References Books

REVIEW NOTE: I don't typically review the details of the book, just how it impacts me. I figure if my life isn't impacted by a book, why did I read it. Here is my review of that impact.

I'm finishing up that Pink book on God's attributes and his chapter on the wrath of God was on my list this morning. It was good, but it led me down a path of thinking. What motivates God to take His wrath out on the ungodly and ultimately His Son? The answer, His holiness. Take a look at these quotes below from Pink on His holiness & His wrath.

This perfection, as none other, is solemnly celebrated before the Throne of Heaven, the seraphim crying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts" (Isa. 6:3). God Himself singles out this perfection, "Once have I sworn by Thy holiness" (Ps. 89:35). God swears by His holiness because that is a fuller expression of Himself than anything else. Therefore are we exhorted, "Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness" (Ps. 30:4). "This may be said to be a transcendental attribute, that, as it were, runs through the rest, and casts luster upon them. It is an attribute of attributes" (J. Howe, 1670). Thus we read of "the beauty of the Lord" (Ps. 27:4), which is none other than "the beauty of holiness" (Ps. 110:3).


Because God is holy, acceptance with Him on the ground of creature doings is utterly impossible. A fallen creature could sooner create a world than produce that which would meet the approval of infinite Purity. Can darkness dwell with Light? Can the Immaculate One take pleasure in "filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6)? The best that sinful man brings forth is defiled. A corrupt tree cannot bear good fruit. God would deny Himself, vilify His perfections, were He to account as righteous and holy that which is not so in itself; and nothing is so which has the least stain upon it contrary to the nature of God. But blessed be His name, that which His holiness demanded His grace has provided in Christ Jesus our Lord. Every poor sinner who has fled to Him for refuge stands "accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:6). Hallelujah!


Now the wrath of God is as much a Divine perfection as is His faithfulness, power, or mercy. It must be so, for there is no blemish whatever, not the slightest defect in the character of God; yet there would be if "wrath" were absent from Him! Indifference to sin is a moral blemish, and he who hates it not is a moral leper. How could He who is the Sum of all excellency look with equal satisfaction upon virtue and vice, wisdom and folly? How could He who is infinitely holy disregard sin and refuse to manifest His "severity" (Rom. 9:12) toward it? How could He who delights only in that which is pure and lovely, loathe and hate not that which is impure and vile? The very nature of God makes Hell as real a necessity, as imperatively and eternally requisite as Heaven is. Not only is there no imperfection in God, but there is no perfection in Him that is less perfect than another.

The wrath of God is His eternal detestation of all unrighteousness. It is the displeasure and indignation of Divine equity against evil. It is the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin. It is the moving cause of that just sentence which He passes upon evil-doers. God is angry against sin because it is a rebelling against His authority, a wrong done to His inviolable sovereignty. Insurrectionists against God's government shall be made to know that God is the Lord. They shall be made to feel how great that Majesty is which they despise, and how dreadful is that threatened wrath which they so little regarded. Not that God's anger is a malignant and malicious retaliation, inflicting injury for the sake of it, or in return for injury received. No; while God will vindicate His dominion as the Governor of the universe, He will not be vindictive.


The Old Testament prophets frequently told their hearers that their wicked lives provoked the Holy One of Israel, and that they were treasuring up to themselves wrath against the day of wrath. And conditions in the world are no better now than they were then! Nothing is so calculated to arouse the careless and cause carnal professors to search their hearts, as to enlarge upon the fact that "God is angry with the wicked every day" (Ps. 7:11). The forerunner of Christ warned his hearers to "flee from the wrath to come" (Matt. 3:7). The Saviour bade His auditors "Fear Him, which after He hath killed, hath power to cast into Hell; yea, I say unto you. Fear Him" (Luke 12:5). The apostle Paul said, "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men" (2 Cor. 5:11). Faithfulness demands that we speak as plainly about Hell as about Heaven.


I think the brunt of it is, God is creator of all things and absolutely separate from His creation in every way. He is so much greater than His creation that it is appalling to think that the creation would not acknowledge such a fact. I once taught a group of 1st - 3rd graders on God's Jealously and how he is the only being that has every right to be jealous about every thing. This was a difficult lesson to teach to that age group, but the more I look at His Holiness and Wrath next to each other, the more I see that the entire Gospel lies in an understanding of God's Jealousy. There are a few quotes above, but the last one talks to the effect of this topic. Meditating on the things of God are of little fruit unless it changes the way we respond to Him and His Gospel. Think of those things and allow it to impact the way you interact with both believers and non-believers. If you don't elevate God's Holiness above all else, meditate on why God asks you to and the repercussions of that decision. Everyone will realize those repercussions...it's just a matter of when.

very detail description to learn correctly who the God of the Bible is.This book is for some body really interested in seeing more of God.

