Free Discussion Guide: Navigating the “Now What” Together
Our faith doesn’t grow in isolation. It grows in relationship. Get the free companion discussion guide for my new book, I’m a Christian—Now What? A Guide to Your New Life with Christ.
5 types of books new Christians should read
With so many books out there, new Christians need help making wise reading choices. Here are my recommendations for 5 types of books new Christians should read.
Misunderstood Authors, Tom Clancy, and the Wendell Berry Jar
Our friend Nick Rynerson joins us as he auditions to take over for our former co-host (but still friend of the podcast), Barnabas. Listen in as we discuss:
- Why Nick’s coworkers have a Wendell Berry jar in the office
- Misunderstood authors (both their work and their lifestyles)
- How Keanu Reeves can be the nicest man in the world and Neil Young is seemingly not, yet both are Canadian
- Why Dave is reading a Tom Clancy novel when we normally make fun of such things
All this and the usual silliness and mockery that goes on between everyone on this show.
This episode is sponsored by our friends at Useful Group. Whether you’re looking for a new website, or need help developing your marketing strategy, they want to be useful to you. Learn more at usefulgroup.com.
A few of the books we mentioned on this episode:
- Rainbow Six by Tom Clancy
- Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
- South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
- The Emotionally Healthy Leader by Peter Scazzero
Sharing and supporting the show
- Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
- Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod
- Be sure to use the Amazon affiliate links above to help us pay for the costs of producing and hosting the show.
- Interested in sponsoring Table of (mal)Contents? Let’s talk via email or DM @malContentsPod on Twitter.
Our Best Books We Read For Our Enjoyment in 2019
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‘Tis the season for exhaustive lists of top- something or others from bloggers and podcasters everywhere. So, we’re getting right down to business on this episode as we present to you our completely self-serving end-of-year book lists. Along the way, we also discuss:
- When Aaron sounds most pretentious
- How we rank Tim Keller’s books
- The challenge of enjoying poetry
- Our happiness about our friend Scarlet being okay after a health scare
- What we thought about The Last Jedi
Aaron’s favorites:
- My Grandmother Told Me to Say She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman
- The Prodigal Prophet by Timothy Keller
- Afraid of All the Things by Scarlet Hiltibidal
- Heroes in Crisis by Tom King & Clay Mann
- The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Barnabas’ Favorites
- Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
- A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
- Two Funerals Then Easter by Rachel Joy Welcher
- Proverbs: Wisdom that Works by Ray Ortlund
- The Son by Philipp Meyer
Dave’s Favorites:
- Educated by Tara Westover
- On Desperate Ground by Hampton Sides
- Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
- This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
- Confronting Christianity by Rebecca McLaughlin
While you’re at Amazon (or wherever you buy your books), be sure to also pick up copies (and leave a 5-star review) of a few of the books by me (Aaron) and Barnabas, all of which make for great gifts and/or stocking stuffers:
Finally, be sure to grab a few bags of the Table of (mal)Contents blend by our friends at Lagares Coffee Roasters.
Sharing and supporting the show
- Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
- Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod
- Be sure to use the Amazon affiliate links above to help us pay for the costs of producing and hosting the show.
- Interested in sponsoring Table of (mal)Contents? Let’s talk via email or DM @malContentsPod on Twitter.
We’re Thankful For That Time We Talked to Leif Enger
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About a year ago, Dave and I had the privilege of being joined in-studio by acclaimed novelist Leif Enger while Barnabas was out on a work-related trip.
He declared us really bad friends, and we’re okay with that.
So, today, as we all gear up for Thanksgiving, we’re representing this interview as a special holiday gift to you!
Listen in as we discuss:
- Leif’s writing process and why it took 10 years for Virgil Wander to be released;
- Why his latest is his “most Christian but least evangelical” book yet
- What it means to be a successful writer (and how he handles criticism);
- How his three books connect with different seasons; and
- Why book tours actually still matter.
And to add salt to the wound, here’s how we included Barnabas in our group photo.
A few of the books mentioned in this episode:
- The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
- The Overstory by Richard Powers
- 1984 by George Orwell
- The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
- Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
As always, be sure to grab a few bags of the Table of (mal)Contents blend by our friends at Lagares Coffee Roasters. Also, don’t forget to grab a copy of Aaron’s ebook from The Gospel Project, Jesus Saves Christmas, here.
Sharing and supporting the show
- Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
- Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod
- Be sure to use the Amazon affiliate links above to help us pay for the costs of producing and hosting the show.
- Interested in sponsoring Table of (mal)Contents? Let’s talk via email or DM @malContentsPod on Twitter.
Hutchmoot, Life Changes, & a New eBook
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While Barnabas is off trying to meet a deadline or working or something, Aaron & Dave discuss all the things, including:
- The podcast’s birthday and a look back on all its iterations
- Dutch Family Swears
- The Armstrong family lifestyle changes
- Dave’s big takeaways from Hutchmoot and PubU
- If you can survive in publishing if you don’t really love books
- Aaron’s new ebook
A few of the books referenced this week:
- Educated by Tara Westover
- Seinfeldia by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
- 11/22/63 by Stephen King
As always, be sure to grab a few bags of the Table of (mal)Contents blend by our friends at Lagares Coffee Roasters. And grab a copy of Aaron’s ebook from The Gospel Project, Jesus Saves Christmas, here.
