Like any normal day : a story of devotion

 by Mark Kram, Jr. During a football game in 1973, Buddy Miley, a promising high-school athlete, was paralyzed from the neck down. In 1997, after a quarter-century of imprisonment within his own body, and with his brother's help, he ended his life. Kram, a sports reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News who has written about Buddy over the years, focuses here not on the morbidities of Buddy's life, but on his close relationship with his brother, Jimmy, who spent years helping Buddy look for a cure and was instrumental in his assisted suicide (even as he harbored some deep misgivings). With a reporter's eye for detail and character, Kram takes what could have been a relentlessly depressing story and turns it into one that is equal parts hope and triumph. A potentially controversial book assisted suicide being a perennially hot-button issue it is genuinely inspiring. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Almost Amish : one woman's quest for a slower, simpler, more sustainable life

 by Nancy Sleeth. After years of consumption, Sleeth and her family decided to live more simply. From eliminating a car to gardening and line-drying laundry, her life began to resemble that of the Amish-a greener, calmer existence. Sleeth (Go Green, Save Green), cofounder of the nonprofit Blessed Earth, offers ideas for a simplified lifestyle backed by biblical principles and Amish and Mennonite ideologies. In much the same vein as the Mennonite classic Living More with Less (Sleeth wrote an introduction for its anniversary edition), the book serves as a guide for a range of earth-friendly practices.The author idealizes days gone by, when children played outside and respected their elders. "Being behind the times can indeed have its advantages," she writes, as she warns about the use of cellphones, video games, and motorcycles. While Sleeth does not totally condemn progress, the book may not connect with younger audiences for whom technology is an indisputable fact of life. She is at her best when she sticks to the subject of sustainability, an important topic in a down economy. --Publishers Weekly (Check Catalog)

Religion for atheists : a non-believer's guide to the uses of religion

 by Alain de Botton.  Atheism is a form of faith. The convinced atheist believes that there is no god and no supernatural, and that religion is nothing but superstitious bunk. The atheist is therefore unlikely to see that there is a lot that is useful and good in religion. De Botton (How Proust Can Change Your Life), a convinced atheist but a Jew by birth, shows how much of religion is indeed very good and worth keeping, even in a society tending (at least in Europe) toward atheism. There is strong community, for instance, and high art, especially in architecture, painting, sculpture, and music. De Botton discusses these and many other benefits, while rejecting religious doctrine and ritual. He demonstrates his usual urbane, intelligent, and witty prose, always entertaining and worth reading. VERDICT While the educated atheist may have noticed some of the benefits of religion, many of those that de Botton proposes are not obvious. Religious believers may take some of this for granted, but they will also find enlightenment in de Botton's discussions, even if some may think his atheist convictions somewhat smug. Both useful and entertaining, this book will advance amicable discussion among both believers and disbelievers. --Library Journal (Check catalog)

Self-compassion : stop beating yourself up and leave insecurity behind

 by Kristin Neff. Through her encounters with eastern spirituality, Neff, an associate professor in human development at the University of Texas-Austin, began to understand that having compassion for oneself is as important as having compassion for others: "From the Buddhist point of view, you have to care about yourself before you can really care about other people." As Neff defines it, self-compassion has three core components: self-kindness, realizing one's common humanity, and mindfulness. Self-kindness means being gentle and understanding, rather than harshly critical of our own errors. The recognition of common humanity involves feeling connected to others rather than alienated by our suffering. Mindfulness requires "that we hold our experience in balanced awareness, rather than ignoring our pain or exaggerating it." While exploring these three components in depth, Neff weaves in events that inform her own life, such as the "precipice of despair" she felt while struggling emotionally with her son's autism. By sharing such personal anecdotes, Neff helps readers understand how self-compassion can aid them. Neff's compassionate tone makes Buddhist principles accessible, and exercises make them applicable in real life.  --Publishers Weekly (Check Catalog)

Rescuing the Bible from fundamentalism : a bishop rethinks the meaning of Scripture

 by John Shelby Spong.  Spong, an Episcopalian bishop, is tired of the fundamentalist wing of the Church claiming the Bible as their own. He doesn't agree with their narrow interpretation, but his own, more liberal view is sure to provoke discussion and at times cause consternation. He discusses issues that have been raised elsewhere (Is the virginity of Mary based on a mistranslation of the Greek word in the Bible?) and brings forth new interpretations that have only been whispered about (Was Paul gay?). His appraisal of Paul's character is perhaps the most controversial of his positions, but his problems with the Bible and the harsh God it depicts, even in the New Testament, won't be well received in many circles. Spong is not writing to discredit the Bible, the book with which he says he has had a lifelong affair. Rather, he wants to bring it into the twentieth century by focusing on its eternal truths rather than the historical, philosophical, and scientific aberrations that have caused some to discount it entirely. Though he reaches a bit on the Paul issue, Spong offers interesting, well-thought-out ideas that should do what he intends--get people thinking about the Bible. --Booklist (Check Catalog)

