Spacecraft, by Michael Gorn and Giuseppe de Chiara

It's hard to imagine that mankind has been traveling to space for over half a century.  During that time, hundreds of different spacecrafts have been used to carry people and things into space.  Michael Dorn and Giuseppe de Chiara's book Spacecraft: 100 Iconic Rockets, Shuttles, and Satellites That Put Us in Space introduces readers to 100 of those spacecraft.

Spacecraft is a great intro to human space exploration, with the spacecraft we use serving as touchpoints along the way.  De Chiara and Gorn include a few photos, such as the stunning photo below, but most of the spacecraft are illustrated with detailed drawings.  It's interesting to see how the designs evolved, as well as to observe the differences and similarities between the designs used by NASA and by the USSR and other space agencies.

More than anything, Spacecraft got me excited about what's next.  My parents' and grandparents' generations have seen unfathomable changes in the way humans travel and interact with our world and in space.  I can't begin to imagine what my grandchildren will see in their lifetimes.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Sex Outside the Lines, by Chris Donaghue

Chris Donaghue wants you to jettison all the sexual mores you have learned from culture, religion, and community.  In Sex Outside the Lines: Authentic Sexuality in a Sexually Dysfunctional Culture, she encourages her readers that "all parts of your sexuality and arousal patterns are acceptable and should carry no shame," and that "sexual integrity means living in ways that honor what arouses you and are consistent with your own chosen value system, not a system you may have inherited from mainstream culture, psychology, religion, law, or the media."  So, do what feels good no matter what.

I'll focus on the positives here.  Donoghue is a therapist for couples, and is deeply committed to helping couples who are having issues.  Throughout the book, she offers guidance for healing relationships.  Her intent is certainly in a good place.  One of the principles is that "for those choosing the option of sexual monogamy, it is sexually abusive and aggressive to want to own your partner's sexuality and to be their only source for partnered sex, but then refuse to have sex with them."  I am not sure I would put that sentiment so harshly, but I agree with the basic point.

Good intentions and a few good points aside, Donoghue jettisons just about any other conventional wisdom, cultural norm, or religious principle regarding sex and marriage.  She promotes the following, for example: Sex experimentation should start as early as someone wants to.  "Waiting to have sex until after marriage or commitment is a template for failure."  Dating is a time for sexual exploration.  "All sexualities are equally valid."  Marriage is patriarchal and sexist, a holdover from ancient culture.  Marriage should be temporary.  "Compulsory monogamy is what makes marriages problematic, not infidelity."  There are many genders, not just two.

For her, basically, anything goes.  This is classic relativism.  She builds an ethic from every kink and deviance away from societal norms, rather than calling for behaviors within norms.  In fact, there are no norms.  Of course, she would reject any sexual activity that is not consensual, but the philosophy of sexuality she describes has let to relational pain and societal destruction.  Yes, there are some swingers whose marriages seem healthy, at least for now.  But how many more marriages have been ripped apart because of swinging or other activities?  To her, that simply means the relationship had run its course.

If you are seeking license to explore many expressions of sexuality, an excuse to break out of the monogamous norms of most of the world, well here you go.  Donaghue will give you the sources and arguments you need.  But if you're looking for a healthy relationship and real sexual integrity, you will not enjoy this book.



Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

The Gift of Prophetic Encouragement, by Debbie Kitterman

Foursquare pastor Debbie Kitterman sets just the right tone in The Gift of Prophetic Encouragement: Hearing the Word of God for Others.  First of all, she makes it clear that prophecy is for today; God did not quit speaking to his people in the first century.  Christians should be listening to God and paying attention to people around them, listening for words from God and preparing to speak those words to others.

Kitterman recognizes that prophecy has been abused in the church.  Her ministry of teaching about prophecy is built around a message God spoke to her: "The misuse and abuse of prophecy inside and outside the church has to stop!"  So while she acknowledges that one element of prophecy can be "calling forth and declaring God's plans or the speaking of future events," we must never forget that "Prophecy's purpose is to strengthen, encourage, and comfort those who hear and receive it."  She writes that God does not intend prophecy to bring recognition to the person speaking prophecy, nor does she believe the intent of prophecy is ever for public shaming or public revelation of sin.

