Books 2021: Part III
21. Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Poems to God by Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy
One of my goals for this year was to diversify the genres and authors I read. With that in mind, the shelf in my local bookshop that kept haunting me was the poetry section. Poetry is genre I’ve never felt totally comfortable with and am still sort of mystified and confused by. To ease back into it, I wanted a recommendation from a trusted source. When a coworker (who loves to read and write poetry) said I had to read Rilke’s Book of Hours, I grabbed a copy. I wish I hadn’t read the editor’s background and translation notes before reading Rilke’s actual poetry, because I entered it a little confused by his intent and theology. But it didn’t take long for those voices to fade, especially when the quote below stopped me in my tracks. On my birthday this year, “no holding back” was the phrase that kept coming to mind, and has sort of become my mantra for this 27th year of life I’m diving into. There are ideas and images in Rilke’s writing I’ll be slowly digesting for a long time, which I think is a telltale sign that you’ve discovered a good and worthy work.
The quote I’m taking with me:
If this is arrogant, God, forgive me,
but this is what I need to say.
May what I do flow from me like a river,
no forcing and no holding back,
the way it is with children.
22. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett
There’s at least one book a year that makes me cheesily say “oh my,” and this is the one. A couple of coworkers sang high praises for State of Wonder, and I see why. It was a plot sort of outside my wheelhouse, and I think that’s one of the reasons why I loved it so much—the storyline and the actual reading of it felt like a wild adventure. Basically, you follow a pharmaceutical scientist as she searches for her former mentor (who’s been hiding in the Amazon developing a new drug), investigates the death of her coworker, and faces all of the peril and questions she encounters along the way. For me, this book is of that special breed where you think about it during the day, just counting down until you can curl up and keep reading. Riveting!
The quote I’m taking with me: “Never be so focused on what you're looking for that you overlook the thing you actually find.”
23. The God of the Garden by Andrew Peterson
Oof. This was a book that came at just the right time. I started it right before Thanksgiving and finished it during Advent. After a year of berating myself and battling the need to perform and get everything right, it was so comforting to read the words of someone I admire so much essentially say, “I get it—me too. I have a hard time letting God love me.” Andrew walks through large chunks of his story while also sharing its connection to trees and God’s creation, and how those things influence each other. He talks about pain he’s endured, both circumstantial but also internal, as God pruned his heart, and how he met Jesus in all of it. This book is beautiful. Even though I mostly read it inside, I highly recommend you read this outside—preferably in a garden or sitting in a swinging hammock surrounded by trees.
A side note I greatly enjoyed: There’s a chapter where Andrew talks about how we’ve lost a true sense of “place” in America (thanks to the replicating of chains and suburban developments, etc.). He loves towns and cities where it’s easily walkable, there aren’t so many harsh lines between my area and your area (causing fear), and there are lots of meeting places (parks, coffee shops, etc.) where the community can bump into each other. I loved that chapter because I kept thinking of Waco. Of course there’s so much work to be done, but I kept smiling at how I can walk to my favorite coffee shop, and I often run into friends on the trail by the river, and I know several business owners in town (and so does everyone else). I felt so much pride over my city and its special community, and I never want to take it for granted.
The quote I’m taking with me: “Ah, Lord, how precious is your weeping presence with those who weep! How much better is your weeping presence with those who weep! How much better is your companionship in the deep darkness than your absence in the light! I was not alone. I had never been alone. My own descent into the dark woods of desolation was merely a footpath to the heart of Christ—Christ, who went to the grove to pray; Christ, who asked his friends to keep watch with him; Christ, who in his anguish turned his face not away from the Father but to him, who aimed his questions at the silent dome of heaven and got an angry mob for an answer. I also went to the woods for an answer, and found Jesus. I demanded words, and was given instead the silent, weeping Word that echoes in the lonely wood of every sorrowful heart, the Word all the books in the world cannot contain. In the dark night of my soul, he was the friend who kept watch.”
