Unclobber by Colby Martin- Book Review

In 2009, the ELCA Lutherans ended a huge debate that had been going on since the 70s- do we allow non-celibate LGBTQ+ clergy onto our pastoral roster? It was a huge debate and caused a minor split in the church. Other churches such as the Episcopal, the UCC, and a few other denominations have also had the same debate. It has ended positively for many denominations as they became open and affirming, while some are still having the debate or came down a hard no.

I write this because recently, it seems, the Evangelical church has been entering into this debate. There have been several evangelical writers who are pushing for a more open and affirming church when it comes to the LGBTQ community. Of course the difficulty is the hard conservative (politically and theologically) stance that the Evangelical church has. So, some individual pastors have come out as being allies with their cost being their ministries. Individuals like Rob Bell, who is probably the more famous of the ministers.

All of this is preamble to Unclobber by Colby Martin. Originally published in 2016 and now out in paperback, Martin tells his story about when he came out as a ally to the LGBTQ community, after Don't Ask Don't Tell was repealed, and the response from his church. He intermixes his story with exegesis on the "clobber" passages of the Bible- passages that are used by evangelicals and other conservative Christians as a hard stance against homosexuality.

While I found his story interesting, I thought his exegesis chapters were much better, but I will also state I have read better books on the subject such as What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality, which takes a more scholarly approach. I also found he focused a lot on himself rather than the many people his former church hurt with their hard stance.

I have recommended this book to individuals who are from an Evangelical church who were questioning the church's stance on homosexuality, so I do find it useful. The book speaks evangelical, so to speak. I would recommend another book if you are from a different tradition though, as many mainline churches have either already gone through the debate or are looking for a deeper theological approach. This book is pretty basic, but very approachable.

I will state for the record that I am a liberal (theologically) minded pastor who takes history into account. So, when the debate came up, I knew that the Bible doesn't actually speak to homosexuality at all, since- there are no Hebrew or Greek words for it, it wasn't a word until the 1800s, and the Biblical thought was that all were born heterosexual, so homosexuality was considered a perversion and we know differently now as we know people who are homosexual are born that way. So, my mind was made up a long time ago even before going into the "debate."

I wound up giving this one a sliding scale 3.5. By that I mean, if you are knee deep into research, you won't get much out of this one. If you are on the beginning of questioning, this book will help a lot. I was knee deep and wasn't struggling with the question, so I didn't get much additional information, but it was a good refresher.

Here is your Amazon link- Unclobber by Colby Martin

I want to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read Unclobber for free. I received it in exchange for an honest review.

The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel- Book Review

I will state when I requested this book from Blogging for Books, I just knew it was a mystery. Past that, I had no idea what The Roanoke Girls was about. I didn't read one review and went into the book cold. Boy howdy was it a trip.

At the heart of the book, we have two cousins- Lane and Allegra living in rural Kansas. Lane is taken in by her grandparents to live with her cousin after her mother's suicide. We also have their boyfriends from the past.

I write that because the book takes place along two timelines- Then- in the past when Lane arrives in Kansas and lives, dates, and has fun with her cousin. The other timeline is Now- Lane has run away from Kansas, but is forced back because Allegra has disappeared. Allegra's old boyfriend is now married and the head of Allegra's disappearance. Lane's old boyfriend shows up too and healing begins as they reconnect.

I will warn you, do not read too many reviews on this one. In fact, the first review on Amazon spoils within the first paragraph the big secret about the Roanoke Girls. It isn't a difficult secret to figure out, in fact you will figure it out from some of the interludes contained within the book about other girls in the family, but go in a bit cold.

I found this to be a page turner that dips in pace quite a bit, but I kept reading and reading. It moves quickly, even in the slower parts. This might be considered a good beach read or stay in while raining outside type of read.

The two girls at the heart of the book are the draw. The fact that Allegra has disappeared can be for any number of reasons as she isn't the most stable of characters. One moment she can fly into a rage at Lane while a few minutes later will be begging for forgiveness and tells Lane she loves her. She can take off in a moment's notice and runs on pure id, so to speak. So, her "Now" mystery is what is the draw as the "then" portions build the characters.

