Screens and Teens, by Kathy Koch

Kathy Koch's book Screens and Teens: Connecting with Our Kids in a Wireless World sounds like a book about dealing with kids and technology.  It is that, but the more important part of the title is the subtitle, "connecting with our kids."  Koch, founder of Celebrate Kids, addresses electronic devices, social media, and related topics, but the overarching message is timeless: spend time with your kids.

Dr. Koch certainly has plenty to say about kids and electronic devices.  Plenty of problems can arise when kids use electronics addictively, abusively, or inappropriately.  Kids need to understand the limits of knowledge gathered through social media or internet sites.  They need to find their value in Jesus, not in the approval of online strangers or peer groups. 

Ultimately, whatever electronics kids have in their lives, parents can and should pay close attention to their use and model responsible usage.  More importantly, as Koch writes, parents must work to keep doors of communication open with their children.  Kids have access to so much information and so many connections that parents must pay attention and provide guidance and direction for their kids.  Dr. Koch's book will give you ideas to help you do so.


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

Not On My Watch, by Elizabeth Johnston

Elizabeth Johnston, a.k.a. "The Activist Mommy," isn't going to sit idly by while her country goes down the path of leftist indoctrination, homosexual activism, transgender normalization, and expansion of abortion.  This conservative, home-schooling mother of ten has made a name for herself on social media by rallying support for the Kentucky court clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, for burning Teen Vogue after they published obscene material, and for her criticism of Target's bathroom policy.

In her new book Not On My Watch: How to Win the Fight for Family, Faith, and Freedom, she tells stories of her activism and challenges all of us not to ignore the erosion of our values.  She doesn't have a lot of patience for passive, inactive Christians.  "The Left has been advancing and claiming more territory while we have attended church and been content to wait for Jesus to come back."  And she's not content with political activism alone, either.  She points out that many of the Supreme Court decisions conservatives rail against, like Roe v. Wade, were decided by Republican-appointed justices.

One big obstacle that conservatives need to overcome in order to become more effective in their activism is a passive, milquetoast version of Jesus' example that abhors confrontation.  When it comes to protecting children, whether unborn or subject to indoctrination and corruption by the culture, aggression and anger are acceptable responses.  "Love protects the innocent, even if we look angry in the process."

If you are a political conservative, a Christian conservative, or a parent concerned about the growth of liberal culture in the U.S., you'l be challenged by Johnston's perspective.  She won't be silent.  Will I?  Will you?


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

Ripley's Believe It or Not, by Tony Isabella, Ben Meares, et al.

If your childhood family vacations were like mine, they occasionally included a stop at a Ripley's Believe Or Not museum.  They have dozens of attractions all over the world.  This Ripley's Believe It or Not! graphic novel brings Ripley's back to its roots.  The Ripley's phenomenon began as a newspaper feature drawn by Robert Ripley.  His stories of the weird and hard-to-explain expanded into the museums and other media. 

This graphic novel is a compilation of the first two issues of recent Ripley's comic books.  They are composed of weird stories and other topics that are familiar to Ripley's world.  Stories include the real-life story behind Beauty and the Beast, a description of the Winchester Mansion (and its haunting), and other historical, medical, and scientific oddities.  It's all a reminder that Ripley didn't just make up a bunch of junk; he took obscure stories from history or oddities in nature and presented them in a dramatic fashion.  These enjoyable comics preserve that tradition. 


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

Unlocked, by John Scalzi

In Lock In, John Scalzi sets a murder mystery in a near-future world where many people suffer from Haden's, a disease that paralyzes the victim, giving them "lock in," a state of full mental awareness but with no ability to move.  Through the course of the story, the reader can infer much about the disease and its implications, but for a fuller picture, Scalzi has written a prequel of sorts, Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome.

In terms of story telling, Unlocked doesn't deliver in the same way that Lock-In does; the subtitle tells you that much.  Nevertheless, Scalzi convincingly relates the history of the disease through the voices of doctors, journalists, and others affected by the disease.  Had I not read Lock In, I am certain I would not have enjoyed Unlocked as much, but Unlocked is essential for fans of Lock In.

Resistance Is Futile, by Ann Coulter

President Trump doesn't have many cheerleaders as vocal as Ann Coulter.  (However, she can be pretty critical when she sees him wavering from his goals. . . .)  In Resistance Is Futile: How the Trump-Hating Left Lost Its Collective Mind, she describes the many ways the media and Trump's opponents (but I repeat myself) have lied and perpetuated misconceptions about Trump, working hard to distort his record, reputation, and image.

