Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Hear No Evil by Matthew Paul Turner - An Amateur Book Review By Me


Hear No Evil, My Story of Innocence, Music and the Holy Ghost by Matthew Paul Turner hit stores today. I can tell you this much, it is a great book and I am not just saying this.

I received this book to review from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group and when it came in, I opened and started reading it right away thinking I was going to finish this in no time. The cover is cute and the book in only 225 pages so it seems like I would have it done in a day. However I found myself re-reading passages, mostly because Matthew is a great visionary writer.  His narration is amazing, you feel like you are listening to a good friend. I loved his wit, quiet sarcasm and sense of self.

ABOUT THIS BOOK FROM RANDOM HOUSE'S SITE.

Every Life Has a Soundtrack. 

If you’ve ever had the opening bars of a song transport you back in time or remind you of a pivotal spiritual moment, Matthew Paul Turner’s honest—and frequently hilarious—musings will strike a chord. Straightforward and amusing, Hear No Evil is Turner’s “life soundtrack,” a compilation of engaging personal stories about how music—and music’s ability to transform—has played a key role in his spiritual life.

Groove along on his journey as young evangelical Turner attends forbidden contemporary Christian concerts, moves to “Music City” Nashville, and dreams of becoming the Michael Jackson of Christian music.

Cosmic and compelling, keen and funny, every page is a new encounter with the people, places, and experiences that have taught the music-editor-turned-author some new things about God, forced him out of his comfort zone, and introduced him to a fresh view of grace along the way.

In A Nutshell:  This book was a real eye opener for me. I found it interesting to hear how some young people living in Christian households are held back from so much.  Matthew discusses how he was unable to watch ET because a meeting had been called at his church to "inform parents of the dangers of Hollywood's rich Jews and gay men posed to Christianity". That the scene of ET and Elliott touching fingers was poking fun at Jesus and depicting Jesus as an extraterrestrial.  ET and Elliott were like Michelangelo's painting of God and Adam almost touching finger tips on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. 

This book reminds us how music transcends everything. How Matthew feels about music is how most of us feel. Music does something to us and we all feel it in the same but different way. 

Matthew Paul Turner has already published 18 books and has a huge fan base on Twitter, Facebook and his blog Jesus Needs New PR.
You can DOWNLOAD CHAPTER ONE HERE!  Check Hear No Evil out, it is nothing like you would expect. 

Author Bio:
Matthew Paul Turner is a blogger, speaker, and author of Churched: One Kid’s Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess, The Christian Culture Survival Guide, and several other popular books. After a childhood in rural Maryland, Turner attended Nashville’s Belmont University, where he received a BBA in music business, and was the editor of CCM magazine before leaving to pursue writing as a career. Turner has written for Relevant, HomeLife, Christian Single, and other magazines. He and his wife, Jessica, have one son, and live in Nashville, Tennessee. Visit his website:  www.matthewpaulturner.com.
As someone who loves to read and isn't a big lover of Christianity books, I truly loved this book! It isn't preachy and doesn't make you feel bad about yourself for NOT going to Church every Sunday.


Thanks to Random House and WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, I was given a second copy of Hear No Evil to giveaway to one of my readers.


To Enter: Since Matthew obviously loves his music, leave a comment telling me your top 2 songs of all time (I am asking for 2 because I could never ever come up with just 1).  Fill out the form below (not the comment area) by Midnight, March 2, 2010.

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