As stated though, be ready. This is not a nice read. There is a darkness that haunts this family. While one can figure what that darkness is very quickly, it is never graphic. I appreciated that. It could have gone really dark really quickly and it takes its time.

I am not going to say this was a great book, but it was a fun and good read. I am in the midst of reading heavy non fiction, so it was the perfect palate cleanser.

I gave this one 3.5 stars.

I want to thank Blogging for Book for a copy of the book. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.

Here is your Amazon link- The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel

Once, in Lourdes by Sharon Solwitz- Book Review

I don't remember how I received this one for review, but I was glad I did receive it. It came in my email as a suggested like from NetGalley and it hit pretty well. This was a quick read in a world where there is so much mess.

In Lourdes, MI in the summer of 1968, 4 friends- Kay, CJ, Saint, and Vera make a pact to end their lives by the end of the summer. They want to escape their lives because each in their own way live lives filled with mess.

CJ is Jewish, yet gets turned on by Holocaust footage. He is struggling with his sexuality too.

Vera has had several sexual partners and none are right for her. She seeks love in sex because she thinks no one will love her because of her deformed hand.

Saint is the newest in the group and bounces from partner to partner within the group.

Kay's mother committed suicide when she was 11 and has essentially replaced her mother in her father's life. It is not a positive connection.

As the 4 journey through the summer, their lives will change as they face their reality and the reality of their decision of having a pact. They will also sleep and romance one another like crazy. All this takes place while Vietnam is happening in the background.

I thought this was a good book, but not a great book. By the end, I was really glad I read it through to the end as I almost quit the book. When one of Vera's partners is revealed, it was a bit messed up, it was why I wanted to quit, but also why I continued because it showed how messy their lives are.

Each chapter switches the focus to each one of the characters with unnamed chapters focused on Kay. Their lives are dark, so don't expect an uplifting one for this one. I keep using the word mess and that is what it is. They are teens, in the midst of a country at war, and at the end of HS. Their old lives are ending and they are growing up.

I wound up giving this one 3 stars. It wasn't bad and I wound up enjoying the read, but there are rough parts to this book.

I wish to thank NetGalley for the review copy. I read it in exchange for an honest review.

Here is your Amazon link- Once, in Lourdes by Sharon Solwitz

Men Without Women: Stories by Haruki Murakami- Book Review

There are two things I will state up front when it comes to this book:

1. I am a HUGE Murakami fan. The day I read 1Q84, I was blown away and went through his entire back catalogue of books in one summer and one after the other.

2. I never read Hemingway's book with the same title. If there is a parallel between them, I wouldn't know.

With that stated, I did enjoy this book, but did find myself forgetting what certain stories were about.

This is a collection of seven short stories (more on that later) that I would describe as being about the loneliness found even within relationships. This book is also not only about men, as one is focused on a woman who has a sexual, but unromantic relationship with a man, but finds breaking into empty strangers' houses and switching one item is her true turn on. These types of relationships are what unify the book together.

Another example is the opening story- a stage actor is driven to his shows by a "plain looking" woman whom he is not attracted to. The more their relationship grows, the more he tells his story. He reveals he knew his wife was cheating on him and with whom, so he attempted to become best friends with his wife's loves to seek his revenge. As he went through with the plan, he realizes he doesn't actually love his wife, so why was he seeking revenge?

These are the flow for his story collection. These are not short either. The shortest was about 30 pages long, so be prepared to read a bit. I decided to read one a day for a week just to allow each story to flow through my day. As stated there were at least two that I could not remember what they were about, until I went back to review them. So, like all short story collections, there are some that hit and some that miss.

I will also write that I wouldn't recommend this to be the book to introduce yourself to a typical Murakami. These are less fantasy mixed with reality and more grounded in reality with zero fantasy elements. Several of these stories also appeared in other publications.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Men without Women by Haruki Murakami

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See- Book Review

This was my first Lisa See book and I read it because my church book club is about it read it. I like to keep up with what they are reading if I have not had a chance to read it and this one looked pretty interesting. I will say it was a great read, but I was also reading The Leavers at the same time which had a similar theme, but was slightly better.

