Book Clubs: No Guts, No Glory!?

I confess I love doing book clubs. But I am the only guy in the library book club called Books Sandwiched In (BSI). Every first Tuesday we have a book offered to us that we have the option to read and discuss the next First Tuesday of the month.

Men join a book club in your area if you've got the guts. 

Do I feel light in the loafers by taking part in a book discussion group? No Way! I feel that my masculinity is not challenged in any way by being a participant in BSI. Often being the sole male in the group is valuable to the whole group. I can offer insight into the stories that woman cannot offer. But the women also help me understand the books better from their shared POV. It feels good to have fellow travelers in our explorations.

There are a number of books that we all have hated. Brenda our book group leader finds books that will make for good conversation. I have had my point of view stretched by a number of the books. A novel should give you new insight that you may never have known, or even wanted to know. The art of the novel is to live the experiences of others different from ourselves.

Men may fear that they will not be accepted by the women in the group. I have never felt the death glare that tells me I am not wanted here. Not once have I felt rejected.

All right, now it's your turn to join a group in your area and be the sole guy that drives the ladies crazy.

Remember: No Guts, No Glory!

Love and War Finding the Marriage You’ve Dreamed Of by John and Stasi Eldredge

There are 9,175 Books on Christian marriage according to Amazon.com, so why read the Eldredge's Love and War? First, and most importantly, John and Stasi have written this book together, with honesty, about their feelings from two distinct points of view. One can tell that they wrote this book together, and did not hide their true feelings from each other. I felt comforted by their mutual viewpoints, gathered into one love. Stasi and John have 25 years of experience together.

The book is written around their golden anniversary. John and Stasi are not third year marrieds who say, "Look at the Parking Lot, Look at the Parking Lot, Look at the Parking Lot,""Don't you see the parking lot." Rather they have been driving gravel roads for a long while. They have been on as Blues Brother Elwood would say, "A Mission from God!"


Note to All:  The book may have some gospel in it; but the advice would be worth it to all.   It is not too preachy so don't fret.

Note to Christians:This is a good book that I would recommend to all married Christians. Yes, one might say it is only good for new Christians, but being a Christian does not mean that you need to make everything theologically complicated, rather the truth is the truth.

One flaw in the book is the use of too many metaphors. John loves to use the metaphor. Also the other problem in the book is a lack of index, scripture index, and subject index, and notes in the back of the book. This is a common flaw in popular Christian books. But overall it is a success.   For more information on the book check out Random House's Web Site: Love and War

Interested in this book by the interview heard on Steve Brown Etc.

9 out of 10 Clucks Given for this book!