Tom & Alissa

I know that there is actually a day left in the month, but I will be at the IAM conference and certainly won’t be looking at a computer, and there’s no way I’m going to finish anything before then. So.

Exiles - Ron Hansen
This was a pre-release read (I believe it comes out in May) for a RELEVANT article. It’s the story of the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins as he studies for the Jesuit priesthood and is deeply affected by a shipwreck; it’s also the story of five nuns who were on the shipwreck. Ron Hansen is a professor at Santa Clara University, a Catholic, and a prolific and celebrated novelist whose book The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford was made into a movie this year starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck. The book’s style isn’t my preferred reading - it’s fairly formal - but I enjoyed the book nonetheless. [4/5]

The End of Reason - Ravi Zacharias
Also pre-release - I think it comes out in May. Ravi Zacharias’ relatively reasoned plea to the more bombastic of the new atheists for a rational, reasoned conversation instead of mud-slinging and yelling. It’s also a defense of belief in God; it certainly doesn’t prove that God exists (as if you can actually do that), but it is well-thought-out. Zacharias is well-known for his apologetics work. Quick read, too. [4/5]

No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories - Miranda July
Well, I love Miranda July, and these are really wonderfully written stories. She is an expert at writing stories of the tiny moments experienced by slightly strange people. There’s a lot of very human emotion in this book (and also a lot of squirmy moments, including some strange sexual activity). July is one talented human being - she also made the indie hit You and Me and Everyone We Know. [4/5]

Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practices - Brian McLaren
Another pre-release; this is the first in a series of books on spiritual disciplines. I have to say that though I’ve never read McLaren before, this book at least convinced me that he has an excellent grasp on church history and a great appreciation for and love of tradition, not as something dry and routine, but as something that helps us train ourselves to live rightly toward God and our fellow man. The book still has me thinking about spiritual disciplines in my own life. [4/5]

I am reading many less books than I usually do, because I’m reading hundreds of pages for class and they are not light, to put it mildly (though they’re terribly interesting). However, I’m in the midst of three books:
- My Mistress’ Sparrow Is Dead, edited by Jeffrey Eugenides. This is a simply wonderful collection of great love stories - all short stories, by authors from Chekhov and Faulkner and James Joyce to Lorrie Moore and Miranda July and Alice Munro. Absolutely highly recommended.
- Slow Food: The Case for Taste by Carlo Petrini. I’m enjoying it but I don’t get much time to read it. Hopefully will finish soon and be able to do a little more thinking on it.
- Eat This Book by Eugene Peterson. I love it, but I’m taking it very slowly. I do hope to finish it this month.