The book begins in the 1980s with Li-yan who, along with her family, pick tea. Their entire village relies on this tea as a source of income. They are also still wrapped up in traditions, such as the one child tradition or that twins are curses or if you hit the gate you can be cursed.

For Li-yan, her fate begins by taking a bite of a pancake that she should not eat. This simple act begins a series of events that will get her together with the wrong man, who will impregnate her. This child she will have to abandon and her child will be adopted in the States.

We will follow Li-yan for most of the book with small interludes about her daughter. Li-yan will have a life filled with some challenges and some great luck. Tea will play a major part of her life and will connect her and her daughter.

The book is well written and enjoyable. I found it moved pretty quickly for the length that it was. I found the story quite enjoyable even through the difficulties of the characters. The only problem was as soon as we hit the last section, it becomes a bit telegraphed.

I will write that I kept having to remind myself this was taking place in the 1980s and the 1990s and not the 1880s or 1890s. There are some pretty disturbing scenes and practices that seemed out of date for the timeline, but See knows the history well, so I don't doubt her. I will warn there are some murdering of babies scenes. Yes, scenes.

I gave this one about a 3.5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See

The Leavers by Lisa Ko- Book Review

The Leavers by Lisa Ko is a Book of the Month pick this month, but I will be honest in stating I did not pick it as one of my selections for the month. My box already had my 3 choices, so when it came out, I picked it up on my own. I am glad I did as it is a book that had me thinking, it stuck with me, and it was just a great read even in the midst of the difficult topics.

The book opens with Deming Guo and his mother Polly. They are living in a tiny apartment in NYC with relatives and life is a struggle, but all seems well. Polly goes off to work one day and does not return. Deming is brought to child services where he is adopted by a NY suburban couple and is given the name Daniel.

Daniel isn't the perfect child, he struggles in school, he kind of coasts through life, and winds up with a gambling addiction and isolates himself from his friends.

Daniel is haunted by his memories of his previous life. He knows he is not Daniel, but Deming and he knows his mother is out there somewhere, so he begins his search for her and what happened that day.

The narrative shifts to Polly's story. It is a story of coming into NY as an undocumented pregnant woman who is dropped off alone in the world. She has always been independent, but now she is in NY and must work low wage jobs to make ends meet. She has to make tough choices in her life to protect her son. Her life is a life of struggle and frustration as she knows this isn't the life she wants. Her narrative takes us back to the day she left Deming behind because she was arrested and deported in an immigration raid (not a spoiler).

A lot more happens, but I would start walking into spoiler territory, so I am going to end there.

I have to write, I loved the parallel lives. Both Daniel and Polly are in places and situations they don't want to be in. They are missing their identities and travel the world kind of lost. Both have major struggles, but they are incredibly different struggles. It was a great piece on identity and not being content with oneself.

The writing in the book drew me in and I just flew through this book. The story doesn't ever really slow at all and at times I didn't want to put it down. It isn't that a lot happens, but you do care about Daniel and Polly. The emotional pull of almost resenting Polly for what she did and the pull back to loving her because she had no other choice, but to give up Deming was a roller coaster.

I cannot recommend this one enough. This is a pure drama, so don't expect comedy breaks or a beach read. This is just a great book that needs time to marinade with.

I gave this one 5 stars.

Here is your Book of the Month Link- The Leavers by Lisa Ko. Use my link and the code "Water" to receive Paula Hawkins new book Into the Water free with a 3 month subscription.

I do receive a payment if someone signs up- full disclosure.

The Dinner Party: Stories by Joshua Ferris- Book Review

I think by now, I have established that I am a bit of a book nerd. So, it would not be weird, knowing this information, that I do things like- Short Story Saturday! Not that I would actually do or name out loud such an activity. Ok, ok, I may have cried out to my wife- it is Short Story Saturday this last Saturday and there may or may not have been a party hat involved. Tee shirts are definitely not on the way.

If I had to name a type of book that I keep going back to, it is the short story. If I want to grab a quick read, I will often go for the short story/essay knowing I can pick it up and put it down or plow through all of the stories in one sitting. With The Dinner Party by Joshua Ferris, it was the latter type of reading, due to the..um...totally not Short Story Saturday declaration.

