Books John read in 2011, Part 5

After parts one, two, three and four, this completes the list of books I read in 2011. It comes to 104 books, which is exactly two per week, an average I have kept up for the last several years. However, I only read twelve of the 20 books I planned to read this year.

1. The Forgotten Heavens: Six Essays on Cosmology
2. An Excellent Mystery by Ellis Peters
   
3. In Search of Hobart by Peter Timms
   
4. The Men Behind the King James Version by Gustavus S. Paine
   
5. The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce
   
6. The Next 100 Years by George Friedman
   
7. Giotto's Hand by Iain Pears
   
8. A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen
   
9. Canon and Biblical Interpretation
10. Rich Gleanings from Rabbi Duncan
11. A Read-Aloud Family Christmas: A Collection Of Classic Christmas Stories
12. Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
13. Exploring Worship: A Practical Guide to Praise & Worship by Bob Sorge
    
14. The Great Tribulation: Past or Future? by Thomas Ice and Kenneth Gentry
    

Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber

This is a fat book. So I initially expected it to be a memoir in need of a lot of pruning. Such is not the case. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. It's a spiritual memoir in the style of Girl Meets God-- a story of a bookish person struggling with the big questions of life and ultimately coming to believe that Christ has the answers.

There are many things to like about this volume, from its structure around the Oxford academic year to the way Weber weaves quotations from various classics throughout her narrative. Most striking and helpful to me was her description of life as a new Christian in the midst of academia. Many of her friends thought she was crazy. Some even told her she had lost all academic credibility. Not only did she struggle with friends feeling betrayed, she also struggled to fit into “churchianity”. Things like finding the correct page for the Bible reading and singing in public seemed like almost insurmountable difficulties. She felt she could never catch up to those who had been steeped in the Bible and Christianity from youth. As one of the latter, I found the chapter “Church Going” a very helpful description of how a new Christian might feel coming to church for the first time.

One thing that surprised me about Weber's memoir was how little she mentions C.S. Lewis. Given that the book is set in Oxford, that was something I expected. But her road to faith in Christ was guided primarily through reading the Bible (all of it!) and conversations with Christians.

Surprised by Oxford is funny, articulate and thought-provoking. It's a title I'd read again, and will be recommending to others.

-Kara

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Christians and Literature

Kara and I have answered a questionnaire as a guest post at the blog All Things Expounded. Go over there and take a look at our answers.