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    A Day with a Perfect Stranger
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    A Day with a Perfect Stranger
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    A Day with a Perfect Stranger
    Audiobook2 hours

    A Day with a Perfect Stranger

    Written by David Gregory

    Narrated by Ellen Reilly

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    What if a fascinating stranger knew you better than you know yourself?

    When her husband comes home with a farfetched story about eating dinner with someone he believes to be Jesus, Mattie Cominsky thinks this may signal the end of her shaky marriage. Convinced that Nick is, at best, turning into a religious nut, the self-described agnostic hopes that a quick business trip will give her time to think things through.

    On board the plane, Mattie strikes up a conversation with a fellow passenger. When she discovers their shared scorn for religion, she confides her frustration over her husband's recent conversion. The stranger suggests that perhaps her husband isn't seeking religion but true spiritual connection, an idea that prompts her to reflect on her own search for fulfillment.

    As their conversation turns to issues of spiritual longing and deeper questions about the nature of God, Mattie finds herself increasingly drawn to this insightful stranger. But when the discussion unexpectedly turns personal, touching on things she's never told anyone, Mattie is startled and disturbed. Who is this man who seems to peer straight into her soul?



    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateJul 18, 2006
    ISBN9780739333327
    Unavailable
    A Day with a Perfect Stranger
    Author

    David Gregory

    David Gregory is the former moderator of NBC’s Meet the Press. He previously served as Chief White House Correspondent for NBC News, where he was hailed by Washingtonian magazine as a “firebrand in the front row.” How’s Your Faith? is his first book.

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    Reviews for A Day with a Perfect Stranger

    4/5

    151 ratings19 reviews

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    • 3/5
      What a fast quick introduction in Chrristianity? Try this book. It's only 100 pages so it doesn't get too philosophical but just enough to make you think - what would you do and say if you had dinner with Jesus? It reminded me that God is there waiting for us.
    • 3/5
      Dinner With a Perfect Stranger is an interesting book of fiction about a man invited to dinner by Jesus. The man sceptical that his friends are playing a joke on him he goes along with the idea and a long dinner conversation ensues. The man questions Jesus but more so Jesus questions the man. The banter is what most Christians believe verses what Jesus says is real. It's a short book and a quick read but it prompts some thought. I believe one of the struggles that permeates the conversation is that man believes that he has to do good to earn his way to heaven. Jesus states throughout that you can not earns Gods grace no matter how hard you try. Rather it is free for those that accept it. Not the greatest piece of literature but the idea of being able to talk to Jesus and what he would say is in itself interesting.
    • 1/5
      I totally forgot I owned this book. I hid it in a part of my shelf where I would easily miss it, at the bottom. It's too bad I didn't like it, though. My friend gave it to me for Christmas, and I know she had good intentions. No doubt she was persuaded by the blurbs in the book, and since I liked spiritual fiction/non-fiction she must have thought it would be perfect for me. You know it wasn't the case. And for that, I am truly sorry to my friend.


      So here's my problem with the book: It was more focused on marketing Christianity than a life-affirming belief in God. I do believe in and love God, I just do not like how some people think one religion is better than the other. I was raised a Catholic, and studied in a Catholic school but it was also a scientific-focused school, and, well, I wanted to figure out things for myself.


      I like the idea of religion as a unifying body, but I don't like how it divides people as well. There was this one story my teacher told me of a girl who had an after-life experience. The girl met Jesus, and saw her mother (or some woman she knew, I can't remember), who wasn't converted to Christianity, burn in hell. So apparently, no matter that you were a good person while you were living, if you weren't a Christian, you're still going to hell? What the hell?! It makes me so angry. If there is an afterlife, I still believe in justice. But I don't believe in an afterlife. Which makes me a black sheep of Catholics, but there you have it.


      This book didn't anger me like that story of the girl with the near-death experience did. But it still reminded me of that much-hated story. It was more like "Okay, this book is trying to sell me Christianity but I'm not buying it." I would so love to meet God. But,as one reviewer pointed out, the Jesus in this book was "mainstream." Not enigmatic, or eloquent. If I was really having dinner with a guest like the Jesus in here, I would be, "Ooohkayyy, now stop shoving it down my throat."