I always go into short stories knowing this- there will be hits and there will be misses. Ferris' book is no different in that sense. My hope is there will be a lot more hits than misses. The other good news is that Ferris' book does that too. I also desire a short story to be the right length for a short story- about 18 pages or so, but definitely not over 50. The final good news is that Ferris' book excels in that too.

The only negative is I remembered reading a lot of these stories. I read the New Yorker often, so I had read or I was reminded I read many of the stories as I was going along, so I may have gotten through them faster than originally intended. So, I will warn, if you read the New Yorker, this is a collection taken mostly from that magazine. That was the only negative though.

There were more positives in this collection. Many of the stories deal with people, particularly males, struggling with connection and relationships. The first story for example is about a husband and wife, who are hosting a dinner party. The husband complains about how much he hates the people he is going to have dinner with, who are his wife's best friends. They are stood up and when the husband storms out to go find the couple, it turns out they are hosting their own party and he and his wife were not invited. Why? Well, I won't spoil the story.

Many of the stories have that type of vibe- an old man who only complains about his aches and pains, until a prostitute enters his life, a playwright struggling to write the pilot while his actors move on to other projects, a man who cannot interact with others, etc.

I found most of the stories were right on target and I loved this collection. The stories were well written, the right length for a short story, and a tight narrative that got the reader into the world quickly. I recommend this one.

I gave it 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- The Dinner Party and Other Stories by Joshua Ferris

* I wish to thank NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book. I received it in exchange for an honest review.

Crazy is My Superpower by AJ Brooks- Book Review

Among my secret love of true crime stories, I also have a secret love for wrestler biographies. They are often filled with some of the funniest and/or heartbreaking stories you will ever read. Several, including Crazy is My Superpower by AJ Mendez Brooks, are about overcoming a difficult life to chase a childhood dream. They are inspirational and heartwarming.

Most of the world would know AJ Brooks as AJ Lee who was a WWE superstar. She was part of the main shows and many of the main storylines in wrestling. Some may also know her as CM Punk's wife aka Phil Brooks.

AJ though tells a very interesting and funny story about growing up poor. She writes about having to move on a regular basis because her family couldn't afford rent. Her family even had to sleep in a car for a period because they had tapped their other family members enough that no one was willing to help any longer.

She also tells her story through the eyes of a tom boy who loves video games, comics, and other nerdy activities, but is forced into a role and a persona that didn't represent her.

The meat of her origin story though comes with her relationship with her mother once AJ and her siblings leave the house. While her mother and father fought often, she wouldn't realize the extent of her mother's mental illness until they all left the house. Her mother would tear her own hair out and have a constant need to be in contact with the children. AJ talks about living with her mother during this time and the heartbreak it caused her to see her mother like this.

The back half of the book is about her wrestling life and what it was like being a tomboy in the midst of model like women wrestlers and in a career dominated by men. She wasn't the typical size or build for a wrestler, so she tells of her struggle just being accepted. It is her chapter/s on being a female in a male's world that I found the most interesting. At one point her bosses say to her, "people like you, but they just don't want to f**k you." She also writes about what it was like with fan interaction and male fans who feel they knew her and therefore can do what they want to her. She writes about getting felt up by a dad while posing for a picture with the father's child, for example. Her chapters on being a woman in the wrestling were pretty powerful.

The great thing about the book is it is naturally funny. It doesn't go to the well too often for jokes and it reads as if AJ were telling her story right to you. It is filled with self depreciating humor, deep honesty, and some very cool stories. I would even recommend it to the non-wrestling fan.

I gave this one 4 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Crazy is My Superpower by AJ Mendez Brooks

Borne by Jeff VanderMeer- Book Review

I was introduced to Vandermeer's writing through his Southern Reach Trilogy. To this day if someone asks me for a Sci Fi recommendation, my immediate question will be- "Did you read the Southern Reach Trilogy?" That is how much I loved those books. So, when I saw that a new Vandermeer book, called Borne, was coming out, I salivated until the day it was released. The day I got it, I pushed my entire TBR pile aside and sat down to read this book. I am glad to say the wait was worth it.

The difficulty is trying to describe this book as it is an original sci fi story in every single way. Rachel is the main character. She is a scavenger in a world where a giant corporation run by a giant flying killer bear, yes you read that right. The big bear has minion bears that poison and kill everything. Standing in opposition is a woman named The Magician, who has demonic drug possessed children running around. The two are at war constantly.

