When I Was a Child I Read Books by Marilynne Robinson

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When I Was a Child I Read Books: EssaysMost of the time I finish books that I start.  Sometimes it is months for me to finally work through a book.  But I usually do eventually finish.

But this week I stopped reading two books. I was bored and just didn’t want to struggle through these books that were no longer interesting.  I had already given them a good trial.  I was about half way into both books (11 hours of audio between the two of them).

I picked up When I Was a Child I Read Books at the same time I picked up Gilead.  I started When I Was a Child first.  And pretty quickly switched to Gilead.  I loved Gilead.  It is a wonderful novel written a lot like a memoir.  It is honest and real and a bit sad but still hopeful for the idea that a pastor can still make a difference in the world.

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Dedicated e-ink Ereaders Dead?

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Cnet has an alarmist post today about the death of eink ebook readers like the Kindle and the Nook.  According to a study by IHS iSuppli (original press release), after spectacular growth in the ereader market there will be a steep decline over the next couple years. IHS iSuppli says that there were 23.2 million … Read more

Cheapest SquareTrade Warranty for Kindles

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Warranties on consumer electronics are a questionable business.  I know many people that swear by them and many others that suggest they are a waste of money. Here is my personal opinion. For Kindles I always recommend getting a warranty from Squaretrade.  If you have a eink kindle the biggest problem is accidentally cracking the … Read more

Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson

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Gilead: A Novel

Takeaway: An essential novel for Pastors.

Gilead is one of those books that pretty much everyone should read.  Gilead won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. And all kinds people have it as on lists of their all time favorite books.  Which means that I have been reluctant to read it ever since I was aware of it.

Why is it that as soon as a book is one that you ‘should read’ it instantly becomes less interesting?

I finally decided to pick it up when I needed to buy another book from Audible to get a $10 credit.  And when Englewood Review of Books put it on their list of 10 novels every pastor should read.

Gilead is the story of John Ames.  Ames is a congregational pastor in the small town of Gilead, Iowa.  Ames is now an old man (76).  After being single for most of his adult life, he married late in life and now has a young son (6).  Ames’ heart is bad and throughout the book we know he is going to die soon.  So he is writing to his son.  He wants his son to know who he, and the rest of his family history since it is unlikely that he will be around much longer to tell him.

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