Aileen is away for the day and I’m at home with some sick children. So we’re sprawled out on the couch and instead of doing my usual reading, I’m kicking back with an old favorite, With the Old Breed by Eugene Sledge. Sledge’s memoir is probably the best Second World War memoir I’ve ever read…
I’m not quite sure how many books I read this year, but it is probably in the neighborhood of 80-100. I recently combed through the list, looking for the books I read in 2008 that were also published in 2008. And as I did that, I built a list of my favorites. Now do note…
I just got handed a copy of the ESV Study Bible by a roaming Crossway marketing guru. Ah, the joys of being a reviewer. The Bible is set for release this Tuesday and you can now order it from Amazon, Westminster Books, or any other online retailer. Westminster is offering it at a ridiculous discount…
It has taken years but I think I’ve finally managed to find a way of incorporating polls into blog posts. Those who visit the main page of the site will have already noticed a poll in the sidebar there. But I think I can now work it into a post as well. The most recent…
Since last week’s little contests went over well, I thought I’d try another one. The style is similar—here we have a list of 21 quotes. Each of these quotes are endorsements for a book and each is written by J.I. Packer (quite the prolific reader and endorser!). As I am flying to Vancouver for a…
Two days, two contests. Both were a lot of fun, I think, and I hope to do a few more in the same vein. I started doing a bit of research yesterday on one that I’m sure is going to be unique and hopefully a little more difficult than the last ones. Book Cover Contest…
We have come to the final chapter of the The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross, the third classic we’ve read together here. It has gone very quickly! If you have not been reading along with us it is obviously too late to start now, but stayed tuned for the next book we’ll…
Yesterday we had some fun with the First Three Lines contest. I had anticipated low participation and low accuracy. It turns out that a whole lot of people sent in their answers and fully 34 of them got all of the answers correct. Most of these confessed to having harnessed the power of Google to…
Yesterday, rather on a whim, I went through a few of the books on my shelves and jotted down the first three lines from each of them. Well, in most cases it was the first three lines—in a few I did more or less. And then it occurred to me that it might be fun…
Today I wanted to draw your attention to a few notable books…but books I have not had opportunity to read or review in full. Reformation Heroes Reformation Heroes: A Simple, Illustrated Overview of People Who Assisted in the Great Work of the Reformation. This is a beautiful, hardcover, coffee table book that provides an overview…
A week ago I announced a giveaway of some great books. Today I want to wrap that up and announce the winners. This month’s sponsor was Reformation Heritage Books. RHB publishes and distributes Puritan and Reformed books. Soli Deo Gloria Publications, which you know as a publisher that has done more than just about any…
The Sponsor This month’s sponsor is Reformation Heritage Books. RHB publishes and distributes Puritan and Reformed books. Soli Deo Gloria Publications, which you know as a publisher that has done more than just about any other organization to bring Puritan writings back into print is now under the direction of Reformation Heritage. The Prizes 3rd…
Some time ago, no doubt while I was awake in the middle of the night with one of the children, I saw a documentary about some weird disease that causes a patient’s skin to harden. This disease often sets in during childhood and causes the skin to become hard and shiny. I searched around today…
Last year some of the readers of this site began to read Christian classics together with me. The impetus for this project was the simple realization that, though many Christians want to read through the classics of the faith, few of us have the motivation to actually make it happen. This program allows us to…
Easter is fast approaching and is now less than three weeks away. As Christians begin to turn their gaze towards the death and resurrection of the Savior, it seems appropriate that we should look for resources that will help us meditate on the cross and that will help prepare our hearts. To that end I’d…
It’s a snow day today. We woke up to a pretty good blanket of the stuff on the ground and it’s supposed to keep up all day. It’s an absolute mess on the roads which makes me doubly glad that I am able to work from home. It’s a good day to stay in. The…
On Wednesday, Justin Taylor posted the news that my book is now available and provided a list of the blurbs for it. This led to some interesting discussion in the comments section. It began with the entirely fair question of “Who is Tim Challies?” and soon turned to “I was just surprised that, as his…
Rebel soldiers were starting at one end of a large room, taking women away one by one and bringing them back after they were finished with them. Helen’s first impulse was to hide and not have to bear this humiliation again. Then she thought of Jesus. He put himself forward as a substitute for us.…
Some time ago (July of this year) I posted a link to a book and said it is the best $4.03 you’ll ever spend. I don’t know that I ever told you what happened after that. Basically, and as I understand it, it went something like this: Within a couple of hours, the book had…
A few days ago Tullian Tchividjian published his list of his favorite books of 2007 and asked me if I’d do the same. I had, in fact, already worked up a list, and thought that, now that the year is drawing to a close, I’d publish it. So these are my 7 favorite books that…