On Books

Review: False Scent

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False Scent (Roderick Alleyn #21), Ngaio Marsh. New York: Felony & Mayhem, 2015 (originally published in 1959).

Summary: The fiftieth birthday celebration of famed stage actress Mary Bellamy is interrupted when she is found dead in her bedroom, poisoned by her own insecticide.

It’s the fiftieth birthday celebration for Mary Bellamy, a famed stage actress, and supposedly much-loved by those around her, who visit her throughout the day and are present for her birthday celebration that evening. Like many famous, aging actresses, she both holds power over the lives of others and is jealous of them all as she recognizes those rising in the world, even as she struggles to keep her edge. Those around her have noticed she is increasingly agitated.

Her husband, a businessman, worries about her use of an insecticide called Slaypest on the flowers in her bedroom. Her ward, Dickie Dakers, adopted by Mary and her husband when young, is a budding playwright who has written one play in which Mary has starred and has another one, with a lead part written, not for her, but his romantic interest, a young actress working at a nearby bookstore. Dickie has not yet told her. There is a former lover, an actress friend, a costumer, and a director, all dependent on the whims of Mary…and the Management. There are also a nanny and her dresser, rivals with each other, thinking the worst of the other.

The tensions simmer through the day, although Mary, disapproving of Dickie’s love interest, schemes to invite her to the party to show her up. As it turns out, without intending, she not only steals the show with her stunning beauty, it becomes clear from an overheard conversation that she is Dickie’s intended lead for the play. Mary is furious, and after so thoroughly offending the girl and her father that they leave, she has it out with Dickie in her bedroom, between the cutting of the cake and the presents. He leaves in a rush, the guests waiting for Mary to open their gifts. Finally the dresser goes up and finds her in the throes of death. By the time the somewhat inebriated family doctor who is at the party makes his way to the bedroom, she is dead.

It’s a case of poisoning with the insecticide she was so fond of using. But was it an accident, suicide, or murder? At this point, Fox, followed by Alleyn make their entrance, quickly narrowing the possibility to murder. Dickie is the obvious suspect but Alleyn takes his time–he’s not so sure. To complicate it all, it seems everyone is withholding the truth of what went on in Mary’s house on that fated birthday.

Marsh’s seems at the height of her powers in this one. At one time or another you believe almost all those in the house could have done it. And the one who did…I didn’t see that one coming. As in so many of her stories, she focuses around a theatrical company, reflecting her own theatrical background. As in others, there is an acted civility under which there are jealousies, plottings, resentments, and rivalries. Once again, she comes up with a gruesome instrument of murder (although I found myself muttering “get rid of that d**ned Slaypest”). This is one case where Alleyn solves the crime but the murderer eludes capture.

Review: Non-Toxic Masculinity

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Non-Toxic Masculinity, Zachary Wagner. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2023.

Summary: Focusing on the distortions of male sexuality coming out of the purity culture movement, charts what a healthy male sexuality might look like that is responsible, selfless, and loving.

“IT’S A CONFUSING TIME TO BE A MAN.”

These are the opening words in Zachary Wagner’s new book, Non-Toxic Masculinity. The book focuses particularly on the brand of male sexuality that has emerged out of the evangelical church’s purity movement culture that has been marked by scandals of sexual abuse and harassment in the church and unhealthy patterns of sexuality in many marriages. This also has resulted in male shame and body hatred. Wagner writes for men, reflecting on his own experiences growing up in purity culture, calling for men to be accountable both in owning the problem they have had and seeking the healing and vision of positive masculine sexuality that he believes may be found within the scriptures.

Wagner focuses the first part of the book on the Purity Movement of the 1990’s and early 2000’s, defining it as “the theological assumptions, discipleship materials, events, and rhetorical strategies used to promote traditional Christian sexual ethics in response to the sexual revolution.” He contends that the messaging of the movement led people to believe:

  1. Bodies are evil and sex is bad
  2. Abstinence will result in great sex later
  3. In sexual certainty in an uncertain world
  4. Sexual sin always had clear consequences
  5. Sex is at the center, it is a big deal
  6. Singleness is subhuman (and only temporary)
  7. Boys are dangerous (and so are girls)

These messages inculcated shame rather than a recognition of the gift of our sexuality and bodies, that men were out of control animals (and that women bore the burden of not arousing their desires), and also led to attitudes of male sexual entitlement in marriage. It also created ideals of masculinity that many men struggled to identify with, whether they were straight or gay. Wagner shows how these messages were dehumanizing for both men and women.