Today’s bonus content—the 4 Gospels meme from Dave:
Sharing and supporting the show
- Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
- Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod
- Be sure to use the Amazon affiliate links above to help us pay for the costs of producing and hosting the show.
- Interested in sponsoring Table of (mal)Contents? Let’s talk via email or DM @malContentsPod on Twitter.
Pyramid schemes, trolling literary people, & marginalia
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It’s a special bonus episode of the show as Dave, returning guest co-host Elizabeth Hyndman, and me tackle some very serious subjects:
- Essential oils and pyramid schemes
- Some of our favorite books where the characters are places
- What would happen if you shared that your favorite book was The DaVinci Code in a high brow book club
- If we should write in books
- What makes us keep reading vs give up on a book
A few of the books referenced this week:
- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peeling Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows
- Of Mice & Men and Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck
- Doomsday Clock Part 1 by Geoff Johns & Gary Frank
And, as always, be sure to grab a few bags of the Table of (mal)Contents blend by our friends at Lagares Coffee Roasters.
Sharing and supporting the show
- Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
- Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod
- Be sure to use the Amazon affiliate links above to help us pay for the costs of producing and hosting the show.
- Interested in sponsoring Table of (mal)Contents? Let’s talk via email or DM @malContentsPod on Twitter.
What Women Really Want…
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Dave is back in the studio and now Barnabas is MIA! But that’s okay, because our friend, Elizabeth Hyndman to take his place and class up the show, while representing all women everywhere. Listen in as we discuss:
- The types of books she enjoys
- Books men should read to better understand women
- If people really need constant reminders to review books
- If people cosplay Jane Austen characters
- Who Elizabeth nominates for our sucker-punch fo the week (besides us)
A few of the books referenced this week:
- Educated by Tara Westover
- Bossypants by Tina Fey
- Everything Happens for a Reason by Kate Bowler
- Undiscovered Country by Lin Enger
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- Text Me When You Get Home by Kayleen Schaefer
- The Story Girl by L.M. Montgomery
- Once Upon a Time in Russia by Ben Mezrich
- Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
And, as always, be sure to grab a few bags of the Table of (mal)Contents blend by our friends at Lagares Coffee Roasters.
Sharing and supporting the show
- Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
- Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod
- Be sure to use the Amazon affiliate links above to help us pay for the costs of producing and hosting the show.
- Interested in sponsoring Table of (mal)Contents? Let’s talk via email or DM @malContentsPod on Twitter.
Workshopping Gladwell Book Titles, Talking to Strangers, & Middle School Bullies
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We finally got the three of us back in the studio, which can only mean one thing: more censorship than I would have thought possible! Listen in as we discus:
- How Barnabas is settling into his new role at Immanuel
- Who we were in middle school (and which kid in The Sandlot were we)
- If Malcolm Gladwell is insufferable (or if it’s just his fans)
- If Barnabas should read Talking to Strangers
- Titles for a future Gladwell book
- Our decision to read a book by a certain controversial figure
- Who pulls off a more convincing “How dare you!”
- Three books Barnabas tried to read but really hated
Plus, Barnabas offers an apology (kind of).
As always, thanks to our friends at Lagares Coffee Roaster for partnering with us to make the Table of (mal)Contents blend. Order all the bags you can handle today.
A few of the books we mention on this episode
- Malcolm Gladwell’s books:
- This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
- Batman Vol. 10: Knightmares by Tom King
- The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith
This week’s bonus content:
Dueling “How Dare Yous” (on Facebook) and The Snipping Point:
Sharing and supporting the show
- Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
- Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod
- Be sure to use the Amazon affiliate links above to help us pay for the costs of producing and hosting the show.
- Interested in sponsoring Table of (mal)Contents? Let’s talk via email or DM @malContentsPod on Twitter.
When Reading Got Fun, How Not to Impress Girls, & What Not to Read During Class
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Dave and I are back in the studio while Barnabas is still off doing something else. So, we’re joined by our friends, Nick Rynerson and James Kinnard, to talk about our reading through different seasons of life. Listen in as we discuss:
- How our reading habits grew and changed from high school through adulthood
- If teen boys will successfully impress girls by reading eastern philosophy
- Books we read in high school that we ended up liking
- What happens when a middle-schooler reads Camus
- If Bloomington counts as a suburb of Chicago
- The problem with self-appointed experts
As always, thanks to our friends at Lagares Coffee Roaster for partnering with us to make the Table of (mal)Contents blend. Order all the bags you can handle today.
A few of the books we mention on this episode
- Herzog by Saul Bellow
- Atomic Habits by James Clear
- Pattern Recognition by William Gibson
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
- Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
- Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis
Sharing and supporting the show
- Leave a five-star rating and review of the show on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to the show.
- Give us a follow on Twitter at @MalContentsPod
- Be sure to use the Amazon affiliate links above to help us pay for the costs of producing and hosting the show.
- Interested in sponsoring Table of (mal)Contents? Let’s talk via email or DM @malContentsPod on Twitter.