24. In the Wide Country of Love by Liz Bell Young
I’ve been fangirling over Liz and her writing for a couple of years now, and have been wanting to read this memoir of hers for a large portion of that time. I’m usually a stickler for reading hard copies of books, but reading this through Kindle is worth it. Liz flips back and forth between two timelines, the early days of her marriage and then several years later, both when her husband is on active duty. In her beautifully honest way, Liz’s look at the hardship and joy of walking through life with someone you love is just that—lovely.
The quote I’m taking with me: I’m not great at remembering quotes when I read digitally or listen to Audible, but the raw, heartfelt look at love (and all the complications and nuances that come with that) was beautifully written, so you just have to trust me and read it!
25. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount by Oswald Chamb
I’ve loved Ozzy for years, and have read through My Utmost for His Highest a few times. If you’re familiar with his work, you know that he can pack a serious punch in a short amount of space. The book is exactly what the title sounds like: he walks verse-by-verse through the Sermon on the Mount in a brutally honest, Christ-centered way. My overall takeaways: Rely on who Jesus is and what He says, not your own interpretation or experience; the Sermon on the Mount is an impossible set of commands by our own strength, but through the Holy Spirit’s work in us, it’s miraculously possible; Jesus says “be the salt of the earth” for a reason. The world doesn’t need more sugar—it needs the purifying, healing, powerful work of salt, i.e. the gospel. (That was a big ouch for sweet McGee.) I could only read through this in tiny chunks, but this one will give you a good slap if you need it.
The quote I’m taking with me: “We always say we do not know what Jesus Christ means when we know perfectly well He mans something that is a blunt impossibility unless He can remake us and make it possible. Jesus brings us with terrific force straight up against the impossible, and until we get to the place of despair we will never receive from Him the grace that enables us to do the impossible and to manifest His Spirit.”
26. Honest Advent: Awakening to the God-with-Us Then, Here, and Now by Scott Erickson
I enjoy going through some sort of book or study during Advent, and this one caught my eye at Fabled, so I gave it a go. I’ve never read the Christmas story with a lens as raw and vulnerable as this one. While there were a few points here and there I disagreed with, overall I enjoyed Scott’s intention in breaking down some of the walls we as a society has put up around this tale. And what makes his claims on the incarnation of Christ even more miraculous is that it’s not a tale at all—the Son of God putting on flesh and dwelling among us is real, and every implication of that (from the messiness of His birth, to the pains of Mary’s pregnancy, to Jesus’ grace for us today) is true.
The quotes I’m taking with me: “[God’s loving presence] releases us from the janky treadmill of religious striving and invites us to a long walk on the beach as ones who love each other.”
“We will never have to do transformation alone.”
27. A is for Atom: A Midcentury Alphabet by Greg Paprocki
This is the cutest alphabet book I’ve ever seen. And that’s all you really need to know.
28. Awaken: 90 Days with the God Who Speaks by Priscilla Shirer
What was supposed to take me 90 days took me all year long—and I’m glad. It was sweet to take my time with this one, and in the Lord’s true fashion, Priscilla’s words almost always came when I needed them. Her voice is such a beautiful balance of grace and truth—her words soothing balm when I was in a time of being too harsh on myself, and a powerful roar when I needed to be awakened from spiritual slumber (fitting from the title). If you’re looking for a devotional that’s digestible in length but rich in content, I highly recommend this one.
The quote I’m taking with me: way too many to list here, but flipped through and found this one: “The divine Editor does this very thing with the version of our lives that we each present to Him—cutting, shaving, dicing, carving—until it communicates most clearly the message He wants to bring out of it. And of us.”
Only made it to 28 books out of my goal of 35 for 2021, but you can’t win ‘em all. I wanted to diversify my readings this year (mostly in genre and authors) and while I’ve definitely got room for growth in that, I’m feeling good about my start. Happy reading in 2022, friends!