      Again, it was too bad, since I had hoped this book would be life-changing, and make me comfortable with Jesus as my savior. What I got away with this book was, " Sinners are punished, but God loved us so much he didn't want us to all go to hell, so He sent Jesus instead to die for our sins, and eventually for all of us to be forgiven. Instead of all of us getting punished, only one person did, and it was God Himself. It's really humbling."

      Yes, really humbling. But where have I heard that before? Oh, yeah, in Catholic school, and numerous Sunday mass. This aspect of Christianity has never particularly moved me, even when I wished it did. What amazed me more was God Himself, the all-forgiving, who created this awesome earth. His perfect timing, His Presence. I always liked to believe that what you do with your life, the "now", is more important than being in a certain religion. Let me give you a hippie vibe and say, "It's all about Love, man. Love is all you need". So who cares which religion you belong to?
    • 4/5
      This is a very light read. Gregory does a good job addressing a number of items that you might imagine would come up over dinner with Christ. Some of the topics he only just touches upon, but that makes sense given that I think this is meant to be a lighter introduction to Christianity.
    • 4/5
      Dinner with A Perfect Stranger was a very quick read that will strengthen your Christian walk. The premise behind the book is that Nick Cominsky gets an invitation to dine with Jesus. At first, he believes it is a practical joke from friends but soon learns that it is not. Nick gets to dine and speak with Jesus and ask many questions he has been having. In the end, the questions that Nick asks are similar to what most of us have had or still wonder about. For me, the book gave a new perspective on many of the topics discussed, including different religions, why we suffer, etc. The book is well written and at least for me helped to strengthen my Christian Faith. I have already purchased the second installment by Gregory, A Day with A Perfect Stranger, which focuses on Nick's wife Mattie. I am looking forward to it.
    • 4/5
      Very thought provoking book for someone considering evangelism
    • 5/5
      A easy read short novel. Cynical Nick is invited to dinner with a stranger who claims he is Jesus. Nick believs it to be a practical joke but finds himself drawn more and more into conversation with the stranger.
    • 4/5
      This was a very easy read, I finished it in one night. I'm sure almost every Christian has wondered what it would be like to meet Jesus, and that's answered in this book, at least from the writers point of view. I enjoyed how Jesus was portrayed as a normal man, just having dinner with someone. I found most of the dialog to be accurate to how Jesus would really answer. The only thing that I felt was missing was an explanation of how it changed the main character's life. Overall I felt this was a very good book.
    • 5/5
      A book about an average citizen, living an average life, struggling with daily issues receives an invitation to dinner. He arrives at the dinner to meet Jesus of Nazareth. What ensues causes this man to re-evaluate the way he lives his life.I found this to be a very thought-provoking book which made me think differently about my own relationship with our Creator.
    • 5/5
      There's just one thing people need in order to live a happy, abundant life: to be convinced that God loves them. ... "Dinner With A Perfect Stranger" will help you in learning how to be SURE that He does. This is the delimma facing Nick when he accepts the invitation to join Jesus of Nazareth for dinner. This must be a prank! But the man sitting across from him introduces himself as Jesus, of Nazareth. Their conversation covers family relationships, world religions, the afterlife, and eternal life. Join them for dinner, enjoy the "meal" and have your hunger satisfied. You'll never go hungry again.
    • 3/5
      This book started out with an intriguing premise, that of a conversation with Jesus at a local fairly upscale restaurant. The narrator is a person of lukewarm faith, who has desultorily explored other religions. Jesus in this story takes point about other religions, and attempts to demolish them with clever arguments. This book takes a very evangelical approach to the conversion process, which I found disarming, if not disagreeable. I did manage to finish this relatively short book, which is why it got as a high a rating as it did.
    • 5/5
      This was exciting and fun to read. Lots of meaning and so much to think about. If only we all had dinner with Jesus.... what a great world this would be....
    • 3/5
      This is not the best book I've ever read, but it's perfect to give to a non-believer or someone struggling in believing that Jesus is the only way to Heaven. It's more geared toward presenting the gospel in an easy-to-read, non-threatening manner. Give this book to any of your non-Christian friends.
