QG Nominated for Book Blogger Award

Woo-Hoo! I got word this morning that Quotidian Grace has been nominated for Best Spiritual, Inspirational or Religious Book Blog in the Book Blogger Appreciation Week awards contest. If memory serves, there were around 20 blogs entered in this category and I am excited to be among the three nominated by other book bloggers for this award.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week is September 13-17 and this is the third annual contest. The awards are chosen by fellow book bloggers who registered to vote back last spring, so it is an honor to be nominated by your peers.

Here's a link to the post which was my entry into the contest:
Book Blogger Appreciation Week Awards Entry

A New Liturgical Mystery--Yippee!

Many of QG's Gentle Readers are also big fans of Mark Schweizer's Liturgical Mysteries series.

So here's a big head's up, people: a new one has just been published!

It's called The Organist Wore Pumps.

I'd been speculating about the title of the next one, since the others seem to have used about all possible voices (The Soprano Wore Falsettos, The Alto Wore Tweed, The Bass Wore Scales, etc). Except for the Countertenor. I was rooting for "The Countertenor Wore a Collar"!

And yes, it's available in a Kindle edition, fellow techno-geeks. Which is how I plan to read it.

I can't wait to see if Schweizer inserts some of the satires that had me roaring with laughter before--like the Feng Shui Altar Guild, The Moldy Cheese Madrigal and who could forget the Pirate Eucharist and the Weasel Cantata?

Stand by for a review, but not too soon. I have to pace myself because I hate it when I finish one of the Liturgical Mysteries and don't have a new one to look forward to.

Going on the No Read List

I'm grateful to my Gentle Readers who overwhelmingly affirmed the placement of Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert on my No Read List. Thank you!

For those of you who may be interested, there is a good review of the book from the Wall Street Journal's Meghan Cox Gordon. If you don't want to read the whole thing, here's her generous summation of the book:

"The spectacle of a celebrity author working herself around to a position that she has already taken may seem a trifle sophomoric and more than a little self-indulgent. But here Elizabeth Gilbert is a re-married woman. It would be churlish not to wish her and "Felipe" every happiness."

Trying not to feel churlish in the face of the fawning publicity for this book,

Yours faithfully, QG

Reader Poll: To Review or Not to Review

Apparently Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Love, Pray) has written a new book, Committed. My first thought was that this would go on my No Read list. Then I thought, why not let my Gentle Readers decide?

QG lives to serve....

poll by twiigs.com

Author To join Book Pals Discussion Next Monday

Here's a heads-up for my Gentle Readers: next Monday I will host a discussion of The Alto Wore Tweed by Mark Schweizer at the RevGalBlogPals blog. I discovered and reviewed that book and one of its companions in Schweizer's Liturgical Mysteries series last year. Since then, I've read ALL of the books, including the latest: The Diva Wore Diamonds. (The links I gave are to the publisher's website but all are available on amazon.com as well.)

And here's the exciting news--the author, Mark Schweizer, has agreed to join the discussion! So if you would like to ask him some questions -- like what inspired him to write the books or his musical parodies like The Pirate Eucharist and The Weasel Cantata--please join the discussion on Monday by going to the RevGalBlogPals link.

Summer Reading List

I've got a couple of "real" books on my nightstand and several in a queue on my Kindle. Here's my current summer reading list:

On the Nightstand:

John Calvin: Pilgrim and Pastor by W. Robert Godfrey. I swore in public (on the PresbyBloggers blogsite) that I would read and review this by the 500th anniversary of Calvin's birthday (July 17). It's available on Kindle, but I thought I would want to keep a hard copy. Um. I'm on page 77 and finding it really tough slogging. The book is giving me a bad case of the MEGO's (my eyes glaze over). But I've got to pull it together and finish it. Somehow.

The Reckoning by Sharon Kay Penman. This last book in her trilogy about Wales in the 13th century was not available for the Kindle, but the other two were so I bought the hard copy. Penman is a fabulous historical novelist. I highly recommend her works. But its a very bloody and savage world she writes about so I try not to read it before bedtime. No MEGO here.

The Diva Wore Diamonds by Mark Schweizer. Ever have a book you put off reading because you know you will love it so much you will hate to finish it? That's how I feel about the books in the Liturgical Mystery series and thankfully Schweizer has produced a brand new book!

In the Kindle Queue:

The Shop on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber. This is a book about a knitting shop and is the first in a series. I read it very quickly and found it okay but very formulaic and predictable. I'm not going to read any more in the series. I think avid knitters would be disappointed because the knit shop is just a device to bring the characters together and there is very little about knitting in the novel.

Drop Shot by Harlan Coben. My SIL recommended these Myron Bolitar mysteries. This is the first one I read and its quite enjoyable--witty, unpredictable and the perfect read by the pool or at the beach. I'll get some more of these.

Second Glance by Jodi Picoult. I like Picoult's novels, which usually involve medical-legal-ethical issues and have unexpected plot developments. I finished her novel Plain Truth (about the Amish and a suspected infanticide) recently and then ordered this one. Not great literature, but good reads.

What's on your nightstand and/or Kindle?

A.N. Wilson Comes To Faith

I've got a couple of A.N. Wilson books on my library shelves: Paul and Jesus. I remember thinking when I finished them that the author seemed to tip-toe up to the edge of faith in Christ and then turn, reluctantly, away.

