Taming a Liger: Unexpected Spiritual Lessons from Napoleon Dynamite (Paperback)

~ Adam Palmer (Author), (Author) "So here you are, reading this devotional about Napoleon Dynamite..." (more)
Key Phrases: Uncle Rico, Napoleon Dynamite, Giant Killer (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Life can sometimes feel like one big high school, where bullies still roam, tots are the only decent grub on the lunch menu, and a morning that seemed full of possibilities makes a u-turn into the worst day of your life.

Taming a Liger: Unexpected Spiritual Lessons from Napoleon Dynamite is an awesome 24-piece devotional set that gives readers the skills necessary to navigate life's treacherous hallways. We can't promise the reflexes of a puma, but we can share wisdom that gives reality a roundhouse kick to the face. Sweet!

From the Back Cover

You hold in your hands Taming a Liger: Unexpected Spiritual Lessons from Napoleon Dynamite , an awesome 24-piece devotional and survival set that's filled with surprising life lessons from everyone's favorite indie comedy. Kick off your moon boots, grab a quesa-dilluh, and discover a God who truly can make your wildest dreams come true. Sweet!

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: NavPress (May 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576839109
• ISBN-13: 978-1576839102
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #143,708 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Digs Deeper Into Napoleon Dynamite, and I'd Like to See More of That, July 8, 2005

By	Bryan E. Leed "Jesus says, 'Go and Sin No More!" (Dayton, OH USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book has lots of great observations and conversation starters concerning the characters and situations seen in the great comedy film NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, and I'd like to see more of that, since this is such a fun movie!

This is pretty much a collection of short observations of scenes or dialogue from the movie, then some thoughts about the spiritual aspects of each sample, as seen from a Biblical viewpoint. SWEET!

This is a 24-piece set (like the NuPont bowls that Uncle Rico sells). There are 24 short chapters, each about 4 pages long, plus a Glossary, a Discussion Guide, and some Recipes.

For example, Napoleon tells Pedro, "Just tell them all their wildest dreams will come true if they vote for you." To which the authors contrast it to Psalm 37:4, where David says that God will give you the desires of your heart if you delight in Him first. Then they do a bit of deeper Bible commentary when they suggest that maybe the Psalm means that God will DEFINE the best desires for you to have in your heart, (which agrees more with other scripture verses saying God will give you what you REALLY need), and this is much different than thinking that God will give you ANYTHING superficial that you might wrongly lust over, like a fancy bicycle, or dating the wrong girl, etc...

This book is not just for Christians. It also points out some interesting observations about the movie characters that you might not have noticed; like Kip gets converted into a clothes horse for ghetto rapper styled clothing, but later, at the wedding, we see that he has ditched the style experiment and gone back to being himself, though he's still with LaFawnduh.

The Glossary is pretty cute, like--
"BODAGGIT: Derisive name directed at an especially despised person. Often accompanied by large citrus fruit hurled at same."

The Discussion Guide also has some good conversation starters to ponder, like--
"Kip meets his soul mate online. How do you feel about Internet dating? Why?"

Only the most jaded anti-Christian would be offended by this fun book. The cover does say "Unexpected Spiritual Lessons from NAPOLEON DYNAMITE," instead of perhaps, "Unexpected Christian Lessons...," but I think it's fair to say that Christianity is a form a spirituality. Maybe "Spirituality" is too often misused to describe New Age tomfoolery?

All in all, this is a nice little book, if you are a fan of the movie. You will find plenty to think about and talk about with your friends.

28 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars unexpected lessons from reading the book excerpt, June 24, 2005

By	Tillichian (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

If you're not bright enough to take a cursory glance and notice that Amazon lets you know this definitely deals with Christian view points, then you might just review the book as a one star read.

For those with basic logic skills and like taking their bikes on sweet jumps -- read on. Taming A Liger is a witty and insightful read. Christian or no, there indeed are basic spiritual lessons that any person can gain from this. It's also an exhaustive resource of some of the best quotes from the movie.

The one ironic thing is that two Christian authors are writing a book based on a movie written by a Mormon. Ah...America. Anyway, I heartily recommend checking it out.

22 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cool Use of a Cool Movie, August 2, 2005

By	E. Wrye "thomasmarc" (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Yes, this is a Christian Devotional. If you are a Christian and a fan of the movie, then you'll enjoy looking at the events in the movie from a Spiritual point of view. If you're not a Christian, this could be a good introduction to the truth for you, just so long as you know that's what you're getting. I guess a lot of people thought this was going to be some "spiritualistic new age enlightening zen" kind of thing and were disappointed when they got the book and it talked about Jesus, but hey, maybe if they actually read it and thought about what it was saying rather than just getting offended at the name of the one person who loved them more than anyone they'll ever know, the book could actually change their lives......