A Very Small Faithfulness This week I’ve been writing a lecture on Bob Dylan, and so have been listening to a lot of his…
Empire of the Summer Moon (S.C. Gwynne, 2010), The Killing of Crazy Horse (Thomas Powers, 2010)
A deadly clash, an unfinished story By the middle years of the 19th century white European immigrants had spread across the eastern half of…
Can We, Will We Redeem the Vampire?
Dracula (1897) In 1897 Bram Stoker published a book that drew upon numerous ancient myths from a variety of people groups that spoke of…
The Insulted and Injured (Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1861)
A world of wicked self-interest Good stories—really good stories—touch on the deepest questions and yearnings of the human condition. The story may be set…
Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen, 2011)
Nostalgia traps the soul We had a friend who one time mentioned she thought she had been born in the wrong century. “When you…
Phlox: A Natural History and Gardener’s Guide (James H. Locklear, 2001)
A flower by any other name If you were to walk around Toad Hall in the summer you’d notice that though the city lot…
Listening to Critics: When musicians raise questions about faith (IV)
In the Fall of 2009, I found myself at a stalemate with my collection of music. Nothing in my 9 gigs of iTunes was…
The Imperfectionists (Tom Rachman, 2010)
Lives barely connected, unwinding I doubt The Imperfectionists will be remembered as the defining novel of the early 21st century. It is, however, a…
Margie’s 2011 Christmas Gift List
Stone by Design by Lew French, Gibbs Smith, 2005. (non-fiction) Stone by Design must be the best book yet on building and landscaping with…
Margie’s 2009 Christmas Gift List
Books / Ordinary Life / Safe Place
Out of My Bone: The Letters of Joy Davidman Editor, Don W. King, Eerdmans, 2009 "All I really care about is having a bit…