Karl's Reading List

Published as an audiobook by HarperCollins, released 03-09-2020. Narrated by Andy Serkis. First published 1937. The first book that Elise and I ever read together as a married couple was The Hobbit - it was also the first book I finished reading in the year we got married. It also became the earliest 'review' I had on this site, as I worked backwards to fill in the year 2019, before deciding that any books earlier than that would only have reviews added when I read them again. Anyway, after seven years of marriage, Elise found the Andy Serkis-read audiobook version on Spotify, and we worked our way through it slowly. Seven years between reviews seems okay, right? As a refresher (for the two people out there who have never heard of this book!) The Hobbit follows Bilbo Baggins, a home-loving and timid hobbit who is pushed out of his comfort zone when he is persuaded to join an expedition of dwarves hoping to reclaim their ancestral home from the dragon, Smaug. Bilbo is not the m...

Published by Bellbird Books: Nelson, New Zealand, 2026. Towards the end of last year, the author of this book - who is a deacon in our church and a friend - came up with the idea of running a course to introduce un-churched people to Jesus. Out of that first course, this book was produced, and Bob asked if I could help him run a second 'round' of it for some youth that were interested. This week marked the last part of the course, meaning it also makes the point where I finished reading this book (although I ended up missing the finale, and read the last chapter on my own). Discovering Jesus takes the reader through a ten-week look at some of the basics of Christianity, from evidence that the Bible is inspired by God, to the problem of sin, to the way that Christ offers salvation and our response to that. It ends with a call to the believer to live a life of faith, based on the knowledge and security of salvation in Jesus. What I can say about this book (and other books in a si...

Published by Castle Publishing Services: New Zealand, 2015. Don Barry was the guest speaker at the Leaders' Sessions of the most recent NZ Equip, which is the NCMI national church conference that happens once a year. He was a great speaker, telling a number of stories about church leadership that challenged some assumptions, as well as suggesting other ways to lead that were less about 'manipulation' or 'power plays.' I really enjoyed his speaking, and was happy to receive a copy of his book from a fellow church leader. In reading it, the first thing that jumped out to me was how many of the stories I had just heard at the conference - which, to be honest, lessened the impact of the book more than it should have. I've had to try and step back to before I heard him speak, and remember that the first time I heard these stories, they were challenging and insightful. The book doesn't end with those stories, though, and as the book progressed on to things I hadn...

Yes, this is the third picture-book entry I have done this year, but it seems about time for another, considering that the last one was when were were in a completely different house! As usual, this is a selection of books we have read to Ezekiel, with five selected by Elise and five by myself. Individual books can be found at the links below, or scroll down further to skip this entry and go on to the next 'proper' book. Elise's List When I Get Bigger ; Knuffle Bunny ; Hermie ; Ten Little Rabbits ; Off You Go, Auntie Ma Karl's List Tacky the Penguin ; Bluey - The Big Blue Guy's Book of Dad Goals ; Where is the Green Sheep? ; The Secret of the Nile ; In the Sky Previous Book ~ Next Book (Ezekiel Books) Previous Book ~ Next Book

Published by Brimax Books: Newmarket, England, 1994. Usually, when I am making a new entry in this list, I will have a quick search for an existing photo of the book cover to upload. If I can't find one, I add a photo of my copy from my phone, but preexisting ones online are quicker. This book took a little while to sort out for this entry, because all copies I could find online had an earlier publishing date and a different photo. Eventually I figured out that the book was written by a company, and that over the years they have seemingly updated the illustrations for new generations; the earliest version of the book dates from the 1960s! The story itself is straightforward, but - admittedly - with cute illustrations adding to the fun. This is one of those books that have a cut out shape at the top, so on each page we read about the rabbits in question, with one leaving, and then as we turn the page that rabbit leaves from the top. This carries on until we are left with only one ra...

Published by Puffin Books/Penguin Random House Australia: Australia, 2023. A shameless 'tie-in' to the TV show Bluey, this book consists of screenshots from various episodes of the show, along with occasional text giving the dialogue, and a humorous explanation on the facing page about what "dad goal" is being shown in the clip. It would have been fairly easy to produce, but at least would have taken more effort than In The Sky did! It's a pretty harmless book overall, and would be great for fans of the show. Ironically, we haven't yet introduced Ezekiel to Bluey, so his whole understanding of the characters is this book (given to us by my brother), another similar book ( also given to us by my brother), and the pictures on his toothbrush and toothpaste (which happen to be Bluey themed as well). Still, Ezekiel likes this enough to ask for it on occasion. And, on occasion is probably enough. Elise's List When I Get Bigger ; Knuffle Bunny ; Hermie ; Ten Litt...

Published by Transatlantic Press: Croxley Green, Hertfordshire, 2012. To call this a 'book' feels generous, and yet it was one that Ezekiel requested for a long time, right up until he ripped it up during a season of 'exploring' textures through tearing things - not our favourite season of development. As a result of the ripping up, it is not one I have read to him super-recently, but it was 'popular' enough that I felt I should acknowledge it, kind of like I did back in the day with the Garden Fun 'book.' The amount of effort put into this 'book' is impressively small. The back cover proudly informs the reader that all photographs within are copyright to Getty Images, and it shows. Each page has a rough theme of things that you might find in the sky, but the images have been placed on to generic backgrounds, without thought of matching any size, or orientation, or logic. One image will be a drawing, the next a photo, the next at a scale complete...