The Month in Reviews: August 2025
Introduction
I began August by reviewing a book on godly play and ended with a book on the magic of knowing what we want–an interesting thematic arc! Along the way were mysteries from some of my favorite writers: Christie, Krueger, Innes, and Simenon. Then there were books on religious freedom, fairness, work hurts, and the hard issues the church needs to be talking about. Turning to more academic theology, I reviewed Kevin Vanhoozer’s marvelous Mere Christian Hermeneutics, a book by Teilhard de Chardin, and a study of the interaction of Christian and Islamic history, politics, and beliefs.
The month’s big book was Chernow’s Mark Twain, which I’m not sure I liked as much as other Chernow biographies. I enjoyed Tolkien’s rendering of three fourteenth century poems I’d not read. Gliff, by Ali Smith caught me by surprise–a dystopian work I found myself thinking about long after I put the book down. Finally, I reviewed a children’s book for those afraid of going to sleep.
The Reviews
Teaching Godly Play, Jerome W. Berryman. Church Publishing (ISBN: 9781606740484) 2009. An introduction to the Godly Play approach to the Christian formation of pre-adolescent children. Review
Tamarack County (Cork O’Connor, 13), William Kent Krueger. Atria Books (ISBN: 9781451645774) 2014. A judge’s wife is missing, a dog is beheaded, and Stephen is nearly killed and Cork must connect the dots. Review
Learning to Be Fair, Charles McNamara. Fortress Press (ISBN: 9781506495095) 2024. The ancient origins of the idea of equity in western moral philosophy and the historical development of the concept. Review
The Late Monsieur Gallet (Inspector Maigret, 3) Georges Simenon. Penguin Books (ISBN: 9780141393377) 2014 (first published in 1931). Gallet’s death seems that of an uninteresting failure until Maigret discovers that nothing about him is as it seems. Review
Swing Low, Volume 2: An Anthology of Black Christianity in the United States, General Editor, Walter R. Strickland II, Associate Editors, Justin D. Clark, Yana Jenay Conner, and Courtlandt K. Perkins. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514004227) 2024. An anthology of primary source writings on Black Christianity in America from the 1600’s to the present. Review
Religious Freedom: A Conservative Primer, John D. Wilsey. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802881908) 2025. A conservative case, arguing the spirit of religion and liberty are mutually necessary and best defended by conservatism. Review
Peril at End House (Hercule Poirot, 8), Agatha Christie. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780063376014) 2024 (First published in 1932). “Nick” Buckley has several “accidents” which Poirot believes are attempts on her life by someone in her inner circle. Review
When Work Hurts, Meryl Herr. InterVarsity Press (ISBN: 9781514010242) 2025. Moving through workplace disappointments and finding healing and hope through Israel’s journey of exile and return. Review
What Happened at Hazelwood, Michael Innes. Penguin Books (ISBN: 9780140026504) 1968 (first published 1946). The master of Hazelwood Hall is murdered shortly after Australian relatives join a manor of people who hate him. Review
Why I Believe in God, Gerhard Lohfink, Linda M. Maloney, translator. Liturgical Press (ISBN: 9780814689974) 2025. A New Testament professor testifies to the reasons for his own faith in God in the form of a memoir. Review
The Phenomenon of Man, Teilhard de Chardin. Harper Perennial Modern Classics (ISBN: 9780061632655) 2008 (first published in 1957). A synthesis of evolutionary thought and teleology culminating in a collective consciousness or Omega Point. Review
If on a winter’s night a traveler, Italo Calvino. Mariner Books Classics (ISBN: 9780156439619) 1982 (first published in Italian in 1979). A reader purchases a book only to find most of it is missing and seeks the rest of the story. Review
The Real Conversation Jesus Wants Us to Have, Regina V. Cates, foreword by Paula Stone Williams. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802884107) 2025. A pastor imagines what Jesus would want to talk about with Christians in the present moment. Review
Mark Twain, Ron Chernow. Penguin Press (ISBN: 9780525561729) 2025. Beyond literary greatness, the complicated, brilliant, tragic, and sometimes eccentric life of one of America’s greatest writers. Review
