Books Read in 2013

1) History of Christianity in Korea by In Soo Kim
2) A Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling
3) Follow Me by David Platt
4) Journey Through the Afterlife : Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead by John Taylor
5) A History of Korea by William Henthorn
6) Letters of John NIV Application Commentary by Gary M. Burge
7) The Death Cure by James Dashner
8) Sever by Lauren DeStafano
9) History of the Church in Korea by Allen Clark
10) Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
11) Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
12) Son of Sobek by Rick Riordian (Short story)
13) The Historian by  Elizabeth Kostova
14) The Dead Sea Scrolls Today by James Vanderkam
15) Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible by James Vanderkam 
16) Jerusalem Testament : Palestinian Christians Speak 1988-2008 by Melanie May
17) Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by E. Randolph Richards and Brandon O'Brien 
28) Star Trek:Countdown
29) Old Testament Documents? Are they Reliable and Relevant by Walter Kaiser, Jr.
30) Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card 
31)  I am a Church Member by Thom Rainer
32) The House of Hades by Rick Riordian   

Journey into the Afterlife

   As I was selecting books for the Midwestern Library, I came across a title called Journey to the Afterlife: The Egyptian Book of the Dead.  This is something I wanted to purchase for the Library since the Egyptians played a huge role in Biblical history. I also thought it would be useful for the archaeology department. Recently, I have had an interest in Egyptians because of the Egypt exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art(which is an amazing place to visit if you are ever in Kansas City). The Egyptian Book of the Dead is not a book as we would think of it today. It is a collection of spells listed on scrolls, tombs, statues, and other tools for the dead that were suppose to help them in the after life.This book was published by The British Museum. I suppose the best way I could describe this book is an adult picture book/ coffee table book. It is not too text heavy since it is mostly pictures. This book includes beautiful pictures of many Egyptian idols, funeral tools, scrolls, statues, and pottery. It showed how the Egyptians used their sarcophagi to call upon the powers of certain gods. These sarcophagi were especially significant for the pharaohs and other royalty since they believed they inhabited the gods. The spells listed in the Book of the Dead were suppose to help them get through the different phases of the afterlife and help them when they reach Osiris in the judgement hall.  One thing that I thought was interesting is how they used different spells to ensure their hearts did not confess their wrong doing during their life. It also explained the different beliefs that the Egyptians had about the afterlife through the different dynasties. If you are looking for more information on the Egyptians or enjoy archaeology, then you should definitely read this book.

Also, in case you missed it, here is a story about a sarcophagus that moved on its own at the Manchester Museum....Kinda creepy! http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/25/world/europe/uk-spinning-statue-mystery/index.html

Robert's Reads - June 2013

Sorry, that I have not been posting lately. I have had a lot of things going on this semester. I intend to post more on what I have been doing at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. But for now, I have some book suggestions for all my readers.   
If you are wondering what you should read this Summer, here are some suggestions. I have listed two fiction books that you may enjoy.

Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card

I read Ender's Game last year for my YA class. I really enjoyed it. It is a wonderful science fiction story that both young adults and adults will find exciting. It was very dark story about an organization forcing children to doing horrible things. It was the story of a boy named Ender training in the International Fleet to one day to defeat the Formics (or the Buggers). I decided to read the sort of sequel/parallel book/sidequel Ender's Shadow. This story focuses on Bean, one of Ender's soldiers from the first book. It shows how he was recruited to the International Fleet and his training in Battle School. I personally found this story a little more exciting then Ender's Game. It focused more on the world that Card created instead of focusing on the military strategy of the Battle Room. If you are a fan of science fiction, then this series is a must read for you. However, I do want to issue a warning that this book can be rough to read in some areas because of the violence.Ender's Game movie because of the cast which will include Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, and Ben Kinsley. Also, Orson Scott Card has been involved with the film as well. I have also heard that elements of Ender's Shadow will be in the new movie.

 

Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

If you know me then you know that I love the Percy Jackson's series. It has really helped me out through my Harry Potter withdrawals. This is Rick Riordan's newest book in The Heroes of Olympus series (which is a sequel series to Percy Jackson). In the Heroes of Olympus series, it is revealed that a Roman demigod camp exists. The children of Camp Jupiter are children of the gods Roman aspects. Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter have been separated by magic for several centuries since Greeks and Romans demigods constantly war with one another. This book combines the teams of demigods who went on quests from the first two books in the series. The quest for this book is led by Annabeth Chase (Percy's girlfriend). Although she has been the leader of a quest once before, the story does focus a lot on her. I also really enjoyed seeing the main characters from different series and books finally coming together in this book. It is always interesting to see what gods and monsters Riordan will add into his series.  This time we get Hercules, Nemesis, Narcissus, and Arachne.Riordan always adds the perfect combination of comedy, history, myth, and action into his books. One thing that I always do with the books in this series is listen to it on audio. The narration always makes the story more animated. Riordan is a wonderful storyteller. Although I like his Kane series; the Greek world that he has created is far more engaging for me. If you enjoy fantasy and myth, then you need to check out the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series.

I am also looking forward to the Percy Jackson : Sea of Monster's movie. It looks like the producers and writers will try to make this into a better adaption of the book.