1) "Wilderness and the American Mind" by Roderick Frazier Nash. Originally published in 1967, this book is currently in its fourth edition. Nash traces the concepts and attitudes of wilderness through history, particularly American history. I've heard about it for years as I've stumbled across its references while studying wilderness therapy, and thought it high time to find out for myself.
2) "God's Politics" by Jim Wallis. How does being a Christian interact with politics? I'm gonna find out more about that this summer, and this books comes with the highly coveted Drew Rundus Recommendation. It must be good.
3) "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy. I'm excited (and a little terrified) to dig into this mammoth of literary tales, with a new translation by the highly acclaimed Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky that is just beautifully published (I loved their "Anna Karenina" a few years back). There are several out there who doubt I'll actually ever read the entire 1215 pages, but I am determined to continue my pursuit of this literary Everest.
4) "Integrative Psychotherapy" by Mark McMinn and Clark Campbell. This book is making waves (good waves, I believe) in the world of Christian psychology. Seeking to serve as a truly integrative paradigm and tool for clinicians practicing psychology from a distinctively Christian worldview, this book is a necessity towards good integration.
5) "The Wilderness World of John Muir" edited by Edwin Way Teale. Yep, another book focused on nature (and there's another one below!). It's something I am thoroughly enjoying studying, and am even working on a little paper to which these books relate. Muir is of course one of the highly-regarded early conservationists, having camped with Teddy Roosevelt and founded the Sierra Club. 6) The Unfinished. I always have this problem where I start a book, get a quarter, half, or three-quarters through, and then stop reading. It's rarely because I don't enjoy the book, but my attentions move elsewhere and dust collects on the bookmark that continues to poke above the pages. Well, this summer is no different from others in that I am hoping to go back and finish several of The Unfinished. The ones at the top of my list include:
"Simply Christian" by N. T. Wright
"Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder" by Richard Louv
"Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide" by Kay Redfield Jamison.
So that's it. I think I'll be happy if I finish half of all that, but we'll see what pages have been turned when we get to September. So I simply must ask, what's on your reading list? What do you think I simply must add to my list? Do tell. Because I can always let my attentions drift with the summer breeze.
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2 comments:
stephen, thanks for the list!
while i was in my friends' village i read The City of Joy. have you read it? Because it has in no time gone to the top of my list. it's definitely one of my favorites. it describes well both the ugliness and beauty of life among the poorest - particularly a slum in kolkata.
other books i plan to read this summer: simple spirituality by chris heuertz, the great awakening by jim wallis, the new christians by tony jones, survival or prophecy by thomas mertan and jean leclercq, the principle of mercy by jon sobrino, and exclusion and embrace by miroslav wolf. kind of a hefty list. we'll see if i get through it. i might need to add a paulo coehlo classic to that. and i've brought the brothers karamazov, but i don't think i can tackle that just yet - maybe the next jungle adventure. peace friend.
wallis is on my summer list too - it may not get read, but it's in the pile:).
also on the list - souled out by ej dionne. should be stellar.
also so good:
sarah chayes - the punishment of virtue
john perkins - confessions of an economic hitman
and more.
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