In the second part of the book, he seeks to articulate a vision for renewed male sexuality. He begins with the assumption that men are victims of their own desires that may result in shame, self-hatred, and may be the root of compulsive pornography use. He speaks of his own breakthrough of recognizing the wonder and beauty of being male and that desire, curiosity, and attraction reveal our longing for this deepest of human connections for which God made us. He also deal with biblical misconceptions, challenging expectations of marital sexuality, male desire being greater than female, that sexual frustration is a good reason to marry, and that wives owe husbands sex. Finally, he focuses on the male sexuality of Jesus, that as truly male and not androgynous, Jesus had a penis, modeled healthy relationships with both men and women, and the dignity of singleness. He rehumanized women who had been ill-treated.

In the last part of the book, Wagner explores what “grown up” male sexuality is like. He begins with the role of parents and significant adults in shaping the male sexuality of boys and protecting them from abuse, teaching them of the dignity of both boys and girls bodies. He challenges the “every man’s battle” narrative while offering a helpful critique of pornography use. He offers healthy alternatives for young men and their parents to the “I kissed dating good-bye” narrative. He discusses how we cultivate cultures of dignity, accountability, and friendship between men and women in the church, recognizing the failings of both complementarians and egalitarians. He punctures the overblown expectations of marital sexuality, talking honestly (with his wife’s explicit permission at the beginning of the book) about their own sexual struggles, and how marriage is a process of learning to love in all of life and in the bedroom.

Wagner also goes to a place I haven’t seen many books go. He talks about the connection between male sexuality and fatherhood, that this is one of the central purposes of men’s sexuality. He contends that this capacity teaches us that male sexuality is relational, cooperative, life-giving, responsible, nurturing, and self-sacrificial. What I so appreciate here is that Wagner frames male sexuality and fatherhood in broader issues of Christ-like character that extend far beyond our intimate relations.

I found this an important book to read to understand the fallout to the Purity Movement that I’ve encountered both in other books and in the experience of those raised within it. I appreciate both the analysis of the impact of that culture on young men (so much more has been written from female perspectives) and the effort to articulate healthy male sexuality within a traditional Christian sexual ethic without the messaging of purity culture. The frank discussions of pornography use and the underlying issues is an important aspect of this book. Wagner also manages, I think, to convey respect for LGBTQ+ persons while adhering to a traditional Christian sexual ethic, as well as to reflect upon the negative ways purity culture impacted LGBTQ+ persons.

There is only so much one book can cover. The book deals only tangentially with the sexual ethics of the wider culture. While speaking trenchantly against male sexual entitlement and patriarchy, there is an opposite extreme of male passivity that I have discussed with Christian leaders, both male and female. It is a confusing time for men, and declining male college enrollments and other measures suggest that as women advance in many areas, men are not advancing with them. Some of the qualities of healthy masculinity addressed in this book seem to bear on such questions and I hope Wagner will write more about this.

What Wagner has done is articulate a vision of masculinity that is humanizing for both men and women, that articulates the goodness of male sexuality and bodies within a biblical sexual ethic, and that is positive, life-affirming, and attractive. The church has been losing young men and women for lack of this, even while the culture offers nothing better. What I hope is that this will be a book that starts a conversation among Christian men that has been sorely lacking.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.

Review: Endless Grace

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Endless Grace: Prayers Inspired By The Psalms, Ryan Whitaker Smith & Dan Wilt. Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2023.

Summary: Prayers in free verse inspired, psalm by psalm, from Psalm 76 to Psalm 150, responding with ideas from the whole of scripture as well as literature.