But now he has. There's a very good article in today's Wall Street Journal about his recent conversion--Look Who's a Believer Now, by Timothy Larsen. I love his conclusion:

Next time you hear someone fume that God is the most contemptible being who never existed, keep in mind that you just might be watching the first act of a divine romantic comedy.

I wonder if Wilson plans to revise those two books (and others) to reflect his conversion? Or will he leave them unchanged as a testament to his journey in faith and write new books on these subjects reflecting his changed viewpoint. What would you do?

Gonzo Religious Journalism

There's been a spate of books recently that, while hard to classify, probably are best termed gonzo religious journalism.

I'm thinking of a couple that I reviewed recently--My Jesus Year and The Year of Living Biblically. A blogger friend recently emailed me about another book in this relatively new genre -- The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University. I haven't read this last one yet, but it's on my list.

The premise in these books is that the author spends time exploring the practices of a religion that is unfamiliar to him (so far all the gonzo religious authors I've seen are male) and then writes about his experiences, observations and conclusions. Interestingly, the author usually ends up more sympathetic to the practices and beliefs of the religion he explores than when he began. According to the reviews I've read of the Unlikely Disciple, this is what happened in that book as well.

If I were to take up a new career as a Gonzo Religious Journalist, I would have to go undercover at Lakewood Church. That would involve getting some big Texas hair, learning how to sing praise songs and building a library of Osteen books--including the Osteen Bible. Don't hold your breath.

So if you were going to become a Gonzo Religious Author, what would be your topic?

Think I'll pass

My friends at amazon.com suggesting I might like to pre-order the new Dan Brown (remember The Da Vinci Code?) book.

Apparently details of the plot or theme of this new opus are being tightly guarded by the media-savvy Mr. Brown. It may be about the Masons. Or Not. Or the Catholic Church again. Or not.

~yawn~

Think I'll pass.....

Not Just For Traditionally Built Women

Portia, Babs and I are VERY excited about the debut on HBO of a new series based on the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books by Andrew McCall Smith.

We LOVE the heroine, Precious Ramotswe, of Botswana. Andrew McCall Smith lived in Botswana at one time and writes very sympathetically about African life. Precious reminds us of many of the wonderful Nigerian women we have had the opportunity to meet through our good friend Dr. O. Like them, she is a believing Christian and her faith is reflected in the stories, although it is not a prominent theme. It's just part of her personality and life, as it is with most of us. It appears that the producers have taken great pains to make the series reflect the wonderful calming tone of the books.

This looks like a great series for the whole family, so pull up a chair and a cup of bush tea at 8 Sunday evening and enjoy. It's not just for those of us who are traditionally built.

CORRECTION: The series begins NEXT Sunday. Mark your calendar. Mea culpa.

Hosting Book Discussion at RGBP

Today Presbyterian Gal and I will be busy hosting the RevGalBookPals discussion of James Robertson's novel, The Testament of Gideon Mack.

Click here to go over and join us in the discussion!

Book Discussion Coming Up Monday at RGBP!

This coming Monday, Presbyterian Gal and I will co-host the monthly RevGalBookPals discussion at the RevGalBlogPals site. The book for April is The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson, which I reviewed here.

If you've read the book, please join in the comments Monday. If you haven't read it you might like to check it out and see if you'd like to add this book to your reading list!

Walking the Bible--Video Introduction

For those of you reading Walking The Bible for the RevGals book discussion that I will host a week from Monday, here's a 10 minute video overview of the book that features some spectacular photography of the places Feiler visited and wrote about.

If you haven't started reading the book yet, there's still time to get it and join in our discussion at the RevGalBlogPals blog on Monday. I'm going to cross-post an invitation to discussion here so everyone can participate.

My Amazon Account

It's great reading weather here: another cool, gray, rainy day in southeast Texas. I'm impatiently waiting for my next delivery from amazon.com because I just finished my last "new" book. I've always been one of those people who reads several books at once. Recently I found that I tend to have one history, one novel, one "comedy" book, and one book that fits into the "religion" category. Here's what will be on my bedstand when the next shipment arrives (hopefully today!):

• Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present by Michael B. Oren. It will be interesting to trace the history of America's involvement in this area which is now so important to us.
  
  
• You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore. This is the sequel to his comic vampire novel Bloodsucking Fiends. No, this is not my "religion" book!
  
  
• Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America by James Webb. El Jefe loves this one so I'm reading it, too. Maybe it will explain why the PCUSA, which is Scots-Irish in origin, loves to fuss and feud.

• Bless Your Heart Tramp and Other Southern Endearments by Celia Rivenbark. This is the comedy book. I just finished Rivenbark's We're Just Like You, Only Prettier and thought it was pretty funny. I'm tempted to go back and order her newest one, too: Stop Dressing Your 6 Year Old Daughter Like a Skank. Funnier if you're from the South.

And no, the religion book isn't another Paul Borden opus or anything from the emergent/missional church moment. I need a break from all that. ~Drumroll, please~ it's--

• The View From the Monastery by Brother Benet Tvedten. The monastery Brother Benet is writing about is the Blue Cloud Abbey that was described by Kathleen Norris in Dakota and The Cloister Walk.

What's in your next book shipment?