One by one, Coulter exposes the lies that are told about Trump.  For example, everyone knows that Trump is an admitted rapist.  It's on tape!  That Access Hollywood tape nearly brought down his candidacy.  On the tape, Trump speaks crudely about women, to be sure, but he does not go into any specifics about any assault; it's all hypothetical, a braggadocious celebrity talking about what he could get away with.  It's more a commentary on the culture of fame than anything.  But with the partial quotes, inaccurate paraphrases, and predetermined agenda, the story became bigger and more salacious than it should have.

The examples go on and on.  The anti-Trump press has an agenda and will distort any story to fit that agenda.  The lengths to which they have gone to pin some vague "Russian collusion" on the Trump campaign, while absolutely ignoring the Hilary campaigns Russian entanglements, unethical and illegal acts, and back-door cooperation with U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies boggles the mind.  Will our inept representatives in Washington ever get the story straight and bring some of these offenders to justice?  Probably not.  But Coulter won't shut up until they do.  Good for her.  Bring it.

Friend of Sinners, by Rich Wilkerson, Jr.

In Friend of Sinners: Why Jesus Cares More about Relationship Than Perfection, pastor Rich Wilkerson, Jr., makes a point that all Christians need to be reminded of: Jesus was, in fact, a friend of sinners!  In one sense, it's an obvious point, if you think about Jesus' ministry as recorded in the New Testament.  But in another sense, the way most of us Christians live our lives and the way we minister to others doesn't reflect friendship with sinners.

Our approach to the Christian life tends to be opposite of what it should be.  "We tend to think [God] puts top priority on performance, purity, and perfection, and we assume relationship is the eventual reward for those things. . . . Actually, it works the other way around.  The closer we get to Jesus, the more like him we become.  Relationship comes first; changes come later." 

For Christians, we sometimes apply this thinking to unbelievers.  Unconsciously or not, we tend to say to unbelievers, "Get yourself cleaned up and come to Jesus."  Jesus would say the opposite.  "He was the friend of sinners, so he served sinners; now he asks us to do the same."

Wilkerson became a bit of a media darling when he officiated Kanye West and Kim Kardashian's wedding.  That led to his starring in a reality show on the Oxygen network.  I don't know enough about Wilkerson and his ministry to draw many conclusions.  But the message of Friend of Sinners is on target and needs to be heard by many in the church.


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

Brainwashed, by Ben Shapiro

As a conservative college student at UCLA, Ben Shapiro kept a record of the insanity of college while writing a column in the campus paper.  Based on his college experiences and research, Shapiro published his first book, Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America's Youth, at the age of 20.  To give you an idea of the content of the book, the publisher gave this disclaimer at the beginning: "To paint the full picture [of the decline of higher education] has required author Ben Shapiro to quote some fairly crude material and deal with offensive subject matter. . . . We do not publish this material to appeal to prurient interests but to more fully advise and inform students, parents, and those concerned about the university system and what they can expect from it."  In other words, prepare yourself to be shocked and dismayed at college life and curriculum content.

To that end, Shapiro does not disappoint.  Starting with the rejection of moral absolutes, the foundation of moral reasoning at many universities, Shapiro covers a variety of topics that demonstrated the left-wing perspective of many professors.  Anti-faith? Check.  Global warming?  Check.  Sexual permissiveness, even perversion?  Check.  Anti-capitalism?  Check.  Anti-American?  Check.  As survey after survey will demonstrate, fewer and fewer conservative voices are behind the podia in university lecture halls, and conservative ideas are often not tolerated.

Shapiro may over-generalize at times.  Many sentences begin with something like, "Professors believe. . . ." when obviously not every professor would believe exactly that.  But Shapiro provides enough anecdotal and statistical evidence to show the trend and inclination among universities.  For those of us who have been out of college for a while, what Shapiro reports is pretty disturbing.  I am thankful that there are private, Christian universities that provide an alternative to the secular schools, but even professors at Christian schools feel the pressure from the profession when they are excluded from publications and academic conferences due to their views.  It's a sorry state of affairs.  Shapiro published Brainwashed in 2004, but the message is no less relevant today.