Setting a Trap for God; The Aramaic Prayer of Jesus by Rocco A. Errico

Errico goes back to the original Aramaic words that Jesus spoke in what we commonly refer to as "The Lord's Prayer" and he pays special attention to cultural setting and the nuances of the Aramaic language. What he comes up with is not so different from what we already know, but he emphasizes the sense of intimacy with God that Jesus encouraged. He also objects to "lead us not into temptation," as something a loving father would not do. He prefers "leave us not in temptation." Errico's book is sensible and has little to disagree with. However, those of us who see the Universe as God (there's nothing that's not God) still wonder whom you are addressing when you pray. Even though this is a Unity book, it seems to emphasize human separation from God -- as does all prayer. Personally, I think meditation and "intention" is the way to go.

The Translator by Daoud Hari

Daoud Hari is an African of the Zaghawa tribe in Darfur. Using his talent for language, he left his home to support himself in Chad by translating. His adventures took him to Egypt and Israel dodging authorities eager to enforce immigration laws. As Sudan's war against its native Africans heated up, Daoud's job became escorting journalists into Darfur to report on conditions there. He was also part of a commission to establish that the Arab Sudanese government was indeed committing genocide. For me this was an excellent introduction to the problems in Darfur.

The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar

Bhima is an illiterate old woman who lives with her granddaughter in the slums of Bombay. She works as a housemaid in a wealthy home headed by a widow named Sera. Over decades of employment Bhima and Sera have become friends who look out for each other's families. Bhima endures the drudgery of housework and the humiliation of servanthood (she is not allowed to sit on the furniture in Sera's house.) Sera, who has endured her own pain and unhappiness, comes to Bhima's aid with money or influence when needed. Eventually events conspire to make clear the boundaries and distance between them. Thrity Umrigar is a good story teller who takes you deep into Indian culture in this page-turner.

The Intention Experiment by Lynne McTaggart

I loved McTaggart's book called The Field, but was a little disappointed in this one. It is about attempts of science to prove that prayer or thoughtful "intention" can have long distance effects. There are a lot of past experiments that prove it to be true and several that prove nothing. With this book McTaggart and her colleagues have set up an internet site (www.theintentionexperiment.com) which allows anyone who has read the book to participate online in experiments aimed at proving the effectiveness of human "intention" on living things. If this were a subject close to my heart, I would join in; but it seems to me that results thus far are scant and unpredictable and I doubt we'll be able the use this method to achieve world peace anytime soon. Nevertheless, McTaggart's writing is wonderfully clear and her facts thoroughly documented. If you should doubt any of the research she's writing about, you can check her endnotes and run down the source yourself.

The Shack by Wm. Paul Young

Why did I not like this book which has over six million copies in print? Perhaps it was the combination of a rather realistic tragedy with a magical encounter with God. Perhaps it was the puerile writing. Perhaps I just didn't like the theology. At times the sickening sweetness of it embarrassed me.

Faust in Copenhagen by Gino Segre

Subtitled "A Struggle for the Soul of Physics," this book humanizes physics and sets it into historical context in the early years of quantum mechanics. In 1932 prominent physicists Bohr, Heisenberg, Einstein, Ehrenfest, Dirac and others gathered in Copenhagen for a free form discussion of their work. This was an annual event for them and as part of it the men did a skit based on Goethe's Faust. They wrote it in rhyme and poked fun at their own personalities and work. Segre includes a lot of biographical information and stories about physics discoveries told in an easy-to-understand way. My only complaint is that it skips back and forth in time; I think the material could have been better arranged in either straight chronological order or physicist by physicist.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

Like A Prayer for Owen Meany Wroblewski's novel centers around a young boy who is markedly different from his peers. Edgar Sawtelle was born with an inability to speak, but he learned to use sign language with his parents and thrived on the farm where they bred and trained dogs for people who were willing to pay the $1500 they charged. Edgar's father dies early in the story and circumstances of his death create a mystery that tortures Edgar, who had the unfortunate fate of finding the body. I liked this book in spite of the fact that the writing seemed a little poetically self indulgent. It could have been edited down to about two-thirds the size of its 562 pages.