My 2009 Reading Plan

Now that I've reviewed my favorite books of 2008 (here and here), I guess the next thing to do is preview my plans for 2009.

In the coming year, I want to be intentional about balancing out the kinds of books I read. These are the "food groups" I want to include in my literary diet:

• Literature. Fiction by serious writers, such as Camus, Solzhenitsyn, Flannery O'Connor, and the like.
• New Non-Fiction. Defined more or less as something published in my lifetime by authors who are still alive. Can be either "Christian" or "secular."
• Old Non-Fiction. Also known as non-fiction that isn't new. This category is important to me, because of a thought C.S. Lewis brought out in one of his essays about why we should read "old" books: "Not, of course, that there is any magic about the past. People were no cleverer then than they are now; they made as many mistakes as we. But not the same mistakes. They will not flatter us in the errors we are already committing; and their own errors, being now open and palpable, will not endanger us. Two heads are better than one, not because either is infallible, but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction. To be sure, the books of the future would be just as good a corrective as the books of the past, but unfortunately we cannot get at them."
• C.S. Lewis and Friends. I want to keep working through the Lewis canon and get to some books by his brother Warnie, his wife Joy, and his friend Charles Williams.
• John Wesley. I bought his complete works in 14 volumes several years ago but am only about 10% of the way through it.
• Novels. Defined, I suppose, as modern fiction written for a mass audience. This category isn't necessarily a priority, but it does make long airplane flights pass more quickly.

My idea is to rotate through the first 5 categories until the year is over, sprinking in the novels when appropriate. Between each book I'll catch up on the periodicals I receive. I'll also read the Bible most days, but I won't read through the Bible this year (I do that in even-numbered years).

So there you have it. I'm now accountable.

After 2009, I want to start into Calvin and Luther, but there's plenty of time yet to figure that out.

Gilead. My Favorite Book of 2008.

Maybe recency has something to do with it, since I read this book in November and finished another of the author's books only two days ago, a parallel novel to Gilead told from a different point of view. It's not just recency, however, that makes this book my favorite.

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Someone else likes this book, too. Gilead won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics' Circle Award. A London Times columnist has called Marilynne Robinson "the world's best writer of prose," adding, "I'm not saying you're actually dead if you haven't read Marilynne Robinson, but I honestly couldn't say you're fully alive."

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Fully alive. An ironic way to talk about a quiet book that starts and ends in the small town of Gilead, Iowa, rarely wanders far from the front porch, and includes a cast of characters that would comfortably fit in a minivan. If minivans had existed in the 1950s.

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Gilead is ... What is Gilead? For being such a short book, it's difficult to summarize. Transgression, forgiveness, generations, sin, mortality, love, light, water, touch ... Any statement about this book would beg for more context and detail. But here's a try:

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Rev. John Ames (Congregationalist and Calvinist) is in his 70s and slowly dying of a heart ailment. His first wife died young. He married his second wife only a few years ago; she's much younger and they now have a seven-year old son. Ames doesn't expect to be around to see the boy grow up, so he's decided to write the family history and share as much of himself as a 50s-era Midwestern minister can bring himself to do.

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The book, then, is Ames's memoir to his son. And it is much, much more. It is a beautiful testament of a man who has learned to live in the gentle rhythms of grace. A man who has steeped himself in the Bible and theology and life and come out on the other side wise and humble and a little bit funny.

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There's so much to say about this book, but everything feels inadequate. Gilead is a book to read slowly and savor. It's not a book of plot, though there is a plot of sorts; rather, it is a book of character, told with style and with prose that simply amazes. Although not a "Christian" book, it is perhaps as Christian as any book you could read - and if you're not a Christian, you may not "get" it. And yet it is never preachy, never ponderous. Rather, this is luminous spirituality, the kind that draws us and leaves us thinking, "I'd like to be like this man. Perhaps I can."

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Toward the end of the book, Ames writes, "Grace is not so poor a thing that it cannot present itself in any number of ways." Through Robinson's magnificent writing, I see grace in new ways. Perhaps you will, too.

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You can read (slowly, please!) the first several pages here. Read, then place your order.

Favorite Books of 2008

David posted his favorite books for 2008, so I guess I may as well do the same.

First, here are all the books I read last year, listed alphabetically by author. This doesn't include newspapers, magazines, or restroom graffiti:

