Saving Grandma by Frank Schaeffer

Saving Grandma: A Novel by Frank Schaeffer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I absolutely love Calvin Becker. I just finished “Saving Grandma” for the second (or maybe third) time, and I still can’t stop laughing.

I think I like Schaeffer’s work so much because of the way he uses the simple observations of a neglected 15-year old kid who can’t even read or write to absolutely expose and destroy strict Calvinist doctrine. And maybe that’s the best way to do it… stand back and let the hypocrisy do the work.

I root for Calvin… hard… throughout the entire book. I honestly can’t think of a character in any work of fiction that I find myself pulling for more than this kid.

Portofino will always be my favorite, but Saving Grandma is a worthy sequel with a little more edge.

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top 5 books of 2011

2011 was a good year in reading for me. In the past, I’ve often read books that I thought I should read, rather than just reading what interested me. This year, thanks in large part to the “to-read” list on GoodReads, I always found myself with a compelling page-turner.

Here’s the top-5 books that I read (for the first time) in 2011:

5. India Calling by Anand Giridharadas – You can read my review here.

4. Area 51 by Annie Jacobsen – Incredibly interesting glimpse into a part of our nation’s history that we most certainly did NOT learn about in school. Jacobsen’s descriptions of the nuclear tests that the U.S. conducted are horrifying. Also, (spoiler alert) Jacobsen completely and compellingly debunks any/all alien myths… yet the reality is somehow just as amazing.

3. The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson – You can read my review here.

2. Crazy for God by Frank Schaeffer – You can read my review here.

1. Love Wins by Rob Bell – Deserves a place on this list if only for the controversy it stirred among the Christian community. I deeply and genuinely enjoyed Rob Bell’s latest, and rather than add to the already overflowing collection of commentary on this work, I’ll simply repost the promotional video.

The Shack by William P. Young

The Shack by William P. Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book came very highly recommended to me from several different friends. It certainly lived up to the recommendation – I couldn’t put it down and finished quickly over two days just before Christmas.

I had a very emotional response to The Shack, and I imagine that many of Young’s descriptions and ideas will be a part of my understanding of God going forward.

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Portofino by Frank Schaeffer

Portofino by Frank Schaeffer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is one of my all-time favorite books. Schaeffer brilliantly and hilariously nails (and destroys) the theology of strict Calvinists. Calvin (the character) is my hero. And the octopus incident makes me cry laughing every time I think about it.

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Crazy for God by Frank Schaeffer

Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back by Frank Schaeffer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this book.

Full disclosure, “Portofino” is one of my all-time favorite books, and I was more than a little excited to get a behind-the-scenes look at the real family that inspired Schaeffer to create the Becker family.

But this book turned out to be so much more than just a glimpse into the real life Beckers. There’s real, honest, serious critique of the evangelical-Calvinist view of scripture:

“John’s crime was his interest in how the Bible states things and how you draw meaning from the biblical text. John knew that if you push the so-called Sola Scriptura Calvinist approach and the ‘inerrancy’ ideas to their absurd limit, all real study of the Bible stops. It becomes a magical text. It is no longer open to interpretation. Dogma replaces study, because scholarship can only be meaningful when you are allowed to ask real questions and let the chips fall where they may.”

And crazy-hilarious rants against the evangelical culture:

“And I learned that if you talk ‘too fast,’ all those huntin’, fishin’, shootin’, lifetime-NRA-member types, the ones that worry about the United Nations, have their eyes too close together and have wives caked with abuot forty pounds of makeup per square inch, start to look at you funny. And if they can’t understand what you’re saying, pretty soon you feel this suspicious wave of squinty-eyed, do-you-think-you’re-better-than-us fucked-upness rolling toward you over the banquet tables and the flower arrangements somebody stuck tinsel and balloons in, and up around the head table and past the lime Jell-O topped with some kind of nameless sweet shit and sprinkled with nuts.”

“Crazy for God” also reads like a tell-all history of the political religious-right from a (biased) insider. And yeah, of course Schaeffer is biased, but he never pretends to be otherwise.

I loved this book. And I learned that Pat Robertson would literally shoot his dog dead if he found out it was gay. Bonus.

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India Calling by Anand Giridharadas

India Calling by Anand Giridharadas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As a second generation Indian, I found MUCH to relate to in Giridharadas’ book. It’s a compelling and deeply interesting look into the complexities of today’s Indian society.

I feel like we’ve generalized all Indian culture here in the west, as if to say, “All Indians are like…”, without acknowledging the enormous diversity in a country of 1 billion+ people. And no place, save perhaps China, is changing as quickly and as significantly as India. The old meets the new in one generation, one family even.

Giridharadas does a great job illustrating both the diversity and the changing India by introducing us to his friends and neighbors after moving to India.

Best of all, I feel like Giridharadas has given me some insight into the mind of my father, an immigrant who left the old India for America, only to have India change so drastically that he can call neither his true home.

I think anyone can enjoy this book, but especially so the children of an Indian immigrant, like me.

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Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I enjoyed The Great Gatsby. I did not enjoy Tender is the Night.

There’s a difference between appreciating and enjoying art – and this book now becomes the best example I can think of. It’s beautiful, of course… but I had to force myself to go on time and time again.

I didn’t particularly care what happened to Dick Diver, but watching his life slowly unravel (emphasis on slowly) was difficult, which is probably why it took so long for me to finish.

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The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven by Kevin & Alex Malarkey

The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven by Kevin Malarkey
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

What can you say about a book like this? It’s an amazing story, and little Alex is a truly exceptional kid. As a father of two young boys, I found myself choked up more than once as Kevin described the trials facing his family.

But it bothered me how neatly Alex’ visions fit into his preexisting world view. I’m both a believer and a cynic – and Alex’ interactions with spirits and angels does not automatically give credibility to his family’s particular brand of Christianity… just as an answered prayer does not prove the existence of a loving God.

I believe the Malarkey family is sincere, and Alex’ experiences shouldn’t be ignored. But the most powerful part of this story, to me, is that “heaven” was experienced by the whole family through the good works of other believers.

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The Most Human Human by Brian Christian

The Most Human Human by Brian Christian
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The “Turing Test”, in which humans are matched up against computers in instant message conversations with judges who vote on the most “human” conversation partner, is crazy interesting. The process of how a man would prepare to “win” such a competition is equally interesting. What is it about humans that is unique? What part of ourselves cannot be replicated by AI? How do you communicate that uniqueness through language?

I raced through the first half of this book – secretly hoping there would eventually be some epic battle: Brian Christian Vs. the Computers. But as I began to realize that the research and preparation was the whole point, I started to lose interest. There was no battle. After losing to the author, the computers did not rise up and attack.

This disappointed me, but only because I’m a nerd.

A great idea, but only a decent read.

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The Easy Part by Matt Brown

The Easy Part by Matt Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read the entire book in one sitting. I kept telling my wife, “I can’t tell if it’s really this good, or if I just love it so much because it’s Matt”.

I think I’ve decided it’s really this good. Matt was able to convey his attitude during his sickness perfectly – I’m sure there were down times, but I never saw or heard anything from him but simple and pure resolve to defeat cancer.

Matt’s story is funny, inspirational, and really just plain encouraging. I’ve always heard that a patient’s attitude can influence outcome, and I think it’s possible that Matt just plain willed the cancer out of his body.

This should be required reading for anyone diagnosed with cancer. I’m proud to know him.

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