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Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus: A Devout Muslim Encounters Christianity
Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus
by Nabeel Qureshi
Nabeel Qureshi was an intellectual raised in a Muslim home who devoted years of study and fellowship with his best friend David, a Christian intellectual. They argued, researched, prayed, and maintained their friendship as Nabeel sought the Truth. Was he to find it in Jesus or in the teachings of Islam? This book is perfect for anyone who wants to:
—approach the Bible analytically
—prove or disprove the claims about Jesus Christ
—learn more about the beliefs of Muslims, their culture and how the two are related
—learn about the history of Islam
—understand the difference in approaches to Islam in the East and in the West
—learn some basic Islamic terminology
—witness a true Christian/Muslim friendship
—see how a Christian can share Jesus with others by example as he lives out his beliefs in Jesus through his actions
—learn how to disagree respectfully
—understand the Trinity
—gain an understanding of what a Muslim gives up when he converts to Christianity and the consequences of a conversion
—comprehend the claims and arguments against and for the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus
—read truths about Muhammad and the Quran that imams don’t share with their followers.
The Foreword of Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus summarizes the book quite well: “This is the riveting story of one man’s quest to set aside his preconceptions and pursue answers to the most pressing issues of life and faith, despite enormous pressure to maintain the status quo.”
Rating: 5/5
Category: Memoir, Christian, Religion and Spiritual
Notes: The author describes the book as a “narrative biography,” and one of the contributors to the lengthy appendix which expands on the topics in the book calls it Qureshi’s “spiritual autobiography.”
Publication: August 21, 2018—Zondervan
Memorable Lines:
The culture clash of immigrant parents with their Western-born children is especially common during the emotionally stormy teenage years, and it serves to illustrate a vital fact: Muslim immigrants from the East are starkly different from their Muslim children born in the West.
Effective evangelism requires relationships. There are very few exceptions.
Because of hadith and tradition, Muslim religion, culture, heritage, and identity all find their core in the person of Muhammad. This is why Muslims see an attack on his character as equivalent to a personal attack on them and everything they stand for.
These are the costs Muslims must calculate when considering the gospel: losing the relationships they have built in this life, potentially losing this life itself, and if they are wrong, losing their afterlife in paradise. It is no understatement to say that Muslims often risk everything to embrace the cross.
Death in the Margins–student dance production
Death in the Margins
by Victoria Gilbert
Amy is the director of the Taylorsford Public Library which is a more than full time job as she has to fill in when one of her two part time assistants or volunteers is unable to work their shifts. She is married to Richard Muir, a contemporary dancer, choreographer, and instructor at Clarion University. The book starts out with action as Meredith Fox, Richard’s ex-fiancée and also a dancer, stirs up conflict at a rehearsal and soon after is discovered murdered.
Taylorsford is a smallish community where there are few secrets, lots of relationships, and rampant gossip. Amy doesn’t believe that the young man accused of the crime is guilty so she informally interviews local residents and uses her library research skills to discover other potential suspects. She reports back to the chief deputy who is allowed to only assist on the case because it is not in his jurisdiction. Other major threads that tie into the murder involve art theft, blackmail, and expensive horses. Meanwhile, Richard and his dance partner Karla are consumed with preparations for a presentation featuring younger students, university students, and some professionals. It will benefit the student dance program in the local school system.
Amy is highly observant but perhaps too trusting. I sometimes question why she would believe certain characters’ statements.
Often she changes her opinion about the individuals on her list of suspects based on what they say about their location at the time of the crime as well as their motivations and involvements with others in the community. Her trust endangers her on more than one occasion.
This is an all-round, solid, good cozy mystery with just the right amount of personal interactions between the characters. The dance classes include children who have various kinds of disabilities and a girl who is on the autistic spectrum. These students are minor characters, but I appreciate their being included. Kids just automatically love to dance when they are allowed to abandon themselves to music. I have a life-long love of libraries, dance, and children so this book appeals to me in a number of ways.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: Death in the Margins is #7 in the Blue Ridge Library Mystery Series. I have read some, but not all, of the books in the series and had no trouble enjoying this one as an “almost” standalone. As with most cozy mystery series, reading them all in sequence would probably be best. This is a good series which I recommend.