Charlie Can’t Sleep!, Rachel Joy Welcher, illustrated by Breezy Brookshire. IVP Kids (ISBN: 9781514010013) 2025. A child’s bedtime fears prevent him from sleeping until his mom reminds him that God never sleeps and will care for him. Review
Mere Christian Hermeneutics, Kevin J. Vanhoozer. Zondervan Academic (ISBN: 9780310234388) 2024. Amid a variety of interpretations and reading cultures, articulates essential principles for reading scripture. Review
Gliff, Ali Smith. Pantheon (ISBN: 9780593701560) 2025. Two “Unverifiable” children meet up with a horse slated for rendering in a courageous attempt to find their way in a dystopian world. Review
Global Christianity and Islam, Wafik W. Wahba. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9780830851959) 2025. A study of the history, political relations, and beliefs of the two religions and how they’ve intersected. Review
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with Pearl and Sir Orfeo, Anonymous, translated by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien. William Morrow (ISBN: 9780358724209) 2021 (first published 1975). Tolkien’s translation of three 14th century poems, retaining rhyme, meter and alliterative schema. Review
The Magic of Knowing What You Want, Tracey Gee. Revell (ISBN: 9780800746223) 2025. A guide to identifying, clarifying, and embodying your desires, turning them into action. Review
Best Book of the Month
Gerhard Lohfink’s Why I Believe in God was my best book of August. This was his last book. He wrote not only of his belief in God as a scholar but as one who loved God. The book closes with these words: “But above all I look at Jesus. To him I hold fast. In him I will die.” One of the marks of a good book is it makes me want to buy other books by the author. And so I did with Lohfink!
Quote of the Month
Sing Low, Volume 2: An Anthology of Black Christianity in the United States is a wonderful collection of writings of Black Christians throughout the history of the United States. This quote, from William Pannell’s “My Friend, The Enemy” describes the challenge for our majority culture in moving beyond our aspirations to transcend racism:
“No, this man is a friend. He’s against the KKK, abhors violence, supports the Constitution and is for Negro voting rights. We read the same version, believe the same doctrines, probably have the same middle class tastes, but all he knows about me–or cares to know–is what he sees on the 6 o’clock news.… I wear a suit as good as his, yet he sees me looting a clothing store in Watts. He knows something of my temperament as its mirrored in the behavior of my sons, yet he identifies me with the muggings in Washington or Buffalo. To him, the cause of brotherhood, the disintegration of human relations–civil rights!–is my problem. Mine, because I created it and I perpetuate it.”
What I’m Reading
I’ve just begun R.F. Kuang’s new Katabasis. In it, a couple of graduate students descend into Hell, which so far looks a lot like academia! New Explorations in the Lost World of Genesis by John Walton with his son, J. Harvey Walton reflects the development and revision of Walton’s ideas fifteen years after he began the “Lost World” series. Janet Kellogg Ray is a Christian who is a science educator who explores the roots of the anti-science attitudes of American evangelicals around evolution, vaccines, and climate science. The book is provocatively titled, The God of Monkey Science, a pejorative someone applied to the work she does.
Then I have been reveling in the riches of Michael J. Gorman’s commentary, I Corinthians: A Theological, Pastoral, and Missional Commentary. Lastly, Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill is a kind of devotional for classical music lovers, with a daily selection of classical music with a brief, chatty commentary on the composer and the composition. I like that she includes a number of women and lesser known composers.
Today is Labor Day in the United States. I hope it will be a good chance to catch up on some reading. If not, the earlier sunsets and cooler nights of early autumn invite us to cozy up with a good book.
The Month in Reviews is my monthly review summary going back to 2014! It’s a great way to browse what I’ve reviewed. The search box on this blog also works well if you are looking for a review of a particular book. Thanks for stopping by.