March Books
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christianreaderThe Love of Christ: Expository Sermons on Verses from Song of Solomon Chapters 4-6 by Richard Sibbes.
I love reading English Puritan literature, but it's an acquired taste, and the language (even updated, as in this edition) won't be to everyone's taste. This is a beautiful series of sermons on the Song of Songs as an allegory of Christ's love for the Church, which was the favored interpretation at the time. I think it's safe to say that seventeenth-century preaching demanded more from the audience than most contemporary preaching does. I had to take this in little chunks, which I read over many months of Sundays. I underlined a lot of things I want to come back to later.
No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym
This book hooked me from the first line: “There are various ways of mending a broken heart, but perhaps going to a learned conference is one of the more unusual.” Barbara Pym is an absolutely charming, witty writer. I find her books to be a solid sort of literary comfort food. But I found the same to be true of this book as of others I read years ago (Excellent Women and Jane & Prudence, I believe)--the storylines are ultimately kind of forgettable. That probably won't stop me from checking out others when I want something well written but not too demanding.
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
This was my first Berry, after a decade of hearing friends rhapsodize about him. His prose is wonderful, no doubt, and I like some of his instincts about valuing the small, local, and ordinary. I guess I found his Port William a bit too romanticized and his turning from the larger world too categorical. As beautiful as some of his reflections on nature, love, and death were, I was also unimpressed with his theology, such as it is.
In Christ Alone: Living the Gospel Centered Life by Sinclair Ferguson
This book is classic Ferguson, from what I know of him. It's like having a series of eloquent yet to-the-point pastoral conversations with a master of Scriptural exposition. His writing engages both mind and heart so well.
I enjoyed Parts I and II ("The Word Became Flesh," on who Christ is, and "The Heart of the Matter," on what Christ does) the most. No particular nitpicks of the later sections, which focus on living the Christian life; they were just more hit-or-miss for me, after highlighting practically every other paragraph in the earlier sections.
This book is made up of fifty short chapters that might be more effectively read as, say, a weekly devotional supplement, which is the way I might approach it if I were starting over again, and the way I'd recommend to a new reader. Though Ferguson occasionally speaks to evangelical Reformed issues specifically, I don't think that should stop other Christians from taking it up--I hope not, because on the person and work of Christ, his writing is hard to beat. One of the rare books I'd feel comfortable recommending to new and seasoned Christians alike.
God's Battle Plan for the Mind: The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation by David W. Saxton
I reviewed this book more extensively here. It's basically a primer on how to do personal Bible study on a deep and rewarding level. It's something else I'll need to come back to. At the moment I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed by it all.
Total read: 5
I love reading English Puritan literature, but it's an acquired taste, and the language (even updated, as in this edition) won't be to everyone's taste. This is a beautiful series of sermons on the Song of Songs as an allegory of Christ's love for the Church, which was the favored interpretation at the time. I think it's safe to say that seventeenth-century preaching demanded more from the audience than most contemporary preaching does. I had to take this in little chunks, which I read over many months of Sundays. I underlined a lot of things I want to come back to later.
No Fond Return of Love by Barbara Pym
This book hooked me from the first line: “There are various ways of mending a broken heart, but perhaps going to a learned conference is one of the more unusual.” Barbara Pym is an absolutely charming, witty writer. I find her books to be a solid sort of literary comfort food. But I found the same to be true of this book as of others I read years ago (Excellent Women and Jane & Prudence, I believe)--the storylines are ultimately kind of forgettable. That probably won't stop me from checking out others when I want something well written but not too demanding.
Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry
This was my first Berry, after a decade of hearing friends rhapsodize about him. His prose is wonderful, no doubt, and I like some of his instincts about valuing the small, local, and ordinary. I guess I found his Port William a bit too romanticized and his turning from the larger world too categorical. As beautiful as some of his reflections on nature, love, and death were, I was also unimpressed with his theology, such as it is.
In Christ Alone: Living the Gospel Centered Life by Sinclair Ferguson
This book is classic Ferguson, from what I know of him. It's like having a series of eloquent yet to-the-point pastoral conversations with a master of Scriptural exposition. His writing engages both mind and heart so well.
I enjoyed Parts I and II ("The Word Became Flesh," on who Christ is, and "The Heart of the Matter," on what Christ does) the most. No particular nitpicks of the later sections, which focus on living the Christian life; they were just more hit-or-miss for me, after highlighting practically every other paragraph in the earlier sections.
This book is made up of fifty short chapters that might be more effectively read as, say, a weekly devotional supplement, which is the way I might approach it if I were starting over again, and the way I'd recommend to a new reader. Though Ferguson occasionally speaks to evangelical Reformed issues specifically, I don't think that should stop other Christians from taking it up--I hope not, because on the person and work of Christ, his writing is hard to beat. One of the rare books I'd feel comfortable recommending to new and seasoned Christians alike.
God's Battle Plan for the Mind: The Puritan Practice of Biblical Meditation by David W. Saxton
I reviewed this book more extensively here. It's basically a primer on how to do personal Bible study on a deep and rewarding level. It's something else I'll need to come back to. At the moment I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed by it all.
Total read: 5
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