Mountain in My Rear-View Mirror: A Guide to Overcoming Overwhelming Obstacles

I included the subtitle to this book because the author, a guest speaker at church for the last two Sundays, said he preferred it to the eventual title above. I like to think of the book as a quick pick-me-up after a hard week or two. It focuses on Jesus and on telling stories (mostly funny stories) to illustrate points, much as a sermon series would do. The book is divided into four short chapters and takes about 3 hours to read from cover to cover. It really does a good job of encouraging readers, although I preferred the in-person storytelling to the written storytelling. I only got to compare the two for the last story in the book, though. Bill Butterworth, the author, is a funny guy, and he tells good stories. Anyway, if you're interested in learning some good Biblical principles in an accessible way, this is the book for you. It doesn't go as deep into emotions as I expected, but that's okay. It's meant to be an encouraging book.

Deadly Viper Character Assassins

I picked this short book up at a church I attended recently. It is written by the pastor of that church and a friend of his who is in the design industry. It is aimed at leaders, but could apply to just about anyone. It is quick and quirky, taking a "kung fu" inspired approach to teaching Biblical principles of how to avoid character attacks. It's basically a repackaging of the seven deadly sins -- rage, pride, and avarice are in there for sure, plus some "new" deadly sins like busyness and self-deception. The authors have clever titles for their character "assassins," and I appreciate the effort to make the book look good and appeal to regular guys. Still, I felt the authors were a little too self-indulgent in their writing style and design work. They didn't spend enough time with the "masters" they interviewed and put in between the chapters in attractive two-page spreads. I wanted to know more about each of those masters. I also wanted more depth, and the Biblical basis for the book was almost obscured by the design. Overall, I'd give the book an A+ for style and a B for content.