Aaron Armstrong

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Thomas Nelson

Book Review: Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl

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Title: Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl
Author: N.D. Wilson
Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Have you ever tried to use your sense of smell to describe how a fresh bowl of fruit looks?

What about sight to describe the sound of a two-year-old happily playing in her room?

If so, you understand a little more about the challenge N.D. Wilson faced writing Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl.

This book is downright peculiar. But it’s peculiar in all the right ways. You see, Wilson’s trying to describe the indescribable: God speaking Creation into being, ex nihilo (out of nothing).

Wilson frequently writes in an almost stream-of-consciousness style that, while can be a bit distracting at times, is quite entertaining. His illustrations are hilariously (and appropriately) absurd. And his pace is quick and lively.

Wilson spends a great deal of time deconstructing the absurdity of the idea that our world, in all of it’s beauty and bizarreness happened on a fluke. A random act of chance. But it’s in its seeming randomness, that we see the complexity and intricacy of how this world has been created. And he finds philosophers arguments to the contrary ridiculous, an excuse to sell more books. And that includes, Nietzsche, who Wilson describes as “the only philosopher to ever make me laugh out loud” (p. 199). High praise indeed. [Read more…] about Book Review: Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl

Book Review: The Noticer

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Title: The Noticer
Author: Andy Andrews
Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Recommended: The Noticer offers a little perspective and hope that greater things are still to come.

It’s all about perspective. Whether you see your life as being the worst it can possibly be, if you see your influence as tiny or insignificant, it all depends on your perspective.

That, in a nutshell, is the heart of The Noticer by Andy Andrews.

I’ll be honest, I was nervous about reading this book. I don’t much care for Christian/inspirational fiction, in large part because it can too easily go off the rails theologically.

Fortunately, this book doesn’t do that.

The Noticer is a deceptively easy read. It’s prose is pleasant and fast-paced; a book you can blast through in one sitting (about two hours).  And while it’s a fast and easy read, it’s impact is anything but. The book repeatedly asks the question: Are you seeing your life with the right perspective? The vignettes that make up the book’s 10 chapters implicitly demand that readers’ examine themselves and understand that as long as they have breath, there is hope, and there is work to be done.

However, The Noticer’s greatest strength is also it’s greatest weakness. Because it’s written as a series of vignettes connected by a loose narrative involving the enigmatic Jones (just Jones, no “Mister”), it gets a little repetitive. Whether that’s a problem depends on your perspective, I suppose.

The Noticer is a great book, although the cover blurb stating that it’s the best book Nancy Lopez has ever read might be overstating it’s quality. It’s message definitely warrants careful consideration, reflection, and action.

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