by John Chandler

The quest continues to work through some classics with my kids. In this case Beowulf, which I’d never read myself.

This is more of a paraphrase of the original, so I hope it isn’t considering cheating. It was very readable though, so I think we made a good choice.

Super duper likely this will end up being one of the most influential books I read this year. A collection of themes that have been on my mind in recent years, but presented in a way that pulls them all together.

So much of what happens in our marketing saturated culture is corporations hooking us into something that’s not healthy for us and keeps pulling us back. He explores the addictive and toxic effects of sugar and social media, among other things. But it’s not all a diatribe, as he ends the book with several thoughtful chapters on exploring a better way for individuals to live.

I read the audiobook and got more out of it than I normally do an audiobook. But I’ll be returning soon to the words on page version — there’s more for me to take away from this book, I’m sure.

A book I’ve been interested in for a long time. The idea of flow is that all of us are capable of achieving some kind of optimal working condition where attention is tuned and effort seems streamlined. It’s an idea that’s common often for me both in conversations and inner ponderings.

Yet, it’s a challenging book to read, and one you almost have to feel like you’re already in Flow to engage. It’s a deep dive. I appreciate that it’s not a simple how-to manual constructed for quick sales, but almost requiring one to achieve levels of flow to stay engaged and read it. Yet, for others (and me at times), that depth might be a challenge to read through at a time when so many of us would benefit from why the engaged levels of attention of flow are worth regaining.

I don’t even recall where I found this one — pretty sure it was another from the Best of 2017 lists. Curious and entertaining with some veiled deeper themes, but I don’t think it will be first to come to mind in conversations I might have about recent books I read.

Much of the recent reading I’ve with my kids has been historically based fiction that we’ve pulled from the recommended reading lists in The Well-Trained Mind, by Susan Wise Bauer.

Most of those books, we’re really enjoyed. Considering this one was a Newbury winner, it didn’t stand out like others we’ve read. Reads as somewhat dated, but I guess that’s because it is!

I went on a reading binge about eating and the food industry several years ago, working through some mainstream books by Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman, alongside some deeper theological reads by Wendell Berry, Ellen Davis and Norman Wirzba.

It all changed the way I view food, though it probably didn’t change my own eating habits enough.

I still have interest in the topic, and I’m especially aware of Dan Barber after he was featured in one of my favorite episodes of Chef’s Table.

The Third Place was a good addition to my prior reading, though some of it was lost on me as we talked a lot about fish. I’ve never liked fish. Yet another area of food for me to be challenged in because, as I understand it, fish should clearly be a growing part of our diets for sustainability sake.

My personality likes to take it all in and try to learn a little something about lots of things. And, as that plays out, I also tend to get bored with subjects and want to move on quickly to the next idea that’s out there to be explored.

One of the subjects, though, that I never tire of is early Christian history. Anything around the first and early second century holds my interest, and I can even tolerate a lot of repeat information to glean out those unique factoids and perspectives different writers might offer.

I picked this up after a glowing recommendation in one of the conversations on the Bible Project podcast. Based on what I named, I was a little surprised that I wasn’t familiar with Larry Hurtado. I am now, and I’m sure more of his writing will make it’s way through my reading list.

I don’t often like to go back and re-read books…and I consider this a fault, more than a strength. But sheesh, there are just so many I want to read.

But I do have a list of books that I have intentions to get back to. Either because they were really good and deserved further thought even years later. Or because I wonder how much more I could get out of them in a new season of life.

The Prophetic Imagination has long been a stand out for me, and it was as valuable last month as it was 8 years ago. (And why, oh why, don’t I have any notes from my first reading of it in my blog archives?) There may not be many books I can compel myself to read again, but I’m glad this was one of them.

Welp, I’m lagging to posting books I finished two months ago. And yes this is also a book pulled from the Best of 2017 lists. Other than that, had no idea what I was getting myself into. But I was yanked in hard with the opening chapter.

One of the things I appreciate about literary fiction, if written well, is that I feel like it helps me identify with people who have a very different life experience than mine. That’s the case here. Hard to read at times, but of course that’s also an invitation to identify with and root for the characters.

Read this one with two of my kids after we culled it from a history reading list for homeschooling by Susan Wise Bauer. The book offers helpful historical context for first century Galilee and the tensions between Jewish hopes and Roman oppression.

The book is 50 years old — reminding me that much of this history was around but lost to me in my own childhood and early theological learnings. Glad to be able to remedy that with my own kids.

As we were preparing to go through Acts, I saw a respected friend had this in his Goodreads updates. We were preparing to through Acts this summer, and I thought it would be helpful to read something besides commentaries. It’s also thoughtfully charismatic and evangelical in a way that is outside my normal theological stream, or at least my more recent theological stream. I needed that push in some other directions, and I hope our church community is benefiting from it.