Currently reading Temporarily set aside from reading Recent reads Not exactly books Books purchased in St. Catharine's Tolkien Lewis Religion Books purchased at the C. S. Lewis conference in Nashville, September 15, 2007 Books purchased on the cruise trip, June 2-10, 2008 Other books I hope to read soon History Mysticism Religion Travel Literature Philosophy Freemasonry Yet other books to include

Currently reading

• The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy L. Sayers. This is for the Lewis group.
• Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis. This is in a book I bought at a sale book place in Georgia, first exit north of the border on I-75, coming back from the cruise.
• Introduction to Attic Greek by Donald J. Mastronarde. I'm studying this with Richard Roland. Got it on Amazon.
• Hacker Attack! by Richard Mansfield. I got this at the Georgia bookstore. It's dated but has some interesting stuff about security.

Temporarily set aside from reading

Some of these I started and then set aside for various reasons. Some I cannot now find.

• The Essentials of Biblical Hebrew by Kyle M. Yates, revised edition by John Joseph Owens. I have had this Hebrew book for a long time, and am starting through it again in preparation for the Hebrew course I am about to take. (study record)
• How the Hebrew Language Grew by Edward Horowitz. From the Memphis Public Library. Starting on January 7, 2008, I shall be taking a Hebrew class from Mrs. Golit Golan of Holy Land Education. She has her own books, but I am looking at this to help prepare.
• Great Dialogs of Plato translated by W. H. D. Rouse. From the Memphis Public Library. I'm reading this with Linda. It is good to renew acquaintance with an old friend. We are starting with the first dialog, Ion.
• C. S. Lewis: A Biography by Roger Lancelyn Green and Walter Hooper.
• Celtic Daily Prayer: A Northumbrian Office by Andy Raine and John Skinner. A devotional book by the Northumbrian community. I have been using it and shall again, once I can find it. I have found it again and as of 1/5/2008 have started using it again.

• Jesus: The Man Who Lives by Malcom Muggeridge. Published in 1975. This is a fascinating take on Jesus' ministry. Now I cannot find this.
• The Complete Fairy Tales by George MacDonald. This writer influenced Lewis. I decided that it was time that I read some of his works. I am reading this with Linda. So far we have read The Light Princess, The Shadows, The Giant's Heart, Cross Purposes, and The Golden Key. Right now, I have misplaced it.
• The Last Light of the Sun by Guy Gavriel Kay. This novel should be a fun read. The author was one of the editors of Tolkien's The Silmarillion. It seems to be based on Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse cultures.
• Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis. I started reading this before switching to God in the Dock. I am about half way through it. This is one of the strangest books that I have ever read.
• Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper. Jordan Thomas gave me this book on October 25, 2006. It looks somewhat like a devotional book, with short chapters. I shall try to work it in with my other reading. (review)
• Grace and Truth Under Twelve Different Aspects by W. P. Mackay. Published by Loizeaux Brothers. This is a publishing house associated with the Plymouth Brethren and dispensationalism. Interestingly, they do not seem to have a web site. At least, I have not found one for them. The book is one that my parents had. I remember seeing it sit on the shelf for years, among several similar books, and never read it. There is no date on it, but it may be from the 1930s. I have started looking at the introduction. (review)
• Great Days with the Greeat Lives by Chuck Sindwoll. I was given this autographed copy on the trip with Chuck to Israel in May 2006, for getting the permanent "burnt bagel" award. It is a devotional book, and I hope to be reading it along with other devotional material.
• Favorite Poems Selected from English and American Authors, no compiler listed. I bought this 1894 edition with the cover missing at the discard shelf in the Memphis Theological Seminary library after a meeting of the Memphis C. S. Lewis Society. I have read some of the poems and hope to read more as time goes along. It is amazing how many of them are about death. One interesting thing that I learned from it is that the poem The Old Man's Comforts by Robert Southey was the original of which Lewis Carroll's You Are Old, Father William is a parody.
• The Thirteen Petalled Rose by Adin Steinsaltz. This is supposed to be a straightforward explanation of the Kabbalah. Someone at the Scottish Rite lent it to me. I would like to read it before I give it back. Adin Steinsaltz is a popular current rabbi with his own web site. I read a lot of it during a camping trip on 6/23/2007 in Village Creek State Park near Wynne, Arkansas. (review)
• Many Dimensions by Charles Williams. I started this a while ago but never finished it. I have to find it.
• Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis. I started reading this once, but was not able to finish it. I'll need to start it over. I have now read about half of it. I have to find it.
• Anti-Intellectualism in American Life by Richard Hofstadter. I have had this one for a long time. It is one I got in a book club when I was in my twenties. I started working on this one, but felt the need for some unknown grounding before I tacked it. I found the grounding recently in The Abolition of Man.
• The Early Ethnology of the British Isles by Sir John Rhys. This is a 1990 facsimile reprint of an edition of The Scottish Review for April 1890-July 1891 that contained a series of lectures delivered by Sir Rhys in December 1889 to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. It is a fascinating analysis of the early peoples of the British isles based on their languages.
• Southern Baptists & American Evangelicals: The Conversation Continues, ed. by David S. Dockery. This is a collection of essays about the relationship between Southern Baptists and evangelicals.
• Proclaiming the Christmas Gospel edited by John D. Witvliet and David Vroege. This may prove useful if I ever wind up planning music or programs in another church. I lent this one to Glenn Hales on December 2, 2007. He has given it back, and it is still in my reading stack. I have read the first few selections, through Pope Leo.

