I received the most recent issue of Circuit Rider a few days ago and was delighted to see an article which listed the favorite "reads" of several persons across the connexion, all novels, that also engage theological themes. None of them would appear on Barnes and Noble's "Inspirational Fiction" shelves, but rather in the "Fiction-Literature" shelves. I picked up several of them at Half Price Books (one of the joys of living in the Westport area) last night, many of them less than half price. I realize that as a library student, I should just borrow them from the public library, but I thought these might be ones I would want to refer to at a later time, and so, I purchased. I am hoping that during my leave, I will be able to sit by the pool int the condo complex and read in the afternoons (oh, please God, make it so!) Here are the ones that I picked up from the list, and a couple other of my own suggestions. Sorry, these are not in alphabetical order, but instead are in the order that I took them from my Half Price Books Bags:
Empire Falls (I am already reading it...) by Richard Russo
Salem Falls (Yes, I see the theme too) by Jodi Picoult
Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'nan
The Pact by Jodi Picoult
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
The River Why by David James Duncan
Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler
Death Comes to the Archbishop (I think I read this a few years ago) by Willa Cather
Men and Angels by Mary Gordon
And I also saw and picked up
Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler, even though CR did not list it
AND I picked up a Michael Malone book I have not read The Last Noel...I was surprised not to see any of Malone on the CR list
AND I picked up Gail Godwin's Father Melancholy's Daughter which I read ten years or so ago just before I serendipitously started to read her Evensong, which is the later life of Margaret, the daughter. Any book by Gail Godwin will set you weeping and deepen your faith. I also would recommend any of Wendell Berry's fiction.
Anyway, that's my summer (and probably fall and winter) reading list, with a nod of real appreciation to Circuit Rider.
2 comments:
Yes, I missed you words and stories. I wish you well this next weeks and I hope you get all that reading done and more. TY for all you do for us and I pray God continues to bless you and yours. Have a grand Summer in the City!
I really enjoyed Empire Falls (and all of Richard Russo's other books as well), Saint Maybe and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant. I haven't read The River Why, but I just finished The Brothers K by David James Duncan. It is also engages several theological thems. I think it is one of the best books I've ever read - I highly, highly recommend it.
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