I finished three books this week and though I liked them, I didn't enjoy any of them sufficiently to devote an individual post to each one. So here's a quick overview...Because I appreciate a good discussion about children's literature and the value of fairy tales, Michael O'Brien's A Landscape with Dragons was my favorite book of the week. He argues against most modern fiction for young people because it makes the macabre appealing. (This was written well before the vampire craze.) Fairy tales, says O'Brien, have bad dragons and good knights and children are very aware of the line between good and evil. Modern stories, on the other hand blur the lines between the two.
Our truest stories tell us who we are and where we should be going. They inform us about the nature of the enemy. They strengthen us for the journey. A badly flawed tale, on the other hand, can weaken and confuse it. It may even direct us into some very dangerous territory. (p. 102)
The second book was The Christian's Secret of a Holy Life by Hannah Whitall Smith. (Her classic is The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life.) This second book is compiled of her letters and journal entries and is written as a daily devotional book. It has many nuggets of gold in it, but the main theme is trusting God no matter what the circumstances (what Hannah called "naked faith").
I am perfectly satisified now, and would not raise my hand to change anything in all of His dealings with me. I have had a bitter grief, and a cause for sharp anxiety pressing on me all winter, but I have been enabled to say a continual "yes" to His sweet will; and my soul has been kept in perfect peace. (p. 124)
Lastly, I listened to the audiobook of John Grisham's The Testament. I wanted to read it because it takes place in a part of Brazil where I've lived, but it was hard to listen to a book with such unpleasant language. (I couldn't skip over the less savory passages like I can when the book is in front of me.)
I'll probably be quoting Smith and O'Brien in future posts because they gave me much food for thought.
2 comments:
It's been years since I first read Whitall's "Secret" but I remember how comforting it was to me at the time. I've kept my copy. Learning to trust God is so important.
My dad read "The Testament" out loud to us about 5 years ago while at the beach. He obviously skipped over any questionable material, so I only remember good things. It's really different than most of his books, and I just remember thinking about you guys the whole time we were reading it!
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