Revelations : visions, prophecy, and politics in the book of Revelation

 by Elaine H. Pagels. The preeminent scholar of the early-Christian-period sacred writings found at Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945 uses them as well as the Bible to illuminate the New Testament's last book, which almost wasn't added to the canon because, Pagels explains, it conflicted with the Pauline epistles. For it revived the argument over how Judaistic the Gentiles in the Jesus movement had to be, which Paul had answered conclusively in Galatians. The visionary tract squeaked into the NT only when fourth-century bishops saw that, if the aim of its wrath was shifted from Gentiles and their advocates to those who fit in the new category of heretics, it could help with consolidating the institutional church. But how Revelation made the cut is only one of Pagels' revelations about it. She also discloses the extent to which it extrapolates from the prophetic tradition of Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel; its status as one of many similarly visionary texts, typically also called Revelation and more Gnostic, found at Nag Hammadi; its primary purpose as anti-Roman propaganda intended to rally continuing Jewish resistance after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem; and its modern role in fostering hope in the face of seemingly ultimate cataclysm. A lot for so little a book to do, but, thanks to Pagels' sublimely fluent exposition, not too much. --Booklist (Check catalog)

Married for real : building a loving, powerful life together

 by Eddie George.  Eddie and Tamara George are living the American dream together. From humble backgrounds, they have each risen to national prominence. In "Married for Real," Eddie and Tamara draw on their personal stories to guide readers to a more successful marriage. --Summary (Check Catalog)

Let it go : forgive so you can be forgiven

 by T.D. Jakes.  “Forgiveness is a big idea and it works best when it is invested into people who have the courage to grasp the seven-foot-high idea of what’s best for their future rather than the four-foot-high idea of recompense for what has happened in their past,” Jakes writes in Let It Go. This book explores forgiveness as an idea and at the same time offers specific and clear actions for readers who seek to apply the idea in their daily lives. Offenses are a part of life, he says. But conflicts can be resolved and relationships do have a future, if we learn how to forgive. No matter how great or small the injustice, Jakes shows how the matter can be put behind you for the sake of a better tomorrow if you can Let It Go. --Summary (Check Catalog)

God's jury : the Inquisition and the making of the modern world

 by Cullen Murphy.  In 1998, the Vatican opened the Archivio della Congregazione per Dottrina della Fede, the Inquisition archive, thereby unveiling to the world the secrets of censorship and persecution that the Catholic Church had hidden since the Middle Ages. Journalist Murphy (The Word According to Eve) visits the archives several times and in his typically compelling style leads readers on a journey through the many inquisitions conducted by the Church over time, from the Spanish Inquisition to the Roman Inquisition of the 16th century. Murphy convincingly demonstrates that while the inquisitions most often are associated with the Church, they arise anytime an organization, state, or institution possesses and uses tools-such as censorship and torture-to stoke and manage suspicion, intolerance, and hatred of the other. Inquisitions require a system of law that can be administered with uniformity, the power to conduct interrogations and extract information, a bureaucracy with a large staff of individuals to administer it, a capacity to restrict the communications of others, and a source of power to ensure enforcement. Murphy powerfully shows that the impulse to inquisition can quietly take root in any system-civil or religious-that orders our lives. --Library Journal (Check Catalog)

The sacred art of forgiveness : forgiving ourselves and others through God's grace

 by Marcia Ford.  Forgiveness-a simple concept that is complex and difficult to live out-is basic to most all spiritual paths. Ford (Memoir of a Misfit) helps iron out the complexities by sharing personal and historical stories of real people who forgive, giving scriptural encouragement for forgiveness and providing questions and practice exercises at the end of each chapter. What's more, she does all this with an inviting, witty tone reminiscent of a chat with a friend over coffee. Her stated purpose is to provide a book on forgiveness that stresses the spiritual connection we foster with God when we forgive. In doing so, she puts the Divine in the forefront. We forgive because God shows us how: "God wrote the book on the sacred act of forgiveness." Although our call is always to forgive, Ford recognizes the thorniness of forgiving someone who is persistently abusive. "Anyone who tries to make you believe that forgiveness always requires reunion is someone who neither understands forgiveness nor has your best interests at heart," she explains. This primer belongs in the hands of anyone who needs to give or receive forgiveness. --Publishers Weekly (Check Catalog)