Pink gives an in depth look at who the Bible says God is. It is extremely Biblically based, with every page having numerous scripture references. It is important to know who the God of the Bible is. Most who profess belief in the God of the Bible think they know who that God is. Yet, if the god we have in our thoughts does not match the God as recorded in the Bible we are in error.

I went through this as a study with a group of women and it greatly influenced my knowledge of God and my prayer life as well. Every new & growing Christian should read this. There are way too many people with an inaccurate or low view of God, and this book biblically provides a very well-rounded description of His character and awesome attributes. There was so much I learned and although it is not a long book, there is a lot to chew on! Knowing God well is a crucial foundation for every Christian.

What a power-packed li'l book--concise, biblical, God-glorifying, no Ph.D. required, yet covering the most important topic in the universe: who God is, and what he is like. I've read tomes that don't present as much as Pink does in 5 pages, which is the average length of each chapter.

This book would be an invaluable asset to have handy to anyone who reads a lot.It is a large book ,1144 pages.It is the type of book that will be turned to frequently when you come across something in your reading that you would like to know a bit more about without going to a lot of trouble or checking a lot of sources. The book covers a lot more than literature and authors. It is an encyclopedia in every sense of the word.For instance ,if you have never heard of an author,or a book,that is mentioned somewhere ;there's a good chance that here you will find enough to serve your needs.However;if you do know the author and his works ,you will probably basically know what is in this book.
Although most of the reviewers are very "well read";don't assume this is not the book for the "ordinary reader".I consider myself in that second group;and I can vouch that it is very down to earth and jam packed full of information,usable for everybody,regardless of their background or knowledge.
I must also warn you that when you pick it up there is a great tendency to flip around it from one thing to another. It is no problem to spend an hour or more glancing through it. It is also the type of thing that can be left around for anyone to pick up,open at a page at random;and they will find something to interest them.
It's difficult to say what all's in the book;because it covers all types of things other than literature.
Just a few for instances;

Pg 321..we get all the rulers of England from 829-
present,including their time in office.
Pg.44..explanation of Gordian knot.
Pg.434.. background of the guillotine.
Pg.491..Huguenots
Pg.581..Last Supper
Pg.717-718..Napoleon I,II &III explained.
Artists are covered.I found it interesting that max Ernst is included but not M.C.Escher. We get definitions such as epigram,epilogue,epinicion and epiphany on Pg.325.A flip of pages to 1020, and we get a short explanation of the Thirty Year War,mixed in with authors and book titles.
What I've been trying to convey is the wide range of entries in the book and that it covers much more than literature and authors. It is a bit of a guess what you will find;but that is part of the enjoyment you will getfrom this book.You'll find "whore of Babylon" but not "The Butcher's Apron".The Pulitzer Prize winners are all listed.
I could go on forever;I'll quit now,as most readers have gotten my pointby now.I hope so,anyway.
If you buy this book,or buy it for someone who reads a lot;you'll never regret it.

I love my 4th edition and am glad I've kept my 2nd edition as now I have the best of both worlds. New info in 4th and the deleted info in the 2nd. The only thing I would do to improve the next edition is go back to the alphabet tabulations.

He drove an ambulance during World War 1, before becoming one of America's most famous novelists. Who wrote "Death of a Salesman"? Who wrote "Manhattan Transfer? Who created the character, Sherlock Holmes"? Holden Caulfield was the main character of what famous novel? Who wrote "Catch-22"? These are just some of the questions that "Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia" can answer. Bruce Murphy's book offers biographical notes on writers, synopsis of famous books, plays and poems, descriptions of characters and detailed explanation of literary terms and movements.

I have had my copy of Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia since its publication in 1987 and have found no better reference tool for writing research papers and for general literary inquiries. Although "Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia" is over-due for a major facelift, it continues to be a valuable tool - I keep my copy at arms reach along with my copy of "Oxford Companion to American Literature", by James D. Hart.