The Gift of Prophetic Encouragement is full of anecdotes and scriptural guidelines.  She provides solid guidance for reflection and testing prophetic words before you speak them.  Some people think prophecy is only for a tiny, especially gifted group of prophets.  There are some who will be more gifted, but Kitterman insists that every Christian has access to prophesy.  I was encouraged to step out in faith and try to stay tuned in to God's voice as I go about my day, asking God with whom I might share a prophetic word of encouragement.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Calm, Cool, and Connected, by Arlene Pellican

Arlene Pellican recognizes that constant connectivity via our cell phones is a permanent feature of most all of our lives.  In Calm, Cool, and Connected: 5 Digital Habits for a More Balanced Life she introduces five habits that will help you control your phone and not be controlled by it.

I'll go ahead and be a spoiler and tell you what the five habits are:

• H=Hold down the off button.
• A=Always put people first.
• B=Brush daily: Live with a clean conscience.
• I=I will go online with purpose.
• T=Take a hike.

Simple, right?  Well, sometimes.  For each of these habits, Pellican provides scripture and illustrations demonstrating that our smart phone or internet use is part of life like every other part of life, and needs to have its purpose focused above and beyond ourselves.  She gives simple reminders of how to manage our lives.  Put the phone down and look at the person you are talking to (or should be talking to).  Go outside and see the world with your eyes, not just on the screen.  Don't while away your time aimlessly scrolling through feeds.  Don't get sucked in to the seedier content that's out there.

To be honest, Pellican doesn't break any new ground here.  You already know pretty much anything she says.  But look, even though you know it, you need to hear it, right?  Admit it, you do.  She's not trying to nag, she's just trying to help you.  So put down your phone, read this book (or read this book on the Kindle app on your phone. . . . hmmm . . .), and let Pellican help you find more balance in your life.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

On Reading Well, by Karen Swallow Prior

Karen Swallow Prior, professor of English at Liberty University, wants her students--and the rest of us--to read well.  In On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books, Prior reflects on the classical and Christian virtues as they are demonstrated in several literary works.  For each of the Cardinal Virtues (prudence, temperance, justice, and courage), the Theological Virtues (faith, hope, and love) and the Heavenly Virtues (chastity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility), she has chosen a novel or story to illustrate the virtue.  In doing so, she models a habit of reading in which the reader practices "discerning which visions of life are false and which are good and true--as well as recognizing how deeply rooted these visions are in language."

Her selections are probably familiar to most readers.  She covers a wide range of eras and styles: Henry Fielding, Dickens, Mark Twain, Tolstoy, and modern authors like Shusaku Endo, Cormac McCarthy, and Flannery O'Connor, among others.  Some I've read, some I've only seen movie adaptations, but even if I was completely unfamiliar with the featured work, Prior engages each in such a way that ignorance of the work doesn't prevent the reader from appreciating her analysis.

If you have an interest in the works included, you will certainly want to take time to read those chapters.  But I found Prior's overall emphasis to be most helpful in encouraging the reader to read anything he or she reads with a new set of filters.  Consider some of her advice for readers:

• "Practice makes perfect, but pleasure makes practice more likely, so read something enjoyable." 
• "Read books you enjoy, develop your ability to enjoy challenging reading, read deeply and slowly, and increase your enjoyment of a book by writing words of your own in it."  
• "Reading virtuously requires us to pay attention to both form and content. . . . We have to attend to form as least as much as to content, if not more.  Form matters."  
• "Reading well entails discerning which visions of life are false and which are good and true--as well as recognizing how deeply rooted these visions are in language."  
• Literary reading is "reading that makes on the reader more demands of time, attention, and thought than casual reading."  