Publication: December 6, 2022—Crooked Lane Books
Memorable Lines:
“I would’ve dressed up a little if I’d known I could use my feminine wiles to extract more information out of him.” Kurt laughed. “Do you really think you have any of those, my dear? Don’t you know your charm lies in the fact that you’re so direct and lacking in what some would call feminine guile?”
I didn’t mind managing the library solo. It allowed me to indulge in one of my favorite fantasies—that the collection of books and other materials, as well as the comfortable, wellworn space, were all mine. My own private sanctuary, filled with light and enough reading material to keep me entertained and informed for years and years.
“Why, Aunt Lydia, if I didn’t know better, I’d suspect you of watching some of those mob-inspired TV shows.” “I may have seen one or two,” she replied airily, “but also plenty of noir films from the forties. There’s sadly no time-frame limitation on crime and violence, you know.”
Sundown–bioterrorism
Sundown
by Susan May Warren
This action packed Christian romance centers around triplets Dodge, Colt, and Ranger. Each of these men served their country in a different branch of the military; they continue to find themselves involved in rescue operations. Sundown is the third book in the Sky King Ranch series and it focuses on Colt, a daredevil since childhood. There are also women in the book who play an important role in each man’s story. For Colt, it is the beautiful, intelligent Dr. Taylor (Tae) Price whose research is sought after by the Russian mafia to provide a bioweapon for terrorism.
The characters go through a lot physically, mentally, and spiritually as they face off with deadly terrorists, the hauntings of their own backgrounds, and relationship struggles. All of their issues eventually lead them back to the role of God in their lives.
I like Sundown and recommend it; but because each book introduces a different brother, there are a lot of characters and backstories to catch up with if you start with this third book. Author Susan May Warren does a good job of inserting information from previous books, but the initial chapters were a struggle for me. My advice is to read all three books in sequence: Sunrise, Sunburst, and Sundown.
My other issue is that Tae’s research deals with recreating a lost strain of smallpox that could destroy the world and then devising a vaccine for it. The whole process was rushed through so that this untested vaccine could be “approved” by the FDA. As has been shown in recent years, the untested vaccine could be as deadly or more so than the disease. Without the history of the last few years, I could have more easily accepted the premises as fiction and just enjoyed the story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Romance, Christian, Fiction, Suspense
Notes: As this is #3 in the character rich Sky King Ranch series, I suggest you not read this as a standalone.
Publication: November 1, 2022—Revell (Baker Publishing)
Memorable Lines:
“You’ve always belonged here. But until you forgive yourself, you’re going to keep running, going to keep believing that you’re trouble. Until you let God tell you how much he loves you, how much he has done for you, you’ll believe you’re not worth saving.”
“In the Bible, God is repeatedly with his people when they’re fighting evil. I think there is such a thing as a righteous battle, and when we are on the side of saving lives…well, God is about life and truth, so I think that puts us on his side.”
“I used to think that way. That if God didn’t answer me, or not in the way I wanted, that he didn’t care or even like me. But that’s not true. I’ve started to see God at work all over my life. Now and in the past. He wasn’t ignoring me. I just didn’t see his work until I wanted to.”
A Time to Swill–bar, beach, and mysteries
A Time to Swill
by Sherry Harris
Chloe wants to settle current issues in her life, not find herself wrapped up in even more. These complications, however, are just waiting for her when she packs up her Chicago apartment into her little red VW beetle and returns to Emerald Cove, Florida, to begin her new life in earnest. A former children’s librarian, she is now part owner and an employee of the Sea Glass Saloon. She inherited part of the business and a house from Boone, a close friend who died in Afghanistan. He also asked her to take care of Vivi, the owner of the bar, who turns out to not be the helpless grandmother she expected.
While Vivi and Chloe’s relationship is gradually thawing, Chloe is also working on getting to know the “heritage” business owners, a tight-knit group whose families owned the original businesses dating back to the fifties or earlier. Other important characters include the handsome, but mysterious former lawyer Rhett (aka Rip), Joaquin the bartender and Michael his husband, and Ann the local “fixer” with secretive connections.