Endless Grace, covering Psalm 76 to Psalm 150 is the companion volume to Sheltering Mercy, prayerful responses to Psalm 1 to Psalm 75. This is a gem of devotional literature! What the writers have done is to render prayers of response for each of the psalms. These are not paraphrases. Rather, what the writers have done in free verse is to write prayers drawing upon the whole of scripture as well as references from literature and The Book of Common Prayer that connect to the themes of the psalm. Where they do so, they provide footnotes citing the relevant biblical or other text.

One of my favorite psalms is Psalm 127. Here is Psalm 127 in The New International Version:

Psalm 127

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

1 Unless the Lord builds the house,
    the builders labor in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
    the guards stand watch in vain.
2 In vain you rise early
    and stay up late,
toiling for food to eat—
    for he grants sleep to[a] those he loves.

3 Children are a heritage from the Lord,
    offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
    are children born in one’s youth.
5 Blessed is the man
    whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
    when they contend with their opponents in court.

Here is the rendering of Psalm 127 by the authors:

PSALM 127

LORD OF THIS HOUSE

------------
Who is our head and host?

Christ,
Lord of the Feast.

Who watches over us?

Christ,
our stronghold and refuge.

Who grants us peace?

Christ,
our Eternal Sabbath.

Who is the giver of life?

Christ, 
in whom all the families of the earth are blessed.

Who is King over this house?

Christ,
who loved us
and gave Himself up for us--
who call us His own.

The center justification of the verse reflects the format used throughout these psalms and, for this reader allowed meditative reflection on each phrase.

As evident in Psalm 127, the writers draw upon the full redemptive arc of the biblical material, praying these psalms through the eyes of Christ, or a Christ-centered perspective. Custom artwork throughout complements the text and the book is hardbound, allowing for many seasons of devotional use. I found this not only a way to read the Psalms with fresh eyes but to pray with fresh words.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program.

Review: The Hope of Life After Death

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The Hope of Life After Death (Essential Studies in Biblical Theology), M. Jeff Brannon. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2022.

Summary: A study of the hope for life after death throughout scripture and the significance of the resurrection for the believer.

M. Jeff Brannon had a professor who observed “that many Christians can articulate the importance of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross but have an impoverished understanding of the importance of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.” That observation eventually led Brannon to study this theme throughout scripture and its relevance to the Christian, one fruit of which is this contribution to the Essential Studies in Biblical Theology series. He argues that this is vital because the assertion “Jesus is risen” is central to the Christian faith, it distinguishes Christianity from other religious and philosophical systems, and is vital to the fearless witness of the Christian disciple.

Our hope of life everlasting is rooted in the reality that we were created for life in relationship with God, the source of life, and we were meant to be God’s vice regents in creation. Sin and death, which followed from our rebellion against, and estrangement from the source of life ought not overshadow this awareness that we were made for life with God and that God begins his redemptive work in the garden with the promise of one who would defeat the serpent. Even in the provision of sacrificed animal skins for clothing reflects the beginning of this redemptive story.

Amid the downward spiral of humanity leading to the flood, Enoch walked with God and was not–relationship with God leads to life the overcomes death. God saves Noah and the creatures of the earth out of the flood. And God calls Abraham to become a blessing to the nations and to become a great nation enjoying life with God in the land, continuing the theme of relationship with God leading to life for a people. In the rest of the Pentateuch and the historical books we see God rescue the people out of the Passover death in Egypt and bring them into life with God at the center, first in the wilderness, and then in the land of promise. The Psalms attest to God’s deliverance from death and include references to hope of life with God beyond the grave (e.g. Psalm 22). The prophets also attest not only to judgment but the hope of restoration to life in the land and to resurrection (Isaiah 26:19; 53:10-11; Ezekiel 37, and Daniel 12:1-3).

We come to the life of Jesus, who restores relationship with God as the temple, as the mediator, as the one who raises the dead, and dies for sin and rises again himself. What was anticipated in shadowy Old Testament references has dawned in full light in Christ. The resurrection vindicates him as God’s anointed savior and king. It vindicates him as the righteous one able to take on the sins of his people. He is the second Adam bringing about new creation and resurrection life, ushering in the new age. The resurrection and ascension accomplish his enthronement as the Lord of this new creation of life.

