This week my Wake Forest Today column is an encouragement to enjoy some serious summer reading.
You may or may not have a couple of lazy weeks at the beach scheduled, but you can always pick out a great book, turn off the social media, set the television on “park,” pour yourself a huge mug of coffee, and deep-dive into one – or more – of the classics.
In my post I offer a suggested “top five.” A couple of those could change if you asked me again tomorrow, but I’m fairly sure I’m not going to stray far from the perennial 15-20 that always seem to come to mind when I talk about “The Great Ones.”
LIBRARY: One of the hardest tasks Rebekah and I undertook when we left Florida was to trim down our library. She gave away close to 50% of the books in her office, and then we did close to the same with our collection at home. But don’t worry, we’re still fairly flush with great books. Most of the rooms at Maul Hall have at least one well-laden bookcase; and I have to admit that, other than the rich resource, I simply enjoy having them around.
One liberty I did take with the “recommended-five” list published in my Wake Forest Today column, was to include one of my own books in the list. But it was still an honest selection. The Unmaking of a Part-Time Christian remains one of my favorite books. Interestingly, the volume has never sold well! But you can take it from the author – it really is a great book!
So head into this weekend with reading on your mind. Get the ball rolling; indulge yourself in some books; and then let me know what you’ve been enjoying too.
Peace, promise, and blessings – DEREK
You know we are reading at my house, Derek! I am currently on Olive Kitteridge (I am working my way through the list of Pulitzer Prize winners for Fiction – 13 read, only 63 to go!). Then I plan to read The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion for some fun. The kids are reading their own choices, but we are reading The Giver together before the movie comes out. And I have to fit in Changing the Conversation – a Third Way for Congregations before our August book discussion at NRPC.
I have never read Graham Greene and have always meant to. So I am adding The Power and the Glory to my list. Thanks for the inspiration. And the best thing I have read in recent months is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (one of my book club picks and a Pulitzer Prize winner).
I’m reading a Pulitzer right now… The Give is an amazing book; really heavy. Not sure if I’ll want to watch the movie! I may try to find The Amazing Adventures….
Love your list! I guess I’m having a mainly English fiction summer …. R. F. Delderfield’s To Serve Them All My Days; and re-reading Jeffrey Archer’s Paths of Glory about Mallory and Greenwitch by Susan Cooper; the continued attempt to finish My Dearest Friend: Letters of Abigail and John Adams; and An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor. Now have to put that aside and get through her Learning to Walk in Dark in the next week as she comes to Clearwater to discuss it.