The longest week ever is…over.
Hey guys. Now that the book has launched and I have time to eat, sleep, and maintain basic hygiene levels again, I can share some exciting news from the last week:
- This is about a week old, but Books & Culture (the literary arm of Christianity Today) ran a long review of The Unlikely Disciple titled “Surprised by Love,” written by Karen Swallow Prior, a Liberty professor (and English department chair). I’ve gotten to know Dr. Prior in the last few months — she’s a complete credit to her university, and a wonderful writer and scholar to boot. Her review, which is maybe 95% positive (with the other 5% being totally legit qualms about my academic experience at Liberty), is one of my favorites so far simply because Dr. Prior really, really gets it. Read it here.
- Speaking of Christianity Today, the flagship magazine is running another article, a Q&A entitled “One of Jerry’s Kids,” about my Liberty experience.
- My long-awaited Bible Quiz is finally up! This 15-question quiz is composed of questions like the ones I got on my exams at Liberty. (Example: “Who betrayed Samson to the Philistines?”) Test your own Bible knowledge, and post your score in the comments!
- I spent some time today hanging out with Galleycat’s Ron Hogan and Kyria Abrahams, the author of the recently-released I’m Perfect, You’re Doomed, a memoir about her super-strict upbringing as a Jehovah’s Witness. (Her stories make Liberty look like Six Flags.) You can buy Kyria’s book and read her blog to learn more.
- Last but not least, I posted earlier about the Liberty University bookstore advisory committee, which was charged by Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. with deciding whether or not to stock The Unlikely Disciple in the campus bookstore. According to Chancellor Falwell, the committee voted last night, and came out 3-1 in favor of stocking the book! I’m glad that the committee recognized the book’s even-handedness, and delighted that Liberty students will now have an easier time getting hold of it.
That’s all for today. Next week, I’ve got a bunch of stuff planned, including more Jerry’s Kids interviews with Liberty students, news about my upcoming Lynchburg trip, and a prize-filled contest of some sort. Over and out.
I scored a 13 out of 15 on the quiz. Can’t wait to read the book!
— Carrie
March 29, 2009, 8:42 am
I just read Dr. Prior’s review. You’re right — it’s great. I wholeheartedly agree with her thoughts.
It hadn’t occurred to me that some of the culture shock you faced here had more to do with the North/South thing, but that makes complete sense now that she pointed it out.
— Amanda
March 29, 2009, 11:17 am
I scored a 15! I’m not exactly a Liberty kid, but I grew up entrenched in Christian culture and have several friends who are. But I’m still pretty proud of myself for the perfect score. Looking forward to getting my hands on your book!
— stephanie
March 29, 2009, 1:00 pm
I’m an LU student who just finished reading it last night and loved it. I also became a fan and commented on the Facebook page for it. I’m glad LU is gonna stock it. You have a huge display front and center at the B&N right across campus and while I was there today at least 5 copies sold in under 2 hours. Everyone on campus is talking about the book and while most haven’t gotten their hands on it yet, everyone that has read it really likes it. Great job!
— Sarah
March 30, 2009, 12:44 am
I got a 14 out of 15! Woohoo! Guess I didn’t fall asleep in class as often as I thought!
Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of the book! I’m glad that LU is going to stock it.
I heard you were going to Lynchburg; since I don’t live there anymore, I’m trying to get one of my LU friends to get me a signed copy. Because yay for autographs.
— Bethany
March 30, 2009, 2:58 pm
I scored 8, even though I was born in a christian family, going to a christian school, and still going to church every sunday, or perhaps I cleared up my Hard Drive for more important things such as the Maxwell Equations.
— Thomas
March 31, 2009, 8:55 am
There is, ironically, another set of people who can score very highly on your quiz: hardcore Atheists.
Hehe, I got an easy 15/15 and you’d be hard pressed to find a more committed Atheist. I think this is just because I’m incredibly curious about how religious people think and what they believe in and why (which is why I bought your book!). I also generally keep track of creationist/fundamentalist shenanigans, so I probably know a lot of the major religious arguments for God and the Bible by now.
Anyway, great book, a real shame you’re not an atheist (or at least an agnostic), you seem like a really cool guy and the sort of person I’d like to talk to about religion and spirituality. Well, congratulations on your book!
— Santiago
April 1, 2009, 9:33 am
[...] I’ve mentioned before, getting The Unlikely Disciple stocked in the Liberty campus bookstore has been harder than passing [...]
— Kevin Roose: The Blog » Blog Archive » The Liberty Situation, continued.
April 3, 2009, 10:30 am
I scored 15 out of 15. Guess that’s to be expected since I went to Wheaton.
Just finished the book and enjoyed it very much. I just used Facebook to recommend it to all of my friends that attended Christian colleges.
— Johanna I.
April 18, 2009, 4:32 pm