So many interesting books have arrived in my mailbox in recent months. I won’t have any trouble finding something good to read this fall. You’ll be seeing reviews of these in coming months, but I thought you might like to know about them now. Some are timely, some look just plain interesting. So here are the books in that stack.
The Message of Wisdom, Daniel J. Estes. Estes writes on the theme of Wisdom in Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. Dan is a friend and I’ve had the joy of hearing him teach some of this material.
Rebels and Exiles, Matthew S. Harmon. A study of sin that leads to exile and the hope of restoration that runs through scripture.
Splendour in the Dark, Jerry Root. A book for Inklings lovers. This is a study of Dymer, a narrative poem C.S. Lewis wrote before coming to Christian faith.
Dreaming Dreams for Christian Higher Education, David S. Guthrie. A senior faculty member describes his vision and journey in the Christian higher education setting.
Healing Racial Trauma, Sheila Wise Rowe. People of color live a life of trauma. Recent events have opened old wounds. Rowe as a counselor explores the healing of these traumas.
The Fantasy Literature of England, Colin Manlove. A study of English fantasy literature as a reflection of English culture.
Reimagining Apologetics, Justin Ariel Bailey. An alternative approach to traditional apologetics focusing on imagination, aesthetics, and the affective.
McGowan’s Call, Rob Smith. A collection of short stories on the rise and fall of a young pastor set in southwest Ohio.
Misreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes, E. Randolph Richards and Richard James. In the West we read a Bible written in a collectivist culture with individualist eyes. The authors help us recalibrate our vision to understand the biblical world.
Christ and the Kingdoms of Men, David C. Innes. A political theology that argues for the nobility of engagement in political life.
Wisdom From Babylon, Gordon T. Smith. The author explores what it means to provide leadership to the church in a secular age.
Sinless Flesh, Rafael Nogueira Bello. An argument that in Christ’s incarnation, he not only assumed human nature but fallen human nature.
Resurrecting Justice, Douglas Harink. Argues that justice is overlooked as a theme in the book of Romans.
Angry Weather, Frederike Otto. Using an approach called attribution science, shows how human-induced climate change is resulting in a variety of extreme weather events.
Reading While Black, Esau McCaulley. Presents the rich tradition of biblical interpretation in the Black church addressing the struggle for justice and offering hope.
Sustaining Grace, Edited by Scott J. Hagley, Karen Rohrer, Michael Gehrling. Explores the dynamic between church planting efforts and mainline denominational structures.
The Liturgy of Politics, Kaitlyn Schiess. Recognizes both how the church’s politics are shaped by our habits and practices, and how we need to recover historic Christian practices that shape us around gospel truths.
The Enneagram for Spiritual Formation, A.J. Sherrill. How the Enneagram can contribute to spiritual transformation.
Spiritual Practices of Jesus, Catherine J. Wright. Looks at the ways Luke portrays simplicity, humility, and prayer in the life of Jesus and how this portrayal shaped practices in the ancient church.
Bavinck, James Eglinton. Explores the life that helped shape the theology of this formidable Reformed theologian.
Twenty books that you’ll see on Bob on Books. But there may be something you’d like to see sooner. The links in the titles will take you to the publishers website for each book. Enjoy!
Bob on Books 
Quick questions, with an answer that might require an entire post from you.
How many words a minutte do you read? Have you ever taken a speed reading course? And if so, did it help and do you have recommendations? Do you read at different rates for different kinds of books?
At one point this summer, I realized I had more than 2000 pages of reading checked out from the local library, in addition to the thousands of “want to read” books of my own, including the inevitable purchases I just can’t stop making. (By the way, Bob Trube, you are a primary cause for this habit with your so enticing reviews of so many wonderful books.) Thanks to a generous grant, our library has been able to waive overdue fees during the pandemic, so I was able to get through those by the end of September. Now I only have 1600 pages checked out and am making pretty good progress.
I will admit that I almost didn’t even open this page, fearful that I would again be tempted to buy more, but your recommendations have become something of an addiction, and I appreciate tte new info you have provided. Thanks!
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So glad you’ve found the page helpful without being overly tempting. A short rather than blog-length answer. Never took a speed-reading page, and I couldn’t tell you how many words per minute, but typically, depending on the density of the text (both on the page and the density of ideas) I read probably 40-50 pages an hour and usually get in about 3 hours a day reading. The big challenge is eliminating distraction and reading when I’m alert. I read about 50,000 pages a year according to Goodreads, a number that has increased over the years–about 900 pages a week.
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