Recommended 16 & up

REVIEW:
The reason I really enjoyed this book is because even in all his doubting, Miller still believes in God even though what he believes changes. He's not afraid to talk about his struggles, or not fit into one denomination.

His writing is witty, poetic, and quick-paced. Miller beautifully organized this memoir so one thought flows into the next, even when his mind was all over the place. Which seems like an oxymoron, but the undercover structure of this book makes everything transition smoothly.

I definitely recommend Blue Like Jazz! It is an excellent discussion of faith and raises good questions. I am totally going to read some more of his works.

First Reading June 2024:

“Don, the Bible is so good with chocolate. I always thought the Bible was more of a salad thing, you know, but it isn’t. It is a chocolate thing.”

Such are the musings of Donald Miller and his friends in Blue Like Jazz. I really enjoyed this book for its unique perspective on Christianity. It encouraged me, convicted me, challenged me, surprised me, and intrigued me. Donald Miller is a Christian, and that’s what matters. He helps readers see that that’s what matters, but he also helps them see that it doesn’t. It does matter when you come across a Christian very unlike yourself and you’re tempted to judge them for “doing it wrong.” But it doesn’t matter when you come across someone else. A lesbian with a beautiful heart full of love or even a completely unlikable acquaintance that seems to have a knack for driving you nuts. That is when it doesn’t matter if they are a Christian, but it matters if you are. It matters if you are willing to love them and accept their love, meanwhile playing the blue jazz of Christianity for anyone willing to listen. Being a Christian is mysterious and confusing at times, but it is also beautiful and lovely.


Second reading—finished February 2025:

This book is still a five star for me! Everyone should read it!

Good insights from someone who tries to intuitively understand their faith and life. Subtracted a star because his writing was a bit too portland for me.

Awesome

Challenge your self and read this. Find you are wrong to judge and be judged. He was judged for all of us. Miller is vulnerable, funny, sad, profound, childish, brilliant, and real. Enjoy meeting the untamed message of God.

Call me a snob, but I don't understand why everyone thinks Miller is such an amazing writer. Despite his ability to say what Christians around the world have been thinking for the last 8 years--and to say it in an interesting way--I don't think his thoughts or writing compares to so many other philosophy-type books.

I think what drives me crazy is that everyone in my "Christian" generation leans towards these trendy, faddish books that finally tell them how they feel about god, when there are so many other great theologians, philosophers, and thinkers that will challenge you. Honestly, I am more challenged by a discussion with my theologian friends than this book. But it seemed like everyone was blown away by this book, and it made me sad that their lives are not surrounded by people who challenge them.

I just feel like Miller is fine and great, but everyone hyped up this book way too much for me. His thoughts are simply not that original. He writes as if he is the first one in the world to have original, non-religious thoughts toward God. It lacks the necessary humility grounded in history for me to really respect his writing.

maybe the most beautiful book i’ve read in a long time. millers words have a way of describing the reality of the fallen world with such accuracy and depth, only topped by his descriptions of grace and the unfathomable love of Christ. and somehow it’s all in plain language and with striking humility and honesty, oftentimes to the point of discomfort. i love Christ more for reading this book and i think that is the aim of any christian artist.

I was really, really impressed with Blue Like Jazz. I had, just previously, tried to get into Mere Christianity, which attempts to show Christian belief to be the only natural conclusion to a philosophically rational evaluation of the universe. In other words, it was trying to tell thinking people how they can believe wholeheartedly and not abandon their intellect, too. IMHO it utterly failed, right from the start. After that attempt I felt strangely burned on Christian apologist writing in general.

I'm glad I didn't use that as an excuse not to crack open Blue Like Jazz. It's humble, and I believe that's its greatest strength. Where Mere Christianity's audacious reach exceeded its only-human grasp, Blue Like Jazz tells human stories to human beings. I believe it readily asserts how you can believe without abandoning your intellect, but it does so through the simple truths of what Christ asked people to do to each other. It uses the logic of common sense, not the logic of theoretical physics or sociology. But more importantly it tells beautiful and inspiring stories of grace flowing between all-too-human beings. Blue Like Jazz has definitely provided an inflection point in my thinking about God, the effects of which I probably won't fully realize for a long time to come.

