I have over 4,000 books in my pocket. And the device in my pocket can access the libraries of the world. Never has it been more evident to me that there are SO many books and so little time. Yet at a time of such unprecedented access, statistics would suggest that many of us are reading less than ever.
So what is the deal? I can’t help but think that the same device offering access to so many books also serves to distract us from them. Social media apps are designed to keep us scrolling. And it trains us to read in bits and bytes. Consequently, our longform reading muscles are going flabby.
I also wonder if many of us are simply too busy and too spent when we are not busy to read a book. Watching a video or listening to a podcast are far easier. And there is a wide range of good options.
If that’s you, no problem. But for a change of pace, may I suggest that some evening you grab a mug, and spend a quiet evening with an engrossing book. The stories we watch on the screens of our minds can be far richer than on our other screens. Need a recommendation? Your local bookseller or librarian would be glad to help. There’s a world of books available.
Five Articles Worth Reading
Several years ago, I had the chance to host physician and ethicist Lydia Dugdale in a forum talking about end of life issues. In “The Literacy Cure,” she discusses childhood literacy and explores why we are failing children when we know how to teach kids reading.
“Librarians on Libraries” features a host of librarians talking about what they actually do, the challenges they face, and what libraries need.
As we get older, we pay attention to our mental processes for signs of any deterioration. But what if you were from a family suffering from a hereditary condition leading to dementia? “The Mysteries of Human Personality” reviews Robert Kolker’s The Vanishing Family. While focusing on frontotemporal dementia, the book considers broader issues of dementia care and treatment.
Philosopher Matthew Adelstein posited the provocative idea that insects matter more than people. Sounds like something a philosopher might do for a good argument. It’s caused quite an online stir. In “Do Insects Matter More than People?,” Paul Nedilisky explores what arguments can and cannot do.
October is LGBTQ+ History Month. Whatever your beliefs, I’m persuaded that it is valuable to understand other communities from the inside. JSTOR has assembled another of its fabled article collections that can help with this in “Reading for LGBTQ+ History Month.”
Quote of the Week
Poet Wallace Stevens was born October 2, 1879. He said something that sounds like me.
“It’s not always easy to tell the difference between thinking and looking out of the window.”
Miscellaneous Musings
Earler, I mentioned the plethora of books and resources at our disposal in the internet age. The folks at Mere Orthodoxy are adding to that with “The Faith Received,” an online collection of 19,597 (currently) theological texts from the early church to the early modern period. There are scans of texts, original language, and English translations. And its all free. The website offers six different tours to show how to make the most of the resources available.
Computers hit the scene a few years before I was born. Jill Lepore’s new The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State begins with chronicling a history of all the development I’ve scene in our lifetime and the warnings as early as the 1950’s of how our technology could come to shape or even control our society. It’s a conversation that has gone on for sixty years, one, by and large, that the tech industry has preferred we not have.
It’s funny how TBR piles work. I currently seem to be in a patch of long books. Just finished one on Jonathan Edwards, am in the middle of one on early Christian theology, and have awaiting me the longest of these, a landmark work on the Apostle Paul. I try to compensate with shorter and easier to read books, including some children’s books.
Summary: Argues for consciousness opposing dualism, materialism, and cognitive science, proposing biological naturalism.
I recall a debate between Christian and atheist philosophers in which the atheist made a telling admission. He suggested that the problem of consciousness and how to explain it as a materialist atheist was one of the most vexing philosophical problems. John R. Searle would contend that some have dealt with consciousness and “the mind” by simply eliminating these realities altogether. In this book, he argues for the “rediscovery” of mind and consciousness.
In the early chapters of this book, Searle argues against both dualism, which he argues is incoherent and against reductive materialism in its various flavors. Specifically, he offers critiques of behaviorism, type identity theories, token-token identity theories, black box functionalism and strong artificial intelligence. This last is especially relevant and may need revisiting as AI has advanced to the point where even some of its developers wonder whether it is conscious. However, Searle’s rejection of computational models to account for consciousness leads him to reject the whole enterprise of cognitive science.
