The Inner Runner, by Jason Karp

In my mind, the chief measure of a good running book is whether it inspires me to get out and run.  Jason Karp's The Inner Runner: Running to a More Successful, Creative, and Confident You passes that test.  Karp is a runner, a running coach, and writer of books about running.  While his prior books tended to be more about training and racing strategies, there's little to none of that in The Inner Runner.  Here he writes about motivations, goals, and meaning.  I enjoyed his perspective and priorities.

Karp writes for runners of all abilities and all types.  His chapter on better runs illustrates this:

"Better runs are slow runs. . . ."
"Better runs are fast runs. . . ."
"Better runs are long runs. . . ."
"Better runs are those that are all about your breath. . . ."
"Better runs are those during which you're aware of your movements and everything going on around you and inside of you. . . ."
"Better runs are emotional runs. . . ."
"Better runs are cross-country and trail runs. . . ."
"Better runs are track runs. . . ."
"Better runs are treadmill runs. . . ."
"Better runs are morning runs. . . ."
"Better runs are social runs. . . ."
"Better runs are solo runs. . . ."
"Better runs are coached runs. . . ."
"Better runs are races. . . ."

Obviously some of these are contradictory.  To Karp, better runs are those that you are running instead of sleeping in or sitting on the couch.  One time when he was running with Joan Benoit Samuelson, who won the gold medal in the first women's Olympic marathon, he asked "where her favorite place to run has been. 'Right here, right now,' she said."  I think Karp would endorse and expand that.  What's the best run?  The run you're running now.  The best place?  Where you are right now.

Karp, who has a Ph.D. in exercise physiology, provides a great deal of information about how the body works while running.  He wrote his dissertation on how runners breathe while running, and his insights on that are very interesting (and probably easier to read than his actual dissertation).  Mostly, though, the strength of The Inner Runner is Karp's inspirational wisdom.  We all have our own purposes for running, and our own goals, but to runners running is "a very special, even holy, process that blends the physical with the philosophical, the egotistical with the emotional."  To a non-runner that sounds overblown.  But a runner will understand.

Karp also emphasizes not comparing yourself to other runners.  Most of us don't have the DNA to compete at a high level.  We can compete with ourselves and push ourselves to accomplish our goals, giving our very best.  He writes, "When you pin that race number to your shirt, you make a promise to yourself and the other runners around you to give your best effort.  And when you cross that finish line, you'll know whether or not you kept that promise."  I love that and will try to remember that next time I race.  He concludes with wisdom that all runners can live by: "Running teaches us that we are better than we think we are and capable of going further that we thought we could . . . in running and in life."


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

2016 Reading Challenge: A book about sports
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Jasper John Dooley: Public Library Enemy #1, by Caroline Adderson, illustrated by Mike Shiell

Jasper John Dooley really does try to stay out of trouble.  But sometimes his efforts only make it worse.  In his latest series of mishaps, Jasper John Dooley: Public Library Enemy #1, Jasper and an accomplice--his father--murder a library book.  They didn't start out with murder in mind, but sometimes things spin out of control.

This is Caroline Adderson's sixth Jasper John Dooley book, the second one illustrated by Mike Shiell.    Jasper is a fun and funny little boy.  I like Adderson's style, telling the story consistently from Jasper's perspective.  His little boy logic for taking care of the damaged book, his misunderstanding of the price on the book cover, his schemes to raise money to pay for the book, and his fear of the consequences are amusingly silly.

Jasper John Dooley may not be the brightest kid on the block, but he's funny and creative.  Readers will enjoy reading about his problems with his library book and will want to read about his prior mishaps as well.


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

Glad You're Not Me, by Jonathan Harnisch

I don't have a lot to say about Jonathan Harnisch's autobiographical stream of consciousness book Glad You're Not Me.  First, this short book offers a window into the mind of someone "diagnosed with several mental illnesses from schizoaffective disorder to Tourette's syndrome."  I would assume that most people with these conditions have difficulty communicating their feelings and thoughts.  Harnisch says he writes "to attain an ounce, a moment of seemingly impossible peace of mind, through complete honesty and selflove, by any means necessary."

He is a writer and self-described "all-around artist" so his developed ability to express himself must be a gift for him, a release.  He also says he has helped on a couple of movies to train actors to pretend to have Tourette's.  To me that shows a high level of self-awareness that many with mental illness don't have.

