Several recently published books have come into BookEnd (the name my husband gave to our house here in Lancaster) that just need to be shared. These are great resources for adults and teeangers.
1. Special Grace: Prayers and Reflections for Families with Special Needs by Elrena Evans.
Joni Eareckson Tada shares in the forward the words of a mother with three special needs children. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve teetered on the edge, desperate and wholly overwhelmed, barely able to utter a mere “Jesus, help me.’ How wonderful to have a Christ-loving mom articulate much heartfelt, spot-on prayers for nearly every circumstance! I so appreciate her faithfulness, her honesty, and her humor. “ I know how much I have needed the prayers of Every Moment Holy to help me trust God in everyday ups and downs, so I am excited how this book can help families with special needs children pray (and also help me pray alongside my friends). Topics include Family Life, School, Public Life, Changes, Seasons of the Year, and Thanksgivings (and other prayers). What a gift this book is to the Body of Christ.
2. Rembrandt is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art Through the Eyes of Faith by Russ Ramsey.
Several years ago I heard Russ Ramsey give several talks that linked Scripture and gospel truths with stories of certain artists and their paintings. My heart and mind could not have been happier. I’ve been looking forward to this book. Russ Ramsey writes about nine artists, including such greats as Michaelangelo, Rembrandt, Vermeer, van Gogh, Tanner, and Lillias Trotter. This book will be great for those who love art or would like to dig deeper into the importance of art and beauty in our lives, and even grow in their appreciation of it. My husband got to write one of the endorsements in which he praised the book, saying: “Ramsey is a deep lover of art and a student of art history. In this book he takes the reader on an amazing guided tour through an art museum that doesn't exist. In this carefully curated collection of art from around the world, he offers you an experience that only someone who really loves art can. This book inspires the reader to engage art in an eye-opening way and understand how these famous works of art bring glory to God.”
3. Steeped in Stories: Timeless Children Novels to Refresh our Tired Souls by Mitali Perkins.
Recently I wrote that Mitali Perkins is the Literature professor I wish I had had. This book is memoir, “classroom instruction” on the ins and outs of each story, as well as discussions on the virtues and vices these stories point us to. At the same time, she, while in love for these stories and their authors, also speaks to those challenging parts that many classics contain. It’s such a very good read. I love how she doesn’t tell us to throw away these classics but to see their value by modeling what it looks to truly be refreshed by these books; but at the same time she helps us think seriously and discerningly about legitimately troublesome parts (usually how “the other” is portrayed). Mitali Perkins discusses Little Women, A Little Princess, The Hobbit, Anne of Green Gables, Heidi, and Chronicles of Narnia. This book would be wonderful for an adult to read so they can have solid and wise tools to interact with young people they know who are reading these books – tools that can help them highlight all the good and work through the hard parts.
4. The Scandal of Holiness: Renewing Your Imagination in the Company of Literary Saints by Jessica Hooten Wilson
Do I need to make a disclaimer that I am on the launch team for this book? Probably not, except to say after I heard the author speak at a conference on renewing the imagination this past September, I knew I would love this book. Getting a jump-start on reading it has been a delight. Jessica Hooten Wilson says “Novels introduce us to ways of imagining God already at work in our hearts, present in the world, transforming and sanctifying his creation all the time.” She discusses eight contemporary classics, such as Kristen Lavransdatter, The Moviegoer, The Book of the Dun Cow, Moses, and Man of the Mountain. In each chapter she narrates and highlights the plot and the main characters, as well as instructs the reader in different aspects of holiness, as each book discusses one aspect of holy living. This book would make a solid read not just for adults who love books and the life of the mind and imagination but also upper-high school book-lovers and readers who desire to think deeply about what they are reading.
5. Literarily: How Understanding Bible Genre Transforms Bible Study by Kristie Anyabwile
I am also on the launch team for this book that was just recently released. Kristie Anyabwile is a Bible teacher I have enjoyed listening to. She is a wealth of Scriptural and theological knowledge, a love for the Church, and has a great ability to share truths in a way that is solid and accessible. Her book Literarily will help readers of Scripture dig in deeper (to sound like a cliché) by helping the them understand the importance of the authors use of certain genres, such as law, history, prophecy, and poetry, as well as literary themes and devices used within them. This book is an important tool in helping adults and teenagers thoughtfully encounter God’s Word.
6. A Guide to Reading and Thinking Series edited by Karen Swallow Prior
The novels in this series are books I read in high school (Scarlet Letter) or classics I sought out in my adult years (Jane Eyre and Sense and Sensibility), as well as books I have been planning on reading sometime (Frankenstein and Tess of the D’Urbervilles). And while each book truly looks wonderful on my bookshelf (the covers look classy and feel welcoming), I have been glad for how each book in the series enlarges my mind through Karen Swallow Prior’s introduction and guidance through the themes, characters, etc. Since reading her first book Booked: Literature for the Soul of Me and then Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More—Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist, and On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books, I have sought her out to learn how to think more deeply about the classics. Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the novels with her reader’s guide, have recently been released. These books and the other ones are perfect reads for high schoolers and adults.
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This post was written by Leslie Bustard, one of the co-editors of Wild Things and Castles in the Sky.
