My reading journal - April 2008

The Next Christendom - Philip Jenkins - An eye-opening look at the expansion of Christianity in the so-called "Global South" -- the part of the world outside of North America and Europe. It's illuminated to see what is going on in Africa, Asia, and South America, the kind of things we don't see in the news. And it's important to us in our isolated American mindset, and especially to those of us who grew up in the even more isolated Evangelical suburban subculture, to see how different forms Christianity have started and have been sustained and expanded through the years in places where we hadn't expected them to.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon (audiobook) - Listened to this one on tape on my way to and from the Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing, my second time through this novel. I liked how Chabon incorporated so many different elements: Holocaust history, family drama, romance, and a love for comic books.

Freddy and Fredericka - Mark Helprin - An odd mix of literay fiction and broad comedy that works beautifully due to Helprin's wit in this story of spoiled British royals forced to undergo a quest across America to prove themselves worthy of the crown. Genuinely funny characters, and lovely writing about the promise of the American dream, the wackiness of American and British politics, and an admiration for kings and queens.