Prior doesn't directly address the question of literary fiction versus popular fiction.  I didn't sense a tone of snobbery toward non-literary fiction, but I wonder what she might say about popular modern authors.  Authors like Twain, Austen, Dickens, and Bunyan were hugely popular in their own day.  Their work has stood the test of time and remains popular today.  Today's popular authors like John Grisham, Stephen King, or Nora Roberts are not typically considered literary authors, but they are as popular today as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens were in their day.  So is the issue more how we read than what we read?  Too bad we can't fast forward two or thee hundred years to see which 21st century novelists are on the syllabus.  (My personal feeling is that many "literary" authors are over-valued, and that the world of popular fiction is full of overlooked and undervalued work.)

Whether I'm reading a centuries-old classic or a contemporary sci-fi novel (and I really need to read both), I can pay attention to the moral lessons and multi-layered messages implicit in any story.  Prior has helped me think about reading more slowly and deeply than I otherwise would.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Primordial Threat, by M.A. Rothman

When reading M.A. Rothman's Primordial Threat, you might think, "Yeah, I've seen this movie before."  A global disaster threatens earth, and a team of scientists, politicians, and regular people have to band together to figure out how to save all of humanity. . . .  Rothman takes this familiar archetype and adds enough originality to make Primordial Threat fresh and entertaining.

A group on the lookout for near-earth objects--meteors that threaten to impact earth--finds that the increased activity they detect is due to a black hole that happens to be on a course to intercept earth's orbit and swallow it up.  This, of course, would be a very bad deal for the future of the human race.  Since there's no way to alter the course of the black hole, the obvious solution is to move earth out its path.  Simple, right?

Thankfully reclusive supergenius Dave Holmes had an inkling of this and has been preparing for a decade.  When he comes out of hiding, his scientific team goes into high gear, producing the materials and power sources needed to pull of his plan to move the earth to another solar system.  In the meantime, a secretive global network of religious zealots believes that the black hole is God's deserved judgement, so they fight to thwart Dave's plans at every turn.

This is a big-budget, action-packed, special-effects-driven popcorn movie in a book.  Just as with those movies, you have to sit back, suspend disbelief, and enjoy the ride.  Do you have questions about the science involved in moving the entire planet into orbit around another distant star?  Well, stop!  Your place is not to question, but to enjoy the ride!  And a fun, science-y ride it is. 

If you like your sci-fi at a fast pace and on a grand scale, you get it in Primordial Threat.  If the earth is ever truly in the path of a black hole, lets hope a real-life version of Dave Holmes steps up to bat.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

Less, by Rachel Aust

With her YouTube videos and blog posts, Rachel Aust has made a name for herself in promoting the minimalist lifestyle.  In Less: A Visual Guide to Minimalism, she gathers many of her ideas in one place as a handy resource.  I found that while most people wouldn't want to go completely minimal as she has, her topic-by-topic presentation makes taking steps toward minimalism practical and doable.

Throughout the book, she has flow charts and decision trees you can use as you make changes in your home.  So as, for instance, you are sorting through the clutter in your closet or garage, you ask "Have I used this in the last six months?  Did I forget I own it?  Am I sure I'll need it again?"  That will be step one, and then there are more questions to ask, but, eventually you can decide whether to keep it, or gift/donate/sell it.  Her methods got me to thinking about how much junk in my house I can really live without, and to stop and think before I buy one more piece of junk where it will be in six months.

On other topics, I wasn't quite so excited.  For instance, on the minimal wardrobe, she promotes wearing a single color palette (bland) and wearing the same things over and over.  There is certainly something attractive to this.  I guess I am a bit like this (I'd be happy with a wardrobe of all the same neutral color pants with a variety of shirts to match), but guys have it easier than girls.

As an advocate for minimalism, Aust is over-the-top minimalist in every area.  But she doesn't beat you over the head with it.  Her attitude seems to be, "Here's what I do.  Take bits and pieces of it and figure out what works for you."  I'm pretty sure every single person reading this review could put some of Aust's suggestions to work and be better of for it.  I know I could!


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!