The pace of life in Brookings changes during the summer. It gives us a chance to slow down a little, to spend time with family and friends, and perhaps to do a little more reading.
Publishers Weekly recently released a list of recommended summer reads. The list includes a memoir (Black Cohosh by Eagle Valiant Brosi), some literary fiction (A Lesser Light by Peter Geye), a romance (The View From Lake Como by Adriane Trigiani), an examination of pop culture (Waiting For Britney Spears by Jeff Weiss), and a horror story set in the Old West (The Country Under Heaven by Frederic S. Durbin).
There wasnt a single murder mystery on the list. Personally, I believe that every summer reading list should include at least one good mystery.
Neither was there any books about the spiritual life. And as much as I love a mystery or an intriguing cookbook (Publishers Weekly recommends Morgensterns Finest Ice Cream this summer), I think that a spiritual book or two belongs on every summer reading list.
In my experience, most people of faith have a list of spiritual books that they intend to read some day. Books about the Bible, or the lives of the saints, or prayer. Perhaps something by a great theologian, or an exploration of religious history, or a discussion of morality, or a memoir by a great religious figure, or a reflection on the intersection of faith and current events. Unlike Publishers Weekly, Im not going to give you any specific recommendations. I suspect you already have a few unread spiritual books on your shelf.
My encouragement is to get one of them off the shelf and read it. Summer is a great time for reading. Ill definitely be reading a murder mystery or two. And I love genre mashups, so Durbins novel about a cowboy hunting tentacled cosmic monsters sounds intriguing. But Ill also be working my way through a couple of my as-yet-unread spiritual books.
Perhaps you should do the same.
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