What’s On Your Nightstand? January 2013
Today it’s time for What’s On Your Nightstand? hosted at 5 Minutes for Books. I’ve read some interesting books over the last month and this is a prime opportunity to revisit them. Here they are, with blurbs and links to my reviews.
- The Discarded Image (C.S. Lewis): “Lewis was a classicist, and I’ve always wondered: if he speaks so compellingly in these areas outside his field of expertise, how does he sound when he’s in his sweet spot? The Discarded Image provides the answer. Not being a medievalist myself, I found this “introduction to medieval and Renaissance literature” quite challenging because of the dense thicket of literary allusions. I’m more familiar with the literature of the Renaissance than of the medieval period, and Lewis ranges widely and deeply among the writers of both eras. But I found that I gathered momentum as I went along, getting better at harvesting the insights without having read all the works.” Rest of my review is here.
- A Place In Time (Wendell Berry): “These stories went straight to my heart. I’ve been a Berry-reader since the mid-nineties and have read everything he’s written, but not since my first reading experience (The Memory of Old Jack) have I been so deeply moved by something he’s written. A Place in Time offers twenty short stories about the people and events of Port William, the fictional community in Kentucky that Berry has been developing imaginatively since Nathan Coulter in 1960.” Read the rest here.
- The Evolution of Adam (Peter Enns): “It’s a book about the Bible, one that challenges us to think about how our view of Adam needs to evolve in the face of the archaeological and scientific discoveries since the 19th century. I found it to be a fascinating, informative, sometimes destabilizing, ultimately exhilarating read.” Rest is here.
- Holy Discontent: Fueling the Fire that Ignites Personal Vision (Bill Hybels): “I would put this book in the motivational/inspirational category. Hybels includes a number of stirring illustrations of people who have found their “one thing” and their life trajectories changed forever — and improved the human lot in significant, lasting ways. It’s the kind of book that sets a single idea before you and asks you to think about it long and hard.” Rest is here.
In addition to these I finished rereading Elizabeth Goudge’s Little White Horse, this time as a read-aloud to my daughters (ages 11 and 9). (My first reading from a few years back is reviewed here.) Even though Goudge can be a little long-winded at times she creates such an appealing imaginative world the girls absolutely loved the story. We’re entering a new era in our read-alouds, one in which my daughters occasionally do the reading, and this is a good thing because much though I love reading aloud, and committed though I am to doing it, it makes me very sleepy. (Oxygen deprivation? The monotony of my own voice? What?) I have been known to veer gently away into the narrative of my own dreaming while reading aloud, one of our funnier family secrets. So I’m quite happy that I get to be in the audience sometimes now. We need a new gripping chapter book to read aloud, so feel free to give recommendations!
Right now I’m revisiting an older book called A Place for You, about the significance of place, by psychologist Paul Tournier; I’ve also been enjoying N.T. Wright’s Luke for Everyone as an accompaniment to my Bible-reading.
I have some exciting reading to look forward to in coming days:
- Fearless Daughters of the Bible (J. Lee Grady) is a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law.
- Nature’s Witness: How Evolution Can Inspire Faith (Daniel Harrell)
- Quantum Physics and Theology: An Unexpected Kinship (John Polkinghorne)
- The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime (Phyllis Tickle)
How about you? What’s on your nightstand? Click the button above to see others’ reading adventures.
15 Comments
Polly
I read Phyllis Tickle’s ‘Divine Hours’ too :)
On my nightstand right now are: Luke: the Gospel of Amazement by Michael Card; Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places by Eugene Peterson; Whole Prayer by Walter Wangerin; As A Driven Leaf by Milton Steinberg. I’m loving them all.
Have you and your girls ever read ‘Our Only May Amelia’ ?? If not, I recommend it, it is much deeper and richer than the blurb makes it sound :)
JenLo
I just started The Utter Relief of Holiness by John Eldredge. I just finished A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans. The last one is very funny–but is a good book.
Janet
Oh yes! I read that one too — I agree, very funny, very good. I haven’t heard of that John Eldredge book — he’s an author I really like.
Polly I so admire you for being able to juggle so many books at once! I’m genetically incapable of that. Thanks for the suggestion — I’ll check it out.
Susan
Hmmmm … I love CS Lewis, and the medieval period as well. However, that book still sounds pretty darn challenging! I love to read aloud, and do it for my family each night after dinner, even though even my “baby” is now 11! I’m the opposite of you — reading aloud keeps me awake. It’s reading on my own that puts me to sleep way too often :)
Lisa notes
I think my husband would be drawn to “A Place in Time.” I’ll have to see if my library has it as an audiobook…
I love reading aloud too. But now I have no one at home to read aloud to. I don’t think my husband would appreciate it. ha.
“A Place for You” and “Luke for Everyone” sound like books I would love.
Thanks for sharing your list!
Carrie, Reading to Know
How fun to be able to be the audience every once in awhile. :D I like reading aloud but my voice gives and so we have to take more pauses than my kids would sometimes like. I think it would be sort of funny to hear you start dreaming aloud while reading. :D
bekahcubed
You DO have some interesting reads coming up. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the two science/faith books. I haven’t been commenting much, but I have been reading your thoughts with much interest.
It is so nice to be able to trade off reading aloud!
Janet
You would be a very interesting person to sit down and talk with about all of the science/faith stuff, Bekah.
I don’t really have a problem with the possibility of evolution in terms of it shaking my faith in God’s existence. But it does shake my understanding of his character and personality. The biggest challenge for me is predation… how according to the evolutionary scheme, there was death and suffering in the world before humans came along. I have an easier time with seeing it as evidence of fallenness than with seeing it as somehow God’s Plan A, if that makes any sense.
Anyway, I’m hoping maybe the Harrell book will help me to think it through more.
Cassandra
Interesting thoughts on The Evolution of Adam. I’ve been having an ongoing discussion with an atheist who believes that evolution discredits the Bible, that you can’t be both a Christian and a believer in evolution. I have a hard time discussing it with him in depth because I believe in a young earth and the literal Creation/fall story. I might have to read this book, though it looks like one that would require a LOT of thought and prayer.
Janet
You know, now that you mention it, I did pray about it while I was reading it. But in the end I think it’s probably going to be one of the best books I read this year. I think you’d find it very pertinent to your discussions.
Nancy@5M4B
I’ve been afraid of tackling longer books as read alouds for some reason, but I really need to get over that. My younger son got one of the Rise of the Guardians books for Christmas and we’re going to start that soon, after we finish our current Magic Treehouse.
Jennifer, Snapshot
Wow–all of those are totally new to me.
Amy @ Hope Is the Word
Janet,
Your lists always amaze me. I think I’m only capable of reading middle grade fiction anymore. :-) I second the above recommendation of Our Only May Amelia. It’s good.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall at your house as your read aloud/drift into dream land! That is so, so funny! I do get sleepy, but not too bad when I’m doing the reading. Now when the girls read to me, that’s a different story.
I will be sure to “friend” you if I get back to FB. I’ll be honest–I’ve enjoyed not being on there. Oh, I’m still there (under DH’s and my name together), but I haven’t looked at it since around Christmas. I have had a lot more time to read, etc., though honestly I still waste plenty of time on the internet without it. We’ll see what happens in the future.
Janet
“I think I’m only capable of reading middle grade fiction anymore.” This, from the woman who just read Les Mis! :-)
I’ve gone back and forth regarding Facebook… I think that’s not uncommon. I agree that it takes a conscious effort to maintain boundaries with technology.
My lapses into semi-conscious reading aloud are usually brought to a swift and shattering halt by a small voice at my side asking sharply, “What did you say?” There’s no telling what masterpieces I could compose if they’d just stop interrupting! :-)
Barbara H.
The Lewis books sounds fascinating but way over my head!
Goudge was quoted in one of the Mitford books recently. I was pleased that I at least knew the name because of you. :-)
I think I’d have trouble with the Enns’ books. :-)