1. Anonymous - The Way of a Pilgrim and the Pilgrim Continues His Way
2. Bauby, Jean-Dominique - The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
3. Brother Lawrence - The Practice of the Presence of God
4. Bruce, A.B. - The Training of the Twelve
5. Coleman, Robert - Des Meisters Plan der Evangelisation
6. Coleman, Robert - The Master Plan of Evangelism (3rd? 4th? reading)
7. Coupland, Douglas - All Families are Psychotic
8. Dorsett, Lyle - A Love Observed: Joy Davidman's Life & Marriage to C.S. Lewis
9. D'Souza, Tony - Whiteman
10. Gaines, James - Evening in the Palace of Reason: Bach Meets Frederick the Great in the Age of Enlightenment
11. Gresham, Douglas - Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis
12. Harris, Robert - Enigma
13. Harris, Robert - Fatherland
14. Henry, Marguerite - White Stallion of Lipizza
15. Hopko, Thomas - Christian Faith And Same Sex Attraction: Eastern Orthodox Reflections
16. Iweala, Uzodinma - Beasts of No Nation
17. Kolakowski, Leszek - Metaphysical Horror
18. Neighbour, Randall - A Pocket Guide to Coaching Small Groups
19. Lewis, C.S. - A Grief Observed (2nd reading)
20. Lewis, C.S. - The Problem of Pain
21. Long, Jimmy - Emerging Hope: A Strategy for Reaching Postmodern Generations
22. Machiavelli, Niccolo - The Prince
23. Nouwen, Henri - Beloved
24. Nouwen, Henri - Can You Drink the Cup?
25. Nouwen, Henri - In the Name of Jesus
26. Pollan, Michael - In Defense of Food
27. Reich, Christopher - Rules of Deception
28. Rice, Anne - Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt
29. Rice, Anne - Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana
30. Richards, Jay (ed.) - Environmental Stewardship in the Judeo-Christian Tradition
31. Robinson, Marilynne - Gilead
32. Salinger, J.D. - Franny and Zooey
33. Sayer, George - Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis
34. Scazzero, Peter - Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
35. Skinner, Betty Lee - With Integrity of Heart and Skillful Hand
36. Tarnas, Richard - The Passion of the Western Mind (2nd reading)
37. Thigpen, Paul (ed.) - My Daily Catholic Bible: Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition 20-Minute Daily Readings
    
    

9,441 pages. Seems like I ought to be a lot smarter, wiser, and more Godly than I am after all that. What's that verse about always learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth?

In any case, here are my five favorites. I won't call them "best," because a book might be "best" for a particular purpose, but still not my favorite. And I won't include the Bible, because it's the obvious best and favorite. Of the 36 that remain, my faves as of this particular moment are:

• #6 Coleman - A classic is a classic is a classic. Profound principles in a compact package.
• #21 Long - Super insights into pomo people and times, and how to minister in this culture.
• #28-29 Rice - Miraculously uncheesy imaginings about the days of Jesus before his ministry.
• #31 Robinson - Transcendently beautiful Pulitzer-prize winning novel of forgiveness and transformation.
• #36 Tarnas - A history of philosophy that reads like a novel and makes sense of the mess.

And the favorite among the favorites? That will have to wait for another post.

Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

I don't normally read books about food, nutrition, or diets. After 50+ years of life, I feel like I've heard it all. Caffeine is good/bad for you. Margarine is better/worse than butter. Saccharine will/won't give you cancer. The Atkins diet will/won't make you thin, but at some/no cost to your heart. The grapefruit diet does/doesn't burn fat. And on it goes, endlessly. You could add to the list.

My basic approach to food over the last few years, as I've seen my metabolism slowing down, is to control portions and eat no more calories than what I expend, to go easy on saturated fats, and otherwise to eat a bit of everything but not too much of anything. That's been working reasonably well for me, though any doofus would know that adding regular exercise to all the above wouldn't be a bad idea.

My skepticism at dietary advice met an unexpected friend in Michael Pollan and his book, In Defense of Food. I first encountered Pollan in a lengthy interview on XM Radio's Bob Edwards Show. (You can download a podcast of an shortened version of the interview here.)

Pollan is a professor of journalism at UC Berkeley and shares my skeptical approach to much of life. In his book, he asks why a country so obsessed with nutrition and health food can simultaneously be the fattest nation on earth. What are we missing? His common-sensical analysis is eye-opening, and his writing is consistently engaging.

I had intended at one time to post excerpts from each chapter of his book on this blog, but there's just too much. I would have ended up retyping most of the book. His basic conclusion about nutrition is the title of this blog post, but there's a wealth of data and research (much of it historical rather than nutritional, surprisingly enough) that leads to this simple seven-word summary.

As a result of reading this book, I've changed some aspects of my diet to favor whole foods (fruits, vegetables) and items which only have ingredients whose names I can pronounce and which can be created somewhere other than in the chemistry lab. I'm still not a purist, but I've made a few changes. (Oh, and I drink wine a lot more often, but that may have more to do with Trader Joe's coming to town and making oceans of plonk abundantly available.)

You could buy the book - and there are certainly worse ways to drop $13 - but if you read this lengthy essay by Pollan that appeared on the NY Times website in January 2007, you'll get the gist. You can also read the first 26 pages of the book on Google Books here.

A(nother) Book I Dislike But Am Supposed to Love

I admit it. There are some books and authors I just don't "get." John Piper and I probably share the same theological convictions on most items of substance, but his overwrought style (even in print) makes me want to buy him some quaaludes and tell him to go home, put on his bunny slippers, and chill out with a high gravity beer and a cigar. Dietrich Bonhoeffer's turgid prose makes my eyes glass over - does he just need a better translator? My aversion to John Eldredge is legendary and enduring, and had a lot to do with starting this blog and my website.

