The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisenberger

This was a clever story – I can tell why it was made into a movie with Anne-whats-her-face acting out her toilsome existence in that aging, Disney sort of way. Not that I’ve seen the movie. If you have you probably know the story: Andrea is fresh out of college and ends up working for an overly-demanding boss at Runway magazine. Of course, she knows nothing about fashion and her boss is an absolute terror. Strangely, though the book was completely predictable, I was hoping for a clever plot twist at the end. But I didn’t get it. There’s a love story, a best friend, a question of priorities, and everything turns out all right in the end. However, it was amusing to delve into that high fashion New York lifestyle that most of us never glimpse in our lifetimes, and the boss is truly evil, which is entertaining as well. I don’t have a favorite quote for this one, strangely.

The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren

The premise for this book began when McLaren was having lunch with a scholar/author/friend. “ ‘You know, most evangelicals haven’t the foggiest notion of what the gospel really is,’” his friend said. McLaren responded with his interpretation of the gospel message - quoting the apostle Paul, justification through grace, Christ’s sacrifice, salvation, etc. “ ‘That’s what most evangelicals say,’” his friend responded. So McLaren asked him what he thought the message of the gospel was. “ ‘The kingdom of God is at hand. That was Jesus’ message. Don’t you think we should let Jesus tell us what the gospel is?’” The entire book is based on that premise: the kingdom of God is at hand. McLaren doesn’t shy away from the tough topics, either – war, politics, historical and literary context are all addressed in a semi-controversial, thought-provoking way. This is definitely a worthwhile read and an interesting discussion piece. Favorite Quote: “Jesus was master of making the music of life – not just with wood and string, tuners and frets, but with skin and bone, smile and laughter, shout and whisper, time and space, food and drink. He invited the disciples to learn to make beautiful life-music in his secret, revolutionary, kingdom-of-God way.”