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Summer Reading
- 06/20/07
- 22
Every year, when summer approaches, we begin to hear about summer reading lists. I am uncertain if this is a throwback to days gone by or if people really do try to set aside a few books to read over the course of a summer. Or perhaps it is only students who do this as they take a brief break from their studies. Certainly I always have great plans when I head away on a vacation, but life typically gets in the way and I never do as much reading as I had planned.
So let me ask you: do you intend to put together a summer reading list? If so, what do you hope to read this summer?
Since I read a whole lot I thought it might be helpful if I provided a few suggestions. So here they are, focusing on books that have been published recently (and that I have already read and reviewed).
Biography:
Summer reading wouldn’t be complete without at least one good biography. Because 2007 happens to be the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in Great Britain, we are seeing new biographies of some of the key players in that battle.
Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas chronicles the life of William Wilberforce, the key player in the fight against slavery.
Jonathan Aitken’s John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace is a biography of John Newton who, in many ways, served as a mentor to Wilberforce, encouraging him and joining him in the fight.
Theology
If you want to attempt to make your way through a big, deep book this summer, Steve Lawson’s Foundations of Grace, the first in his A Long Line of Godly Men series may be just the thing.
Fiction
I do not read enough fiction, but one title I have enjoyed is Suite Francais the recently-discovered novel from French author Irene Nemirovsky who, shortly after completing it in 1942, was shipped to Auschwitz where she died. Intended to be a five-part series, this book combines the only two portions she was able to complete before her death.
History
I don’t know how often I can recommend Nathaniel Philbrick’s Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War but I must be nearing the limit. It really is an excellent book and a great account of the earliest settlers of the United States.
Just Because
Same Kind of Different as Me is a great choice for some light but impactful reading when you’re too tired or too relaxed to read anything that requires you to think deeply and to reach for your highlighters. It is, as the subtitle says, the true story of “A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together.”
If you want to read a book that has been a fixture on the bestseller lists, or are stuck at the airport and have only a small selection of books available to you, why not try Ishmael Beah’s A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. It tells the story of a boy who was drafted into military service in Sierra Leone where he witnessed and participated in the horrific violence in that nation. If that isn’t there, grab anything by David McCullough. There is bound to be at least one or two of his titles available.
What I’ll Be Reading
Since I asked about what you’ll be reading this summer, I’ll answer my own question and tell you some of the things I’ll be reading. Because of my responsibilities with Discerning Reader, I will no doubt be reading a whole lot. But here are a few of the more popular titles I hope to polish off in the next month or two.
The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. As little as I want to read this one, I know I should just to keep up with the anti-God sentiment so popular in books these days. So I’ll read this and then read Alister McGrath’s response to it.
Einstein: His Life and Universe is a new biography of Einstein that has been published to great acclaim. I know absolutely nothing about the man and look forward to learning more about him. The book looks excellent.
John Adams by David McCullough. I greatly enjoyed McCullough’s book 1776 and am sure I’ll like this one just as much. It is, by all accounts, one of those “wish it would never end” biographies. I haven’t heard from anyone who didn’t enjoy it thoroughly so I’ve got high expectations for it.
The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism by Michael Behe looks like an interesting follow-up to his previous books dealing with intelligent design. This is one that is bound to have mostly five-star and one-star reviews at Amazon. People are either going to love it or hate it.
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Comments (22)
Here’s my summer reading list:
-“Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther”, by Roland Bainton (I’ve heard it’s the best Luther biography, but I’ve not yet read it)-“Future Men”, by Douglas Wilson. A book on raising (rearing?) boys.-“The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit” and “Gospel Worship” by Jeremiah Burroughs (both of which I have started but not yet finished).
Tim:
I can’t believe there is actually a book out there that I have read and you have not, but I can add my recommendation of McCullough’s John Adams to the others you have received.
Thanks to you, I am close to finishing Marsden’s Jonathan Edwards: A Life and thoroughly enjoying it. Next up is Aitken’s John Newton. As for Mayflower, please keep recommending it a little longer—until I break down and buy it.
Tim:
I can’t believe there is actually a book out there that I have read and you have not, but I can add my recommendation of McCullough’s John Adams to the others you have received.
Thanks to you, I am close to finishing Marsden’s Jonathan Edwards: A Life and thoroughly enjoying it. Next up is Aitken’s John Newton. As for Mayflower, please keep recommending it a little longer—until I break down and buy it.