What Searle argues for instead is what he calls biological naturalism. He argues that consciousness is a higher level biological process dependent upon more basic and observable substrates of neurochemical processes. However, consciousness is not objectively observable, having a “first person ontology.”
Perhaps one of the most fascinating parts of the book is his discussion of the interaction of conscious and unconscious processes. What happens to our beliefs when we are asleep? How do we understand the content of dreams? And what is the role of intentionality in all of this? He also, contra Chomsky, argues against unconscious syntactic rules for understanding the world.
All in all, it is a fascinating discussion but I concluded that Searle wanted to eat his cake and have it too. He wants to rescue consciousness from both dualists and reductive materialists. He does this by arguing for consciousness as a higher level, yet still a biologically based process. Hence, it is not directly accessible to study. This sounds a bit like dualism. It seems to me like a bit of a halfway house solution. Like halfway houses, one must either go back or go on.
That said, his discussion of materialist accounts of the mind was worth the price of admission. And I think it is helpful to question whether we are locked into a false dichotomy in discussing dualism versus materialism and I see his effort as one seeking to transcend it. I just don’t think he has.
In one month, I read a biography of one of the greats of Major League Baseball and one of the great American theologians. I read about a Protestant nun and of a missionary childhood. I read both an argument for Jesus and a guide to deconstructing/reconstructing faith. And I dug into great works of theology by Gerhard Lohfink and Tracey Rowland. On successive days I reviewed books on loving your neighbor and the Sermon on the Mount. On the fiction side, there are reviews from some of my favorite authors: Elizabeth Strout, William Kent Krueger, Terry Pratchett, Stuart Kaminsky, and Agatha Christie. I would also highlight a wonderful book on the art and craft of writing by Marilyn McEntyre, my most viewed review of the month. So, let’s get to the reviews…
The Reviews
Night of the Fireflies, Muriel Elmer. Independently published (ISBN: 9798196399244) 2026. A memoir of growing up as a Missionary Kid with her widowed mother in Zimbabwe, both painful and formative. Review
Murder on the Yellow Brick Road (Toby Peters, 2) Stuart Kaminski. Open Road Integrated Media (ISBN: 9781453238271), 2011 (first published in 1977). When a Munchkin is murdered on the “Wizard” set, Peters is hired to find the killer and protect Judy Garland. Review
Tell Me Everything, Elizabeth Strout. Random House (ISBN: 9780593446119) 2025. While Bob Burgess represents a murder suspect, he and those around him tell stories of their and other lives. Review
Love Your Neighbor, Katherine M. Douglass and Brittany M. Tausen, foreword by Dominique DuBois Gilliard. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802885234) 2026. The psychological pathways and spiritual practices informed by scripture that activate neighbor love. Review
Sermon on the Mount, Clarence Jordan. Wipf & Stock (ISBN: 9798385269792) 2026, first published 1970. A Bible commentary combining textual exposition, Southern storytelling, and challenging application. Review
The Light of Faith and Reason, Gerhard Lohfink, translated by Linda M. Maloney. Liturgical Press (ISBN: 9798400801143) 2026. The Enlightenment did not begin in the seventeenth century but in the Old Testament and deepened by Jesus. Review
The Labors of Hercules (Poirot, 26), Agatha Christie. Wm. Morrow Paperbacks (ISBN: 9780061746383) 2006, first published 1947. As Poirot approaches retirement, he solves twelve cases that parallel the “labors” of his namesake, Hercules. Review
Nolan: The Singular Life of an American Original, Tim Brown. Grand Central Publishing (ISBN: 9781538726549) 2026. A biography of Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan focusing on his career and the values that formed his approach to pitching and life. Review
The World Beyond Your Head, Matthew B. Crawford. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (ISBN: 9780374535919) 2016. Argues that becoming an individual involves engaging with real physical environments and shared human practices. Review
