I only read two books this week and they lie on opposite ends of the spectrum as far as value goes.

Dissident Discipleship by David Augsburger–I consider those saints who hail from the Anabaptist tradition to be heroes of the faith. Their unswerving commitment to following Christ is a tremendous example for us all. In this instant classic, which I view as a companion piece to Lee Camp’s seminal Mere Discipleship, Augsburger recounts 7 characteristics of their spirituality for us to consider: Radical Attachment, Stubborn Loyalty, Tenacious Serenity, Habitual Humility, Resolute Nonviolence, Concrete Service and Authentic Witness.

Woven through these seven traits is a “tripolar” spirituality in which “love of God transcends and transforms love of self, love of God and love of neighbor become one, love of neighbor and love of self become one, and submission to God and solidarity with neighbor are indivisible.”

This book is not one to be missed. Five Stars (OSFSOA)

The Children of Men by P.D. James–I had high hopes for this book for it had high marks going in: a well reviewed dystopian thriller written by a respected author. The movie will be released in the States on Christmas day and has received some buzz as well. Yet the book was a total disappointment. The premise was intriguing enough: In 1995 the sperm count of all men in the world went to zero. It is now 2021 and the youngest living people are 25 years old. The world has changed greatly as those living anticipate the death of mankind.
But James fails to do anything great with this premise. The story-line drags and too much is invested in scene setting and not enough on providing any level of impetus to keep turning the page. I began to skim the last 30 pages just to get to the, underwhelming, conclusion.
As far as the movie version, I hear they abandoned most of the storyline of the book and just used it as a skeleton. That’s promising. Two Stars.

My Top 10 Fiction Reads of the Year

10. The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
9. The Chosen by Chaim Potok
8. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
7. Cell by Stephen King
6. The Innocent by Harlan Coben
5. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
4. All Quiet On the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
3. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
2. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
1. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger