Nonfiction
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Keeping Company
I’ve kept company with some old friends, and some new ones, in the pages of books over the last few months. Though I’m not sure I’ll remember them all, I’ll try to record…
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Summer Reading
Most of my reading this summer has consisted of rereading — the lion’s share of it on my Kindle. I may have forgotten something, but here’s what I remember of what I’ve read…
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Book Report
I’m not sure why, but I’ve struggled to finish books for awhile now. It feels like a small victory to have finished several lately… though this first one is still in process. After…
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Reads I haven’t blogged about
It’s a shame that when I don’t write, I don’t remember what I read — at least, not well. Something about the writing process grabs that mysterious interaction between a book and a…
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Educated: A difficult, absorbing read
Tara Westover’s Educated: A Memoir has taken the reading public by storm since it was published last year, and with good reason. A gripping read by any measure, the book details Westover’s journey…
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The Sin of Certainty
After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends; for you have not spoken of…
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The Time of No Room (Excerpt)
As I mentioned in my previous post, here is the beginning section of Thomas Merton’s “The Time of No Room.” The rest of the essay can be found elsewhere on the internet, but…
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On reading, and waiting too long to blog about it
This fall, I re-entered the classroom to teach a couple of sections of freshman writing at the local community college. It was my first time back in 17 years, and I was continuing…
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Reflections on Advent
This morning as I read Matthew 1, I’m struck by how differently God’s kingdom works than most human kingdoms do. I got no farther than the genealogy in the first few verses before…
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Prairie Fires
Carolyn Fraser’s Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder won a Pulitzer in 2017. Little wonder. I’ve spent the past few weeks savoring it not just for its fascinating content, but…