Well, summer is officially here and hopefully that means a more relaxed pace of life for most of us. And what better way to spend some of that downtime than with a book! What follows are some of the books that I have enjoyed in the first half of 2022. The usual caveats apply: I have been called an eclectic reader (which I take as a compliment), so you may not enjoy every book I recommend and a recommendation does not mean I endorse every single statement in every single book.
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer. I picked up this book on the recommendation of one of my sons- in-law and I am glad I did. Comer’s conversational writing style makes this an easy read but the truths and practical applications in it, if embraced, could be transformative. I plan to continue to blog about parts of this book in the future.
Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain. From the Amazon page for the book: If you’ve ever wondered why you like sad music . . . If you find comfort or inspiration in a rainy day . . . If you react intensely to music, art, nature, and beauty . . .Then you probably identify with the bittersweet state of mind. This book, though it is not written by a Christian, helped me understand myself better, particularly the intense tension I feel between the joys and sorrows of this life. It also helped me understand why I cry watching videos of soldiers coming home or participants on The Voice getting four chair turns.
The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints by Jessica Hooten Wilson. At its heart, this book is a call to holiness through the cultivation of a new imagination. And one of the most powerful ways to do that is through the reading of good fiction. Such reading helps us to visualize what a holy life might look like and often, in subtle ways, counteracts the cultural baggage which has deformed our hearts and minds.
There are several books I read on spiritual formation that were helpful. These include: Fasting by Scot McKnight, Emotionally Healthy Discipleship by Pete Scazzero, and The Freedom of Simplicity and The Challenge of a Disciplined Life, both by Richard Foster.
In light of the conclusion of our series in Romans 12, there are a few books that influenced my thinking. One I mentioned in one of the sermons was Truly the Community by Marva Dawn. If you wanted deeper reflections on almost every phrase in Romans 12, this is the book for you. Dawn mines the depths and offers meditations that illuminate the depth of the life we are called to in living the Jesus way. Two books by Eugene Peterson, while not dealing with Romans 12 specifically, helped frame my understanding of what it means to live in light of the resurrection. The first, Practice Resurrection, is an extended walk through the book of Ephesians. The other, smaller book, Living the Resurrection, gives a summarized version of what Peterson is describing. Both emphasize the reality of what it could look like if Christians truly lived out the truth that the power that raised Jesus from the dead now resides in them.
On the fiction front, The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky and the collection of stories, A Good Man Is Hard to Find, by Flannery O’Connor stood out. For lighter fare this summer, I recommend going a bit old school and reading the Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot mysteries. Then find a good video version of either one (BBC’s Poirot is excellent). I also recently finished a novel recommended by Louise Penny, one of my favorite mystery authors. It is called We Begin at the End and the author is Chris Whitaker. It is a wonderful, character driven story that would fit right into that bittersweetness I mentioned in a previous book. (Note: There is some language in the book). Oh, and if you haven’t read The Chronicles of Narnia yet, what do I have to do at this point?
And for a little taste of what awaits in the latter half of 2022, here are some books in the queue:
The Life We’re Looking For by Andy Crouch
No Apologies by Anthony Esolen
Good and Beautiful and Kind by Rich Villodas
How to Inhabit Time by James K.A. Smith
Forgive by Tim Keller
More Flannery O’Connor along with Wendell Berry, Eugene Peterson, a slew of mysteries (mostly of the historical variety) and books covering social media, C.S. Lewis’ The Abolition of Man, creation, spiritual formation, and the self and sexuality
So Happy Summer and Happy Reading!!