What then does this mean for us who believe? We have restored relationship with God and enjoy life in his presence. We reign with Christ, enjoying the first fruits of new creation reality. We have been spiritually raised to life. Yet there are also the “not yets” of full vindication and freedom from the presence of sin, life in the immediate presence of God with Christ, ruling in the new heaven and earth to come, and a glorious bodily resurrection.

I write this review during Holy Week. Brannon offers a wonderful rehearsal of the implications of the day that changed everything–Easter Day–the central celebration of Christians. He reminds us that our hope of life after death means we do not grieve as those with no hope, nor do we fear death. This enables fearless witness and the endurance of suffering. When we say and sing “He is risen!” this Sunday, we utter the most momentous words of our faith and attest to a hope running throughout scripture, that God has purposed that we have life in Christ that we may enjoy relationship with him forever. That’s something to sing about!

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.

Review: Station Eleven

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Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel. New York: Knopf, 2014.

Summary: An account of the end of civilization as we know it after a catastrophic pandemic, and how survivors sought to keep beauty and the memory of what was alive as they struggled against destructive forces to rebuild human society.

Arthur Leander, an accomplished actor who burned through marriages, is on stage in the middle of performing King Lear when his own heart gives out and he dies on stage, despite the effort of a medic in training, Jeevan. Watching is a young child actor, Kirsten Raymonde, who often talked to Arthur. A kind woman takes her aside, noticing an unusual graphic novel of a settlement of survivors on a watery planet, Station Eleven, a gift from Arthur that Kirsten carries for the next twenty years.

That night, as the snow fell on Toronto, was the beginning of the end of civilization. Jeevan’s friend Hua, working at a hospital, calls, urging Jeevan to leave immediately. The hospital is full of flu cases, many but not all from a plane from Russia. Before long, every last one is dead, and all who came in contact are sick, including Hua. None will live. In days, nearly everyone around the world dies. The media goes dead, then the internet, and finally utilities. Planes are grounded. Permanently. Cars run out of gas. Only about one in two hundred and fifty survive.

Emily St. John Mandel, in Station Eleven, imagines a post-pandemic, post-civilization world. Yes, it is a world of predators. Kirsten, a survivor has two knives tattooed on her wrist, the lives taken by her knives. She doesn’t remember her first year, and doesn’t want to. But there are also those who seek to hold on to remnants of beauty. She is part of the Traveling Symphony, a group of musicians and actors on a circuit up and down Michigan, performing great music and the works of Shakespeare.

Some towns reconstitute themselves. And some become dangerous. One, St Deborah by the Water, has been taken over by The Prophet and his cult, a Jonestown-type scenario. The Traveling Symphony escapes, along with a child who stows away to escape becoming another of The Prophet’s brides. This sets up a climactic confrontation.

The story goes back and forth tracing the lives of the people connected to Arthur and that night in Toronto, both before and after the pandemic. We meet Clark, a gay actor friend of Arthur’s, one of the survivors living at the Severn City Airport, where flights had been grounded, turning it into its own community. He becomes a curator of The Museum of Civilization, with artifacts from laptops and smartphones to newspapers, all from the time before the pandemic. There was a former wife of Arthur there as well, with their child, Tyler, who has a disturbing habit of quoting apocalyptic passages from the Bible. They eventually leave. Jeevan eventually walks a thousand miles from Toronto to a settlement in what was Virginia.

And there is Miranda Carroll, the artist of Station Eleven. We learn her story, how she met and married author and wrote and drew Station Eleven, giving Arthur two copies shortly before his death…and hers.

Beyond imagining what a world nearly wiped out by a pandemic might be like (a prescient book, written six years before 2020), Mandel explores the powerful longing to cling to the good and the beautiful, and to human community, even when all else falls apart. She reminds us that the complex thing we call civilization is actually a thin veneer, easily stripped away. The question is, what then remains? When the veneer falls away, will there be brutes or beauties?

And what stories will shape us, and how will we read them? There were two copies of Station Eleven. Kirsten had one, and it profoundly shaped her imagination. We learn that the other copy also shaped an imagination, but quite differently. We’re reminded not only of the power of story but also that no two people read a story in the same way.

