Book List II

I realize I said I'd do a book list once a week. However, this week was further proof that in DC, every evening can be filled up with some sort of occasion, which made for little time and less reading. However, I did manage to add a book to the list, and I'm almost finished with it!


1) "The Return of the Prodigal Son" by Henri Nouwen. I was hoping to be finished with this by now, but this is not the type of book to rush through. Many who have already read the work have told me the last chapter is the best. I'm not sure about that, though hopefully I will mature into the kind of person who may think that way. The first three chapters are about Gospel Comfort, the way that rebel and pharisee alike are called home to the Father's celebration. The final chapters are about the calling to become like the Father, to "be compassionate as your Father is compassionate." This is where comfort gives way to growth, which is always a more difficult aspect of the Christian life. Nouwen himself is forthright about his difficulties here - which is comforting in its own way: The Harvard scholar-priest who forsook further educational glory to minister to the mentally handicapped confesses many inner difficulties with the challenges of Christian transformation. Needless to say, each paragraph has been a bit of a mountain pass, and if I attempted to speed through it, I would fall into flippancy (I envy people who can speed through these things without such consequences).

2) "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. This book is, of course, part of my efforts to catch up on the "classics." As millions already know, "the Catcher in the Rye" is brilliant. I didn't like it at first - getting used to it was like learning to like dry wine. But now it's becoming a fascinating portrait of Holden Caufield. It's the kind of book I need to savor and think about, so it's slow going. Metro rides to work aren't cutting it.

3) "Spurgeon's Sermons, Volume VI." Nothing new to report here - this is mostly weekend reading.

4) "A Severe Mercy," by Sheldon Vanaunken. I'm moving into the sadder parts. Vanauken seems more real to me in his struggles than in his triumphs.

5) "Gemeinsam Leben" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This is "Life Together" in the original German. I still need that Saturday dedicated to reading it.

6) "Mit Liedern Beten" by Albert Frey.

7) "In the Presence of Fear" by Wendell Berry. I've heard of him, haven't read him. Challenging and thought-provoking economic ideas that deserve their own blog.