A couple of weeks ago I announced that we’d be taking a slight diversion in reading classic books together and would instead be reading a biography. That project will begin in less than 2 weeks, so I wanted to offer a final reminder about it.

In order to make this program work, I set about looking for just the right biography. I wanted it to cover a person whose life is exemplary and a person who had a remarkable impact on the church. I also wanted to find a biography that was reasonably inexpensive and one that was not too long. And, of course, it had to be written by a superior biographer. All those factors combined to lead me to Arnold Dallimore’s life of Charles Spurgeon. It is 240 pages over 21 chapters, meaning we can quite easily read it in somewhere between 7 and 10 weeks. It is available for around $12 at many online retailers, ensuring that it will not break the bank.

So why don’t you read along with me? Spurgeon led a fascinating life and one I know too little about. Though I’ve read this book before, that was many years ago and I’ve been eager to find a reason to read it again.

We will begin reading on July 8. For that day, please read the first two chapters (just 20 pages!). There is still plenty of time to find a copy of the book, have it shipped your way, and read that first section. You should not have a lot of trouble finding it. It is available at Westminster Books and at most other Christian bookstores online (I had Westminster order in extra copies so they won’t run out!). For some reason it is not available directly through Amazon, though you can find it both new and used through various Amazon partners.

Already quite a lot of you have indicated interest in reading along and I hope that more will do so before we actually begin. I’m really looking forward to beginning this project with you.