One final caveat. Don’t do what I did and read the opening chapters of the book the day before returning home on a plane full of people. Those who have read Station Eleven will understand.

Review: Finding Phoebe

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Finding Phoebe, Susan E. Hylen. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2023.

Summary: A careful examination of the social status of women in the New Testament world, challenging many of our preconceptions of women in the early church.

I’ve been challenged of late that many of the things I thought I knew about the status of women in the New Testament world lack grounding in either the best socio-cultural research of Jewish and Greco-Roman society of this time, or in the biblical texts pertaining to women. For example, Caryn Reeder’s The Samaritan Woman’s Story (review) challenged my assumption (and that of most interpreters) that the Samaritan woman was a sexually “loose” woman.

In this work, Susan E. Hylen looks at the social world of New Testament women, exemplified in the brief portrait of Phoebe in Romans 16:1-2. considering their access to wealth and property, their social influence and status, important virtues of women, and the question of women speaking and being silent. What is unique about her treatment is that in each chapter, she will present pertinent cultural and biblical background material and then offer passages of scripture that she will invite readers to examine in light of this information, with the result of reaching one’s own conclusions.

Hylen begins with establishing the fact that women commonly owned and controlled property, roughly one-third of all property in the Roman empire. Property that a wife inherited from her father remained hers and was not controlled by her husband and some women could be very wealthy, for example, Judith in the Apocrypha. The woman who anointed Jesus in Bethany was likely one such wealthy women, as were those who supported Jesus’ itinerant ministry. Women were commended for the use of their wealth in building public works. They oversaw households on their husbands behalf, or as single or widowed persons, were the head of the household. Phoebe may well have been one such, named as she is as a benefactor of Paul’s. Women also engaged in a variety of occupations outside of household management, from producing cloth to selling food to even being gladiators!

As we know, one of the elements of social influence and status was patronage. Women, as well as men, were patrons, offering loans and assistance, making civic gifts and exercising civic leadership. As already noted, Phoebe was one such person, and thus came highly attested by Paul, to the Romans. While the extent of literacy is somewhat hard to determine, the extensive existence of contracts as well as written receipts suggests that it may have been more common than thought, and that women, while less educated on average than men, were educated to the extent families were able, and thought needed. Some, particularly those with significant influence, were highly educated and that this may have been the case with Phoebe.

So, what made a woman virtuous. Hylen talks first of modesty, which may have had less to do with what was covered or exposed than the choice of simple rather than extravagant garb. It did mean sexual faithfulness, to a higher standard than men but also was associated with self control in civic relations. The virtuous woman was industrious, both inside and outside the home, including in her business and civic endeavors. They were loyal, which meant more than faithfulness. They managed resources well for their heirs, preserving family wealth as well as investing in one’s community. Also, they helped foster marital harmony, with the marriage not being a power struggle, but two people working respectfully of each other to advance the status of one’s family, especially since both often had property resources at their disposal.

Finally, Hylen discusses conventions around speech and silence for women. There is much evidence of women speaking in social, business, and civic settings, often with women engaged in advocacy. In both cultural and biblical texts, women engage in prayer and prophecy. There was a flexibly applied “rule of silence.” Silence in the culture reflected self-control, one being silent in the presence of social superiors, which could apply both to women and men. This also meant that there were situations in which women spoke. It is likely that Phoebe’s was one such situation as a benefactor, a deacon, and Paul’s emissary to Rome, likely bearing, and perhaps even explaining Paul’s letter.

Hylen portrays a more complicated picture than we’ve often heard. While men did have greater status, women also had status and influence, and used it in the household, over their property, and in their business, civic, and religious interests. Yet modesty and self-control meant women also knew when to speak and to be silent. Though there is much we would like to know about Phoebe, it is evident that she was someone who may have navigated this world of status and influence and skill as a trusted ministry partner with Paul, and that there were others like her, who may serve as models of ministry and agency for women today.

I appreciated the approach of this work, combining needed background with the opportunity to engage biblical texts in light of that background. This is a good resource for both individuals and groups wanting to work through the question of women’s influence in the New Testament and what this means for today.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.

