Though summer now feels 2/3 over, I still look forward to hours of uninterrupted reading while on study leave at a monastery in Colorado and some vacation time on the beach. While the bulk of study leave is devoted to mapping out sermons for the coming months, I also try to read some bigger theology tomes and race through as many novels as possible. Sometimes, fiction allows us to glimpse the truth of God and the human spirit “at a slant” in the words of poet Emily Dickinson. Still looking for an August read? How about:
Eternal Life by Dara Horn – This recent novel tells the story of a woman who is unable to die, though she wants too. She was born in the Holy Land, about the time of Jesus but is now living in current times in New York. Not only was it a good read and interesting history about biblical times, but it prompted me to ponder why we don’t actually want to live forever.
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah – I couldn’t put it down. To say that it is about a hippy family who moves to Alaska to start over just doesn’t do it justice. I fell in love with the main character and gained a new appreciation for those who find themselves victims of PTSD and domestic violence. The resilience of the human spirit gave me hope.
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Gran is not fiction but it reads like it. I was astounded to find how little I knew about a tragic chapter of history among my Native American neighbors in Oklahoma .
Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner remains my favorite novel of all time. A simple story of two couples who share a life-long friendship, elegantly captures the magic of the ordinary. Both the prose and the character development are as good as it gets!
If you’d like to read a book more explicitly about the Christian journey, I suggest Norman Wirzba’s Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity. A divinity school classmate of mine, Wirzba unlocks complicated theology with personal stories of everyday modern life.
Or if you enjoy poetry, I suggest: Joy: 100 Poems by Christian Wiman, former editor of Poetry magazine and a professor at Yale who was diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer as a young man. This collection and his introduction point to a joy beyond mere happiness.
What are your suggestions?
With grace and peace,
Carla