    • 5/5
      This book, which can be read within a couple of hours, is a ficticious story of a man who has dinner with Jesus. It explores issues of faith and God and encourages us to examine our own commitment to Jesus. An enjoyable, easy to read book.
    • 4/5
      A riveting little book that I couldn't put down. Nick is invited to dinner with Jesus and, thinking it is a prank, he shows up to the most amazing dinner of his life.
    • 4/5
      Although I enjoyed Dinner with a Perfect Stranger more, this was also a great story as well. I would have enjoyed for the conversation to have been more like in the first book, but I understand why the author took the approach he did. Very easy & quick read!
    • 3/5
      I had won my copy of Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory in a giveaway on GoodReads.com.The title and premise of the book intrigued me. I do so love reading novels about religion, religious history, and the like. I picked up the book to glance through it and commenced reading; the book being only 100 pages did not take me long to finish.When Nick first received his invite to have dinner with Jesus, he was certain it was a joke being played on him by his office buddies. But when Nick shows up to dinner the night unfolds into something he did not expect.I enjoyed the way the chapters where laid out; the events unfolding from receiving the invitation to being seated, glancing at the menu, appetizers, etc… all the way through to getting the bill and going home.Although in the beginning Nick treats the dinner as a test to get this “actor” to crack --- “Tell me, can you turn this wine back into water?” He soon finds himself engaged in a conversation the like of which he has not had since his college years.I liked how some of Nick’s questions were answered with parables, for instance, when Jesus asks Nick if he would give his life in the place of his daughters if she had committed a crime and was sentenced to death to explain Jesus dying for our sins. And although a lot of the questions Nick asked and the answers Jesus gave seemed to me to be the norm; ones I have heard many times before there were others I had not heard. The two touched on many of the other religions, Buddhism, Islam to name two.As dinner progresses Nick realizes this man who claims to be Jesus knows a great deal about Nick’s life and the possibility that he is telling the truth starts to weigh in on Nick’s mind.Reading the book as a novel and not as someone trying to preach to me made the book quite enjoyable. Personally, I feel that a lot of people are missing out on some excellent writing due to the fact that they cannot read a “Christian” novel because they are certain they are trying to be converted.
    • 5/5
      This little book isn’t your typical small, quick, superficial read. It’s actually more of the opposite! It may be small but the contents are thought provoking and reflective. For me, it’s a book that I’m going to have to read more than once to digest it all!Skepticism abounds in the beginning of the book. From thinking the invitation is a joke from his friends to doubting Jesus at the beginning of dinner---“Tell me (Yesh), can you turn this wine back into water?”. Who can blame Nick? It’s not every day you get invited to dinner by Jesus! But by dessert, Nick is trying to decide if this guy is a nut-case, a great actor, or is it possible he’s the real thing?Obviously Nick has a lot of questions and much doubt about this whole thing but he’s not afraid to ask the hard questions. As expected, the answers are not always specific or clear cut. They are meant for the reader to ponder and reflect about their own beliefs and values. On the flip side, sometimes the answers touched upon by Jesus are “lessons” that we need to learn.Dinner with a Perfect Stranger is a splendid read for a book club or bible group. There are several different sets of study guides for group discussions—discussions for one meeting, 4 meetings, or 8 meetings. For a 100=page book, 8 weeks of discussion shows the inspiration of the book.I would give this a 5 out of 5 star rating. The story is very well written, easy to read and understand, as well as a way to discover your own beliefs and views. I’m going to give this to a family member who has quite a bit of “alone time” due to his job. I’m not trying to convert someone with the book but just allowing them explore their own principles and convictions. I’m sure we all could use a little of that.I received this book for free from Waterbrook Multnomah’s Blogging for Books and have given my honest opinion of this book.
    • 4/5
      Interesting look at Howie's life, by Howie. He struggles wtih some very personal issues but luck/fate/God has shined upon his life and some very great things have fallen into his lap. While being a talented and loving guy he admits to not thinking through the results of his actions fairly often...and he apologizes for the things he feels he should apologize for. I enjoyed the book, a lot.