Alright. I read seven books in May. They were:
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
A Sweet and Bitter Providence by John Piper
Stuff Christians Like by Jonathan Acuff
The Practice of Godliness by Jerry Bridges
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Let's go in order. Gilead was a fantastic book. Set in Iowa, John Ames is an elderly pastor writing an account of his life so that he can pass it on to his very young son. Ames married a much younger woman late in life as his first wife died in child-birth many years before. He knows that he will have little opportunity to spend time with his son, so he writes out both current and past events for his son to glean from in the future. I cannot reccommend this book enough; it is magnificently written and uncommonly real.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a classic. I need not recommend classics. Time has written a much better recommendation.
A Sweet and Bitter Providence was a great read. Although very short, it offered a great deal of insight into the book of Ruth as Piper meditates on the God's providence as displayed in a Moabite's life. It would make an excellent companion to a study on Ruth.
Jonathan Acuff has a funny blog called Stuff Christians Like. It's free to read. The book was nothing more that the blog regurgitated. Leave this one on the shelf at the book store (Sorry, Jonathan).
The Practice of Godliness is a great book about just what the title says: practicing godliness. God has commanded Christians to be godly, and you don't become something unless you practice. Bridges discusses practical ways to foster godliness in one's life ultimately being driven by a devotion to God.
C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters is so fantastically creative. I loved reading it. And it really caused me to think about the reality of the straight and narrow path. On one side you have blantant sin and unrepentance, but on the other you have self-righteouness and unbridled religiosity. In his letters to Wormwood, Screwtape is not picky about which the patient succumbs to. And as always, Lewis is an utter delight to read.
Paradise Lost: I must admit this was not a thorough read, but I really wanted to refamiliarize myself with Milton's work as Mary Shelley cited it as her primary inspiration for Frankenstein. And of course it is fantastic literature that is referrenced thousands of times in thousands of works.
Ok, so I am up to nineteen for the year I believe. My earlier reads include:
- Biblical Interpretation by Gerald Bray
- How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren
- The How and Why of Love by Michael Hill
- Evangelical Ethics by John Jefferson Davis
- Desiring God by John Piper
- Jesus and the Gospels by Craig Blomberg
- Jesus the Messiah by Bob Stein
- Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
- George Mueller: Delighted in God by Roger Steer
- A Quest for Godliness by J.I. Packer
- Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney
- Deep Exegesis by Peter Leithart
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