This wasn't the most productive reading break, but I got through a few books that have been nagging the back of my mind, crying out to be read whenever I pass them by. So I finally got through three fantastic books.
Seeing Through Cynicism by Dick Keyes. This was a book that I had first seen a year ago through my job at the library. Instantly I knew that I wanted to read it, to understand what seems to be a growing mindset in our culture today. I was encouraged to read it later in the year when I attended a conference taught by Dr. Donald Guthrie and he mentioned Keyes book several times. So when finals week had ground to a halt, I bee-lined to the shelf at the back of the library where I had last shelved the book. Maybe not the best follow-up to Coelho's "Alchemist" but I was still greatly engaged and thankful to read "Cynicism" if only to get into a current trend that I don't always recognize in myself or in others. I would love to go back and read this again (maybe with a book I could write in) and digest it a little more. Most helpful to me was that Keyes was always pointing back to the gospel, always engaging with Scripture and who Jesus is so that we can not only critique what is poor and wrong in cynicism, but replace it with what is good in the gospel.
The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart. The first in Stewart's Merlin Cycle, this book follows Merlin's life from his boyhood to his late twenties; there are places that drag a bit, but for the most part this was a well-paced novel that has me excited to read the second installment, The Hollow Hills, which follows the life of Arthur, who was born at the end of the first novel. I have always enjoyed Stewart's mysteries, but I find that in The Crystal Cave her narrative, character and plot development have reached a new level of excellence. I've owned this book for about eight years (wow!) but my good friend Brady was reading it during finals (because she was done already) and encouraged me to pick it up. Good choice!
On Being Presbyterian by Sean Michael Lucas. I knew that this was going to be required reading for the Spring semester, but I had been thinking about reading this book since it was published. I think that this could be a really fantastic book for those who are new to Presbyterianism in general, to the PCA specifically, in a small group or sunday school. But it is also a great refresher for those of us who have been around for a while and need to keep the many strands of Presbyterianism in hand without getting confused. Well-written and helpful, Dr. Lucas's humor is evident, though I am sorry that you do not get to sit in class with to get the full flavor of it. The book is divided into three sections that follow what Presbyterians believe, what they practice in their beliefs, and how their identity has been formed (the later will be especially helpful for those who are new or unaware of the PCA's past).
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