When Chloe discovers a boat adrift, she tries to save what sounds like a crying baby. In the process she faces danger herself in a terrible fog, but also uncovers some kind of illegal operation. To what lengths will the criminals go to stop Chloe’s snooping? Chloe and Vivi are also in danger of losing the bar to the smarmy Steve who suddenly appears with a will purportedly left by Boone. If it is proven valid, Chloe will also lose her home.
A Time to Swill is definitely a page turner. It ends each chapter with a hook to make you want to keep reading. Even when I had to attend to something else, I found my mind drawn back to the plot, wondering what would happen next. Author Sherry Harris is also very good with setting descriptions and atmosphere. Some humor and a tad of romantic interest are thrown in as well. There are some surprises as well as some unfinished business to be continued later in this cozy mystery series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #2 in the Chloe Jackson, Sea Glass Saloon Mystery Series. Although the first book sets up the background for the series well and is another good mystery, you could jump in with this second book as Sherry Harris does bring the reader up to date on the scenario.
Publication: July 21, 2021—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
A thin line of moonlight shone on the Gulf. The air smelled of the wood of the porch, salt, and pine from the trees around the house. The water whooshed and subsided, as if to say, Don’t worry. All is well. If only it were.
I remembered a story our minister had told about words being like nails. You can pound a nail in the fence and you can take it out, but the hole is still there.
“I’ll never get used to people down here calling all pop Coke.” “And trust me, no one will understand when you call Coke pop.”
The Trouble with Reading (Part II)—Reading to Learn
I recently had some eye-opening experiences regarding reading that I want to share. I love to read, have a reading specialist credential, and am a retired educator of 34 years. I also love to learn, and I did just that this week in reading two different books. I gained a new appreciation of the struggles some readers have with reading. If you want to read Part I of The Trouble with Reading which deals with dyslexia, click here.
The other book I read that was a learning experience was a printed copy of a nonfiction book I purchased to read with my book club. It is a well-researched book that focuses on a part of my country’s history. Reading it was a great reminder of the differences in reading a fiction and a nonfiction work. “Work” is an appropriate word here, because of the extensive research effort of the author and the extra time and focus the reader needs to devote to reading the book. There are so many historical figures that play into the book along with settings of note. It is hard, but important, to keep track of them all. It is a very good and well written book and appropriate for book club discussion. I had to schedule reading it into my day so that I finished it by the time of our meeting. In other words, reading it was a chore; to do it justice, I took extensive notes and found the process tiring. Also, it did not focus on a subject that is my primary strength which makes the book intrinsically less interesting and more difficult to read. I brought less background knowledge to the table.
The book was not entertaining, but I am glad I read it. Although nonfiction varies widely, in general it is not my favorite genre. As all teachers should know, I was reminded that nonfiction, which is the foundation of most subject area texts, requires a different set of reading skills and those should be explicitly taught after students master the general reading process. Early elementary focuses on “learning to read” and grades above that should focus on “reading to learn.” Some middle and high school teachers believe that students leave elementary school with the skills they need for content area reading. This knowledge, however, is developmental; what is needed to process a middle grade text is not sufficient for comprehension of a high school text. Unfortunately, many students do not leave elementary school reading on grade level, making the gap even larger. To some degree, all teachers must be reading teachers.
Pruning the Dead–cozy mystery with a gardening theme
Pruning the Dead
by Julia Henry
A new cozy mystery series. A different sort of mystery. In what way different? Don’t they all follow a general formula? Yes and no. There are common expectations for cozies such as the absence of graphic violence, sex, or language, and the presence of a likable main character who finds herself (or occasionally himself) drawn into solving a mystery, often in a small town. Pruning the Dead fits the bill. The manner of deviation is the amount of time the author spends setting up the backdrop, the small town of Goosebush, on the south shore of Massachusetts, the gardening theme, and the characters, some of whom take on the role of Garden Squad with the goal of replacing “weeds with plants” and restoring “order from chaos.”
Lilly Jayne is starting to emerge from a cloud of grieving and depression following her husband’s death. She is rich and considered somewhat of a matriarch in Goosebush. Having neglected her civic duties for years during her husband’s illness, she suddenly begins seeing the negative changes that have crept into her hometown.
