We have three nominations for the next book. 

7 by Jen Hatmaker is available on audiobook in the KY library system here, and in many other forms through regular booksellers.

Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman is available as an eBook in the KY library system and as an audiobook you can buy, as well as in a number of paperback editions.

The Spirituality of the Cross by Gene Veith is available to buy either as eBook or regular paperback, including a revised and expanded edition.

Regarding 7, a member says, "I liked 7 because it was funny, a quick read and made me think long and hard about the things we take for granted.  Also, I believe, it is helping me be a better steward of our earth, my time and money."  Hoopla says of 7, "Do you feel trapped in the machine of excess? Jen Hatmaker was. Her friends were. And some might say our culture is. Jen once considered herself unmotivated by the lure of prosperity, but upon being called rich by an undeniably poor child, evidence to the contrary mounted, and a social experiment turned spiritual journey was born. 7 is the true story of how Jen took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence. Food. Clothes. Spending. Media. Possessions. Waste. Stress. Jen and her family would spend 30 days on each topic, boiling it down to the number seven. Only eat seven foods, wear seven articles of clothing, and spend money in seven places. Eliminate use of seven media types, give away seven things each day for a month, adopt seven green habits, and observe seven sacred pauses. So, what's the payoff from living a deeply reduced life? It's the discovery of a greatly increased God, a call toward Christ-like simplicity and generosity that transcends a social experiment to become a radically better existence. 7 is funny, raw, and not a guilt trip in the making, so come along and consider what Jesus version of rich, blessed, and generous might look like in your life."

Regarding Amusing Ourselves to Death, a member says, "This book from the middle of the '80s warned how television was degrading the way we thought about religion, politics, and education.  This book hasn't only been vindicated in the past decades, it becomes even more relevant in the smart-phone age.  If Postman's warnings about having a television in the living room were true, how much more is it true when so many people carry a TV in our pockets?"

Gene Veith explains why he wrote The Spirituality of the Cross:  "I aimed the book partially at those people today who say they are 'spiritual' but not 'religious.' That is a huge cop-out, of course. But some of these folks are looking for something that they aren’t getting from much of the Christianity they encounter. Contemporary versions of Christianity have often drifted away from the depth, the complexities, and the mysteries of the Christian faith. They have reduced them to simplistic dogmas, jolts of experience, or feel-good platitudes. But the fact is, Christianity has its spirituality–not the vague cloudy idealistic mysticism that is usually associated with that word, but rather mysteries grounded in the Incarnation of God, His death on a bloody piece of wood, His physical resurrection, bread, wine, water, and our own ordinary callings of everyday life. That spirituality can still be found in the Lutheran tradition, though Lutherans today have often forgotten it just like everyone else."

Send an email to Pastor to vote for which book you want to read next.  Books that get some votes but not the most will be nominated again in future months.