Book Spine Poetry: Either Or

Book spine poetry has been a project of American artist Nina Katchadourian in 1993.  It looked fun sorting books this way, so, I gave it a try.

Here's what I came up with.

Either Or

The ethics of ambiguity
manufacturing consent:
Pride and prejudice,
crime and punishment.


The books I used are by:
Simone de Beauvoir, The Ethics of Ambiguity
Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky, Manufacturing Consent
Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment



Do you want to give book spine poetry a try?

♥

Bastardizing the Classics: Why oh why?

Today's mass market consumerism has affected the literary world as some authors and publishers are riding on the success of literary giants by combining their books with the taste current readers have for the paranormal.

Every time I browse in book stores and see shelves stacked with such books I am filled with awe (not the good kind).

Why oh why, talented authors and publishers of today, have you decided to do this...

and this...

 and this?

Your "co-authors" are dead by now.  They cannot agree or disagree with your actions.  It is unfair.  It is treason.

Talented authors and publishers of today, I am sure you have more creative juices flowing in you.  You can do better than this.  Please labor for genius to produce awesome books that will stand the test of time.


Not only with the undead are the classics being butchered.  Following the baffling popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey, the classics has been bastardized for the adult fiction readers.  Shame shame shame.

Galaxies

"Telescope, keep an eye on my only hope,

lest I blink and be swept off the narrow road.

Hercules, you've got nothing to say to me,

'cause you're not the blinding light that I need.

For He is the saving grace of the galaxies!"

~Galaxies, Owl City


Snapshots of the pages of 
the 1979 book by Walter Sullivan, "Black Holes"


♥

The Truth War

It grieves me to learn that apostasy runs widespread in the church today.  I thought, since we have the Bible, it was a thing of bygone medieval times.  Boy was I wrong.

I find it hard to believe there are some who heard and studied and believed the truth of the gospel but then turn away from it.  Why?  Because it did not work for them?  Since when is the truth of God's word centered on people?  Isn't it centered on God and who He is?  God sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins to give us life.  But why do they turn His grace into a permission for licentiousness?  Why is the Bible being twisted by people to mean what the current culture want it to mean?  Since when is the current culture more important than eternity?

What ever happened to the fear of the Lord?

What ever happened to loving the Lord with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength?

And why are only a few Christians standing up for truth?

Oh... It's very disturbing.  

In this book, The Truth War, John Macarthur encourages real Christians who know the truth to contend, not with weapons of the flesh, for the truth.

"To be an effective warrior in the battle for truth today, several old-fashioned, Christlike virtues are absolutely essential: biblical discernment, wisdom, fortitude, determination, endurance, skill in handling Scripture, strong convictions, the ability to speak candidly without waffling, and a willingness to enter into conflict."
~John Macarthur

We must be faithful to the true meaning of the word in order to fight falsehood.  I do hope that more Christians will love the truth.

"...it is an urgent reason to be deeply concerned about the future of the evangelical movement, and it ought to serve as a reminder that we had better get back to fighting the war for truth.
     The way to begin is by giving Christ His due position of preeminence in the church once more."
~John Macarthur

How do we know what is true and what is not?  Sound doctrine.  Let us study God's word for what it really is.  Jesus said it best,
"If you hold to My teaching, you really are My disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
~John 8:31-32

♥

Anna Karenina

I've read the book a couple of times.  Each time I read I get to see and feel differently for the characters.

Anna is one of those types I would love to hate.  But seeing things from her perspective I felt compassion for her.

Alexei Karenin is the character, who at first, I felt compassion for but in the end disliked.

As for Vronsky,  I hated him from beginning to end.

In the chaos of affairs Levin and Kitty are the only ones who emerged well from their struggles.

And then the movie... trailer.

Doesn't it look dazzling?

I can't wait to see how they will portray all those anti-heroes and how they will interpret the values, or lack of it, that buzz around them.

Have you read the book?  Are you excited to see the movie?

♥

Rediscovering Holiness (A Book Review)

"All ventures in holiness go rotten at the core when gain in any form, rather than gratitude, motivates them.  The true taproot of holiness is always the Spirit-prompted urge to show love to God and others by doing what is right out of gratitude to God for Jesus Christ..."
~J.I. Packer

This is one of my favorite books on holiness.  J.I. Packer makes vivid what the holiness of God is and what it means to us.  He explains that holiness is not just a concept but it is who God is and it is what He requires of us as His beloved children.  Packer goes on to say that living a pure life inside out is not as impossible as we think rather it is made possible by Jesus who paid the price of our sins on the cross and with the help of the Holy Spirit.

In this journey I will fall many times, but it gives me much comfort and encouragement to know that the Creator of the universe is helping me every step of the way.  What a relief!

"The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God."
~Psalm 51:17 (NLT)


"He gave us His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."
~Titus 2:14 (NLT)


♥

Night

How I fall between shadows!
What is this night
that displays
light in absence?

The clock of sky
is relentless
in its slow circular motion
without a care.

I keep on falling.
Under its face
I am still,
small,

alone

as the sun seem absent,
waiting for the light
to break the night blue.