Recent reads

Here are some books that I have read recently.

• The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis. Finished on 1/4/2008. This is the current book for the Memphis C. S. Lewis Society discussion.
• Celtic Myths and Legends by Charles R. Squire. This appears to be a facsimile reprint of a book from the early 1900s.
• Celtic Christianity by Anthony Duncan
• That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis (review)
• A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines (review)
• Ancient-Future Faith by Robert E. Webber. I finally finished this on 1/12/2007. I have a bit more to do on the review. (review)
• Breaking the Da Vinci Code by Darrell L. Bock. I have no idea how scholarly this will be, but it ought to be interesting. (review)
• Letters to an American Lady by C. S. Lewis. The Memphis C. S. Lewis Society has been reading this book and is finishing it up in April 2007.
• Silent Knight by Col. Chev. Craig L. Carlson, USA, KCTJ. Col. Carlson started the Silent Knight program for the SMOTJ (Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem). This book is a novel about a modern Knight Templar who does good deeds for others anonymously, which is the basis of the program. I finished this book sometime near the end of April 2007.
• God in the Dock by C. S. Lewis. Finished on 6/9/2007, all except for the concluding letters. I finished those sometime near the end of June. This is the book that the Memphis C. S. Lewis Society is currently reading as of June 2007. It is included in The Collected Works of C. S. Lewis: The Pilgrim's Regress, Christian Reflections, God in the Dock. This is one of the books that I picked up last fall in St. Catharine's, Ontario. We are each supposed to pick an essay and lead discussion on it. So right now I am not reading it sequentially, but going through it to find various essays that I might be interested in discussing. (review)
• The Pilgrim's Regress by C. S. Lewis. It is included in The Collected Works of C. S. Lewis: The Pilgrim's Regress, Christian Reflections, God in the Dock. This is one of the books that I picked up in the fall of 2006 in St. Catharine's, Ontario. It is an allegory in the style of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress in a modern setting.
• The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis. I have heard about this for some time, and decided at last to get and read it. It is said to be his non-fiction dealing with the issues that he explored in That Hideous Strength. Read in about a week, finished early October 2007. (review)
• Christian Reflections by C. S. Lewis. It is included in The Collected Works of C. S. Lewis: The Pilgrim's Regress, Christian Reflections, God in the Dock. This is one of the books that I picked up in the fall of 2006 in St. Catharine's, Ontario. I have read some of the essays in it. The most disturbing are Christianity and Literature and Christianity and Culture. Finished in late November 2007.

Not exactly books

There is also a recent sermon pamphlet from First Baptist Church of Memphis that I have just read. It speaks of our inability to hear God and mentions Clarence Jordan, who some years ago started a racially mixed farming community in south Georgia. He preached in a small church near there where he grew up. At first the people did not understand the points he was making, but when they did, they threw him and his group out.

It's not exactly the reading of a book, but here is a review of the play Hedda Gabler that Linda and I saw on Friday, October 5, 2007.

On Friday night, October 5, 2007, we rented and saw the movie Happy Feet. Here is a review.

Books purchased in St. Catharine's

On October 5, 2006, on a trip to St. Catharine's Ontario, I purchased an armload of books at The Book Depot. What was I thinking? Now I have to lug them back and fit them on the airplane. Anyway, here they are. I hope to start on at least some of them soon.

Tolkien

• The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion by Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull. This will most likely be one to look at in snatches as I get the chance.

Lewis

• C. S. Lewis: A Biography by Roger Lancelyn Green and Walter Hooper
• The Collected Works of C. S. Lewis: The Pilgrim's Regress, Christian Reflections, God in the Dock. This may work its way up the list, part by part. I am reading God in the Dock now.
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Beyond the Wardrobe, The Official Guide to Narnia by E. J. Kirk. More of a coffee table reference book to read bit by bit.

Religion

• Proclaiming the Christmas Gospel edited by John D. Witvliet and David Vroege. This may prove useful if I ever wind up planning music or programs in another church.
• Breaking the Da Vinci Code by Darrell L. Bock. I have no idea how scholarly this will be, but it ought to be interesting. I recently finished it, and it is quite good.
• Lost Christianity: A Journey of Rediscovery by Jacob Needleman. Seems to be about mysticism.
• History through the Eyes of Faith by Ronald A. Wells. I started this, but set it aside for the time being.

Books purchased at the C. S. Lewis conference in Nashville, September 15, 2007

• C. S. Lewis: Images of His World by Douglas Gilbert and Clyde S. Kilby. This is a book primarily of pictures, accompanied by descriptive text, of the places where Lewis lived and visited.
• The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis. I have heard about this for some time, and decided at last to get and read it. It is said to be his non-fiction dealing with the issues that he explored in That Hideous Strength.
• The Complete Fairy Tales by George MacDonald. This writer influenced Lewis. I decided that it was time that I read some of his works.