This is the kind of work which when first dipped into leads to the temptation to dip into it more and more . The sheer amount of information is so great, the entries so various in subject that endless delight is to be found in learning more and more. There are however as with most things, a few problems and limitations.
Take for instance the opening entry of the Encyclopedia, the entry on 'Aaron'. We truly learn important things about Moses' brother and mouthpiece. But for anyone who knows Biblical literature not to speak of its commentaries, the entry is a shortcut of shortcuts. And thus misleading. For it does not tell of Aaron's role as leader of the Temple ceremony worship, does not explain his connection with Moses in a deep way, nor even mention their sister Miriam, does not tell of the death of Aaron's son in offering up strange fire, does not tell anything about Aaron's role as ' man of peace beloved by the people'. One of the great farewell scenes of world- literature Aaron's climbing to the top of Har Ha-Hor is not mentioned.
I take this one example to indicate another simple truth. An encylopedia of this kind is always best on a subject one does not really know much about. Then anything we are told , adds to our knowledge if not necesarily our understanding.
In checking out a number of articles I did not find ' inaccuracy' here. In confronting other subjects I knew nothing about I did have a sense that I was getting reliable information.
This is again a good tool and source for attaining first knowledge of a subject.
However if one really wants to know and understand the meaning of a particular subject my recommendation would be to supplement this work with other sources of information.

I purchased this for myself my second year of college. Being an English major especially interested in the Modernists, it soon became the most used volume in my bookcase. A fantastic quick reference when crunched for time and excellent for understanding those oh-so-esoteric literary allusions. It's wonderful, with references for historical and artistic events and movements, novels, epics, authors, poets . . . a must for any lover and/or student of literature. This would make a fantastic gift, too!

Get this work into your library. It is by far the most critical work on this subject you will ever read! A MUST HAVE.

This is book primarily deals with the history of the development of the Canon. It was quite interesting to read the history of various books and letters of the Old and New Testament and to realize how most Christians take for granted their acceptance as Holy Scripture. It was fascinating to discover that books like Hebrews and the Apocalypse had difficulty in finding their place in today's Bible,and why others such as the Shepher of Hermas were rejected. Reasons for the acceptance of letters and oppositions to others varied upon authorship, content, usage, and most of all inspiration.

Not surprisingly was that the need for a canon arose from the ubiquitous nature of heresies abounding in this era. Specifically one of the earliest heresies mentioned is the movement started by Marcion. Marcion's belief that solely the teachings and writings of the Apostle Paul is what made up the true faith led to the first collection of the New Testament epistles being collected together to form a body of doctrine. Later on many of the Gnostic gospels and sects were another impetus which drove the Catholic Church to canonicity of its collected documents and to determine what was to be standard for what was Apostolic and inspired.

Prof. Bruce follows the topic of canonicity into the Renaissance and the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation. It was interesting to discover that with the revival of Classical Greek and Hebrew, that European theologians began to question the canonicity of the books contained in the Vulgate and the accuracy of that one-time prevalent translation. One example of how this controversy is carried over into current modern apologetics is how the Roman Catholic Church criticizes Martin Luther for questioning and suggesting that James and Hebrews be rejected from the Canon. However what Prof. Bruce points out is that for many in his day, Luther practiced what many in the church were doing in their re-examination and criticism of the canon.

Also from the Reformation is Luther's position of the Canon within Canon. Although I do not completely agree with Luther on this point, I do agree with the importance of studying Scripture with the view of placing the Gospel of Christ as the central theme of the Canon.

The closing chapters are very valuable regarding the criteria for canonicity in early church history and the criteria for the church today as well. I found especially intriguing the proposition of anyone finding one of St. Paul's lost letters to the Corinthian church and would they be added to the books of the New Testament? Please read the book to find the answer. I hope this unanswered question will entice you to read this work. However, in my review,I know that I am not doing justice in my appreciation for this book and what it has taught me.

Final Note: I would not recommend this book without some prior knowledge of the Ante-Nicene and the Nicene Church Fathers as their opinions about the canonicity are frequently presented. The reader should be familiar with the church fathers mentioned and their significance and contribution to the Christian faith in the early history of the church. Although one will benefit from the text without it, such knowledge would enhance the reader's understanding of the reasons and the importance of Prof. Bruce citing these individuals.

The book The Canon of Scripture, by F. F. Bruce, is a thorough scholarly treatment of the history of the Holy Bible as found in its present form: Old and New Testaments, 66 books constituting the authoritative writings of the Christian church. It is formal in style and thoughtful in content. It is nearly exhaustive, presenting ideas from a broad multitude of sources, yet manages to remain an engaging and fascinating read. Throughout, Bruce manages to be fair to the facts of history while remaining true to the convictions of the Christian faith.

