Writing Book Reviews

It’s been said that an intellectual is someone who reads with a pencil in hand. These days I’d update that to say they highlight and make notes in their digital library. I didn’t jump on the digital books bandwagon until about seven years ago, but I am a full-fledged adherent now. About 90% of the

My Great Gatsby

As you may or may not know, depending on your circles, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby just entered the public domain. So now a whole slew of new editions of the book are coming out and another wave of attention has come to one of the most recognizable American authors. Fitting that the man

Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes Du Mez

This was a fascinating book to pick up. Being a member of a religious faith myself, and having many friends who are involved with religious academia, I’m around many discussions about God and faith and faith culture and how various interpretations of scripture develop. I’m curious about other faiths, and the evangelical community in America

My Favorite Podcasts

We live in strange times. It’s hard to even unpack that phrase. But we’re all looking to survive and maybe even thrive as we get through this current crisis, and one thing I’ve been particularly grateful for is that my usual podcasts are continuing to release, and some of them are even producing more content. 

Reading Habits

I just finished reading Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead. I have an anecdote for Ayn Rand from my bookselling days: I worked at a chain bookstore in Utah, and one summer there were a large number of teenagers fresh out of high school or entering senior year who came in asking for either The Fountainhead or

My love/hate relationship with BookTube

So as I stated in my last post, I recently discovered BookTube. I am both intrigued and annoyed by the phenomenon of BookTube. I love it for showcasing lots of great books, and getting the enthusiasm from other book lovers rubbed off on you. But there are a couple of things that really get under

BookTube and September Haul

Do you know about BookTube? I only recently discovered it. It seems to mostly be young ladies in their teens or early twenties to make videos about the stacks of YA novels they just got, and gushing about how beautiful the covers are. I think it’s neat (if somewhat overwhelming), but I would be more