These are nonfiction books that are NOT biographies or autobiographies.

• Confronting Christianity: 12 Hard Questions for the World’s Largest Religion by Rebecca McLaughlin
• The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz by Erik Larson
• Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics by Tim Marshall
• The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution by Carl Trueman
• Live Not By Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents by Rod Dreher. (re-read)
• Morning Time: A Liturgy of Love by Cindy Rollins
• The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer (re-read)
• Bandersnatch: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Creative Collaboration of the Inklings by Diana Pavlac Glyer
• Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson
• A Praying LIfe: Connecting With God in a Distracting World by Paul E. Miller.

“Speaking of the history of stories and especially of fairy-stories we may say that the Pot of Soup, the Cauldron of Story, has always been boiling, and to it have continually been added new bits, dainty and undainty.”

JRR Tolkien, quoted in Bandersnatch by Diana Pavlac Glyer

“The task of the Christian is not to whine about the moment in which he or she lives but to understand its problems and respond appropriately to them.”

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman

” . . . institutions cease too be places for the formation of individuals via their schooling in the various practices and disciplines that allow them to take their place in society. Instead, they become platforms for performance, where individuals are allowed to their authentic selves precisely because they are able to give expression to who they are ‘inside’ . . . institutions, such as schools and churches, are places where one goes to perform, not to be formed.”

The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman

“Christianity has become a shallow self-help cult whose chief aim is not cultivating discipleship but rooting out personal anxieties. Christianity without tears.”

Live Not By Lies by Rod Dreher

“If we have been created in the image of an Artist, then we should look for expressions of artistry, and be sensitive to beauty, responsive to what has been created for our appreciation.”

The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer

“Why does man have creativity? Why can man think of many things in his mind and choose and then bring forth something that other people can taste, smell, feel, hear, and see? Because man was created in the image of a Creator. Man was created that he might create. It is not a waste of man’s time to be creative. It is not a waste to pursue artistic or scientific pursuits in creativity, because this is what man was made to be able to do.”

The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer

“Without the Good Shepherd, we are alone in a meaningless story. Weariness and fear leave us feeling overwhelmed, unable to move. Cynicism leaves us doubting, unable to dream. The combination shuts down our hearts, and we just show up for life, going through the motions.”

A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller

“Learned desperation is a the heart of a praying life.”

“Something mysterious happens in the hidden contours of life when we pray. If we try to figure out the mystery, it will elude us. The mystery is real.”

A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller

“I need to develop a poet’s eye that can see the patterns in my Father’s good creation. Like a good storyteller, I need to pick up the cadence and heartbeat of the Divine Storyteller. . . . Don’t pray in a fog. Pray with your eyes open. Look for the patterns God is weaving in your life.”

A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller

What have I learned from all of these books? Our culture and the individuals who make up “our culture” are in trouble. I can understand some of the problems to some extent, but I can’t fix it. I can pray, seek beauty and truth, and wait for God to work.

If I have truly learned that much, it is enough for one year.