Bruce's Canon of Scripture is the most thorough, scholarly, and readable account of the canon that I've come across. This book was recommended to me as a great place for a layperson (like myself) to read the story of how our Bible came into existence.

Bruce provides a detailed account of how Christ, the apostles, and early Church fathers interpreted and used the canon. He also discusses heretics like Marcion and soundly dismisses their claims. For Christians who trust the Bible as an inspired document, this book will be encouraging, as Bruce shows how the orthodox canon and orthodox interpretation have persisted throughout church history.

Although Bruce's prose isn't overly scholarly, his sense of story -- the way he structures this book -- is less than arresting. I found myself reading this book in chunks, skimming some sections and skipping others altogether. I imagine few people would enjoy devouring this book straight through. That said, this work is superior to a simple reference book, as Bruce provides a great deal of detail and appeals to a number of primary and secondary sources. Until a better book comes along, this one's essential for Christian households.

I bought this book because it was recommended as the most authoritative history of the New Testament canon in English. The book is scholarly and thorough. The author is an academic. The book reflects that for better and worse. The information is excellent and well documented. The writing style is often dry. It is best read in small segments.

Bill Breer

A Child's Christmas In Wales CD: And Five Poems
Hurrah! Now I won't have to wait for the radio to play Dylan Thomas reading his wonderful Child's Christmas every Christmas. Truly a beautiful recording of the other poems as well.

My goodness, these illustrations are ugly. They completely detract from the beauty of the language. Either read it out loud to a blind person or stick with the version illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman.

This reading of A Child's Christmas in Wales is tops! It wouldn't be Christmas for us without hearing Dylan Thomas tell his story. He recounts a holiday of simple, family and neighborhood doings, and paints a picture of snowy, seaside Wales of the 1920's.

I love this story, as do all my children, who, from their earliest years, have not much struggled with the density of the language nor the scatteredness of the story. 5 of my 8 great-grandparents are from Wales, and the remaining 3 have the blood in them as well, so maybe it is like drinking water for us.:-D Our minds are all scattered, and words, even English words ;-D, fall on us in clumps....which makes it doubly hard to keep a clean house. LOL

The sort of prose-poetry imaginative way of seeing and describing the world unique to Welshwomen and Welshmen and Welshchildren, which does not seek to keep up the pretense that history can be separated from myth, story and desire, and which requires loving with eyes wide open to [and eventually embracing] one's own and others' bumps, bruises and idiosyncracies included, is extraordinarily well represented here. So, by the way, is speaking and listening to the close and Holy darkness!

My favorite version isthe one illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. To me she has captured the complexity of the Welsh personality best, though i have nothing to say against the other illustrators praised in these reviews. I DO have a warning for you: there are some skinny versions flying about which do not have the poem-story complete and correct. This sort of work cannot suffer removal or modification, IMHO.

gbg

If you have read A Child's Christmas in Wales, you know that it has to be a classic. But you can't fully appreciate it until you have heard Dylan Thomas read it. What a deep, expressive, poetic voice. For years, I have listened to the recording on a Caedman record. It is wonderful to have it on a CD.

I bought this book for a little brother entering college, because I used it myself in college. Straightforward instructions, recipes that are comfort food but simplified. Nothing fancy, no photos, just a great resource.

well im not really clueless in the kitchen but this book helped me find new recipies and cook stuff i never cooked b4.well i like this book (even though my brownies sucked)

after my sister got this I got to read it and it is the ultimate beginners cookbook for anyone on a budget or anyone wanting to learn how to cook who has no experience in the kitchen, wonderful for dorm/minimalist cooking or cooking for a small group.

While I'm sure there are a few teens out there who are interested in cooking a turkey or baking bread, the book is doing itself a disservice by suggesting it is for teens. It's a very good book for the more adventurous of young cooks, but more probably for the 30-something set who loves spending time and money in the kitchen. This book is a wealth of information for the more adventurous cook of any age. The style is warm and a bit humorous, never a bad thing when tackling your first pot roast. So, while I do recommend this book, I have to add that I would not buy it for any inexperienced cooks, especially teens. 50 Ways to Leave Your Mother

This book is great for teenagers, and also for people like me: the ones that just never learned. It is simple and easy to use. My guests are so happy that I can now whip them up something for breakfast or dinner. Also, this is a really great gift for those people going off to college. It even includes a complete list of what to get for a starter kitchen.

