’m sure you figured that. Unfortunately Don was not able to put the transcript of our riveting 20-minute conversation into the book because it happened a month after the book was released. Maybe the second printing?

What was the 1 thing I’ll take from the book: I’m gonna cheat and give you 3 things. #1 is that when a character doesn’t have a good ambition, he is not in a good story. If all I want to be is a successful writer, who cares? If I’m striving to be a good father and husband who loves those around him, now we’re getting somewhere. #2 is that this really isn’t about us. God is not a supporting character in my story. This is God’s story, and I play a part in it. Changes your perspective on things. #3 is that the climax of the Christian’s story is not when they accept Christ as savior. Because after that point there is still much conflict and heartache. No, the big scene in Act 3 when it all comes together is at the wedding feast of the Lamb in heaven. Conflict here on earth isn’t against God’s will for us. He actually uses it to shape and change us on this side of eternity.

What I learned from this book that I will apply to my next book: A good title is a good title no matter where it comes from. If you’re wondering where “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” comes from, it’s from a line in the book that you might have not even noticed, had it not been the inspiration for the book’s name. A memorable title is HUGE (and I think I finally have one for the book I’m working on…maybe.)

Expectations Going In: It’s Don Miller, so the expectations were very high.

Cannarf Rating: Despite my high expectations, the book still was an unexpected surprise. I had heard Don speak about Story before, so I wondered if some of the material would feel old and stale. On the contrary, the stories he injected into the book really helped the material make sense in a fresh way. I truly feel that anyone who reads through this book will be better off for it. Good chance I’ll wind up calling this my favorite book of his.   The Rating: +2 cannarfs. (what’s a cannarf?)

Have any of you read A Million Miles in a Thousand Years? If so, what’s your cannarf rating?

Bonus Time…here’s an early draft of the cover art for the book when it was titled, Let Story Guide You, designed by Barak Hardley:

and here’s a potential cover that Barak Hardley designed for Million Miles that Don’s blog readers thought was a little too dark. (it references a passage in the book where Don talks about how people would mourn the loss of good stories, and not non-fiction, if a Book Mobile fell off a bridge.)

Movie: All About Steve

Where We Saw It: Rave Cinemas in Port St. Lucie, Florida. We were vacationing there last week to celebrate out 10th anniversary.

Food/Beverages Consumed: We went to the movie theater immediately after eating dinner at Chipotle, so we were the opposite of hungry. But I figured at some point I’d have the urge to eat something sweet and I had a few bucks in my pocket, so we spent $4 on a box of raisinettes. Later that night we saw the same box at Wal-Mart for 97 cents. Good times.

Movie Synopsis in Twitteresque 140 characters or less: An annoying Sandra Bullock has latched onto the charming Bradley Cooper. Can he ditch her without crushing her spirit? And will you care?

The Good Stuff: I’ve never been a big Sandra Bullock fan, but she did a pretty good job walking the tightrope of being over the top eccentric and likable at the same time. The chemistry between the 3 main dudes in the poster was pretty good as well, leading to some of the movies’ best moments.

The Bad Stuff: I’m not usually one to pick apart movies, but I couldn’t help but feel that some of the characters and their relationships were way too underdeveloped. For instance, when Thomas Haden Church’s character decided to mess with Bradley Cooper and reach out to Bullock, I had no idea why he was doing it. Was he a bad guy? Was he just a joker? It didn’t make sense in the story arc to the point where I noticed it. Also, the friendships that Bullock developed with the guy and girl from the “Pro-Leg” camp (I won’t ruin that for you) seemed way too contrived. I had a hard time caring for them or their whole sub-plot. It felt like there was about 20 minutes of footage that would have explained these characters better that was left on the editing room floor, and as a result the movie seemed emotionally disjointed. Or maybe there was something in my burrito from Chipotle.

The Ending: The ending was pretty strong and included some truly funny moments and a small twist. Nothing to write or call home about (though a text might be justifiable).

Should You spend $25 to go see it in the theaters: I can think of worse things to do with your money. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, I know, but yeah.

No seriously, Should I Go See it, Rent it, or Skip it? It’s a safe play for the theaters if there’s nothing else you want to see, but otherwise I think it’s a solid rental.

Expectations Going In: I was expecting a light, easy-to-watch movie with a few funny scenes here and there.

Cannarf Rating: Well, I got what I expected with this one. It was funny at times, scattered at others, and in the end turned out to be a fun way to spend an hour and a half of my life. The Rating: 0 cannarfs. (what’s a cannarf?)

Have any of you seen All About Steve? If so, what’s your cannarf rating?