Some people I meet say “The Shack” is one of the most powerful and spiritually helpful books they’ve ever read. Others say it is one of the most dangerous deceptions of the last 200 years. Personally I have not read the book, but I did see the movie, so based on the film adaptation of the book, I offer three good things and three bad things about “The Shack.”

As we begin a new year, we have been inundated with countless retrospectives of the year past (in sports, politics, movies, music, deaths), along with various predictions for the year coming (some positive, some ominous). In any case, whenever a new year begins, we all become acutely aware of the passing of time.

The other day I received an email from Goodreads, telling me about my “year in books” — so far in 2016, I’ve read 7,834 pages, with my shortest book being 80 pages, and my longest being 672 pages. There is no way I would have been able to read this much if I didn’t respond to Goodreads’ “reading challenge” at the start of this year, which motivated me to set a goal of reading 40 books in the year. As of today, Dec. 15, I have read 36, with one about half way done, and another recently started, so hope still abides that I can reach my lofty ambition by Dec. 31.