Blue Like Jazz

I went through "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller with my small group. It was an ideal small group book because it was easy and entertaining to read and it brought up good topics for discussion. The book was basically a collection of essays on the general topic of Christian spirituality. The only common theme of the book was the writing style of Miller.

I really liked this book. As a person who has spent 7 years in a formal academic setting, I did wish there was more meat to the book. Each chapter followed the same basic pattern: the bulk of the chapter is a bunch of random and funny stories from Miller's life, and then at the end he ties them all together at the end in a thought provoking manner. If you are reading this book for a small group and get behind on the reading, just read the last paragraph or last page and you will get the main gist of the chapter.

The thing that surprised me the most about this book was that it did not skirt around, but rather engaged, touchy topics. The book is definitely written in a post-modern style, and sometimes post-modern Christianity likes to gloss over topics such as sin and money. Miller did not do this, but rather wrote about these topics in such a way that you could have a conversation with your friend or neighbor who did not grow up in the church. It is definitely a good idea to read this book.