Introducing Communio Theology, Tracey Rowland. Word on Fire Academic (ISBN: 9781685781637) 2025. An exploration of the Communio theological movement that arose following Vatican II and its relevance. Review
How to Be a Christian Influencer, Jacqulyne Horbrook. InterVarsity Press (ISBN: 9781514009925) 2026. Social media for Christians beginning with mission and authenticity and finishes with strategic excellence. Review
Doing Something New, Mitali Perkins, illustrated by Andrés Landazábal. IVP Kids (ISBN: 9781514013328) 2026. A prayer for children beginning something new, drawing upon the life of Jesus and the promises of the Beatitudes. Review
Eric (Discworld, 9) Terry Pratchett. HarperCollins (ISBN: 9780063375017) 2024, first published in 1990. A thirteen year-old demonologist tries to summon a demon to grant him three wishes. Instead, he gets Rincewind and the Luggage. Review
Beyond Deconstruction, James F. McGrath. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802884596) 2026. What may come after the deconstruction of faith: an expanded faith that works, explores, experiences, and connects. Review
Lightning Strike (Cork O’Connor, 18) William Kent Krueger. Atria Books (ISBN: 9781982128692) 2022. In this prequel, Cork as a twelve year old finds a body hanging in a tree but his father is not convinced it was suicide. Review
The Strain of Other Blood, Patricia Allen. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802883544) 2026. Ruth Elaine Younger: excluded because of race from Episcopal order in the US later returns to establish an order. Review
Reviewer’s Note 9/23/2026: This book has been withdrawn from publication by the publisher. The review, posted before this became known, remains for archival purposes
Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen. Penguin Classics (ISBN: 9780141439792) 2003, first published 1817. Catherine Moreland, in her first social season, avoids the attentions of one man and visits the family home of another. Review
What if Jesus is Right?, Douglas Groothuis and Lindsey Medenwalt. Tyndale | Elevate (ISBN: 9798400501487) 2026. Beyond the influence of Jesus, looks at what he actually said and what it would mean for us if it is true. Review
Jonathan Edwards: A Life, George M. Marsden. Yale University Press (ISBN: 9780300105964) 2004. A biography that features the thought, cultural and religious context, revivals, and ministry among Native Americans. Review
Start with a Word, Marilyn McEntyre. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802883162) 2026. A book on writing using the works of other writers and creative writing exercises that help writers find their own voices. Review
The Night of the Long Knives, Fritz Leiber. Open Road Media (ISBN: 9781504061438), 2020, first published in 1960. In post nuclear America, Ray is a survivor whose killer instincts are tested when he meets Alice and Pops. Review
Best Book of the Month
Far and away my choice of the best book for September is George M. Marsden’s Jonathan Edwards: A Life. Not only did it win a Bancroft Prize in history, but it is the most comprehensive biography of Edwards I’ve read. He not only explores the key events in Edwards life but also offers in depth summaries of Edwards writings. Furthermore, he discusses the religious and secular patronage that supported Edwards and eventually turned against him. It is not hagiography but rather an even-handed account of Edward’s strengths and weaknesses. We learn he is a slaveholder, among other things, and defended the institution. Yet Marsden also reveals Edwards’ theological vision and penetrating insights on the revivals in New England that still serve as a reference for many.
Quote of the Month
Because it is World Series season, I thought I’d share a quote from Nolan, a new biography on Nolan Ryan that summarizes why he is in the Hall of Fame:
“There was an athlete once, a pitcher, a ballplayer, who took the baseball every four or five days and set out to throw a no-hitter. Every time. To give up nothing. To give away nothing. To strike out everybody. To win every pitch, every inning, every game, until there were twenty-seven outs, and they turned out the lights and everybody went home. He threw harder than anybody else, and did that not for a year or five or ten, but for nearly three decades” (p. xvii).
