Here's a list I made based on what we have in the library here at Richmond Hill. A handful of the books I've read before and need to read again. Most I've seen in the library and have been intending to pick up. Now's the time to pick them up! My plan is to make a weekly blog post with reading notes. Consistency is my goal. Read and write, read and write! Then, at the end of the year, perhaps I'll be inspired to write some kind of critical summary or spiritual reflection type thing.
A year or two ago I read Housekeeping vs The Dirt, by Nick Hornby, a collection of his book reviews from the periodical The Believer (I think he has a bigger collection called The Polysyllabic Spree). I ate it up like candy; part book review, part memoir, part satire, it was insightful, personal, and hilarious. That's my dream - to be able to write something like that using mostly religious literature.
This list is overfilled with WASP-y males like me, and also overdependent on the Jesus Seminar. People out there in cyberspace, I'd love some suggestions to diversify my author list. I may not be able to read it this year, but just having the title and author in my mind for future reading would be a comfort. Thank you!
Jan - Biblical Jesus
KJV Gospels
God’s Secretaries - Nicolson
Gospel Parallels
Five Gospels w Commentary - Funk, Hoover, etc
Who wrote the New Testament - Mack
Feb - Historical Jesus
Excavating Jesus - Crossan and Reed
New Test. Background, Selected Docs - ed C.K. Barrett
Meeting Jesus again for the First Time - Marcus Borg
Jesus Christ and Mythology - Bultmann
Honest to Jesus: Jesus for New Millennium - Funk
Mar - Christian Jesus
Acts-Rev
From Jesus to Christ - Paula Fredriksen
Religion in Greece and Rome - Rose
The Real Jesus - Luke Johnson
The Kingdom Within - Sanford
Jesus through the Centuries - J Pelikan
Christ and Culture - Niehbur
April - Extra Jesus
Gnostic Gospels - Elaine Pagels
Beyond Belief - Pagels
Jesus - K. Gibran
Gospel According to Mary - Miriam Winter
Lamb - Gospel According to Biff - Moore
Christ out of Egypt - A Rice
The Last Temptation of Christ - Kazantzakis
May - Prophet Jesus
Isaiah-Malachi
The Prophets - A Heschel
The Suffering Servant - Christopher North
The Prophetic Imagination - Bruggeman
June - Jewish Jesus
Two Types of Faith - Buber
Jesus the Jewish Theologian - Brad Young
Between the Testaments - D.S. Russell
July - Muslim Jesus
The Qu'ran
The Muslim Jesus - Khalidi
Rumi
Aug - Hindu Jesus
Hinduism - K. Sen
Message of Jesus Christ - Gandhi
Autobiography - Gandhi
Gospel of John in Light of Indian Mysticism - Ravindra
Bhagavad-Gita
Sept - Buddhist Jesus
Living Buddha, Living Christ - Hanh
Coming Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers - Hanh
In the Words of the Buddha - selections from pali cannon
Without Buddha I could not be a Christian - Paul Knitter
Oct - Jesus comes to America
God is Red - Vine Deloria
Jesus in America: A History - Fox
The Book of Mormon
The Pipe and Christ - Stolzman
Jesus for President - Claiborne
Nov - Black Jesus
Jesus and the Disinherited - Thurman
Souls of Black Folk - DuBois
The Cross and the Lynching Tree - Cone
Trabelin On - Sobel
I Have a Dream - collection of speeches and writings by MLK
Bearing the Cross - Garrow
Dec. - English Lit. Jesus
Milton, Donne, etc
Jesus as Precursor - Funk
I don't know whether she exactly fits your taste or your plan here, but Anne Lamott has written some beautiful things about faith (and Jesus, though the main thrust of her narratives is usually faith and/or grace). I haven't dusted off any of her books lately, but I think my three favorites have been Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith, and Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith. (As you see, there's a common theme here. Also please forgive the italicized titles; blogger won't allow underlining for some reason.) And if exploratory memoir does turn out to be something you're interested in, then Eat, Pray, Love, though overplayed, was actually fairly interesting, I thought. As you may be aware, the author set out to explore, among other things, faith. That one has less of a Christian bent, but since you're including texts about Buddhism and the Bhagavad Gita, I thought this one might interest you as well. I hope you enjoy your literary journey this year. Your writing about it thus far has largely been very engaging and clear, although your tone (understandably) has shifted between posts. I don't know if that's something you want to focus on or not. Hope you all are well.
ReplyDeleteHey thank you! I read Plan B at some point, I think I borrowed it from you, and loved it. gotta read more. Doesn't she come and speak in richmond sometimes? Is Bird by Bird good? we have that in the library here. Also I read The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert just recently; if you haven't already read it, i think you would really like that. so i need to follow up with eat, pray, love. id like to hear more specifics about tone, etc, if you get a chance, especially after ive posted a few more entries and you have more data to work with. peace
ReplyDelete