October 2008 Reading and Re-reading

Mary Slessor: The Barefoot Missionary, by Elizabeth Robertson. I previously did not know much about this remarkable Scotswoman, instrumental in part of what is now Nigeria. May look for other books about her. Anybody got one? (This book was one Deb picked up at a museum shop on her trip to Scotland, so I don’t think it’s widely available.)

Re-read (for umpteenth time) the book from which I get my blog title, Telling Secrets, by Fredrick Buechner, after recommending to someone else. Ever do that, re-read something you’ve recommended (or written), through someone else’s eyes, trying to see how it might “read,” to them?

A Tangled Web, by L.M. Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables and lots of other stuff. Had not read this one before. Wouldn’t classify it with her best. Emily is my girl. And I like Jane of Lantern Hill… and The Blue Castle! Hope you don’t think I’m childish. Although it could be I am… (and this particular book is more for adults than children.)

Re-read, in preparation for returning it to the library, Ruby Slippers, by Jonalyn Grace Fincher. Very good. I appreciate her call for a “roomier definition” of femininity. So I returned the book, then logged onto Amazon and bought a copy for myself.

Muslims, Christians, and Jesus, by Carl Medearis. After conning him out of a complimentary copy so I could read it before promoting it in our ezine (though I ended up using text in my blurb which I could have simply pulled from the website) I had to do so! Good stuff. Carl just points everybody to Jesus, trying to keep religion (especially his own) out of the way. He’s been in and out of Lebanon for years, tells great stories about the place.

Books like this one are rather common now, though – I was just perusing a 20-page annotated bibliography on books published since 9/11 about the Muslim world - and that was primarily the ones the composer of the list would recommend. I’m more keen to read Carl’s next book when it comes out. It’s supposed to be called “Tea with the Hezbollah” and details a series of meetings he and another writer (whose name is more well known) set up with leading “terrorists” to build relationships with them (which is something I heartily approve of).

Serious Times: Making Your Life Matter in an Urgent Day, by James Emery White. I borrowed this from a friend who received a free copy from her seminary, Gordon-Conwell (of which White was president for a brief period). Initially I was disappointed; should have known from the cover copy (“As the modern era transitions into postmodern turbulence…”) that it was going to be a bit too reactionary for my taste. (See Douglas Adams quote, here.) Personally, I see so many ways that postmodernism is better than modernism! But that was really only the first 75 pages and the conclusion. Between, it contained a lot of good thinking about developing a deeper life. I’ll probably include some of that in a different posting.

Also read: Um, lots of stuff that would qualify as slightly superior trash. If I were just reading to relax, it might be OK, but since I often find myself reading to be taken miles away (you know, ‘there is no frigate like a book’) and give many hours to such journeys, I think I would do better to raise my standards a bit. After all, good books can take me away as well as bad ones. I am going to try to be a bit more selective what I put in my head this next season.

See other posts about reading, here.