Here are two books that have been keeping me seriously engaged lately. These are not your James Paterson kind of beach reading. So you may want to file them away as potential, more provocative serious fall “reads.” But do consider these two brilliantly conceived, and written, books:

THE GREAT EMERGENCE: How Christianity Is Changing and Why by Phyllis Tickle

It’s not our parents’ church any more. In fact, if you read this book, it’s hardly OUR church any more!  Phyllis Tickle, one of the most respected speakers and writers on religion in America today, sketches in only 163 pages the massive changes in Christianity today.  She says that about every 500 years the church undergoes a seismic shift. The last such shift was the Reformation. Today’s change she calls “The Great Emergence.”   This book is about the pivotal time you and I are living in as Christians—plus what went before and what we may expect from here.

            This book is so important I’m planning to teach an adult education class based on this and other reading in the fall.

THE GENIUS OF THE BEAST:  A Radical Re-vision of Capitalism by Howard Bloom

            Another caveat:  this book is neither your standard summertime reading NORChristian. But it’s fascinating!  Howard Bloom has been called “the Einstein, Darwin, Newton and Freud of the 21^st. century.” He has appeared on Good Morning America, The CBS Morning Show News and CBS Night Watch, among others.

            Bloom takes us on a sweeping tour of human history, from the Stone Age to the present.  Every chapter conveys a radically new way to look at Western civilization: through the eyes of capitalistic principles---which Bloom believes are built into the laws of nature. He also says there’s a hidden mandate beneath the surface of capitalism. That hidden imperative can lift us from economic crisis and make us a leader in the next generation economy.

            Good stuff!  He may be wrong, but his is a challenging premise and his book a fun read!

The Rev. Susan Wyper, Associate Rector

SNOW IN AUGUST by Pete Hamill

Hand-me-down books are often the best reads and this one came to me through our oldest son James who read it on the recommendation of his English-major girlfriend Katie. We all three loved it. Set in Brooklyn in 1947, it is the story of Michael Devlin, a 12-year-old altar boy and his relationship with the immigrant Rabbi Judah Hirsch. This unlikely pair trade lessons and stories, of baseball and Prague, of English and Yiddish, of Captain Marvel and of the mysteries of the Kabbalah. When a gang of young toughs start trouble, Michael draws on all these lessons. Snow in August is Pete Hamill at his story-telling best.

 AIRMAN by Eoin Colfer

As any parent knows, car time is some of the best time with children. Trapped together in a steel box with eyes facing forward, cars encourage conversation.   When the conversation quiets though, and the alternative is gansta rap, a book on tape can be a nice way to travel together. This book took my 13 year old and me to many a practice field. By the author of the popular Artemis Fowl series, AIRMAN is an exciting tale of flying machines, prison, evil villains and a likeable hero named Conor Broekhart. Set in the late 1800’s on the Saltee Islands off the Irish Coast, Conor is unjustly thrown into prison and must plot his escape. AIRMAN contains all the right ingredients to keep everyone listening.

 LITTLE BEE by Chris Cleave

“Most days I wish I was a British pound coin instead of an African girl. Everyone would be pleased to see me coming.” These are the opening lines of a funny and harrowing story told in two voices, that of the African refugee Little Bee and Sarah, the suburban London mom, whose encounter with the girl two years earlier on a Nigerian beach changed the course of both their lives forever. Cleave has an incredible ear for language and a heart for the refugee.

 LIFE ON THE COLOR LINE: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black by Gregory Howard Williams                                                                       

Silas and I were lucky enough to go to the Sugar Bowl this year and while he enjoyed quarterback Tony Pike squaring off against Tim Tebow, I was enriched by the fascinating memoir of the now President of the University of Cincinnati. Greg Williams spent his childhood in segregated Virginia believing he was white.   When his family split and Greg and his brother moved with their father to Muncie, IN, Greg discovered that his father, who had been passing as Italian-American, was in truth half-black. In a single moment Greg’s life and his experience of society changes. “Heartbreaking and uplifting… a searing book about race and prejudice in America…brims with insights that only someone who has lived on both sides of the racial divide could gain.” Cleveland Plain Dealer.

The Rev. Danny Lennox, Associate Rector

 A PORTRAIT OF A YOUNG MAN by James Joyce

Many of us took a crack at this in our younger years and the epiphanies of Stephen Dedulas slipped passed our minds. Give it another try. I reread the short volume after a trip to Ireland and found it to be incredibly powerful. Once you find a groove with Joyce’s stream of consciousness style, you’ll find the book unprecedented in its achievement with language and narration.

 IN PURSUIT OF SILENCE by George Prochnik

I heard the author interviewed and picked this book up a day later. It’s a great study of sound, noise, and the inner workings of the ear and mind. Loaded with fun snippets and interesting insights, this is a great summer read that is sure to educate and leave you in search of some quiet places in your life.

 LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER by John Irving

A monumental piece by a great author. In this epic tale that spans three generations, Irving returns to his more whimsical side. I’ve read most of Irving’s whacky novels and, admittedly, I have been disappointed by his recent efforts. Twisted River, however, returns to the style of Owen Meany and Garp and puts Irving back on the map as one of the best storytellers of the modern fiction.

 THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE by Haruki Murakami

This is a strange and challenging book. Murakami—Japan’s most celebrated writer—explores existential anxiety and loss. He borrows themes from the Bible and tackles the difficult questions of the modern world by examining Japan’s past and present situation. While not a story for everyone, those interested in dreamlike postmodern writing will find this work greatly appealing during a sweltering summer day.