Reading Story: Four Books to Check Out Today
As promised, some brief reviews of books I’ve been reading lately. Discover “habits of grace,” see if you want to be “Educated,” find out more about “Visual Theology,” and consider the gospel hope for suffering in Tolstoy. This week, four book reviews to help you grow in knowledge and wisdom and/or joy.
First, a caution. People who have suffered trauma and abuse may find this book very disturbing. Graphic descriptions of wounds and injuries may be hard for the squeamish (that’s me!). I listened to it like a highway driver who cannot turn her head away from an accident site. Eventually I turned to a paper copy so I could skim over the really graphic details of the injuries that kept mounting up. Despite my struggle with the graphic descriptions of violence, I still recommend this book.
It’s a fascinating, even addictive read. The driving question for me was, “How in the world did a girl who grew up in such a story become the woman who wrote this book?” It is a powerful story of redemption, not necessarily Christian redemption (the author introduces the book with a disclaimer of sorts, noting that while there is a message about fundamentalism, the memoir is not intended to be a message about any particular religion). At the very least, there is common grace and profound healing at work, with hope for the future. Read it if you can; read it to understand how trauma affects people; read it to discover hope for healing.
A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible
Seeing and Knowing God’s Word
Tim Challies and Josh Byers
Where was this book when I was in high school, slogging through those Old Testament judges and kings? (Well, I actually loved my Old and New Testament Bible classes in high school, and they were God’s way of introducing me to the Bible which I’d never really read). I discovered A Visual Theology while planning the recent Bible study series for the blog. What an awesome gift to the world! It has eye-catching graphic charts for just about anything you might want to study in the Bible. In addition to the graphics, it is an excellent resource on the Bible. Some of my favorite parts include:
- A well-crafted overview of the Bible and its reliability, made lively and interesting with the brightly colored graphics.
- Some great hints about why and how to study the Bible.
- Chapters explaining how to see Jesus in all of the Bible.
Some of my favorite graphics:
- A gorgeous (really!) chart of all those kings I had to memorize in high school (and have long since forgotten). Right there in one nifty chart on page 143, along with the prophets that cried out to them and the passages where you can find them.
- A depiction of the longings of Israel and how they were fulfilled in Jesus (p. 146).
- A lovely design detailing the fulfilled prophecies about Jesus. (164-165).
This is the book you will pull out to refresh your memory or to learn something new about the Bible. I’d say it belongs on the reference shelf for any Bible teacher and most Bible students.
Habits of Grace
Enjoying Jesus Through the Spiritual Disciplines
David Mathis
This nifty little resource, which I also used for my spiritual graces series, came to me through our church library (Can I get a huge “thank God” for all the wonderful church librarians out there?! David Mathis is generous and hospitable, welcoming us into habits of “grace,” ways to grow closer to the Lord. He boils these habits down to the basics then offers supplements to add as time and season allow or require. Mathis names three main habits of grace:
- “Hear his voice” (Word).
- “Have his ear” (Prayer).
- “Belong to his body” (Fellowship).
For each, he makes practical and accessible suggestions for how to go about developing healthy habits. I particularly loved the chapter on journaling “as a pathway to joy” and the chapter on fasting as a way of “sharpening your affections” in a culture focused on filling. He follows the three main categories with brief chapters about making disciples, stewarding our finances, and using our time wisely. Read this one if you want to be encouraged and/or refreshed in developing spiritual habits of grace.
Death of Ivan Ilyich
Leo Tolstoy
A follow up to reading Karen Swallow Prior’s On Reading Well, The quickest way to say you’ve read Tolstoy, but that’s not the only advantage of reading this gorgeous novella. Tolstoy, as always, does a masterful job of tracing the progression of a character, in this case, Ivan Ilych, whose ordinary pursuit of self-fulfillment is extraordinary in its description. As he agonizes through his illness, we strain with him, eager to learn how his suffering will end. The self-sacrificial love of his servant Gerisim is startling, surprising, and lovely. Read the book to discover what happens to the miserable Ivan.
