Crucible of Gold

It’s been busy – so here’s a quick post on a recent read: Crucible of Gold. For the moment, I think I’m up to date on the Temeraire series. Still enjoyable, though it’s certainly a world-spanning epic.

Temeraire

This summer, I’ve kept working through Naomi Novik’s Temeraire series (Napaleonic alt history with dragons):

Empire of Ivory

Victory of Eagles

Tongues of Serpents

Seems I’m only one behind.

The Future of Books

An interesting list of resources about the future of books. Worth a look.

The Last Compromise

Walter Russell Mead on the history and future of the race question in America. Worth a read.

Back

I’ve been away from this blog for a while, because of other stuff. But I’m going to try some more.

This summer I read through the Hunger Games trilogy. I enjoyed it, for the most part. The absence of anything transcendent left the ending a bit flat – kind of depressingly hopeful.

A Reading List

Here’s a list of Christian Classics for reading.

Can Liberal Christianity Be Saved?

Ross Douthat asks the question. I think his most important point comes near the end:

What should be wished for, instead, is that liberal Christianity recovers a religious reason for its own existence. As the liberal Protestant scholar Gary Dorrien has pointed out, the Christianity that animated causes such as the Social Gospel and the civil rights movement was much more dogmatic than present-day liberal faith. Its leaders had a “deep grounding in Bible study, family devotions, personal prayer and worship.” They argued for progressive reform in the context of “a personal transcendent God … the divinity of Christ, the need of personal redemption and the importance of Christian missions.”

Don’t know if it’s possible, but I think he is right.

Are Ebooks about to become history?

Perhaps. Read this and ponder. I think at the very least, something more dynamic is coming (or needs to come). I’m not quite sure what it looks like, and publishers for the most part seem to have no clue. So the future may be fun!

The future of Cookbooks

At least, one view.

Book Industry Trends

I’ve been away and busy, but thought this seemed relevant: trends in the industry.