What I’m Reading
Early Christian History by J. Warren Smith probably goes into as much depth as I’ve seen in any introductory text on the theological debates in the first several hundred years of church history. But he writes well–just a lot! I’ve finally dug into Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind. A key take away is that we make moral judgments intuitively, and then use reason to justify our intuitions. It helps explain our political divides and why we talk past each other. I’ve just begin an Advent devotional, Candles in the Dark by Lynneth Miller Renberg and Adam R. Renberg. Using readings from writers from the first twelve centuries of the church to complement scripture, they offer a fresh take on this season of waiting and preparation. Then there is always an Agatha Christie in the mix,in this case, Sad Cypress, a Poirot mystery. It seems in this case, she does an exceptional job in helping the reader identify deeply with the victim, and not so much with the accused. Finally, I’m just starting Jill Lepore’s The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State.
Well, I hope I’ve given you a few ideas for fall reading. If not, you can always say, as one friend commented, that “Bob reads so that I don’t have to!” Hopefully I help you answer the question of whether you want to read something and have a basic iea about books you have no interest in reading. If so, I’ve done my job!
The Month in Reviews is my monthly review summary going back to 2014!It’s a great way to browse what I’ve reviewed. The search box on this blog also works well if you are looking for a review of a particular book. So, thanks for stopping byand feel free to share this with others!
The Night of the Long Knives, Fritz Leiber. Open Road Media (ISBN: 9781504061438), 2020, first published in 1960.
Summary: In post nuclear America, Ray is a survivor whose killer instincts are tested when he meets Alice and Pops.
My school was a nuclear fallout shelter. We had drills where we filed into that shelter. During the Cuban Missile crisis of 1962, we wondered whether we would live to see the next day. This was the setting in which Fritz Leiber wrote The Night of the Long Knives. He and other science fiction writers of the time explored what life would be like for survivors in a post-nuclear world.
Leiber paints a bleak picture of a “kill or be killed” world narrated by Ray Baker, a survivor who has killed. He travels alone and scavenges to live in the Deathlands of what remains of middle America. Alliances of warring city states exist on the coasts. As he journeys, he spies another loner slowly getting nearer. However, just because it’s a woman doesn’t mean he is any less guarded. She bears the scars of radiation…and what else? Ray is torn by two lusts–blood lust and sexual lust. For the time being, the latter brings them together until the other becomes stronger.
Then two things happen. First, a strange aircraft lands. On instinct, Ray and Alice fight its occupant. A cry diverts the stranger’s attention long enough for the killing blow. Second, an old man calling himself Pops approaches, with a belt full of knives. But he does not use them. Instead, he claims to be part of MA–Murderers Anonymous, a group of Deathlanders who have sworn off murder and support each other in that resolve.
The unlikely trio decide to take the plane and see if they can fly it somewhere else. They fantasize about all sorts of destinations untouched by the holocaust. But all they find is an array of buttons, only one of which works, flying them to what was formerly Atlanta. The long auto-piloted journey allows them time to talk and Pops talks about renouncing the way of murder, and the urge that remains.
Will Ray and Alice change their ways? We wonder at points if they will even try killing each other enroute. But something else occupies their attention. They learn by radio that they are carrying medical supplies for one of two warring factions that they need to drop. But then what will become of them?
The story is a little longer than novella length and explores the question of whether, in a “survival of the fittest” world, any form of human community can develop. Can people unlearn the instinct to kill? Leiber also explores how killing changes a person, and how having killed once, it becomes easier. We would think of these people as sociopaths. But Leiber raises the disturbing thought that this may not be so far from any of us. A bleak and disturbing story.
I also wondered about the title. The “night of the long knives” was a bloody purge by the Nazi’s of the SA (a.k.a. the Brownshirts) from June 30 to July 2, 1934. Eighty-five people at least died in this bloody, extra-judicial purge of political opponents. I can’t help but think Leiber is warning us how thin is the veneer of civilized behavior. If this could occur in highly civilized Germany, it could happen anywhere, with or without a nuclear holocaust. It can happen here.
Start with a Word, Marilyn McEntyre. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802883162) 2026.
Summary: A book on writing using the works of other writers and creative writing exercises that help writers find their own voices.
