I've done it again. I've accumulated so many books that I can't decide which to begin reading first. Understand, I usually read more than one book at a time, so starting on the first one doesn't mean I have to finish it before picking up another.
Toward an Evangelical Public Policy, edited by Ronald Sider and Diane Knippers, is a book I bought so I could keep up with the Kruse Kronicle where a series of posts discussing the book has begun. As a government major, retired lawyer and sometime political junkie, I thought this could be interesting. But it has already started and, YIKES, I'm behind already. It's a series of essays, so it doesn't have to be read straight through.
I also just bought a couple of history books. One is Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his book Guns, Germs and Steel which I found very interesting. Pretty dire title, eh? To offset that one, I have an offering from Babs: Sex With Kings : Five Hundred Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry and Revenge. Dishy gossip for the intellectual set, no doubt.
Then I was tempted by a new book from Bart Ehrman ( whose Teaching Company tapes on the New Testament and Lost Christianities are great!)--so I had to have it. Misquoting Jesus, The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why is the title. Now I'm wondering why must every non-fiction title be followed by a subtitle? What's up with that?
A girl has to have some fiction on her bedside table, so Babs gave me Plainsong by Kent Haruf and Maggie by the Book by Kasey Michaels. I also have Lamp of the Wicked by Phil Rickman which would be the third Rev. Merrily Watkins mystery for me. Thanks RevGals for the recommendation on the Watkins series--I just wish they would use slightly larger print!
Toward an Evangelical Public Policy, edited by Ronald Sider and Diane Knippers, is a book I bought so I could keep up with the Kruse Kronicle where a series of posts discussing the book has begun. As a government major, retired lawyer and sometime political junkie, I thought this could be interesting. But it has already started and, YIKES, I'm behind already. It's a series of essays, so it doesn't have to be read straight through.
I also just bought a couple of history books. One is Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond, who won the Pulitzer Prize for his book Guns, Germs and Steel which I found very interesting. Pretty dire title, eh? To offset that one, I have an offering from Babs: Sex With Kings : Five Hundred Years of Adultery, Power, Rivalry and Revenge. Dishy gossip for the intellectual set, no doubt.
Then I was tempted by a new book from Bart Ehrman ( whose Teaching Company tapes on the New Testament and Lost Christianities are great!)--so I had to have it. Misquoting Jesus, The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why is the title. Now I'm wondering why must every non-fiction title be followed by a subtitle? What's up with that?
A girl has to have some fiction on her bedside table, so Babs gave me Plainsong by Kent Haruf and Maggie by the Book by Kasey Michaels. I also have Lamp of the Wicked by Phil Rickman which would be the third Rev. Merrily Watkins mystery for me. Thanks RevGals for the recommendation on the Watkins series--I just wish they would use slightly larger print!
I just love it when my bookstand runneth over! If I really like any of these, I will post a review later. What do you think, Gentle Readers? Where should I start? And what are you reading?
10 comments:
Wow! These sound great!
I've been meaning to ask--what did you decide about the seminary course?
I'm reading Old Man's War by John Scalzi on the recommendation of Glenn Reynolds.
RM--
Sorry to say I didn't take the seminary course. When it came down to it, I was overwhelmed by the prospect. We just began a new midweek adult program in January that has really turned my "parttime" job into more than fulltime. But that's another story.
What a bushel of books! The Misqoting Jesus book sounds especially interesting.
Here's my stack:
For fun: Star Trek novels (select authors only!)
For Profit: "Total Money Makover" (pastors are infamously BAD with money)
For Spirit: "Don't Waste Your Life", by John Piper (5 star great!) and "A God Entranced Vision of All Things: The Legacy of Jonathan Edwards", by Piper and Taylor, editors
For Mind: working to memorize (slowly) "The Westminster Shorter Catechism in Modern English" from P&R Publishing
Glad to know it isn't just me.
I'm slowwwwlllly working my way through walter Brueggeman's "Theology of the Old Testament". I'm zipping through Steven Bochco's "Death by Hollywood" (which has my son's choice of screenwriting as a major absolutely terrifying me). Fun trash reading. Also reading "Before You Know Kindness" by Chris Bohjalian, a work of fiction about animal rights activists and family systems, and Brian McLaren's "A New Kind of Christian." I'm periodically dipping into Virginia Cetuk's "What to Expect in Seminary."
Now, if I could only finish some of these books, I'd be in much better shape.
Interesting that you're reading Diane Knippers' book. She passed away from cancer several months ago - she was in our diocese, and had been a part of one of the extremely conservative churches that keeps threatening to leave. A brilliant mind, although we disagreed on most things.
I'm looking forward to Jeff Sachs' "The End of Poverty."
Not enough hours in the day to read, dangit...
One of my clergywomen groups just spent a chunk of time discussing Gilead. Three of us weren't wowed. Others adored it.
Just re-read Practicing Congregations by Diana Butler Bass. Wish my elders would read it too.
I'll be looking for that Bochco book.
I liked, but didn't love, Gilead. I liked Practicing Congregations--but it reads like an academic paper so it would be difficult for many layfolk to read, I think.
i have a similar problem. i've called it 'multiple book disorder' the reading of multiple books at a time, sometimes getting to the point that you don't know what to read that you end up not reading or starting one only to go to another one before the sitting is done.
i'm slowly moving through 'colossians remix' finished a couple of smaller reads the other week when i was at the monastery on retreat, i call that exceptional progress for myself.
I just finished my FIFTH Merrily Watkins book! Love that series.
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