It’s that time again — that time when 5 Minutes for Books encourages us to post on what we’re reading, have read, or are going to read. Here’s a list of books completed since the last Nightstand carnival, with blurbs and links to my reviews:
- The Divine Conspiracy (Dallas Willard): “Closing it after one reading must be akin to a 15-minute stroll through the Sistine Chapel; you caught the flavor and a few details. Now you need to go back for an extended visit.” Full review here.
- The Knowledge of the Holy (A.W. Tozer): “Each brief chapter of this book focuses on a single attribute of God and carefully defines what it is — and what it is not. Backed by Scripture, these essays provide rich food for thought. Yet it is not a purely rational book… I appreciated his instructive, but not reductive, approach.” Review here.
- The Practice of the Presence of God (Brother Lawrence): “Recently, a few friends and I realized that though we all possessed this book, none of us had read it. We’d felt that we should read it, and perhaps had tried, but none of us had succeeded. Then both Dallas Willard and A.W. Tozer made passing references to it. I decided my time had come.” Full review here.
- The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Jacqueline Kelley): “It’s a rare thing for me to read a book in the same year it’s published. Usually I’m at least two years late… Written with wit and flair, this story is one I look forward to introducing to my daughters when they’re around the age of the heroine. Maybe by then, we’ll even have a sequel.” Full review here.
- Stardust (Neil Gaiman): “I thoroughly enjoyed this fairytale for adults. Fast-paced, witty, and full of the off-beat mystery of the realm of faerie, Stardust appealed to me in the same way Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell did.” Full review here.
- The Help (Kathryn Stockett): “Kathryn Stockett’s novel The Help was a bargain at the recent publisher’s book sale in my locale, but it would be a bargain at any price. It leaves me with plenty to think about.” Full review here.
- Reading the OED (Ammon Shea): “There’s a word for me: Anonymuncule (n.) An anonymous, small-time writer. Turns out there are words for all kinds of things, more words than any of us knew about. Ammon Shea discovered this in his year-long odyssey through the Oxford English Dictionary.” Full review here.
A bit preoccupied with the spiritual life this month, it seems. Right now I’m reading Hiding from Love, which also fits in that category. It’s actually a reread from several years back, and I’m looking forward to learning whether it provides the key to life as we I know it. (Kidding, kidding…) It’s insightful, as pretty much anything by this writer (who also wrote my favorite parenting book, Boundaries with Kids) is. After that I’ll probably take up either Robin McKinley’s Chalice or Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns — two radically different choices. We’ll see what mood I’m in!
What’s on your nightstand this month?
I like your list – most all sound like ones I’d enjoy. I’ve wanted to read some things by Tozer for awhile now, and I’m going to read Calpurnia after my 12 year old finishes …
You got a lot of reading done this month. I like the sounds of “Hiding from Love” and look forward to a review.
I have wanted to read Stardust for a while now, maybe I’ll get to it this month, we’ll see.
Great list! Happy Reading!
You know I love a good parenting book, so I’m looking forward to your review of Hiding from Love!
As always, your choices are so much weightier than mine, I feel I’m playing at reading.
It would take me most of the month to get through one of those. I read Tozer’s book ages ago: it would be very much worth another visit. I think I’ve read parts of Practicing…, but I don’t remember reading the whole book.
Hiding from Love isn’t a parenting book, actually; Boundaries with Kids is. Sorry if I didn’t make that clear.
Wow that’s a hefty reading list!
I’m impressed. I like Tozer, heady but full of great insigt and he gets me digging in the Bible. I want to read 4,5 and maybe 3
I came back to see if you had responded–I knew you would!
I love the new look of your blog!!!
Parenting book or no, it sounds interesting!
You have a good list there! I have not read that Tozer book but I’ve only heard the most excellent things about it.
Thanks for linking up and sharing!
Glad to see “The Divine Conspiracy”! I love that book. So many insights, and yes, definitely meaty. I’ve read it twice now, and still barely scratched the surface.
And I love “The Knowledge of the Holy” and Brother Lawrence’s book (read it several times). I’ll need to bookmark your blog since our taste is so similar.
Those first three books are nice and rich. I’m interested in them, but they’re currently #s 13, 14, & 15 in the pile.
Can you believe my poor, backwards library system doesn’t have Stardust? I’ll have to ILL it from The Big City. I have, however, requested Susanna Clark and look forward to that one (although it’s probably a mistake to start it before the holiday with all the company coming …).
Reading the OED sounds so interesting– I love learning new words.
Looks like a month of great reading! My reading(as in what I’ve finished recently)is kind of sparse but here is what is on my nightstand now:
The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
Dreamers of the Day- by Mary Doria Russell
I Am Murdered: George Wyhthe, Thomas Jefferson, and the Killing That Shocked a New Nation- by Bruce Chadwick
with Anna this quarter:
Uncle Tom’s Cabin- H.B. Stowe
The Disciplined Life by Richard S. Taylor
That’s one full nightstand! Sounds promising. ‘I Am Murdered’ especially piques my curiosity.
Always a pleasure to meet a kindred reader!
I’ve been thinking about putting Stardust on my TBR list and now I definitely will. Thanks.