Catching Up: A Brief Review of First Quarter Reading.

Yes, the first quarter of 2023 is drawing to a close and I realize I’m behind schedule in reviewing and recommending books from my recent reading. So let me make it short and sweet. First of all, my reading is lagging behind a bit because of other things crowding into the schedule -- preparation for several sermons, preparation for a couple of lectures at a L’Abri Conference, trips to Kansas and Minnesota, and a busier schedule of “When Swing Was King” and other Vital Signs happenings. Still, I’ve very much enjoyed those titles I did get to.

As you may know, a great deal of my reading has always been re-reading. And that trend actually increases as I age. Even as I have favorite foods (hamburgers and grilled peppers, bacon and eggs) that I eat over and again; even as I have favorite haunts (the Colorado mountains, Branson) that I visit over and again; and even as I have favorite friends that I make it a habit to hang out with; so I am delighted to re-visit my favorite books.  

I’m in good company with this practice.

C.S. Lewis wrote in On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature, “An unliterary man may be defined as one who reads books once only…We do not enjoy a story fully at the first reading. Not till the curiosity, the sheer narrative lust, has been given its sop and laid asleep, are we at leisure to savour the real beauties. Till then, it is like wasting great wine on a ravenous natural thirst which merely wants cold wetness.”

And in An Experiment in Criticism, Lewis explained his convictions this way, “The majority never read anything twice. The sure mark of an unliterary man is that he considers ‘I’ve read it already’ to be a conclusive argument against reading a work…Those who read great works, on the other hand, will read the same work ten, twenty or thirty times during the course of their life.”

Therefore, with such standout encouragement, I’m not bothered to say that of the 17 books that I’ve read so far in 2023, 16 of them were re-reads. They included the full “canon” of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes (the 4 novels and the 5 collections of short stories): A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Return of Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Valley of Fear, His Last Bow, and the The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes.

There were also a couple of terrific adventure novels in that re-read pile (Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Master of Ballantrae and Rafael Sabatini’s Scaramouche); Karel Capek’s insightful play from 1920, R.U.R.; and 4 of Shakespeare’s “history” plays (Henry VI Part One, Henry VI Part Two, Henry VI Part Three, Richard III.)

And the only new work? Well, it was an exceptional one, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization by Anthony Esolen. You’ll probably find me posting quotes from Esolen’s book on my Facebook page for some time. Plus, it made me eager to read other books he’s written. He’s relevant, accurate, insightful, wise, spiritually tuned in, and a wonderful writer. 

I recommend the Esolen book as highly as I can. And, yes, all of the others rate several stars as well.