I just glanced over at my "currently reading" list (to the left) and realized that I have bookmarks in seven different books right now. My first thought was, "That’s crazy!" My second thought was, "No that’s pretty normal, for me."
Some books I dive into and finish quickly. Like the two most recent books in the "Just Finished" list: two very short books from N.T. Wright, one on the Lord’s prayer and one on the Eucharist. I read them both last Saturday. Other books I’ve been chewing on for a lot longer, sometimes because they’re really meaty and lengthy (Jesus and the Victory of God), and sometimes because I put it down and don’t come back to it for a few weeks months (Hegemony or Survival). I think it still can qualify as a book I’m "currently reading" though. It has a bookmark in it, so obviously I’m "currently" reading it, right? I find I can pick up the storyline or argument flow fairly quickly, even if I haven’t looked at a certain book for a few weeks.
There’s a part of my personality, though, that’s a bit finicky about having open-ended projects going on, so part of me panics when I see I have seven books on my "currently reading" list. It suddenly morphs into a "To Do" list and I want to finish them so I feel I have accomplished something. This is probably why I love mowing my lawn so much. When it’s done, it’s done, and it’s pretty obvious that it’s done. With books, my work is never done. But it’s work I’m happy to do.
ditto all of that
You make me want to read more. Any suggestions to get me started?
amy, it depends on what kinds of books you’d like to get into. I find that N.T. Wright has some very good things to say about Christianity from a historical standpoint. You’ll probably want to go for his “popular” books as opposed to his “scholarly” ones, though.
Simply Christian is a wonderful read, and Deb says it opened her eyes to a lot of what Christianity was really about.
She’s also reading Wright’s The Lord and His Prayer, which is very short, but a great primer on the Lord’s Prayer and how to use it.
I’ve also been very impacted by Dallas Willard’s books, especially The Divine Conspiracy. Some people have a hard time getting through that one, though, for some reason.
You also might like Don Miller’s books, especially Blue Like Jazz and In Search of God Knows What and To Own a Dragon.
If you like history, you might check out some of Stephen Ambrose’s stuff. I especially liked D-Day (about D-Day in WWII) and Undaunted Courage (about the Lewis and Clark Expedition).
If you want to read a novel, Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson was one of the most beautiful, tender stories I’ve ever read.
Thanks Ben!