The Latest Reading Review

For my latest reading review, one that covers the last couple of months, I will mention several books which receive my hearty recommendation.  Among these stimulating reads were a historical novel from a surprising author, return adventures to Mitford and Middle Earth, and two ambitious reads that were well worth the time.

Those two “ambitious” books — 900 and 984 pages, respectively — were Charles Dickens’ Dombey and Son and Eiji Yoshikawa’s  epic novel of late medieval Japan, Musashi. The Dickens novel was the November selection of our book club, the Notting Hill Napoleons.  By the way, come January that book club will begin its 27th year.  Pretty impressive!  Anyhow, Dombey and Son, a book we had once read before in the Napoleons, was a genuine treasure.  It is a little different than other Dickens novels – a tighter plot with less than the normal cavalcade of colorful characters – but it has its own charms, insights, and superb writing.  We thoroughly enjoyed it.

Musashi was a book I would never have tackled except that it was strongly recommended by one of the residents of a senior facility where we do our “When Swing Was King” program every month.  Tom is a doctor who served the United States in Army intelligence during World War II and is himself Japanese.  He wanted me very much to read it and so, though I had to fit it in whenever I could over a course of almost two months, I finally finished it.  And I’m glad I did.  The story concerns a traveling samurai who is looking first to sharpen his fighting skills and reputation but who eventually changes his goals to things deeper and more spiritually satisfying.  It was an excellent read, very different and provocative.

The return journeys to Mitford and Middle Earth I mentioned came via my reading of Jan Karon’s These High, Green Hills and J.R.R. Tolkien’s precursor to his Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit.  First, the Karon book. These High, Green Hills is the 3rd novel in her Mitford series. Though late to the game — Claire has loved these Karon books for a couple of decades — I have only recently started reading them. But I’m delighted I finally got round to them. Far from being the "chick-lit” I feared, they have proved to be heartwarming, fun, and spiritually challenging books in the best sense.  Indeed, I’m looking forward to spending a lot of time in Mitford in 2018.

The Middle Earth excursion came with my umpteenth re-reading of The Hobbit.  Every few years I revisit the Tolkien masterpieces (usually around Christmastime) but this year I had an added incentive to do so because the Napoleons had voted in the last novel of the Lord of the Rings trilogy for our January book.  So, it’s a natural thing to read the previous volumes (including the one that started off the whole thing) as part of my yuletide reading this year.

Okay, about the surprising author I referred to in the opening paragraph. That would be none other than Newt Gingrich.  Now, Mr. Gingrich, the former Speaker of the House, is a very intelligent fellow and a fine writer.  But the books I knew of were all non-fiction.  I wasn’t aware that he has, in recent years, become part of a partnership that has charted several best-selling books of historical fiction.  And since it was nearing Christmastime, I decided to try the one he did about Washington’s crossing of the Delaware. I liked the book a lot, finding it exciting, inspiring, and true to historical fact.  The title of the novel?   To Try Men’s Souls: A Novel of George Washington and the Fight for American Freedom.  I persuaded the Napoleons to vote it in as one of our books for the coming year. I would encourage you to do the same.

There were a few other books I managed to get through these last couple of months – and I enjoyed them all.  There was a theological study of the Old Testament Zechariah written by G. Coleman Luck and a splendid collection of short stories about Christmas crime called The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries. Among the classic authors included in the book are Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Hardy, Ngaio Marsh, John D. MacDonald, Damon Runyon, and many, many more.  It’s great pleasure reading.

And finally, let me tell you about another book I read while down in Branson. It is actually the one that tops my list of recommendations for this post.  That book is a collection of brief devotional essays written by Joni Eareckson Tada and titled Holiness in Hidden Places. I really love Joni’s books and I have for decades.  In fact, I believe she is one of the best writers, the best theologians, and the best Christian activists around. Her books therefore provide practical counsel and relevant inspiration for any Christian who truly wants to grow in their faith.  I found Holiness in Hidden Places one of the very best of all Joni’s books.  I bought a bunch of copies to give as Christmas presents this year and I’d strongly encourage you to make sure there’s one under your Christmas tree!

Okay, that’s it for this round.  December’s reading awaits.