Review: Redwall

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Redwall (Redwall #1), Brian Jacques. New York: Ace Books, 1998 (originally published in 1986).

Summary: The first in the Redwall Saga,where Matthias, the adopted mouse, dreams of being a warrior like Martin the Warrior, hero of the Redwall Abbey tapestry, a dream (and prophecy) he has the chance to fulfill when Cluny the rat and his forces attack Redwall Abbey.

How did I miss this fantasy, and miss reading it aloud when our son was growing up? Only recently, when I kept seeing it turn up in the recommendations of online friends did I decide to pick up the first of the series of Redwall Sagas (twenty-two in all) by Brian Jacques, who passed in 2011. I found Redwall absolutely delightful and absorbing.

The story centers around a mouse adopted by Redwall Abby, Matthias, who has dreams of following in the footsteps of Martin the Warrior, founder and hero of the abbey, celebrated in a glorious tapestry. He’s mentored by Methuselah the gatekeeper, old Abbot Mortimer, and Constance the Badger, perhaps the fiercest fighter in Redwall. He’s rather impetuous for a novice monk but his true mettle shows when news comes of the approaching attack of Cluny the Rat, known as the Scourge for his poison-barb tail. Cluny has struck terror wherever he has gone, but the residents of Redwall, who quickly recognize Matthias leadership, refuse to surrender.

So it is war. Cluny is strangely troubled in his dreams of a mighty warrior like Martin, and even succeeds in stealing the Martin portion of the tapestry. But this just reveals a prophecy, that points to Matthias as Martin’s successor–if only he can find Martin’s armor and sword. The Sparras, living in the rooftops of the abbey are sworn enemies of the mice and clues point to their possession of Martin’s sword. Matthias ends up their prisoner, but in the end secures the shield and the friendship with the future queen of the Sparras and learns that the sword has fallen into the deadly grip of Asmodeus, a poisonous adder who has already claimed several victims. He sets off to Mossflower forest, seeking the counsel of a wise owl as to the whereabouts of Asmodeus, after making friendship with the voles of the forest.

I will leave you to find out whether he succeeds in his battle against Asmodeus, and whether he is able to save Redwall from the increasingly devious attacks of Cluny. But here is what I really liked about the story: the contrast between Cluny and his minions and the residents of Redwall. The former reminded me of the demons of the Screwtape Letters, in endless rivalries, seeking to enlarge themselves by devouring others, including one who even fancies taking Cluny’s place, leading to his demise. By contrast, it seems that the character of Redwall is that residents magnify each other, the wise old abbot and old Methuselah pouring themselves into Matthias, and all working with harmony, and even joy, amid their efforts to defend. The Sparras are reconciled to the Redwall mice, and the voles to the former arch-predator owl. Jacques is also skilled in description, enabling us to envision Redwall, the old Saint Ninian’s church, the Mossflower woods, as well as all of the principle characters.

From what I read, the plans for a Redwall movie from Netflix are on hold due to the company’s troubles. I’m not altogether disappointed with this. It gives me a chance to discover more books in the saga. I loved Jacques worldbuilding and story-telling, more accessible than Tolkien, though richly textured in its own way. Only twenty-one more to go! I only wish I’d had these books in those wonderful “read me a story” days (although Asmodeus might be a bit scary for a young child).

Review: Librarian Tales

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Librarian Tales, William Ottens. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2020.

Summary: An entertaining account of the life of librarians, the different roles they fill and the usual and unusual problems they face.

William Ottens has worked in just about every job in a library from aide to director of a small library (which by definition involved all of these roles at some point or another). He has also hosted a blog on Tumblr called Librarian Problems since 2012, the source and inspiration for this book.

Ottens begins the book describing his own path to becoming a librarian. It started with a high school book club (run by the librarian) and a fictional library caretaker, Forney Hull. He describes his experience of library school including his realization that everything important, he’d learned in a high school job making pizzas and serving ice cream at a gas station (although he also describes some great skills in strategic planning based on his library school training). He tells us about landing his first job as a reference assistant at the Lawrence Public Library in Kansas and the call from Oskaloosa that led to being hired as the 27 year-old director of a small town library.

