Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Flashbang


Just finished reading Flashbang: How I Got Over Myself by Mark Steele. I definitely recommend if you want an easy page-turner packed with truth. It's a book of personal stories and musings from Mark's life as a comedian and film maker who happens to be a devout follower of Christ. I laughed out loud all the way through the book. He's a clever writer and definitely knows how to use humor effectively. It's hard to approach this book with your guard up, so when Mark draws his analogies and the truth comes flying at you, it hits hard.

Here's a quick takeaway from Chapter 1:

* (Background: He tells a comical story about having several pet birds growing up. They were allowed to roam the house freely, but always returned to their cages when they were ready.)

"The parakeets, the finches. They all lived far, far beyond their normal life spans because they spread their wings into the wild, all the while returning to the cage to rest and refuel ...

So real freedom has nothing to do with getting away from the cage.

We think our society is so elite because we choose our own freedoms, but really, we are just in constant denial of what it means to be a true human being. We fight against the cage for the sake of freedom, but we are nothing close to free."

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks Josh- I needed that today.

Rob Singleton said...

I think this book is great too. I've had it for close to a year but only recently decided to read it. I'm glad I did.

The best books use humor and he did so effectively!

Rob