Rachel is protected by a drug dealer, who deals drugs which are administered through bugs especially beetles. These bugs are both drugs and healers. Still with me? Good.

Rachel finds a blob that looks like a plant, but is alive. She takes it home and names it Borne. Borne begins by moving only at night and seems to eat when no one is looking. When Borne eats, Borne grows.

One day, Rachel is viciously attacked by a group of demonic children who break into her home and torture her for hours. When they leave, Borne is also gone. The next morning Borne is back, is now larger, and can now speak. It is now up to Rachel to find out what is happening, teach Borne about himself, and survive the battle between The Magician and the Giant Killer Bear.

I know the above description seems like a giant acid trip or something, but trust me when I state- This book works well. Once you get used to the world it takes place in, the story just falls into place and moves pretty quickly. I tore through this book.

VanderMeer seems to like to play with environmental issues in such a way where they are true, but teach about what happens when something goes a step too far. In the Southern Reach Trilogy, the environment has grown out of hand. In this, a corporation has grown too large and a nebulous blob that seems like a plant, but can transform shape might be the key to a normal life, even if this blob's whole way of life is consumption. Says a little something doesn't it?

This is what I enjoy about VanderMeer's books and Borne is no different. On one layer is this odd sci fi story that doesn't seem to make much sense when trying to explain it. On another level, there is deep meaning to what he is writing and subtly stating about life. When corporations get too out of hand, nature may be the answer. I love layered books.

I went into this one with high hopes and it didn't disappoint. This was truly the first book this year that I loved and would recommend to anyone. I gave this one 5 stars.

Here is your Amazon link- Borne by Jeff VanderMeer

The Love Interest by Cale Dietrich- Book Review

I am a Book of the Month affiliate. What that means is if you click my Book of the Month links, I get a small portion of the sale. As an affiliate, I also get, on occasion, the opportunity to pick one of the picks ahead of time to read it, so I can review it at the beginning of the month.

This month, after looking at the picks, I knew I wanted three of them and the new book Into the Water by Paula Hawkins, which can be free for you this month by clicking my link and using the code "Water" and purchasing a 3 month subscription. There's the shill :-)

Back to the story, I knew I wanted three of them, but The Love Interest didn't seem up my alley, so I requested that one. I knew it wasn't my type of book, but I wanted to challenge myself.

I am writing that up front because, it definitely wasn't my type of book. To me, it read like an anime, but in novel form. It did flip the script on the love triangle and had a good concept, but the writing style threw me off that I stopped enjoying the book.

The story is told from Caden's perspective, who is a 'Nice.' (Yes, really) He is a sculpted spy who is to have the role of the nice guy to seduce the woman they are spying on. He is up against Dylan, who is a 'Bad' (yes, really). He is also out to seduce the woman, but is playing the bad boy. He too is sculpted to be attractive to the woman.

The two are in competition with one another and whomever wins, the other is killed off. As the two set off, something starts happening to Caden. He starts thinking about Dylan more and more. As they are in competition with one another, they start realizing they are attracted to one another and the triangle flips. What will happen?

The great thing is this is truly a script flip in the sense that this begins as the typical teen romance, even going so far as calling one 'Nice' and one 'Bad.' It was a nice twist to have this also be a gay romance novel for teens. That was incredibly clever.

The challenges Caden has are also very good. He is conflicted not only with Dylan, but Dylan also feeds into Caden's 'bad' side. He convinces Caden to do things that nice guys wouldn't do. It was fun to be in Caden's head.

The bad part was that Caden speaks like a teenager most of the time. There were some sentences where I not only stated "no guy would say that," but also thought "this makes no sense." There were also some difficulties of how Caden could know so much about certain things, but not know what coffee is like. The writing just gave me a lot of trouble that I couldn't get past. It wasn't a book for me.

Sadly, I gave this one 2.5 stars for the script flip and focusing on a gay relationship, but the writing took me out of enjoying the book.

Here is your Book of the Month link. Remember use the code Water to get "Into the Water" free with a 3 month subscription- The Love Interest