Reading: current and planned

In the fall we got a surprising and thoughtful gift from an anonymous friend: an Amazon Kindle. Now that I can’t be accused of dropping hints, let me just say that if there’s a bookish missionary you want to bless, that’s the way to do it. Incredible device.

Anyway, that’s opened the door for some fun pleasure reading:

  • Decision Points, George W. Bush. This was a fascinating read. Not an autobiography, but an account of some of the most significant decisions he made as President. No one else on the planet has had to make the kinds of calls W has; the other 6 billion of us are in the cheap seats.
  • At Home: A Short History of Private Life, Bill Bryson. Basically lots and lots of historical trivia about how things in the home came to be the way they are. Interesting but forgettable. (Bryson is a great writer, though. Check out A Walk in the Woods.)
  • Portrait of Calvin, T.H.L. Parker. Available for free from Desiring God! Not really a biography, but what the title implies: a sort of thumbnail sketch of Calvin’s life and thought.
  • Currently I’m in the middle of The Father of Us All: War and History, Ancient and Modern, Victor Davis Hanson. This collection of essays about war is challenging because Hanson, a classics scholar and military historian, assumes a lot more knowledge than I have. (Thank heavens for Wikipedia.) But fascinating nonetheless. Lots of sane talk about the tragic-but-unavoidable nature of war.

I also finally read through most of Rick Steves’ Prague & The Czech Republic. Living here it’s funny how much you miss. This helped me get a better overall glimpse of our city, and find several places I haven’t seen yet and want to.

One of my hopes for this year is to make better use of my time, part of which means less internet putzing (Facebook, FailBlog, etc.) and more reading. In addition to a Bible reading plan, I think I’m going to take another shot at reading through Calvin’s Institutes, which stalled out pretty early in the last attempt.

I also want to read all of C. S. Lewis that I haven’t read. That amounts to about a dozen books, but some are pretty short. So we’ll see.

And finally, John Frame’s long-awaited Doctrine of the Word of God came out a couple of months ago. (That’s one for the shelf, not the Kindle.) So I might try to start plowing through that. A longer-term goal is to read all of his Theology of Lordship series. No way will that happen this year.

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3 thoughts on “Reading: current and planned

  1. Two quick things. First, the Kindle is great. I’m not over-spending on it, and I still have over a dozen books on it. And it’s several ounces instead of several pounds.

    Second, Decision Points was a good read. I had forgotten how many ridiculously tough calls Pres. Bush had (and was encouraged again by his principled stands and character), and was chastened again and again with the thought that I expose my ignorance and pride when I think I can voice my opinion of their calls as an equal (ridiculous as it sounds). Right and Wrong don’t shift, but I need to be a lot more careful about my critiques. As in, airing about 1% of them (at best) while praying about 100% of them.

  2. Ok, so 3 things.

    I just downloaded Fred Sanders’ “The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything” (Crossway). The reviews were good, and the title is dead on, so I’m really hopeful. I’ll circle back with you after finishing…cheap on Kindle right now.

  3. I’ve heard Rick Steve’s guide’s are great; if what I’ve seen on TV is a reflection, what he shows you is outstanding. Jeremiah Caughorn, manager of RTS’ bookstore, now has a Kindle, I’m quite jealous! “Given for You: Reclaiming Calvin’s Doctrine of the Lord’s Supper” by Keith Mathison is supposed to be excellent, but ’tis not on Kindle yet (yes I clicked the Kindle-request button). Have you gotten tired of all the history surrounding you yet? (I don’t think I ever would).

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