A Great Start to 2020 Reading

Though our Vital Signs Ministries schedule is more packed than ever, I have had an exceptional start to my reading year. The reasons for this are as follows: 1) my ever-deepening resolve to keep my "screen time" to a bare minimum -- both television and computer screen; 2) our efforts to create an even more comfortable, conducive atmosphere for reading, particularly, converting our fireplace to gas (instant ambience and completely effortless and clean) and bring our phonograph into the living room so that "easy listening" music provides a relaxing background; and 3) praying that the Lord helps me to "number my days" and "redeem the time" concerning my reading hours as in all other matters of life.

This last point doesn't mean, by the way, that I only read the Bible or study theology; nor does it mean reading for pleasure (entertainment) is a waste. No, it simply means that I'm working on the right balance between genres of literature, purposes, and eras that best fits my ministry responsibilities, personal interests, and season of life.

And so, I'm pleased to repeat that these first couple of months of 2020 has seen an "exceptional start to my reading year."

Looking through the list, I see that there have been 21 books read thus far and two books that I'm currently in the process of reading. Those two are True Spirituality by Francis Schaeffer (a re-read) and Joy Born at Bethlehem: 19 Christmas Sermons by Charles Spurgeon. I'm reading these two carefully and a bit at a time in order to more fully understand and apply their lessons. Both will certainly make my 4 Star recommendation list.

But what of the others? Remarkably, more than half the titles earned that 4 Star rating. Some of them were re-reads (as I've mentioned often before, most of my re-reading involves books I've already once, twice, or more) and some were new to me. The 4 Star re-reads? 5 were novels -- Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens; The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy; and the classic 4 by JRR Tolkien (The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King). Two more of the 4 Star novels were my first readings -- Wake of the Perdido Star by Gene Hackman & Daniel Lenihan (a sea swashbuckler of sorts, very entertaining) and a Pulitzer Prize winner from early in the 20th Century, Alice Adams by a fellow who has become one of my favorite authors, Booth Tarkington.

The remaining 4 Star books of so far in 2020 have been Christmas Sermons by Dietrich Bonhoeffer and two excellent histories, Grant Moves South by acclaimed Civil War historian Bruce Catton and a study of Dwight Eisenhower by Fox television broadcaster Bret Baier entitled Three Days in January. 

The rest of the list included two very old mysteries by Louis Tracy which I downloaded on my Kindle for free (The Unknown Wife and A Mysterious Disappearance); two mysteries from the superb Dorothy Sayers (The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club and Have His Carcase); and four others from the "golden age" of the mystery novel (On Christmas Day in the Morning by Margery Allingham, Thou Shell of Death by Nicholas Blake, There Came Both Mist and Snow by Michael Innes, and The Siamese Twins Mystery by Ellery Queen.

The last two books were not very good. One was a WW II history Iron Spy by Ethan Quinn and the other was Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. That last book I had never read (not even in my boyhood) and I was almost astonished at how bad it was. I mean, an adventure novel that is, at the same time, wildly unbelievable and still boring?

Anyhow, that's it for the latest catch-up post for The Book Den. Feel free to send along your reading lists as well. I'd love to get your reactions to what you're reading and perhaps find a few gems I might otherwise miss.