One of the best things about Glad You're Not Me is its brevity.  Despite the potential for insight here, it's almost unreadable.  I am glad I'm not Hamisch, and I appreciate his self-effacing writing and striving for understanding.  But I wasn't all that glad to be reading Glad You're Not Me.


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

2016 Reading Challenge: A book with 100 pages or less
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The Sin of Certainty, by Peter Enns

Peter Enns spent many years in a religious tradition that valued certainty, right beliefs, and a sense of defending the faith against those who believe differently.  Through a series of personal revelations, he came to let go of that attitude of certainty and toward an attitude of trust.  As the subtitle implies, his book The Sin of Certainty: Why God Desires Our Trust More Than Our "Correct" Beliefs, Enns tells his story and encourages other Christians to trust in God, not in their carefully constructed theological systems.

I'm all for intellectual humility, so I felt an immediate connection with his position.  He also writes about being driven from the seminary where he was educated and taught for many years.  A new wave of "theological certainty" took hold at the seminary and didn't deem him certain enough, so he was shown the door.  I felt a further connection with him, as the seminary I attended went through a similar purge while I was there.  After a large number of professors were shown the door or fled on their own volition, I left the Ph.D. program.  So I can relate to his being on the wrong side of theological certainty.

Enns's large theme here is that God wants us to trust him, not our own dogmatism.  Our faith should be in God, not in denomination, biblical interpretation, or confessional statement.  He sums it up like this: "trust means letting go of the need to know, of the need to be certain."  He came to embrace the contemplative traditions in the church, concluding that "trust in God, not correct thinking about God, is the beginning and end of faith, the only true and abiding path."

So far, I'm on board with him.  We see through a glass darkly.  We can't know it all.  But my problem with Enns is his calling out Christians who do have certainty in their traditions.  Can such a tradition "sell God short by keeping the Creator captive to what we are able to comprehend"?  Can a set of beliefs become an idol?  Do some people trust their beliefs more than they trust God?  All of these may be true for some people, in some traditions.

Enns says he's "not against creeds," but his book, for the most part, says otherwise.  What I would like to have heard from him is whether there is anything for which he would claim certainty.  That Jesus is an historical figure?  That he lived and taught as the Bible says?  That he died and was resurrected on the third day?  I suspect Enns would say he's certain about these things.  Is that sinful certainty?  I am not certain.

He also touches on subjects like the problem of evil, the absurdity of believing in a literal creation as told in Genesis, and difficulties with the character of God in the Old Testament.  Unfortunately, he doesn't have very good answers for these questions.  He likes the fact that these questions lead to doubt, which "strips away distraction so we can more clearly see the inadequacies of whom we think God is and move us from the foolishness of thinking that our god is the God."  So whose god is the God?

As much as I felt an affinity for Enns and his perspective, ultimately I came down not liking what he had to say.  He has a very friendly, conversational, even jovial tone, but he's a smiling bomb thrower.  He creates straw men and brings them crashing down.  He has a high degree of tolerance for any theological perspective--except for those who have a low degree of tolerance.  He writes, "I value challenging older orthodoxies and gaining new insights.  That's neither good nor bad in and of itself."  Yet if you are one who values older orthodoxies, and value insights of those who lived many generations before, that's certainly bad.  Enns implies that you may be living in sin!  Certainly.


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

2016 Reading Challenge: A book from a theological viewpoint you disagree with
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Honestly, by Daniel Fusco

As Christians know, but have a hard time grappling with, the Christian life is not always "neat or tidy or straightforward.  The Christian message says that life is, and always will be, exceedingly, frustratingly messy."  So writes pastor Daniel Fusco in Honestly: Getting Real about Jesus and Our Messy Lives.

Based on a sermon series Fusco preached on the book of Ephesians, he reminds us of the grace the gospel offers in light of our messiness (sin).  None of us is beyond hope, and we can rejoice in the good news, not that Jesus makes us good, or better, or moral, but "that Jesus makes dead people alive."  We were dead in our sin; Jesus gives us life.  And it's not from what we do: "God does not love you because you're good; God loves you because God is loving."

In light of that hope, Fusco calls on us to pray, "all the time, in every circumstance," not just when things are messy.  And we are to "walk the way Jesus walked," which he says would make our lives "unpredictable" but "good."  From the start, we know "we're not saved by good works, we're saved for good works."