There are others. But today, I want to focus on Brother Lawrence and "his" book, The Practice of the Presence of God. I put "his" in quotes, because Brother Lawrence (hereafter to be referred to as BL) didn't even write this book. Some unnamed narrator(s) did. Since its publication around 1675, this book has been beloved by millions of Christians. I am almost the only person I know who hates it. I've read it at least three times over the last three decades, by the way - most recently in April of this year - so at least give me credit for trying.

What's my problem? Well, let's see:

• BL comes across to me as a wacko social misfit who couldn't make it in the real world so retreated to a monastery which he seldom if ever left for the last 54 of his 77 years.
• I have never understood how an eccentric monastic like this is supposed to serve as a role model for the rest of us who live in the real world, with all that living here entails.
• The book is poorly written and ploddingly translated. I've read two different versions, and both were tedious.
• The book is an organizational mess. In my version, there are two prefaces, a "conversation," a section of letters, and after a few other odds and ends, a character sketch, followed by "gathered thoughts," not to be confused with the "maxims" that were 25 pages earlier. Huh?
• There's no coherence to all this, and no one takes credit for writing any of it. There are no details, such as when the letters were written or to whom they were (or weren't) sent. If this book were a high school project, the kid would get a "redo."
• The book is a hagiography. BL seems more a caricature than a real person.
• Most of the time, I can't figure out what the heck is going on or what point BL or the narrator are trying to make. The book is uncritical, unedited ramblings.
• BL makes tons of unsupported assertions about God, prayer, our spiritual obligations, etc. The narrator seems to assume that if BL says it, it must be true. So this leads to goofy statements like times of prayer shouldn't be any different from other times, because we should always be tuned into God (p. 26 in my Spire version). Sounds good, but how does that explain Jesus's practice of withdrawing from ministry for times of prayer?
• Is there any evidence that BL had any missional (i.e., evangelistic) interests whatsoever?
• BL is in constant awareness of the presence of God, ostensibly, yet there are only 9 references in the entire book to God Incarnate, Jesus Christ. In my version, that means Jesus is mentioned once for every 12.4 pages. What's wrong with this picture?

In 112 pages, there were a small handful of thoughts I found valuable, but I remain at a loss to understand the belovedness of this book. Maybe I'm not really saved? Or, perhaps, is it that we simply like the title and praise the book on that account without actually reading it? Many years ago, I did read a book called Caring Enough to Confront. It was pretty boring and not very helpful, but the wonderful title has stuck with me for 30 years, and I still use the phrase from time to time in conversation. Perhaps Practicing the Presence of God is like that.

The LORD replied, "My Presence will go with you and I will give you rest." (Exodus 33.14)

"And surely I [Jesus] am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28.20)

Who Cares?

Every day on NPR, and every day in the newspaper, I encounter a story on the two-month-old strike of America's movie and TV script writers. To which I respond: Who Cares?

The media are enthralled by the story, but I have yet to hear even one person at work, home, or church comment on the strike. Not a single person. Who Cares?

"There will be fewer new series on TV for the balance of this year." Who Cares? (I don't watch TV, anyway.)

"There may be fewer new movies at the cineplex." Who Cares? (I haven't found time for half the already-extant movies I'd like to see, and my favorites usually aren't from the U.S., anyway.)

If the writers never came off strike, my life wouldn't change. Would yours?

If the writers never came off strike, we could still read books. There's no book strike, and even if there were, I've got a 10-year backlog on my shelves at home . . . and another 1,000 years' worth at the library.

If the writers never came off strike, we could listen to music or go to concerts.

If the writers never came off strike, maybe more people would read my blog. Now there's something I could care about!

But what if things got really, really desperate? Perhaps we could relearn the art of conversation.

I'm Done. It's Good.

But that's all I'm saying.

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Sorry, I'm Not Taking Calls or Answering e-Mails Today

Noted and Quoted: High Crimes

"There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them."

• Joseph Brodsky (1940-1996), Russian Poet and Nobel Prize Winner

Is God Wild? Should We Be?

The main reason for starting my own web site (arnoldbarlow.com) was so that I could post longer articles. The inaugural posting is a review I wrote a couple years ago. It’s called, “Since When is “Wild” a Fruit of the Spirit? Reflections on John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart.” It’s a long title, and an even longer critique.

I wrote this book review because I was vexed at how many people were recommending this book. Eldredge makes a lot of people feel good, but his unbiblical theology and its potential applications will cause problems.

I was surprised at the response I got when I first distributed this. I heard from about 30 people, and only one or two even attempted to defend the book. Many, to the contrary, were as negative about it as I was. Some said, “I was uneasy when I read the book, but I just couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong, until now.” One told the story of how reading the book prompted him to give up his God-given call to missions, move to the West Coast, and start building a boat. After a while, God brought him back to his senses and returned him to the mission field, where he belonged.

Jesus said that we must deny ourselves if we want to be called his disciples. John Eldredge preaches instead a message of self-indulgence, self-actualization, and narcissism. But there’s no need to rehash my critique here. Instead, please go here and download the PDF.