FAMILYFANS Books & Comics

JAZZ NOTES: Improvisations on Blue Like Jazz

by Donald Miller

(Thomas Nelson)

Reader Appeal: Adults

Genre: Memoir

In 2003, Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz appeared on the Christian book scene like a revelation. Blue Like Jazz was an honest and jargon-free exploration of exploration of Christian spirituality written in an unprotected an honest style. Don Miller’s book spread in popularity, primarily among the twenty- and thirty- something crowd until it quietly grew into a New York Times Best Seller List. The delay in charting was due in part to the reality that Christian bookstore sales are not tracked on this list. Miller followed up with the popular Searching for God Knows What and the inexplicably ignored To Own a Dragon.

Two new Miller projects, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years and his first novel, have both seen delays in their release dates. The Blue Like Jazz movie is currently being shot in Portland and probably won’t see a release this year.

So what’s a Don Miller fan to do?

Thomas Nelson figured they would feed that fan's appetite (and lighten the fan's wallet just a bit) with Jazz Notes, a gift book and CD set which features excerpts and from the book and a few extra nuggets of information for the diehard fan—facts about the movie, Don’s church, and a few tidbits about his upcoming book.

My main complaint about Jazz Notes was the CD, which I found to be nearly unbearable, with a Musak-like sound track that ran underneath Don’s reading. I’m not sure why the powers-that-be didn’t trust Don’s reading to be compelling enough to hold the readers attention.

All but the most avid Miller fans should simply wait for the release of his next work. Jazz Notes would make a fine gift book for the uninitiated but simply doesn’t break enough new ground to satisfy current readers.

FAMILYFANS RATING: C

--LS

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