I am a physics major, and this book was recommended to me by one of my professors as a good source of integral tables, and as a great general reference on miscellaneous mathematical concepts. I found the integral tables to be good, but one might also want to purchase Dwight's Tables of Integrals and Other Mathematical Data (Fourth Edition) (unfortunately no longer in print), as it contains a few more integrals than this book. The CRC has already paid itself off many times over considering how much time it has saved me.

This book contains everything you ever (and potentially never) wanted to know regarding mathematics. Basic algebra, Calculus, Differential Equations, Numerical Analysis, Series Solutions, Special Functions, etc..
It's an excellent reference book.

Just now I've changed from 25th edition to 31st eddtion.
It's very very useful for me as Structural Engineer.
Excellent!!!

The CRC Math Hand Book is a standard resource for any math, engineering or science student or graduate. I've had mine for twenty-five plus years now and I've always found it useful!

I was impressed by the fact that this book links mathematics. Rather than having many text books that include the development of the equation I am looking for, this book is organized to allow me to find the equation quickly.

Great book. As an amateur rock hound, this book gives me lots of pretty pictures to look at. I have most of DK's books in every subject that interests me. They're all a home run in my book. I love this publisher.

Good Rock Hound reference book. References about all of the named materials that one would like to look up.Presents loads of photographs of raw material as well as finished gemstones and cabochons.

If you are not blind this is the book for you. Even if you are blind you could get someone else to tell you just how beautiful the photos in this book are. That is if they can catch their breath after seeing the Photo's. No 99% of the time you will not find the same item in the outdoors that you see in the book. Still if you have the chance even at 1% of finding a specimen that is even close to the photo in beauty it will be worth ten times what you have paid for this book. I have maybe three or four rocks I have found that look as good as the photos in the book. Actually I have three that are better than and one that is as good as the photo's in the book. I keep looking for even more rocks just to find them. Yes for the money I spend on Gas and tires and places to sleep and eat.I could just buy some of these rocks from a rock dealer. Still it is as I have heard and known my whole life. It is not the having it is the finding. A chunk of gold the size of a brick 2X4X8 solid 24kt. Paint it white. Or a tiny little 3 gram nugget that you found on the edge of a stream on a high mountain meadow. "Yes more than 75% of the (3)three Gram gold nuggets have yet to be found, They are still out there waiting for someone to walk along a stream and see them laying there." The day was bright and sunny with not a cloud in the sky. The only sounds were of the insect's buzzing in the grasslands and an eagle calling from a spiral in the blue sky of a Rocky Mountain morning. Which would you rather have. This book will keep you going back to those mountains and deserts and beaches and streams and and and need I continue? My wife and I dearly love this book. We have sat side by side and read and looked at the photos many times now. I know that is not what old folks that are in there late fifty's are supposed to do is it? Such is life.
dray

I am enjoying this book and its the perfect size for a purse or front pocket of bag.

Great Book...full of useful information. The pictures really give you an indepth but brief description of the item discussed. This book is absolutely essential to the amature hobby collectors out there.

I was one of many young kids in 1977 who was overwhelmed by Star Wars and who spent the next several years writing letters to ILM and John Dykstra trying to get a job! The whole thing just seemed like the ultimate description of fun.
I never got any responses but this book has made me smile allot. I'm learning so much about what was really going on while me and other slobbering, special effects wannabes grabbed our super8 cameras and made our little FX films.
I ended up as a cinematographer and know several others who now have impressive credits in the area of filmmaking...all due to our new found young love of filmmaking started by a little space opera in 1977. I have always wondered if George knows how responsible he is for the start of numerous film careers.
I really have enjoyed this book. Worth the read!

This is a great book, entertaining and intricate, which tells an important story. The guys a DroidWorks pioneered the digital audio industry that exists today. In 1981, I desperately wanted to break into computer music, having studied electronic music and electrical engineering. I visited Andy Moorer at DroidWorks in 1982, who gave me an incredibly generous hour long tour of the headquarters, and showed me the prototypes of their Audio Signal Processor.

I eventually did break into computer music when I went to work at E-mu Systems in 1983, where I implemented a computer audio editing system. I certainly wanted to have my own system like the astounding machines I saw at DroidWorks, and designing my own was the only way that I would ever get my hands on one. I invented the concept for the program "Sound Designer" and worked closely with Evan Brooks of Digidesign to implement this program on the brand new Macintosh computer.