My summer reading list:1. Christ of the Covenants, Robertson2. Jesus and the Gospels, Blomberg3. The Message of Acts, Johnson4. Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament, Currid5. From Paradise to the Promised Land, Alexander
You’ll be reading some of the same books as my sweet hubby. I think he’s already read John Adams, but the Einstein book is in his queue. I sneaked and read part of Einstein’s biography; it is very interesting! My reading list includes works by Jane Austen and Jonathan Edwards.
I agree - McCullough’s Adams is a good read. I wish I had the time to do his Truman.
Stuff I’m reading now:
Believer’s Baptism - Shreiner, et al.Works of John Owen - vol. 10A Scottish Christian Heritage - Murray [a Challies reccomendation]Always Ready - Bahnsen [a Pyro recommendation]Divine Sov and Human Responsibility - Carson
Plan to read: Man of the Word - life of G. Campbell MorganGod and Evil: Readings on the theological problem of evil - Nelson PikeThe Atonement Controversy - Owen Thomas
Maybe: Schaff - creeds of Christendom
Keep up the good book reviews Tim - they are appreciated
Books I have at my elbow, stacked and ready to go:1. Through Eastern Eyes, Robert Letham2. Believer’s Baptism, Schreiner et al.3. Augustine of Hippo, Peter Brown4. Whitefield’s 2 vol. biography, Dallimore5. According to Plan, Graeme Goldsworthy6. Spurgeon vs. Hypercalvanism, Iain Murray7. Foundations of Grace, Steve Lawsonand on a lighter note8. Cat of Bubastes, G A Henty9. Ten Acres is Enough, Edmund MorrisWho knows what I’ll actually get through.
Tim,
I fall into the student category that you mentioned. This is the first summer of my schooling that I have not been taking classes, but I am serving as the intern pastor for my church, which gives me more than my fair share of assigned reading. However, I still plan to knock off a few books of my own this summer.
Or, if you please, you can view it here
Now, whether I finish them all or not is another story.
In Christ,James
I never spend the time reading that I’d like to. I do pretty well to actually finish off an entire book these days.
I’m about half through Preaching & Preachers by Martyn-Lloyd Jones, so I hope to finish that.
I just got Piper’s What Jesus Demands from the World in the mail, so I hope to get that read during the summer.
I’ve got a Greek class coming up in the Fall, where we’ll translate and discuss the Pastoral Epistles, so I’d like to get a bit of work done in the Greek New Testament in 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus.
That should be plenty for me.
1. tender is the night (fitzgerald), 2. lord of the flies (golding), 3. persuasion (austen), 4. a clear & present word (thompson), 5. seeing & savoring Jesus Christ (piper), 6. future grace (piper), 7. don’t waste your life (again) (piper), 8. the abolition of man (again) and the weight of glory (again) (lewis),9. wheelock’s latin, 10. harry potter & the deathly hallows (rowling),11. a ton of popular communication books for my “pragmatic theories of social communication” class, some of which look pretty good (right now it’s Finding Commong Ground by Tim Downs, which is about how to communicate the gospel to hostile or indifferent unbelievers in our culture).12. doing things right in matters of the heart (ensor) - thanks for the review, i think i’ll enjoy it!13. and i just finished wicked by gregory maguire, which was simultaneously disturbing, thought-provoking, sometimes enjoyable, and kind of repulsive. i wouldn’t really recommend it, but it certainly is fascinating if you want to read the latest in postmodern fiction literature. it gets pretty philosophical, and dark.
i guess i like reading.
1. tender is the night (fitzgerald), 2. lord of the flies (golding), 3. persuasion (austen), 4. a clear & present word (thompson), 5. seeing & savoring Jesus Christ (piper), 6. future grace (piper), 7. don’t waste your life (again) (piper), 8. the abolition of man (again) and the weight of glory (again) (lewis),9. wheelock’s latin, 10. harry potter & the deathly hallows (rowling),11. a ton of popular communication books for my “pragmatic theories of social communication” class, some of which look pretty good (right now it’s Finding Commong Ground by Tim Downs, which is about how to communicate the gospel to hostile or indifferent unbelievers in our culture).12. doing things right in matters of the heart (ensor) - thanks for the review, i think i’ll enjoy it!13. and i just finished wicked by gregory maguire, which was simultaneously disturbing, thought-provoking, sometimes enjoyable, and kind of repulsive. i wouldn’t really recommend it, but it certainly is fascinating if you want to read the latest in postmodern fiction literature. it gets pretty philosophical, and dark.
i guess i like reading.
