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The Burial of Jesus: History and Faith © 2008
James F. McGrath (Exploring Our Matrix)
142 pages

You can’t use the right tools for the wrong job. You can’t open a paint can with a Phillips screwdriver, you can’t cut a steak with a butter knife, you can’t pull a shot of espresso in a percolator, and you [...]

A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997
© 1998
Counterpoint
216 pages

This past summer I paddled the Missinaibi River from Missinaibi Lake to Mattice. In the evenings around the campfire, I would read a poem or two from this volume.
Berry’s a farmer from Kentucky, so it might seem odd that his poems felt appropriate in the Northern [...]

The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptation
© 2000
Harper Collins
205 pages

A stranger walks into an isolated village and offers unimaginable wealth to the villagers if someone is found murdered by the end of the week. What a great premise for a story! It’s sad that such an interesting idea came to such a [...]

The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible © 2008
Zondervan
236 pages

I grew up proud of the fact that my church didn’t follow a set liturgy—we followed the Spirit instead. I cringe at the arrogance while writing that now, but it used to be my reality. As I grew up I met a professor who [...]

Wise Blood: A Novel © 1962
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
236 pages

This book is overwhelming. O’Connor has a knack for placing her vividly imagined characters in bizarre (yet somehow appropriate) situations.
I’ve often thought that “classic” novels should be read for the beauty of their prose–the plot is often irrelevant. For example, you can read any random chapter [...]

Wintergreen: Reflections from Loon Lake © 1999
Key Porter Books
150 pages

Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
If you’ve ever spent time in the wilderness, you should read this book. You will find yourself mentally revisiting all the places you’ve camped. More than that, Hummel will make you want to return to the outdoors. Hummel’s love for nature is so contagious, [...]

Life with God: Reading the Bible for Spiritual Transformation
© 2008
HarperOne
224 pages

I expected a lot from this book. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline (along with Lewis’ Mere Christianity) are the two most important books I’ve ever read. I’ve followed Foster for years now, reading everything he’s written. I’ve attended a fantastic Renovaré conference, and have even used [...]

The Violent Bear It Away: A Novel © 1960
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
243 pages

I’m almost at a loss for words after finishing this book. I picked it up after reading Rowan William’s discussion of her work. I was unprepared for the power of her prose.
O’Connor has an uncanny ability to get inside the minds of the [...]

The Harvard Classics, Vol. 2
Includes: The Apology, Phaedo, and Crito (Plato), The Golden Sayings of Epictetus, and The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius
New York: P. F. Collier & Son Corporation
345 pages

This volume was interesting, enlightening, but profoundly frustrating.
Let’s start with interesting. Most Christians have little or no idea how much of their belief system is founded [...]

Hocus Pocus © 1990
New York: Berkley Books
325 pages

If you’ve read Vonnegut, you’ll already know his distinct blend of irony and satire. If you’ve never read him, this is a good place to start. The humor in the narrative had me laughing out loud, while at the same time cringing from the truth conveyed.
I’ll leave you [...]