Books purchased on the cruise trip, June 2-10, 2008

I purchased several books on this trip, at the Holy Land Experience and at a bookstore on the way back, at the first exit in Georgia on I-75. I'll catalog them eventually.

Other books I hope to read soon

History

• Kissinger: The Uses of Power by David Landau. This is a book (one of many) that I have had for a long time and never read. It may get pushed down the list if a spiritual book looks more interesting.
• The Flowering of Ireland by Katharine Scherman. I bought it on December 9, 2006 at a Goodwill store in Jackson, Tennessee.
• Anti-Intellectualism in American Life by Richard Hofstadter. I have had this one for a long time. It is one I got in a book club when I was in my twenties.

Mysticism

• Mysticism by Evelyn Underhill. This is a book that I have had for a long time and used for a presentation when I was teaching at Wabash College. The people at Worldview Weekend don't seem to like it. This increases my interest.
• Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross.
• Spiritual Canticle by St. John of the Cross.
• Ascent of Mount Carmel by St. John of the Cross.

Religion

• The Meaning of the Glorious Koran. This is an English translation of the Qur'an by Mohammad Marmaduke Pickthall. Technically, translations are not called the Qur'an. With the current upsurge of and conflict with Islam, I really ought to know what it says.
• Transforming Congregational Culture by Anthony B. Robinson. This is a book about how "mainstream" churches should transform themselves to meet the new culture. I started it some time ago, but shall have to start it again. It is a bit of a different take from Ancient-Future Faith. It is also from a different point of departure than I am used to as a conservative Christian, since this is from more of a liberal point of view.
• The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. Again, I started it. This seems to be one you are supposed to read slowly. I have heard mixed reviews on it from different circles.
• Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney.
• Simplify Your Spiritual Life by Donald S. Whitney.
• Give Praise to God edited by Philip Graham Ryken. I got this at the Don Whitney Spiritual Formation Conference. It is still shrink-wrapped.
• The Mighty Acts of God by Arnold B. Rhodes, revised by W. Eugene March. I was lent this by a Sunday School class at Evergreen Presbyterian Church. It is a book that they started to study and did not like. It will be interesting to discover why.
• An ABC Primer for Church Musicians by Bob Burroughs. This looks humorous, a section by section read.
• The Search for Significance by Robert S. McGee. I was given this book as part of a Wednesday night study at Highland Heights Baptist Church in Memphis. It is a kind of religious self-help book, talking about how our significance comes from God's love for and redemption of us.
• God's Man by Dr. Don Aycock. Another devotional book.
• Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton. I started this about the time of the trip to Israel and would like to get back into it.
• On the Divine Images by St. John of Damascus. This is an argument for the use of icons in the church.
• So You Want to Be Like Christ? by Charles R. (Chuck) Swindoll. I was given this on the trip to Israel.
• Die Theologie des Neuen Testaments by Ethelbert Stauffer. I picked up this 1948 book at the sale shelf of the Memphis Theological Seminary library. I have no idea what positions it takes. It may be interesting if I can summon enough memory of German to read it.
• Has Our Theology Changed? Southern Baptist Thought Since 1845 edited by Paul A. Basden. I got this at the same time that I got Ancient-Future Faith in the book area of the music conference at First Baptist Church in Memphis back in 2003 or 2004 or so. It is a collection of essays about how Southern Baptist thought has developed since the origin of the convention. I have no idea what its theological slant is.

Travel

• The New Christian Traveler's Guide to the Holy Land by Charles H. Dyer and Gregory A. Hatteberg. We were given this for our trip to Israel. It should be a good reminder.

Literature

• The Book of Guys by Garrison Keillor. Short stories about men.
• The Seven Pillars of Wisdom by Thomas Edward Lawrence. My college history professor, Dr. James S. Brown, recommended this.
• Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott.
• The Glass Bead Game or Magister Ludi by Hermann Hesse. There are other books by Hesse that I would like to read as well.

Philosophy

• Discours de la Méthode et Les Passions d l'âme by René Descartes. This will help review my French. I started it, but it is difficult French!

Freemasonry

• Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite by Albert Pike. This is the official book of the rite, and I have been wanting to read it for years.
• The Freemasons by Jeremy Harwood. This is a large, thin, paperback coffee table style book. It looks pretty popularized, but it may have some interesting thoughts.

I have several other books about the Masons and the Rosicrucians that ought to go on the list if I can work them in. Two of these are by Arthur Edward Waite. He did not think much of Pike.

Yet other books to include

Here are some other books that I need to research but want to include. I also need to find some of them.

• How the Irish Saved Civilization
• A book about the Celtic roots of Southern literature. I heard a talk by the author at a meeting of the Memphis Scottish Society.
• The Doctrine of the Trinity. This is a World War II era book that I got off the free shelf of the Samford University library. I started reading it some time ago but never finished.

Gerre Harrell recently gave me several music books, such as Harmony by Walter Piston. These may be "read a snatch here and there" books.

There are many books from my past that I have never taken time to read. There are others that I have read but forgotten.

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