I’ve faced it as has probably every writer. The blank screen or page. Figuring out how to pour onto the page the story or ideas that have lived within. As with other crafts, aspiring writers take classes, workshops, or even enroll in MFA programs in writing to learn their craft. Many of the programs afford the opportunity to learn from accomplished writers. Or, you could read and practice this book. Marilyn McEntyre is a writer who cares deeply about words and how we use them and she is a teacher who has taught writing in a number of classrooms.
This is not a manual of style or an instruction manual. Rather, it combines examples of good writing with exercises that “work all the different muscle groups” involved in good writing. She begins by encouraging writers to read good writing and to become attentive to the ways each writer tells a story or conveys an idea. She also makes a telling observation about good reading. Good reading gives consent, or if we cannot give consent to what we are reading, understands why.
Each chapter begins with an imperative in the title. “Begin Beginning,” “Move the Camera,” Develop and Digress,” and so forth until we get to “Know When to Stop.” Each chapter uses a variety of literary passages to illustrate an aspect of the writing craft. In “Move the Camera,” for example, she cites a passage from the work of Willa Cather of scene changes as the narrator walks with her grandmother to a prairie garden. In “Find Out Who’s There” on character development, she quotes a passage portraying Old Jack from Wendell Berry’s Memory of Old Jack. Likewise, in “Get to Know Your Narrator” she uses the example of Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby.
Then, each chapter also includes numerous exercises. The first, from which the book gets its title, is “begin with a word.” Specifically she suggests words like ticklish, rocking, gracious, custard or dolphins. The idea is almost any word will do. And go from there and see where it leads. Also, it’s alright to start over seeing how some beginnings work better than others. Throughout the book, there is a sense of playfulness, similar to the “studies” artists do where they try different techniques.
However, I thought one of the most significant chapters was “Do the Word Work.” McEntyre’s care for words comes shining through, and one glimpses her sense of the holy calling of writing. For example, she states:
“I’ve also written about what can happen when you pause over a word or phrase, ponder it, look up its history, pay attention to associations that come from it, reframe it, and share it in lines that make it new. I deeply believe words can be channels of healing and grace. They can have a sacramental character: they can help bring into being the things they name” (p. 45).
She goes on to list some of the ways we do good “word work” including telling the truth, caring about precision, not tolerating lies, and practicing poetry, and many more.
McEntyre also believes we write from the inside out. She explores a range of life experiences we may have and encourages reflection to discern what we may have to say. She asks us to identify “What truths have I come to that need or deserve to be told?” She then follows serious self-exploration with playfulness, particularly holding up the writing of Anne Lamott.
As already noted, she advocates writing poetry even if we focus on prose. Poetry attunes us to rhythm, images, and precision with words. Sometimes, it may be simple as taking a longer sentence and breaking it into phrases, line by line. Then, we notice how we see and hear it differently and become aware of its cadences.
The book concludes with an Afterword on editing. One of the axioms of writing is “there is no good writing, only good rewriting.” McEntyre gives a number of tips of things we might scan for in our work: verbs, time markers, sentence structure, sentence starters and endings, sentence variations, abstractions, images and metaphors, cadence, tonal cues, omissions and more.
This is a useful guide for anyone who writes, whether it is a blog (a form of essay) a podcast script, devotional reflections, sermons, poetry, or longer form fiction or non-fiction. The whole book challenges us to keep company with good writers. In a time when words are used both poorly and with ill intent, she calls us to the good, the true, and the beautiful in writing and offers us examples and prompts to how it is done. She both trains us in the craft and offers us a taste of the adventure. And it all starts with a word.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.
Summary: A biography that features the thought, cultural and religious context, revivals, and ministry among Native Americans.
Many who hear the name of Jonathan Edwards never get beyond one lurid passage in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” one of the thousands of sermons Edwards preached. Sadly, because they haven’t even read the whole of that sermon, they fail to grasp that the theme is actually the saving mercy of God. Even less, they fail to grasp what a profound thinker Edwards was, perhaps one of the greatest the United States has produced. However, this Bancroft Award-winning biography more than amply redresses the balance for anyone who wishes to understand Edwards’ contribution to the cultural and religious history of New England and the what would eventually become the United States.