He then walks through the basic departments of the library and the unique challenges of each. In Circulation it is fines and the strange things that often get returned with books. Reference librarians deal with patrons’ questions including a little girl checking out a book on farts asking if the librarian farted! The big affliction for part of every year is tax forms and information. Youth services has to think about reading hours, summer reading programs, and sustaining teen interest, including the story of a highly successful Halloween party. Tech support helps computer novices and all those trying to download books to devices, an ever-changing field, and vital for people with limited access to these resources. Collection services includes stories of books requested, and books pulled from the collection and some of the reasons for that as well as the difference a label can make.

The third part of the book describes his experience as a library director, how he began his time in this role learning from all the people he worked with, wearing many of their hats as the occasion required, leading strategic planning and budgeting processes and working with city leaders who held the purse strings, and finally dealing with building issues, including the possibility of the two parts of the building separating from one another.

The final part is “Librarian Rants and Raves.” Rant number one is that librarians don’t sit around and read all day. There are a number of technical tasks that occupy their days and reading is a private time enjoyment. A chapter is devoted on what not to say to a librarian and other pet peeves including “I’m a tax paying citizen” (so is the librarian). Librarians also don’t like patrons who snap their fingers from across the room to get their attention. At the same time, Ottens loves his work–the joy of research requests, of weeding out books, of helping transform lives and creating spaces to be. He gives the last word to three other librarians who he interviews.

I thought this book an engaging read that gave a good behind-the-scenes glimpse at the life of librarians, the joy they take in their profession and their high sense of calling. Before opining on your local library (at least critically) this might be a good book to read. It makes me all the more eager to say a big “Thank you” to the next librarian I engage with. If I were younger, it might have even inspired me to become a librarian.

Review: Thoughts on Public Prayer

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Thoughts on Public Prayer, Samuel Miller, foreword by Jonathan L. Master. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2022 (originally published in 1849).

Summary: A classic discussion advocating for extemporaneous public prayer as the practice of the church in the first five centuries of its existence, how this is done badly and well, and how the pastor may pursue excellence in public prayer.

Public prayer is the one other public utterance common in many churches besides the preaching of God’s Word in worship services. The latter involves a pastor leading the people to hear God’s Word for them together. The former involves the pastor leading the people in approaching God together, addressing God. Samuel Miller, in this reprint of a classic from 1849, argues that we tend to give far more attention to the preaching than to public prayer but that public prayer is equally of great importance.

He begins by addressing the history of public prayer, making the case that the earliest practice of the church was extemporaneous public prayer, surveying both the New Testament and texts from the early fathers. He treats prayers toward the east, for the dead, to saints, to Mary, in unknown tongues and responses to prayer as either later practices or not grounded in biblical doctrine. He does find warrants for various postures, particularly kneeling and standing–and not sitting!

He contends that the use of prescribed forms, defended from scripture is both a later introduction, and lacking basis. He believes prescribed prayers circumscribe the ministry of the Spirit and easily lapse into formalism and cannot possibly cover all the circumstances of human existence.

He enumerates some of the common faults in public prayer, including:

  1. Excessive use of favorite words, like “Oh God!” (or in our day “just”).
  2. Hesitations, embarrassment, stumbling, and pauses in utterance.
  3. Ungrammatical expressions.
  4. The lack of regularity and order–prayers that are a jumble.
  5. Excessive minuteness of detail.
  6. Excessive length–he suggests not more than 12-15 minutes, which would be excessive by today’s standards!
  7. Overuse of highly figurative language.
  8. Introducing party politics–a word needed in many pulpits today!
  9. Expressions of the amatory class (expressions that in other context may be used of a romantic lover).
  10. Wit, humor, or sarcasm.
  11. Using prayer for didactic purposes.

He goes on to enumerate seven more faults, but this gives you the idea.

He then turns to characteristics of good public prayer which:

  1. Abounds in the language of the word of God. We used to say that the best way to pray scripturally was to pray scripture.
  2. Is orderly, though free to vary the order.
  3. Is dignified, general in its plan, and comprehensive but not excessive in detail.
  4. Is not overly long
  5. Is seasonable and appropriate to the occasion.
  6. Is filled with gospel truth and refers to the spread of that gospel.
  7. Concludes with doxology.