Funny, just yesterday I made some of my own recommendations for summer reading on my site. The Mayflower book sounds awesome - I’ll definitely have to add that to my list. WhatI’m reading now and on deck: Bringing Up Boys by Dobson (again)Foundations of Grace by Lawson - about halfway through it and so far its awesomeGod of Sex by Peter JonesSaint Francis of Assisi by G.K Chesterton - just finished his biography of of Thomas Aquinas and it was excellent
Great question, Tim. Couldn’t resist responding.
All 524 dense pages of Baker’s edition of Charnock’s ‘Existence and Attributes of God.’ I think that’s ambitious enough.
Steve Lawson, Foundations of GraceWilliam Gurnall, The Christian in Complete ArmourJoel Beeke & Randall Pederson, Meet the PuritansIain Murray, A Scottish Christian HeritageBennett Tyler & Andrew Bonar, The Life and Labours of Asahel Nettleton
There’s no way I’m getting through all that, especially the fatter ones, but that’s what I’m working on.
O yeah, and a couple of really lousy books Zondervan sent for review. Do they publish anything good anymore?
I don’t ever have a “summer list” just a list of books I plan on reading…kinda like Brian at VOTS.
Here goes:What I am currently reading-“What Jesus Demands from the World” (Weekly lunch time study with a buddy at work)-“Feminine Appeal” (With my wife at night after reading the Bible together)-“The Doctrine of God”- Bavink-“Systematic Theology”-Grudem
What I will start soon:-“Battling Unbelief” (Weekly small group at church)-“Willing to Believe” (Sunday school study)
hey tim - thanks for the questions. All these keep me diligent in my reading.1. Doing Things Right - the new John Ensor Book2. Roots of Endurance - Piper Swans’3. Sacred Marriage - will finish that one4. Pride and Prejudice - Austen5. Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye - McCulley6. Stop Dating the Church - Harris, if my pastor gives it back to me.7. Anymore that suits my fancy at the moment when I want to read.
I’m a college student, so I try to catch up on reading during the summer. Sadly, it’s not going as well as I’d have liked so far this summer. I’m currently finishing up Praying by Packer and reading Surely Your Joking Mr. Feynmann by physicist Richard Feynmann. I’m going to go read the last chapter in a few minutes. Some others on the stack:- God of Promise by Michael Horton- Holiness of God by Sproul- Gospel According to Joseph Smith by Ethan Harris- Overcoming Sin and Temptation by John Owen- Second half of Pilgrim’s ProgressI’m also slowing reading through Fifty Reasons Jesus Came to Die by Piper and Ephesians by James Boice.Also a little math and science in there for my nerdy side.
1. Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer 2. Humily by C.J. Mahaney 3. Sex is Not the Problem: Lust is by Josh Harris4. Spurgeon on Leadership 5. Reformation, how a monk and a mallet changed the world by Stephen Nichols 6. Living the Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney 7. Questioning Evangelism by Randy Newman 8. 50 reason why Jesus came to die by Piper (devotional) 9. The Valley of Vision (devotional) 10. The Mental Disorders and the Heart of Man by Rich Thomson (Biblical Counseling Textbook..great book!)
Summer reading list:1. Jesus and the Eyewitnesses — Richard Bauckham2. Him We Proclaim — Dennis Johnson3. Ministeries of Mercy — Tim Keller4. Narnia — C. S. Lewis5. The Idiot — Fyodor Dostoevsky
Great lists, thanks! And I loved John Adams also.
I wish I could also say that I have a summer reading list. Hmm it is winter now in New Zealand. I believe I would make some progress in the coming months in my reading schedule since I am reading a few books simultaneoulsy.The list includes1) Twelve Ordinary men by John MacArthur2) Desiring God by John Piper3) Studies in the sermon on the mount by Martyn Lloyd Jones and4) The Goldsworthy trilogy by Graeme Goldsworthy.
How fantastic it will be to read these books with a cup of hot south indian (Madras) coffee!
Re-reading Michael Horton’s book, “Too Good to be True: Finding Hope in a World of Hype.” A tremendous book on a Reformed response to suffering! Tim, you should review this one!