Books: March 2017

Hungry Heart

Jennifer Weiner

I picked this memoir up from a local independent bookstore that was having a 50% off relocation sale. Although the shelves were pretty sparse by the time I got there, this book's pretty blue cover caught my attention and once I saw Mindy Kaling's endorsement on the back, I was sold. I went into it not really knowing what to expect, but I really, really enjoyed this book. At almost 400 pages, it's a pretty lengthy memoir, but one that absorbed me from beginning to end. Jennifer Weiner is funny, heartfelt and so, so clever; I took an enormous amount away from her story. She writes about an impressive (and often heart-breaking) array of things: her broken family, her love of books, her struggle with weight, her path to career success. Some things I could relate to directly -- others I couldn't -- which is of course inevitable when reading one person's life story. There was so much in here that I think any woman can relate to, though. She has very important things to say finding career success, fighting to have a right relationship with your body and not conforming to what our society expects of women. She also made me reconsider (or at least re-evaluate) my aversion to popular fiction, and I have no doubt that I will be picking up one of her other books when I need a lighter read in the coming months. All in all, I would highly recommend this funny, well-written memoir -- it's been one of my favourite reads this year. 

Present Over Perfect

Shauna Niequist

*Sigh* It really disappoints me to write what I'm about to, friends, but I'm going to try and graciously say what I think anyway. If you know me well, you will know that I love Shauna Niequist. Cold Tangerines is a book that will stick with me all my days; it was and always will be one of my favourites. Though I didn't like Bittersweet or Bread and Wine quite as much, I still appreciated what Shauna had to say and counted myself among her loyal devotees. I say all of this to give you an indicator of how hard it is for me to now say this: I really did not like this book. Shauna's latest collection of essays chronicles her personal journey from being obsessed with perfection to simply being present in her everyday life. She spent a few years overhauling many aspects of her perfection-focused life and it brought her into a place of deep, meaningful living. This overall theme is not my problem with the book; but there are two aspects of it I found deeply troubling. Firstly, I was shocked by how little God was mentioned in Shauna's writing. It may as well have been a secular self-discovery book in the vein of Wild or Eat, Pray, Love. I don't think there is anything wrong with these books, but I do think there is a serious problem when Christian authors start churning them out. Are we saying that Jesus, the one who has saved us, has no more to offer us than the PCT or a few therapy sessions? Secondly, if this was the topic she felt called to write about, she could have done it in a much shorter volume. What could have been covered in a few chapters is fleshed out in a painfully self-absorbed way in an entire book. There was so much arbitrary repetition of the same thing: My life was overwhelming. I needed connection. I found it by completely overhauling my previous way of living. I guess I should say here that the book wasn't completely terrible. I really enjoyed the last section, 'Throwing Candy', and I took to heart her admonition to live "with Christ" and not any of those ever-so-subtle variations we end up bending ourselves to. But the moments of enjoyment were rare for me. A Christian book about change without Christ at the centre is not one that I am interested in reading... and it may just be enough for me to part ways with Shauna for good.

The Last Battle

C.S. Lewis

*Sigh* If you're counting, this is my second sigh in this post, but this one is of a very different nature. I have finally reached the end of the Narnia series, friends, and I couldn't be more content. They are, in my opinion, about as close to perfect as a series can be. The Last Battle was not what I thought it would be, but in the best possible way. I went into it expecting a drawn-out battle that would span several chapters and end the series with a (perhaps literal) bang. What I got was infinitely better: a series of incredibly clever, beautiful illustrations about the way we set ourselves up to be gods and follow the wrong god, but how one day the One True God will show Himself in His full glory and put all our false gods to shame. (C.S. Lewis is much better at telling it than I am at summarising it) It was a book that showed me my longing for a heavenly home; that everything here is a dream at best and one day I will wake up to the most glorious reality. In short, it was the perfect ending to a perfect series.

I feel like I should add here that I read most of the Narnia series as an adult. Though I loved the movies growing up, I never got beyond The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe in the book series. For those who find themselves in a similar situation, I would say this: please, please don't think that this series has nothing to offer you as an adult. The allegories and themes running the books are beautiful and sophisticated; C S lewis will have you mulling over his words long after you've turned the last page. And also? They are just fun. It is so much fun to escape with the Pevensies into a world that begins in a wardrobe: it's the stuff dreams are made of and I really think we should take any chance we can get to escape into a dream world for a few hours.

Jesus, Justice and Gender Roles
Kathy Keller

No Tim Keller this month, friends, but rather a well-written, compelling little volume on the topic of gender roles by his wife and co-founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Kathy Keller. I've always loved reading the dedications and acknowledgements of Tim Keller's books; from them I gleaned that Kathy is an intelligent, hard-working woman whose influence on her husband and their ministry in New York is profound. My impressions were not wrong; Kathy has a lot to say in this book, and she says it with great clarity and grace. The topic of gender roles in the home and church is something I've struggled with since joining my current church a few years ago. Having grown up in a largely egalitarian context I found it shocking and even a little backward to have no female pastors/elders at my church. Although my views have softened somewhat in the 2+ years I've been there, I'm still not firmly in either the egalitarian or complementarian camp, which was why I bought this book for my Kindle a few weeks ago. Kathy makes a persuasive and coherent argument for the complementarian view, backed up by scripture at every point. She commands us to have the utmost respect for Scripture and bend ourselves to its authority - a command that I absolutely take on board. I can't say that I absolutely agree with the conclusions she reached, but I can say that I have added Kathy Keller to the list of complementarians whose views, arguments and words I deeply respect.

*****

I know I am very behind on these posts, friends, but they are coming! I love keeping track of what I've been reading and learning every month - life has just been extra full these last few weeks, the reasons for which may also be revealed in upcoming posts :)