He touches on fifteen points altogether that make for good public prayer and then concludes with how the minister cultivates excellence in public prayer, which for Miller begins with private prayer, reading works on prayer, saturating one’s life with scripture, being prepared to pray about any of the events that arise in life, and, while not “rehearsing prayers,” to engage in devotional composition of them, the counterpart to one’s study and preparation to preach.

As may be evident, Miller offers both practical ideas and an overarching theology and spirituality of public prayer. While this certainly needs to be adapted to our current forms of worship, there is much good here to heed. The contemporary reader will note a degree of anti-Roman Catholic polemic, that would not have been uncommon to reformed pastors of his time, mostly in the sections on history and liturgy. Those from liturgical traditions would no doubt have rejoinders to his critique of the use of forms, and as he acknowledges, extemporaneous public prayers may have their own problems, and even deteriorate into forms as well. A vital, Spirit-filled and scripture-informed life on the part of those who lead God’s people in worship is truly the decisive difference. For those of us in more extemporaneous prayer traditions, this book is a gold mine of good ideas, as relevant today as in 1849.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher.

Review: This Isn’t Going to End Well

/ rtrube54 / 1 Comment

This Isn’t Going to End Well, Daniel Wallace. Chapel Hill: Algonquin Books, 2023.

Summary: The story of William Nealy, as told by his brother-in-law, a cartoonist, guru of adventure sports, and emulated by the author, all the while harboring a secret within that finally killed him.

The First Time I saw him he was standing on the roof of our house, wearing frayed and faded cutoffs and nothing else, eyeing the swimming pool about twenty-five feet below. William. Last name unknown, unnecessary. Already–in my mind, at least–he had achieved the single name status of a rock star, and I had yet to even meet him. I’d only heard about him from Holly, my sister, who was older than me by six years. My sister’s boyfriend was on the roof.

This Isn’t Going to End Well, p. 3

William was William Nealy, the author’s brother-in-law. For years, Daniel Wallace would admire him. He could fix anything. He was fearless, whether diving off a roof, white waterrafting, kayaking, or mountain biking. He was also an underground cartoonist. Several of his books on whitewater rafting, kayaking, and mountain biking are legendary. His maps of rivers, cartoon-like, are incredibly detailed and accurate, and as we learn, how he began to make money on his art. He’d lived near death since age 9 when he saw it up close when twins he was on a scouting trip with were buried under an overhang. Some thought it changed him.

Wallace wanted to be him–cartoonist, writer. He was a kind of big brother. They’d go to movies, William sneaking in beer. He fixed Wallace’s waterbed. There were drugs as well. And Wallace did follow him as a writer, even though they grew apart after Wallace married.

And there was Holly. They saw others but William and Holly just kept coming back to each other. Then at twenty-one, Holly was diagnosed with a debilitating and progressive form of rheumatoid arthritis. William cared for her for the next twenty five years, making life possible for her while he did most of the work on their small farm, a retreat, really, in the woods. Then one day he went up to their houseboat, then into the woods behind the marina office, and shot himself. Several years later, Holly finally succumbed to the disease that had afflicted her all her adult life.

William’s death seemed inexplicable. He seemed the most alive person Wallace had ever known. He had everything going for him. Only after Holly’s death did Wallace discover the secret burden William carried for decades as he cleaned out there house and went through William’s journals, coming to terms with the mix of emotions around William’s life, manner of death, and their friendship.

Nealy was something of a cult figure. This work is an intimate glimpse into the man behind the cult figure. It also gives us a glimpse into the complicated feelings that follow suicide, and the reality that what we see on the outside may not reflect what the person we think we know struggles with within.

For anyone struggling with thoughts of suicide or who is concerned for someone or needs emotional support, the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is open 24/7. The call is free and confidential.

Or, text HOME to 741741 from anywhere in the United States, anytime. Crisis Text Line is here for any crisis. A live, trained Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds, all from a secure online platform.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program.