Although the murder doesn’t occur until a quarter of the way into the book, don’t be lulled into thinking it is less than an interesting mystery. The time the author, Julia Henry, spends developing the characters and setting is time well-spent. Although I deduced the murderer as I approached the end of the book, I enjoyed reading how it played out, and there were many detours and suspects along the way that kept the journey interesting.
Even though the second book in the series has not been published yet, I anticipate that readers will benefit by starting the series by reading Pruning the Dead, the first book. I look forward to reading the next book to see how the Garden Squad develops and what happens next in Goosebush, Massachusetts.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: #1 in the Garden Club Mystery Series
Gardening tips are included at the end of the book.
Publication: January 29, 2019—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
“Facts are facts, but the truth depends on the teller.”
“Choosing a kinder path is important. It makes the journey easier.”
“I made a decision a long time ago that hate is more exhausting for me than it is for the object on which I would bestow that energy.”
The Class: A Life-Changing Teacher, His World-Changing Kids, and the Most Inventive Classroom in America
The Class: A Life-Changing Teacher, His World-Changing Kids, and the Most Inventive Classroom in America
by Heather Won Tesoriero
Heather Won Tesoriero spent a year in Andy Bramante’s science research classroom. Andy, a former analytic chemist, left the corporate world to become a teacher, to make a difference. He and his students are award-winning, and The Class gives an in-depth look, not at what he does in his classroom as a model for cookie cutter programs across the nation, but at the teacher Andy and how he cares about his students and helps them be independent, creative thinkers in science and in their personal lives.
Andy’s students have to apply to be in his class which is centered around independent research and participation in multiple science fairs. Success in the science fairs can result in prize monies and affect college admissions. Along the way, the students learn advanced science (often in multiple fields), self-discipline, how to use professional scientific instrumentation, research methodology, and presentation skills.
The students in The Class live in tony and highly competitive Greenwich, Connecticut. Most would be considered nerds and most, but certainly not all, are from upper-class families. Many are children of immigrants and those parents are highly motivated to see their children succeed. Many of these very intelligent teenagers are also talented in other areas such as athletics and music. They will all go to good colleges.
The Class is formatted according to the school year with chapters about various students and Andy as they move through the seasons. We read of the students’ personal struggles as teenagers as well as their attempts to find a topic for research and bring their project to fruition. It doesn’t take long to become engaged in their struggles and begin to root for a good outcome.
This book has widespread appeal partly because the author seems to be invested in the subjects of her writing and makes them come to life. I learned a lot about the current world of college admissions. I must admit that the science involved in many of the projects was beyond the scope of my science background, but was explained well. I recommend The Class and wish Andy and his students well in their future endeavors.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Random House (Ballantine) for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Nonfiction (Adult), Science
Notes: 1. Some casual swearing throughout the book by both teacher and students.
2. The author made several snide slurs about the current presidency. Those remarks seem unnecessary and politically motivated. They are supposed to reflect conversations she heard, but they certainly seemed couched in her language, especially a disparaging comment about the First Lady. A writer selects what to share from the many words and events that pass before her. I think in this case she should have asked herself two questions as she put pen to paper: Is it necessary to tell my story? Is it kind?
Publication: September 4, 2018—Random House (Ballantine)
Memorable Lines:
Andy would have it no other way. To him, the whole reason he got into the teaching business was to work side by side with kids, to develop the relationships and let the science unfurl in all of its glorious unpredictability.
“All day, we’re telling the kids, do this, read this, use this—and if you don’t, you fail. They need a space where it’s okay to fail.” —Nancy Shwartz, Cos Cob school librarian and creator of Maker Space, a place at her school where creativity is prized
“We’ve moved from education, teaching people how to think, to training, teaching people how to bark on time. And highly structured curriculum and even scripted curriculum in some places—the teacher reads the lesson. Those are not places where someone is being educated. It can’t be… Which is more valuable to the person and to the society? I can memorize something and give it back to you in an orderly fashion, even in a comprehensively well-expressed fashion. Or I can think. To me, it’s not even a call.” —Thomas Forget, Ph.D., professor and Andy’s mentor
education pathways 