Books in July (2023)
it's an addiction
I will tell you, but you will not believe me, that I am trying to reduce the number of books I read both simultaneously and overall. Well, you will believe me that I am trying, and it will seem obvious that I am failing. Because I accidentally read 17 books in July. But truly, I am trying to start one new book for every two or three I finish, because I have other things I need to do (read books for work), and would like to read in a less pressured manner (all the pressure comes from inside my own head). Nonetheless, I read some great and interesting books this month. Here they are:
Women and the Gender of God, Amy Peeler. Review.
To Green Angel Tower 2: Storm, Tad Williams.
The final book of four in his Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn series. This is my light-reading fiction.
The Heart of What Was Lost, Tad Williams.
This is an inter-quel short novel between the big first series, and the big second series.
Finding Lost Words, G. Geoffrey Harper and Kit Barker (eds.). Review.
Lament for a Son, Nicholas Wolterstorff.
I can imagine few things as devastating as the loss of child. Wolterstorff, a Christian philosopher at Yale (currently aged 91) published this after the death of his 25 year old son who was mountain climbing. It's short, poignant, and packs a punch somewhat like the emotional equivalent of Mike Tyson hammering your kidneys repeatedly. I think everyone ought to read a grief book just every now and again, to be reminded of the absolute evil that Death is and the gut-wrenching tragedy of life lived in a world where people die.
Romans for you 1-7, Timothy Keller.
There will come a month when there isn't a Keller book on this list, but it is not this month. One thing I will say is that after reading thousands of pages of Keller, there is a kind of structure that underlies his approach to the gospel which he then deploys throughout all of Scripture. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but it is a very observable thing. It's also a penetrating and insightful way of understanding the gospel and applying it to the human heart. That's one of the reasons why I like Keller so much - a very clear understanding of how the heart is a factory of idols (Luther), that even morality and good works can be idolatrous, and that what we fundamentally need is Jesus' substitutionary death for us, which becomes the grounds of our justification, and we live out our obedience from a renewed and regenerated heart. That's a message I need to hear again and again. In this book you hear this message again and again, as it springs forth in Paul's Letter to the Romans.
There's also a tremendous little section at the end of this volume, which doesn't really contain anything you won't find across Keller's corpus, but in an appendix he succinctly takes you through "identifying the idols of the heart" with examples, diagnostic questions, and a gospel-focused way of treating them, repenting of them, and rejoicing instead in the grace and work of Jesus on our behalf.
Enchiridion (on Faith, Hope, and Love), Augustine.
This is essentially a catechism by Augustine. It's a short work, outlining the fundamentals of the Christian faith, teaching through the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and touching upon various points of doctrine and life along the way.
Writing a small group study, Richard Sweatman.
So, I don't normally write bible studies, I just prepare them and lead them on the fly. But I committed to actually writing some study notes this term and thought I should look at a (short) book on how to do that.
Selected Sermons, Lemuel Haynes.
A short volume of four sermons by Haynes, the first Black man ordained as a minister the United States.
Thanks for the feedback: The science and art of receiving feedback well, Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen.
Does exactly what it advertises - research-informed advice for how to take feedback and learn from it; from the get-go when they tease out appreciation/evaluation/coaching as three different forms of feedback, and the mismatch between what people think they're giving, and what we hear, through to things that trigger us to not take feedback, how to actually approach conversations. I certainly found a lot of insight in this book, and hope to be able to apply it well in my life.
The Great Sex Rescue, Sheila Gregoire et al. (Review)
What if common Christian teachings about sex and marriage were harmful? Surprise, surprise, some of them are and we can do better. Proper review next week.
Teaching Psalms, Vol 1: From Text to Message, Christopher Ash. Review.
Everything Sad is Untrue (a true story), Daniel Nayeri.
This is a beautiful book; it's refugee memoir, family stories, family legends, Persian myth, wrapped up in a patchwork story that tugs the heart this way and that. I listened to Nayeri read it, which was well worth it.
The Gender Revolution, Patricia Weerakoon et al.
The Road, Cormac McCarthy (Audio)
I have been meaning to tackle some McCarthy for a while, and this is what I started with; I think I have watched the film adaption, but even so this is a bit of a harrowing book. The writing is A+ though.
Becoming Duchess Goldblatt, Anonymous (Audio)
When I need a book recommendation, I regularly turn to my friend Alyssa who has yet to pick a bad one. No pressure! This… was wonderful and moving. Duchess Goldblatt was a fictional twitter celebrity, created by the author as they travelled a dark road of grief and loneliness after a devastating divorce and its long aftermath. The memoir intertwines the author’s story and the ‘life’ of DG. A book I didn’t know existed, and am so glad that it does.
Soulbroken: A Guidebook for your journey through Ambiguous Grief. Stephanie Sarazin.
Therapy.
Other things:
On grief and hope: I have been reading John Onwuchekwa's substack for a while now, but I hadn't previously realised how much he writes about grief (having lost his brother eight years ago) until recently when he started a daily series titled "30 Days of Hope". Here's the first of those post. I have a review of his book coming up next month.
Films: At the start of this month I watched Rocky 1 through 6, and then Creed 1 through 3. I thoroughly enjoyed them; true to Seumas 2.0, I cried in every film a little, except for Rocky V (universally acknowledged as a bit of a dud). I also have cultivated an appreciation for Stallone, especially his insistence on selling the first script and insisting he star in it, and his involvement as both writer for all six, and director of four of them.