There’s a lot of people I know that didn’t love this book and are critical of it. But I was totally intrigued and even laughed out loud a number of times. The guy is speaking like he is journaling (so if that’s gonna bother you..), and I wasn’t reading it to figure out my beliefs, but it is thought provoking to me..and since I read to think, learn and grow (and I don’t only read things that I know I’ll agree with..), so it was a fun, edifying read that did just that. My big take away- love people into God’s kingdom..get side by side with them..there’s a lot of confused, hurting people questioning Christianity and it’s failings and I don’t need to be the one that confirms to them to go the other way.
AND
bad things don’t make sense to me, but I can be ok..I just have to know there’s a god, “the” GOD on the other side that does have control and to whom all things make sense.
He didn’t have everything perfectly right according to me, but it didn’t have to, to me..it did inspire me to think biblically about how I live as a Christian, so well done.

Example- story of having a confession booth on campus, but *plot twist*
...when you enter in, the Christian apologizes for things that Christians have gotten wrong instead of the person entering in being the confessor= interesting conversations with people that otherwise might not enter into a conversation with Christians. Just a story..but makes you think.

I was really anxious to read this book because I'd heard so many great reviews. Plus, as a believer and follower of Jesus myself, I've felt really challenged when people ask me about my faith but discount my comments when I reference the Bible, since they may not believe in the Book. I hoped Blue Like Jazz would help with that, given it's subtitle about non-religious thoughts, and for the most part it did.

I believe there is a big disconnect between the central message of Christ and the socially perceived message from Christianity. Too many believers segregate themselves from the non-believers and come off as very judgmental...which, ironically, is very non-christian. I don't pretend to be completely immune from that, and the strength of this book is that it brings that central message from Jesus into today's culture and removes the feeling of hostility and judgment that many people feel whenever they hear the word "Jesus".

There are many really great ideas in this book. I actually feel like I need to go back to the end of each chapter, write down the main idea, and think about them. However, I must say I felt the author came across as very egotistical. He kept saying how the most important element in setting one's self "free" by following Jesus was to move as far away from "self-absorption" as possible. Ironically, however, he came across as a very self-absorbed individual throughout the book...you'll understand what I mean if you read it.

One specific thing I did not like at all was that the author often mixed politics into the book. In a way, this was an autobiographical book of sorts, but the author leans WAY to the left and though politically I'm on the same side of the fence as he is I felt that moderates or conservatives would be turned off and angry with some of his comments in the book. Jesus was not a politician, and I think mixing politics into this book was a mistake because it really detracted from the message.

Last thing...the style of writing is very unusual. It reminded me an awful lot of the fictional story  A Million Little Pieces by  James Frey, in that the author just rambles a lot and jumps around from idea to idea. It's not as extreme in that regard as Pieces, but it does feel like you are reading someone's journal at times which, to me, feels a little uncomfortable. I would have preferred the same ideas and non-threatening discussion about Jesus in a different format...one that didn't make me think that this author is a little bit of a nutcase...then again, maybe that was part of the author's plan all along since the main message in this book and in THE Book is to love anyone and everyone unconditionally.

I remember liking this book a lot more when I read it in college. This time through I found Miller's rambling style distracting, his theology vacuous (when it wasn't suspect for other reasons), and the sequencing of his stories too vague and directionless to make an effective point.

Honestly, I was a bit disappointed. I was hoping for deep reflections, tough questions, and poignant stories. Instead, I found mushy theology, emotional reasoning, and a serious cynicism for most of organized Christianity.

I really did want to like the book more.

My Dad gave me a copy of this on my 18th birthday. I’m 24 and I just now read it! Lol. This book really made me sit back and pray and to think.

This was a super refreshing read- good for the cynical Christian soul. Blue Like Jazz is about the essence of Christianity and relationship with Jesus. Anyone could pick it up and fully understand it because it uses analogies and examples from everyday life. Here are my favorite takeaways from this book:

-humans resonate with conflict in stories because we exist in the conflict of a broken humanity
-Christianity as a religion might be difficult to defend but Jesus isn’t
-you still can’t fully know your spouse in marriage. This longing to be fully known points us to our Creator
-the most significant point of any person’s faith walk is when they fall in love with Jesus
-the speck of sand we understand about God is enough to leave us in awe for eternity
-when talking to others about God, we don’t need to overthink it; just talk about Him like He’s someone you know and interact with

Donald Miller is an awesome writer, and his monologue on marriage left me in tears. Whether you’re a Christian or agnostic or anything in-between, this would be the perfect book to help you see past the constraints of “religion” to what it really means to follow Jesus.