Moorer and his friends blazed the trail for the whole audio industry, publishing and lecturing extensively on what they had done. Today, tape recorders exist only in museums. All movies, sound effects, and music are produced using digital systems, and DroidWorks showed the way. There were many other people working in digital audio, but few published as much, or were as bold, or had such a broad vision of how far the technology could go to replace the existing technology, or how dramatic the new technology could be.

It was as vivid as a Lucas Film movie, and as futuristic, but it became real.

I am a borderline technophobe whose mind goes blank whenever I am forced to read any computer product user's manual. The brains of the people that write these things are obviously wired very differently than mine. The leaden, sterile word choices and phrases used by this engineering culture make the sense of disconnect even worse.
The good news is that I finally have found an Electronic Moses to lead me to the promised land. His name is Michael Rubin. "Droidmaker" is a remarkable book, bringing the story of computer animation to life, allowing non-technical people like me to understand how this process evolved. The photographs of the people and events involved in the story are particularly well chosen.
This book is required reading for anyone with a basic level of curiosity on how the digital revolution came to be. There isn't another one out there like it

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this book. If you have a passing interest in modern movie making, the history of Pixar, or are a fan of Star Wars/George Lucas, you really have to read Droidmaker. The first half, dealing more with Lucas and the history of Star Wars is probably a little more accessible, but the back half, with its detailed telling of the evolution of Pixar and other Lucas-driven technical innovations, is equally fascinating. Oh, did I mention all the stuff about video games? Seriously, this is among the best books I've read in the past five years.

For anyone who is inspired by the use of technology for creation of art, this book is wonderful. I enjoyed learning the connections between computer, film, and sound pioneers, and how they inspired each other.

Great short teachings, short stories.

But read Master Seung Sahn's "Compass of Zen" first.

This book is great! - and is that next step after you're done with "intro" books

I spent so much time reading "intro" books, and they've all been great - and I've been searching for that next level -- and I've either found books way to sophisticated for me - or that are transcripts of speeches/teachings

Again, those are good - but I wanted a stepping stone

THIS book is that stepping stone -- packed with stories, lessons, poems, letters and everything in between -- it's a great great book and not only teaches, but befriends --

"When you hear the wooden chicken crow in the evening, you will know the country where your mind was born. Outside my house, in the garden, the willow is green, the flower is red."

The dog runs after the bone.. KATZ!!!

(you will understand the above and really love the book if you are ready of abstract or theoretical stuff in spirituality).

This the most entertaining book on Buddhism I have every read. I found myself laughing quite a bit and breezed through the entire books with little effort.

This book does not espouse the conventional methods on obtain enlightenment instead takes a uniquely different approach. I highly recommend anyone interested in the subject to read this book, especially if previous attempts were stifled by weighty material.

Whatever the case I'm positive most people can get something from this book especially since it is couched in such an amusing way.

I have owned numerous copies of this book; lent them out never to see them again. With most books, I don't bother to repurchase them, however I find myself wanting to pick this book up every couple of months to read either a random story or spend a couple hours with it from cover to cover.

If you are looking for a dissertation on zen or buddhism, this might be a bit of a ho-hum read (as other reviewers have asserted, over and over again) but if you can gain insight from the interactions of others... then Dropping Ashes on the Buddha has you covered.

This was my first time reading John Ortberg and I really enjoyed and learned useful techniques to apply in daily life. The author has a good sense of humor and reminds of Max Lucado. I will be reading more books by John Ortberg.

Each chapter holds special insights, inspiration, and application. Each with a twist of Ortberg's zany humor. I use this kind of book for daily devotional reading - sometimes only half a chapter just to savor it and let it soak into my life.

God is closer than you think! I read this in conjunction with the video study series in our home bible study group. The challenge is to become aware of his presence and learn to do as he wishes.

Ray Ruppert, Author of "The Sovereign Reigns, or Does He?" "The Sovereign's Last Battle" and "Revelation: A Layperson's Reflections"

This book is well written, easy to understand and apply to your life now. It's so good it's worth being read more than once. The other thing I discovered is that when applying what you have read your behavior is changed and you are renewed no matter what you are experiencing.

I put off reading this book for a while, but when I got my Kindle this was one of the first that I purchased for it. I can only say that I wish I had read it sooner.

I appreciate the challenge that John gives us to keep God in the forefront of all that we do. I know this may sound difficult, but I believe that as he states with practice it becomes easier.

I have found that you can't just read this book, you have to put it into action in your life. If you do I believe you will be amazed at how much more you see God in all that you do daily.

Thank you John for the challenge to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn!