Olive Kitteridge

Title: Olive Kitteridge

Author: Elizabeth Strout

Pages: 304

Call Number: PS3569.T736 O5 2008

Synopsis: At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town of Crosby, Maine, and in the world at large, but she doesn't always recognize the changes in those around her: a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive's own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and her husband, Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse. As the townspeople grapple with their problems, mild and dire, Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life--sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty. Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition--its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires. Praise for Olive Kitteridge: Perceptive, deeply empathetic . . . Olive is the axis around which these thirteen complex, relentlessly human narratives spin themselves into Elizabeth Strout's unforgettable novel in stories--The Oprah Magazine. Fiction lovers, remember this name: Olive Kitteridge. . . . You'll never forget her. . . . [Elizabeth Strout] constructs her stories with rich irony and moments of genuine surprise and intense emotion. . . . Glorious, powerful stuff--USA Today. Funny, wicked and remorseful, Mrs. Kitteridge is a compelling life force, a red-blooded original. When she's not onstage, we look forward to her return. The book is a page-turner because of her--San Francisco Chronicle. Olive Kitteridge still lingers in memory like a treasured photograph--Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Rarely does a story collection pack such a gutsy emotional punch--Entertainment Weekly. Strout animates the ordinary with astonishing force. . . . [She] makes us experience not only the terrors of change but also the terrifying hope that change can bring: she plunges us into these churning waters and we come up gasping for air--The New Yorker. Retrived from Books in Print 11/18/09.

Olive Kitteridge

Charles Ives Reconsidered

Title: Charles Ives Reconsidered

Author: Gayle Sherwood Magee

Pages: 216

Call Number: ML410.I94 M34 2008

Synopsis: Charles Ives Reconsideredre-examines a number of critical assumptions about the life and works of this significant American composer, drawing on many new sources to explore Ives's creative activities within broader historical, social, cultural, and musical perspectives. Gayle Sherwood Magee portrays Ives's life, career and posthumous legacy against the backdrop of his musical and social environments from the Gilded Age to the present. The book includes contemporary portraits of the composer, his peers, and his teachers, as seen through archival materials, published reviews, and both historical and modern critical assessments. Magee offers the first large-scale rethinking of Ives's musical development based on the controversial revised chronology of his music. Using Ives's own dictum that "the fabric of existence weaves itself whole" as a guide,Charles Ives Reconsideredoffers several new paths to understanding all of Ives's music as the integrated and cohesive work of a controversial composer who was very much a product of his time and place. Retrieved from Books in Print 11/18/09.

Youth, Identity, and Digital Media

Title: Youth, Identity, and Digital Media

Author: David Buckingham

Pages: 206

Call Number: HQ799.2.I5 Y67 2008

Synopsis: As young people today grow up in a world saturated with digital media, how does it affect their sense of self and others? As they define and redefine their identities through engagements with technology, what are the implications for their experiences as learners, citizens, consumers, and family and community members? This volume addresses the consequences of digital media use for young people's individual and social identities." "The contributors explore how young people use digital media to share ideas and creativity and to participate in networks that are small and large, local and global, intimate and anonymous. They look at the emergence of new genres and forms, from SMS and instant messaging to home pages, blogs, and social networking sites. They discuss such topics as "girl power" online, the generational digital divide, young people and mobile communication, and the appeal of the "digital publics" of MySpace, considering whether these media offer young people genuinely new forms of engagement, interaction, and communication. Retrieved from Books in Print 11/18/09.

William Baxter Godbey-Itinerant Apostle of the Holiness Movement

Title: William Baxter Godbey-Itinerant Apostle of the Holiness Movement

Author: Barry E. Hamilton

Pages: 328

Call Number: BX7990.H62 H35 2000

Synopsis: Hamilton (librarian and lecturer in theological bibliography at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio) offers a critical recounting of the life and works of nineteenth-century millenarian and perfectionist W. B. Godbey. He specifically considers Godbey's contributions to the theology of the holiness movement, and the relationship of that movement to Methodism and Pentacostalism. The text includes long excerpts of Godbey's work, and several photographs in both color and black and white. Retrieved from Books in Print 11/18/09.

A Story of Rhythm and Grace: What the Church Can Learn from Rock and Roll about Healing the Racial Divide

Title: A Story of Rhythm and Grace: What the Church Can Learn from Rock and Roll about Healing the Racial Divide

Author: Jimi Calhoun

Pages: 208

Call Number: BT734.2 .C24 2009

Synopsis: Mick Jagger, meet Jack Hayford. These are the worlds spanned by musician and pastor Jimi Calhoun, who uses his experiences in both arenas to help readers dissect racial relation issues. Before becoming a pastor, Calhoun played bass for major recording acts and performed on stage with prominent artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Etta James, Hank Williams Jr., John Lennon, and Elton John. He combines colorful illustrations from the rock-and-roll world with stories from his life as a pastor to show how he has succeeded as a bridge builder between cultures. As he interweaves personal stories with reflections on race, Calhoun challenges Christians to reach out for racial healing and reconciliation and offers hope for racial harmony in the church and in the broader culture.EXCERPTI've lived my life in two cities. One city, popular culture, has made racial tolerance as a very high priority in recent times. The other city, the primarily white evangelical community, has emphasized loving God and loving people as a core value and an indication of authentic faith. Therefore my worldview has been shaped by an ethos that says that loving relationships between human beings is not simply an altruistic dream or slogan, but an imperative. Sadly this was not always the case in both "cities," though it seems my skin color caused more disquiet within the evangelical community than in the world of popular culture. . . . That said, my experience as a pastor did also include some very positive experiences and so these words are but a gentle reminder to the church that I love and respect and have devoted my life to serve. Retrieved from Books in Print 11/18/09.

Hearing a Film, Seeing a Sermon: Preaching and Popular Movies

Title: Hearing a Film, Seeing a Sermon: Preaching and Popular Movies

Author: Timothy B. Cargal

Pages: 174

Call Number: BV4235.M68 C37 2007

Synopsis: In Hearing a Film, Seeing a Sermon New Testament scholar and experienced pastor Timothy Cargal teaches pastors some of the basics of interpreting films, so that they can integrate insights about popular films into their preaching. Cargal helps trained preachers expand their skills to communicate more effectively about movies and to use these powerful conduits of popular culture in their weekly preaching. Recognizing the cultural power of films, Cargal explains how people see and think about movies and then demonstrates for pastors how this connects with the way parishioners comprehend Scripture and theology. Retrieved from Books in Print 11/18/09.

Preaching to the Black Middle Class: Words of Challenge, Words of Hope

Title: Preaching to the Black Middle Class: Words of Challenge, Words of Hope

Author: Marvin A. McMickle

Pages: 160

Call Number: BR563.N4 M355 2000

Synopsis: Explores how to minister to and through the African American middle class. Includes sample sermons. Retrieved from Books in Print 11/18/09.

God As Storyteller: Seeking Meaning in Biblical Narrative

Title: God As Storyteller: Seeking Meaning in Biblical Narrative

Author: John A. Beck

Pages: 0

Synopsis: John Beck honors the role of God as storyteller and discusses how God's inspired authors carefully selected presented events in ways that instilled them with meaning that remains life-changing thousands of years later. This book surveys the traditional categories of narrative criticism, noting how the design of scene, plot, characterization, narration, time, and wordplay shape the story we read." "Where a Bible story takes place is also a key part of its meaning, so Beck introduces and explores narrative geography as an important analytical tool, as he surveys well-known biblical passages - Jesus' speaking with the Samaritan woman at a well and the story of Jonah, among others. Retrieved from Books in Print 11/18/09.

What Intelligence Tests Miss: The Psychology of Rational Thought

Title: What Intelligence Tests Miss: The Psychology of Rational Thought

Author: Keith E. Stanovich

Pages: 328

Call Number: BF431 .S687 2009

Synopsis: Critics of intelligence testswriters such as Robert Sternberg, Howard Gardner, and Daniel Golemanhave argued in recent years that these tests neglect important qualities such as emotion, empathy, and interpersonal skills. However, such critiques imply that though intelligence tests may miss certain key noncognitive areas, they encompass most of what is important in the cognitive domain. In this book, Keith E. Stanovich challenges this widely held assumption. nbsp; Stanovich shows that IQ tests (or their proxies, such as the SAT) are radically incomplete as measures of cognitive functioning. They fail to assess traits that most people associate with good thinking, skills such as judgment and decision making. Such cognitive skills are crucial to real-world behavior, affecting the way we plan, evaluate critical evidence, judge risks and probabilities, and make effective decisions. IQ tests fail to assess these skills of rational thought, even though they are measurable cognitive processes. Rational thought is just as important as intelligence, Stanovich argues, and it should be valued as highly as the abilities currently measured on intelligence tests. Retrieved from Books in Print 11/18/09.

Food for Life: The Spirituality and Ethics of Eating

Title: Food for Life: The Spirituality and Ethics of Eating

Author: L. Shannon Jung

Pages: 144

Call Number: BR115.N87 J86 2004

Synopsis: Food for Life draws on L. Shannon Jung's gifts as theologian, ethicist, pastor, and eater extraordinaire. In this deeply thoughtful but very lively book, he encourages us to see our humdrum habits of eating and drinking as a spiritual practice that can renew and transform us and our world. In a fascinating sequence that takes us from the personal to the global, Jung establishes the religious meaning of eating and shows how it dictates a healthy order of eating. He exposes Christians' complicity in the face of widespread eating disorders we experience personally, culturally, and globally, and he argues that these disorders can be reversed through faith, Christian practices, attention to habitual activities like cooking and gardening, the church's ministry, and transforming our cultural policies about food. Retrieved from Books in Print 11/18/09.