Honestly is an encouraging read, a helpful reminder that Jesus is sufficient for us, and that our salvation is not up to us but up to him.  Fusco's style is very conversational, by design.  He'd love the reader to imagine a conversation with him over a cup of good coffee.  He says the book is like "improvised music" based on the sermon series he preached at his church, and refers readers to the series at the church web site if they want a more orderly presentation.  Count me in; I think I would have enjoyed that more.

As much as I appreciated his message and theme, the presentation in the book was too scattered and disorderly for me.  Plus, I'm not a big fan of using a too-casual tone in writing.  For instance, on several occasions, he introduced a scripture like this: "Paul was like, "But now . . ."  It's one thing for "was like" to slip out in conversation or extemporaneous speech, but when you add it in writing, presumably approved by you and multiple editors, ugh.  Please, stop it.

(One thing I loved about the Kindle version: the footnotes actually worked as hyperlinks!  For some reason, this is exceedingly rare in the Kindle books I read.)

Not to end on a down note, Fusco is clearly a terrific communicator.  I'm sure his sermons are entertaining, inspiring, and encouraging.  At the same time, it sounds like he's realistic about the Christian life and positive about the promise of the gospel.

 
Thanks to NetGalley and the Tyndale Blog Network for the complimentary review copy!

That's Not Fair!, by Danielle McLaughlin, illustrated by Dharmali Patel

When is a good age to introduce kids to the concept of individual rights and freedom?  Hopefully principles of respect for others and self-determination will be instilled very early, but getting to nuts and bolts legislative questions might come later.  Danielle McLaughlin can make a case for the preteen years being good time.  Her book That's Not Fair! Getting to Know Your Rights and Freedoms, with illustrations by Dharmali Patel, introduces questions of civil liberty in a humorous, easy-to-understand that will be appreciated by students as young as 7 or 8.

McLaughlin sets these stories in a fictional city with an activist mayor and city council.  Each story follows a similar storyline.  A problem arises, the mayor and/or members of the city council come up with a legislative solution to the problem, their rule or law steps on someone's rights, and they backtrack to make sure to treat everyone fairly.

The townspeople cover such topics as freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, unreasonable search and seizure, public safety, and freedom of the press.  At the end of each chapter, the readers is asked to think about how the mayor or council addressed the problem, whether the solution worked, and what were the consequences of the solution.

The solutions never are as simple as they seem.  Together the townspeople realize that "Treating everyone the same way isn't always fair. . . . Sometimes we have to be treated differently to give everyone the same opportunities."  McLaughlin encourages her young readers to think about freedom and the law with both the effectiveness and the consequences in mind, and to speak up if they think a law is unfair.  She writes, "It is only when some brave person . . . says, 'That's not fair!' that things can begin to change."  Young children may not grasp the concepts of freedom and fairness that McLaughlin is encouraging here, but it's never too early to start planting those seeds.


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

Simple Pleasures, by Marianne Jantzi

Have you ever wondered what life is like in an Amish household?  If so, you will be delighted to read Marianne Jantzi's Simple Pleasures: Stories from My Life as an Amish Mother.  Jantzi, the mother of four little ones, has plenty of stories to tell of her life in a Canadian Amish community.  If Jantzi didn't eschew technology, she would be a mommy blogger.  Instead, she writes a column for an Amish magazine, participates in a circular letter with other Amish mothers, and now has collected her stories in this book. 

The most remarkable thing about reading Jantzi's stories is how absolutely normal their family life seems.  Jantzi faces the same day-to-day battles with laundry, kids' messes, and lost shoes that virtually every parent of young children faces.  She also has a catalog of cute stories, mispronounced words, pet adventures, and tender moments which any parent can relate to.  It's only every now and then, when she mentions expanding from a buggy to a carriage to accommodate their growing brood, stabling the horse after a trip to the store, or walking to the community telephone hut to make a phone call, that the distinctiveness of her family's Amish life surfaces.

Simple Pleasures certainly speaks well of the simple life of the Amish, with their close families, connection to nature, and community of faith.  I was left wondering if Jantzi has edited out conflict or darker times.  Her husband is merely a background presence, and most of her narrative is home life while he's away working.  I'm assuming that marriages are more stable and families are more harmonious as compared to typical modern families, but I would also assume that Amish are human and subject to the fall as well.

Jantzi's stories are cute, but the overall book is quite bland.  It has the feel of "a year in the life" of a typical Amish family, giving a window into their lifestyle.  It's just that not much interesting happens at the Jantzi house.  And that, one might argue, is exactly the point.


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

2016 Reading Challenge: A book targeted at the other gender
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