What are you reading?

[Ryokan]

Water Touching Stone, by Eliot Patterson
and Strategy, by Liddell Hart

[Jaltus]

The Once and Future King by TH White
God, Time, and Knowledge by William Hasker
The Only Wise God by William Lane Craig

[Pilgrim]

• John Adams
• The Spritual autobiography of Jimmy Carter
• Adolescent Spirituality by Shelton
• The Way of the Heart Henri J.M. Nouwen
• Current issues of The Atlantic Monthly & Newsweek
• Various Archie Comics

[Captain Ochre]

I'm reading A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.
I'm on #7 in the series, The Ersatz Elevator.

I'm not sure what's on deck. Usually I have several books going at once. I'm re-reading Lem's The Star Diaries off and on, and I'm eager to read something new by McGrath or Moreland.

I rotate between fiction, theology, and nonfiction, with a smattering of children's books tossed in to help maintain my sense of wonder.

[Jaltus]

I don't rotate, I read at least 3 books at the same time, not including school books.

I generally try to have one theological/spiritual and one fiction going at least. I have found that reading fiction makes me a better writer.

[The Curtmudgeon]

FWIW, I've started a TW on-line Journal which I'm basically using as a place to talk about what I'm reading (or have recently read, for starters). Like Jaltus, I generally have three or so books going on at once, although I don't necessarily try to stick to categories. Right now I've got two fiction (one adventure fiction reprint, one new fantasy) and one autobiography (Twain) going. I also read a lot of history, a little mystery (generally one a year now--whenever the newest Robert Goddard comes out!), some religion, some science and the occasional sci-fi.

Check it out (and, ahem, push my Journal to the top of the Most Views list!).

The (not that I'm immodest or anything ) Curtmudgeon

[tiedyekitty]

"All the King's Men" by Robert Penn Warren and "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison.

[John Reece]

"All the King's Men" by Robert Penn Warren

That brings back memories. It was assigned reading in an American Literature class in college in 1954...

[bar Jonah]

03-22-2003 @ 04:25 AM post located here
John Reece:
That brings back memories. It was assigned reading in an American Literature class in college in 1954...

Schools used to assign real literature to read? Wow... how long ago was that? LOL

[Yog^sothoth]

The Revolutionary War by Gordon S. Wood and the Jewish Revolt (war?) by Josephus.

Followed by the Diamond Age or the new Harry Potter book if I can find a copy!

Nick

[Rubia Warren]

I am reading Freak's new book, "Exploring The Unknown, The Strange, And The Supernatural" by Jay Bartlett.

[Ryokan]

I would be curious to read freaks book, but I'd feel bad, because I suspect his "exorcism" in the long run leader to nothing but bigger therapy bills for the afflicted.

[Faramir]

I'm reading Chosen but Free: A Balanced View of Divine Election., by Norman Geisler

[Dr.GH]

My reading since December.

Jacobsen, Thorkild
1976 “The Treasures of Darkness: A History of Mesopotamian Religion” New Haven:Yale University Press

Very academic book, but Jacobsen is very academic. He is also quite sensitive to the religious experience, and recognizes that this is a powerful emotional responce which can motivate many.

Dalley, Stephanie
2000 “Myths from Mesopotamia: Creation, The Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others. Revised” Oxford: Oxford University Press

Read this to see the the best Engilsh translations of the texts that Jacobsen writes about. Her introductions and footnotes are wonderful.

Finkelstein, Israel, Neil Silberman
2001 “The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology’s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts” New York: The Free Press

Read this last. It is the ultimate refutation of the kind of 'archaeological "proof" of the literal fraud found in Ron Wyatt, or Ralph Muncaster's piffel.

Friedman, Richarrd Elliott
1987 “Who Wrote the Bible” New York:Harper and Row (Paperback Edition)

Friedman's book is very close to a culmination of 200 years of "higher criticism," and a must read before “The Bible Unearthed: ..." I wish that Friedman had also traced the bible's origins all the way back to Mesopotamia. Instead, he stays hermetically sealed inside the biblical text. Nor does he consider the New Testement at all.

Numbers, Ronald L.
1993 “The Creationists: The Evolution of Scientific Creationism” Berkeley:University of California Press

So, where do all these creationist distortions of the Bible and of science come from? Who were the semiliterate founders of the creationist cult? Numbers is achingly fair and even handed. Every creationist needs to read this book. Numbers stops just before the appearence of the "intelligent design creationism."

Pardee, Dennis
2002 “Writings from the Ancient World Vol. 10: Ritual and Cult at Ugarit”
Atlanta:Society of Biblical Literature

Parker, Simon, et al
1997 “Writings from the Ancient World Vol. 9: Ugarit Narrative Poetry” Atlanta:Society of Biblical Literature

Too few Jews/Christians/Muslims know that the Cannanite city Ugarit is the source for much of their religion. Read Parker and Pardee to see much of the Bible in the original.

An easy read URL on Ugarit and the Bible:
http://www.theology.edu/ugarbib.htm

Spong, John Shelby
1992 "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism" New York:HarperCollins

OK, so you read the books above, and now you know that "funadamentalism" is not only a failure when dealing with scientific reality, but it is a gross distortion of the Bible, and history. What do you do now? Spong doesn't give the background like the other books I recommend, but he does give Christians a positive direction. This is to start with the teaching of Yeshua.

[yxboom]

I am presently and almost done reading Clark Pinnock's
Most Moved Mover
A Theology Of God's Openness