Jean Perdu has devoted his life to his floating bookshop, The Literary Apothecary. Perdu has the amazing ability to diagnose his customers’ ailments and correctly prescribe a literary remedy. Although Perdu helps every shopper who frequents his business, he is unable (or unwilling) to read the one thing which will help him cope with decades … Read more
Summary: A mother risks her own safety to protect her children. I was about 9 when the movie version, The Secret of NIMH came out. I remember seeing it in the theater, and I think that was only time I saw it. So I was a bit vague on the details of the story when … Read more
Summary: A series of letters (modeled somewhat after Hitchen’s Letters to a Young Contrarian and Weigel’s Letters to a Young Catholic) It is part of my naivete that I was aware of Letters to a Young Calvinist before I was aware of Hitchens’ or Weigel’s book. And when I typed in ‘Letters to a Young’ on Amazon, … Read more
Takeaway: influential nearly a century and a half later. John Henry Newman is a figure that is frequently referenced, but I have not read anything by or about him directly. The recent biography by Ian Kerr is a more comprehensive biography, but it also does not have either a kindle or audiobook edition and it … Read more
Takeaway: Not everyone important is known. I have written before of the importance of good Christian biography as part of spiritual growth. (And by good, I mean actually biography, not hagiography, that looks at an honest portrayal of the real person.) Karen Swallow Prior has written an excellent, eminently readable biography of Hannah More, a woman … Read more
Summary: It is much easier reading about prayer than actually praying. I have read a ton of books on prayer. About a year ago, some book that I don’t remember suggested that we as Christians should stop reading about things we are not prepared to put into practice immediately (because it can inoculate us against … Read more
Summary: Two pamphlet length articles joined together for a short book. Spiritual Direction has been an interest of mine for the past several years. With the rise of renewed interest in liturgical and sacramental expressions of faith, the historic practice of spiritual direction has also come back into awareness. As a number of friends and … Read more
Summary: Culture and assumptions matter. And when reading scripture, something written to a different culture, time and place, those considerations are important. Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes I think will become my new recommendation for the place to start when thinking about how we read and understand scripture. I have made a pretty concerted effort … Read more
Takeaway: This is a great example of Christian autobiography. It tells a good story, inspires me to greater devotion, and makes me want more. David Nasser tells a good story. That the story happens to be about him and real is even better. I know Nasser through his connection to the Glory Revealed projects. I … Read more
Takeaway: Statistics are important. And if you are a Christian that believes in truth, you need to be even more careful with numbers. I like numbers. My day job is being a nanny stay at home Dad, but my part time consulting job is evaluating an after school program. I track grades, school attendance, program … Read more