Hello and welcome to ex libris (“from the library”), my monthly roundup of book discussion and recommendations. This work will be better with your contributions, so please feel free to chime in below if you’d like!
I’m so terribly out of the habit of posting these issues of my newsletter that I decided to be kind to myself and break back in gently. Here is a sampling of what I’ve read recently, not even approaching a complete list…
What have you read recently that you’ve loved?
Titles I read in the past few months (not a complete list)
Our Radiant Redeemer, Tim Chester. I’ll bet you haven’t read many books about the Transfiguration, have you? That’s because there aren’t many. Nevertheless, here is one and a very good one at that. I read this through Lent, but it is good for any time of year. From our friends at The Good Book Company.
Gilead, Marilynne Robinson. A reread, for book club. Robinson’s beautiful story of Rev. John Ames, the small-town preacher from Iowa, is the first in the series of books about Gilead, Iowa. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005. If you’d like a fictional companion to the parable of the Prodigal Son, here you go. “There is no justice in love, no proportion in it, and there need not be, because in any specific instance it is only a glimpse or parable of an embracing, incomprehensible reality. It makes no sense at all because it is the eternal breaking in on the temporal. So how could it subordinate itself to cause or consequence?”
Zero at the Bone, Christian Wiman. This book of reflection and poetry fell flat for me. It’s been recommended by so many, that I may give it another shot down the line. (Full disclosure: I was trying to read this while my house was torn apart due to a flooring repair, and I was living in a hotel with my entire family plus the dog. I do not remember very much of this chapter of our February.) Another note: Wiman is scheduled to appear at next year’s HopeWords conference.
I Cheerfully Refuse, Leif Enger. I believe Enger to be one of our best living American authors. His stories are lyrical but concrete at the same time. This story is set in the near future; it’s apocalyptic but also near enough to our present day that I found it unsettling. The main character, Rainy, loves the Great Lakes. After he experiences a personal tragedy, Rainy’s path is interrupted by a young girl who reminded me a bit of Swede from Peace Like a River. Is it possible for a book to be both apocalyptic and hopeful? If so, this is it.
Jayber Crow, Wendell Berry. Another reread, for book club. Doing this back-to-back with Gilead was incredible. What a treat for me! Telling the story of the bachelor barber of the town, Jayber is considered by many to be the centerpiece of the Port William novels. I was surprised by my second time through–what stories took up more time and what stories took up less time than I remembered. “To love anything good, at any cost, is a bargain.”
Mr. Bliss, JRR Tolkien. This past Valentine’s Day, my husband and I did that thing that people do when they have been married for almost twenty-five years. We bought each other nearly the same gift. I bought him the classic illustrated edition of Tolkien’s Farmer Giles of Ham; he bought me a similar version of Mr. Bliss. Mr. Bliss is a story Tolkien wrote and illustrated for his children. It’s a silly little adventure story featuring fanciful creatures. Any Tolkien fan would enjoy this bit from him, and it would be great to try out on your littlest listeners.
A note on purchase links: I’m a happy supporter of independent bookshops, so the links I provide will almost always go to my affiliate link at bookshop.org. For my local readers, I heartily recommend you buy them through our favorite, Goldberry Books, but you might have a shop closer to you. Of course, you can always find these selections on That Big Website That Ships Quickly, But Not As Quickly as It Used To, and Remember How They Sucked Us All In By Being a Bookstore to Begin With? I’m also a big fan of saving money and patronizing your local library. Happy reading!
Recently read Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner. So deliciously good.
Also, The Women, by Kristin Hannah - completely different but also captivating.
I read Let Us Descend, by Jesmyn Ward, which I had heard great things about but fell really short of that for me. It was too other-worldly. In a similar fashion, Matt Haig's The Midnight Library was just a so-so read for me.
Can't wait to get my hands on Enger's latest - I'm on the wait list at the library. And I'm also looking forward to picking up Daniel Nayeri's newest and Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett.
Thanks for sharing!