This year I’ve decided to be more intentional with tracking my reading … which means I’ve started logging everything on Goodreads. I read seven books and four trade paperbacks in August. Here’s the list in order of when I finished them and my quick thoughts on each one:
Star Trek: Lower Decks by Ryan North and Chris Fenoglio. I enjoyed it, although it was a little slower reading for me than most Star Trek comics. Still worth checking out, though.
Star Trek: Khan – Ruling in Hell by David Tipton This one was good, really good. It did a great job of creating a storyline connecting the original Space Seed episode of Star Trek that introducing Khan and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Highly recommend!
Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions about Life and Sexuality by Nancy R. Pearcey. I read this one because so many have … but I was disappointed with it. While she made some points I agree with, in general I thought she relied too heavily on creating fear and mistrust through over generalizations, and representing fringe speakers as speaking for everyone. We wouldn’t think it’s fair to paint all Christians as the same as Westboro Baptist Church, yet we turn a blind eye when Christians paint others with those same broad strokes. Skip this one.
Star Trek: Picard’s Academy – Commit No Mistakes by Sam Maggs and Ornella Greco. A fun story about Picard during his academy days. It’s worth checking out!
Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert. The book which the upcoming Dune film is based on. This is probably my third or fourth time reading it over my lifetime; there’s a reason why this is one of the bestselling science fiction series of all time. It’s the shortest of Herbert’s Dune novels and perhaps darker than most. All of the things Paul feared happening … happen in this one. He has become the monster, yet in being the monster he prevents far worse from happening. Highly recommend.
Overrated: Are We More in Love with the Idea of Changing the World Than Actually Changing the World?
by Eugene Cho. This was really good! I’ve had it on my list for a while now and finally got to. I really appreciated Cho’s challenge to actually taking meaningful action and his willingness to lead the way with his own commitment to it. Thought provoking, challenging book!
Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams by Philip K. Dick. This is a fun collection of PKD’s short stories used in the TV series of the same name. Each story includes an intro from the director of the episode explaining why they chose the story and their process of adapting it for the screen. I really liked it and wanted to read it before watching the series.
Star Trek: Mission’s End by Ty Templeton and Steve Molnar. I really enjoyed this one and it’s exploration of the of the end of the original five year mission. Definitely worth reading!
Texts of Terror (40th Anniversary Edition): Literary-Feminist Readings of Biblical Narratives by Phyllis Trible. Another one that’s been on my list for a while. Powerful, jarring, provocative. Tribble does an impressive job of working through four terrifying passages focused on the horrific treatment of four women in the Bible. She asks the right questions and challenges the reader to remember these women. Highly recommend.
Faithful Futures: Sacred Tools for Engaging Younger Generations by Josh Packard. A great resource on ministry to younger generations. Ministry leaders and Pastors should definitely consider this one worth checking out. Packard does a great job of helping readers to both understand younger generations and to know how to more effectively minister to them and challenge them to spiritual growth.
Lies, Inc. by Philip K. Dick. I liked this one … but it was a little hard to follow at time. It felt like there were connecting threads missing throughout the book. The story would jump and act as though the reader should know things we hadn’t been told. It’s good, but it doesn’t stand out to me the way some of PKD’s other novels have.