Rather than discuss the outline of Edwards’ life, with which this biography deals in careful detail, I want to discuss some of the distinctive insights I found in its pages. Whereas we might think of Edwards as a severe person, one of the things I realized was his absolute delight in God and his world. As he wrote in one of his journals, he believed the Creator made all things for “the communication of happiness” to his creatures. This insight was reflected in his own devotional life and contemplative walks. Likewise, it makes sense both of his love of natural science and his passion that his people would be on fire with the love of God.
I was also struck by the importance to Edwards’ career of powerful families who were for many years his patrons and then adversaries. Two families were especially important: the Stoddard and Williams families. Solomon Stoddard preceded Edwards as pastor of the Northampton church and was Edwards grandfather. The invitation to join Stoddard late in his life and succeed him established Edwards among the religious elite. The ongoing support of Colonel John Stoddard and the Williams family helped make his ministry secure both ministerially and financially. That is, until changed his standards concerning who might be a communicant member of the church.
Marsden traces the tension throughout Edwards ministry between his father’s ideas and those of Solomon Stoddard on communicant membership. His father believed it necessary for candidates for church membership to show evidences of spiritual conversion beyond mere profession of faith. Stoddard took a more relaxed stance, allowing those who professed faith to become members. He thought membership, the hearing of preaching, and communion could draw people into a deeper relationship with Christ. And when Edwards came to Northampton, this was the position he adopted, opposing his father. Marsden traces how Edwards eventually adopted his father’s stance, and how the Stoddard and Williams clans turned on him, spelling the end of his Northampton ministry.
Before that, however, came the revivals. Marsden traces the history of the local awakenings of the 1730’s, culminating in the Great Awakening of 1740-42, both locally in Northampton and on both sides of the Atlantic. He discusses the strategic partnership of Edwards and George Whitefield. And he covers Edwards role in defending the revivals against Old Light critics while addressing excesses. We learn of his efforts to extend and deepen those revivals into ongoing holiness, including the failed “solemn covenant.”
As significant as his pastorate was, perhaps Edwards’ writing was his major contribution. Not only did he write several accounts of revivals but he also addressed genuine versus counterfeit spirituality in Religious Affections. Coming out of a Reformed tradition, he was active in countering the rise of Arminianism. Particularly, this was so in The Freedom of the Will. Toward the end of his life, he worked on more extensive theological works. This included, A History of the Work of Redemption including a View of Church History. A feature of this biography is the in-depth summaries of Edwards’ works as well as the context in which they were written.
One of the other influential works of Edwards was his The Life of David Brainerd. The Edwards family supported Brainerd’s efforts in mission work among indigenous peoples. And when he succumbed to tuberculosis, Edwards’ daughter Jerusha nursed him, and was a companion on good days. She followed him in death four months later. Brainerd left journals describing his spiritual life, calling, and ministry. Edwards edited and published these, which became a classic mission work which I read in early adulthood.
Jonathan Edwards was a slave owner. Marsden documents this as well as Edwards’ defense of slavery. This does not occupy a major part of the book. However, it shows Edwards as a man of his time. The biography also discusses Edwards ministry among indigenous people in Stockbridge after leaving Northampton, his efforts to launch a school for their children, as well as the challenges of the war with France and opposition from powerful local elements. Marsden discusses the growing awareness of Edwards and others of how indigenous missions could be manipulated for colonial control.
Marsden’s biography provides a highly readable narrative while describing Edwards’ intellectual life. We also glimpse a pastor deeply concerned for the spiritual life and growth in holiness of his people. He understood human nature, although at times dealt clumsily with situations like the youth who were reading sexual material. He had a strong marriage, an able partner in Sarah, as well as godly children. Marsden weaves accounts of the family life into the narrative throughout. I would recommend this as the “go-to” work on Edwards.
