Summer is here! I hope it brings some extra sun, water, and books into your life.
Here are six suggestions I recommend.
For Fun
Rule of Law by Randy Singer
When a SEAL Team Six mission ordered by the president goes awry, lives are devastated. Who is to blame? What political wheeling and dealing is happening behind-the-scenes?
Rule of Law is another strong addition to the Randy Singer file of legal dramas. At the center of this drama is a young lawyer, Paige Chambers, who takes on the US Government. Singer does an excellent job of humanizing each of his characters and dealing fairly with the nuances and challenges of international law. My favorite thing about Rule of Law was the appearance of a handful of characters from earlier Singer novels.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
I thought The Guest List was loads of fun. If you like Agatha Christie, Lucy Foley’s mystery will be right up your ally. It has just the right number of twists coupled with nimble multi-perspectives writing. My only disappointment was how graphic the novel was. Foley has loads of skill and could have left more to the imagination. If you’re a fan of mystery and are comfortable with a measure of mature content, you’re sure to like The Guest List.
Impactful Fiction
Jack by Marilynne Robinson
Marilynne Robinson is an American treasure. She has created yet another masterpiece in Jack. It is her fourth novel in the multi-generational world of Iowa, but can be read on its own.
Jack is the love story of a shiftless but sensitive thief, Jack, and Della, an intelligent and graceful woman. Bridging the worlds of black and white in 1950s mid-America, Robinson has crafted a delicate and poignant story. Robinson's novel aches for grace and the need to see the other for more than they first appear. Robinson's world is one filled with "tantalizing fragility" where “So many of earth's grievances could be soothed by a little consideration.” Grace, if only... grace. Jack struggles to receive the affection and love of Della. And she offers her care at a deep cost to herself.
Marilynne Robinson’s writing is understated and focuses on the interior lives of her characters, not on plot. The reader should expect the story to unfold slowly and unhurriedly.
I fell in love with Jack and Della. I gained two new friends. What more can you ask of an offer than to make you feel, think, and love?
Growing in Your Faith
On the Road with Saint Augustine by James KA Smith
James KA Smith brings to life Augustine in creative fashion in On the Road with Saint Augustine. Using Augustine’s life and words, Smith offers Augustine as a guide to the modern reader. Smith believes that Augustine has wrestled with many of the same issues we have and believes that Augustine offers a wealth of knowledge and experience.
Smith believes that Augustine is a “guide worth considering” both because he has wrestled with the existential ache that pervades many of our lives and that he ultimately learned where to find salve for that ache. Augustine “knows where home is, where rest can be found, what peace feels like, even if it is sometimes ephemeral and elusive along the way."
Smith meanders through topics such as anxiety, ambition, sex, friendship, fathers, mothers, and death. Smith draws in believer and unbeliever alike and probes questions of belief and whether Christianity offers a belief system that is trustworthy. Smith asks, “The question isn't whether you're going to believe, but who; it's not merely about what to believe, but who to entrust yourself to. Do we really think humanity is our best bet? Do we really think we are the answer to our problems, we who've generated all of them? The problem with everything from Enlightenment scientism to mushy Eat-Pray-Love-ism is us. If anything looks irrational, it's the notion that we are our own best hope.” Smith shares with us Augustine’s own spiritual journey where he rejected the Christian faith of his mother for an alternative that seemed attractive at the time, but ultimately left Augustine wanting more.
Ultimately, Augustine found rest in God. Augustine’s journey back to God was a journey driven by a hunger for truth and for relationship. “Resting in the love of God doesn’t squelch ambition; it fuels it with a different fire. I don’t have to strive to get God to love me; rather, because God loves me unconditionally, I’m free to take risks and launch out into the deep.”
Smith warns us of what happens when we give up on that journey. He says that for many, the answer becomes indifference. “We cultivate indifference as a cocoon. We make irony a habit because the safety of maintaining a knowing distance works as a defense. If you can’t find what matters, conclude that nothing matters. If the hunger for home is always and only frustrated, decide “the road is life.”
Whether you are a Christian or not, I commend On the Road with Saint Augustine to you. In it you will find a perceptive ancient guide come to life and walk alongside your struggles in a fresh and profound way.
Enemies of the Heart by Andy Stanley
Enemies of the Heart is my favorite book by Stanley to date. In this practical book, Stanley walks through four of the most powerfully destructive emotions that can damage us: guilt, anger, greed, and jealousy. Stanley argues that if we leave these emotions unchecked, they will destroy us from the inside out.
Stanley begins by considering the importance of the heart. He points us to Proverbs 4:23, where Solomon reminds us that, "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." He then examines each emotion and pushes back on our culture which tends to affirm our emotions. Instead, Stanley suggests, we ought to question our emotions, and the posture of our heart they flow from.
Stanley is at his best in talking about anger and greed. Regarding anger, Stanley tells us the difficult truth that, “The root of anger is the perception that something has been taken. Something is owed you, and now a debt to debtor relationship has been established.” He pushes back on how we use our pain. “Your pain isn’t a trophy to show off. It’s not a story to tell. It’s potentially poison to your soul. To refuse to forgive is to choose to self-destruct.”
Stanley continues, “Victims don’t want to be proactive about changing—they want to be proactive about making sure that the person who hurt them pays. And so we spend our energy telling our sad stories rather than taking responsibility for our behavior. Thus we open the door of our hearts and welcome in the Trojan horse of bitterness. And it stands there, a monument, a constant reminder of a debt someone has yet to pay. Somebody owes us.”
Regarding greed, Stanley shares that very few of us identify with harboring this desire. We look to our left and right and see those who are greedier and exempt ourselves, but we do so at our own peril. He points to the root of greed as a lack of trust in God. “People with greed lodged in their heart fear that God either can’t or won’t take care of them. More to the point, they’re afraid that God won’t take care of them in the fashion or style in which they want to be cared for. And the gap between what they suspect God might be willing to do and what they want becomes a major source of anxiety. So greedy people shoulder the burden to acquire and maintain everything they need to provide the sense of security they desire.”
How do we free ourselves from greed? Through radical generosity. He says, “It takes a habit to break a habit. You can pray every day for a generous heart, but until you start acting in that direction, nothing's going to change.” Stanley continues, “Giving is the way God chooses to change our hearts. As your heart changes, your attitude and feelings will follow suit. God loves a cheerful giver, but he’ll put your money to good use whether you’re cheerful or not. My advice: Give until you get cheerful. As I’ve said, our giving must impact our”
There are certainly misses in Enemies of the Heart. Stanley's understanding of guilt isn't as biblically informed as I would hope. He tends toward a superficial view that includes misunderstandings such as self-forgiveness. This isn't surprising given Stanley's thin biblical-theology. And yet, where Stanley is good, he is very good. He writes clearly and simply. If Tim Keller intimidates you, think of this as an introduction to Keller's Counterfeit Gods. It isn't as biblically robust, but it is aimed at the heart and will yield good fruit to the reader. I encourage you to pick it up.
Growing in Your Leadership
Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
I was introduced to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin through her masterful book on Lincoln’s assemblage of his cabinet in Team of Rivals. Leadership in Turbulent Times does not disappoint. In fact, I think it was even better than Team of Rivals.
Leadership in Turbulent Times takes us into the formation of four American presidents: Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. Kearns Goodwin essentially packs four biographies into Leadership in Turbulent Times and draws lessons from how each of these leaders were formed.
Kearns Goodwin avoids reductionism in the lessons she draws from these four presidents. One of her strengths is the restraint and nuance in her telling. There isn’t a common pattern or disposition that links the men together. Each had a very different background and disposition and each, at their best, led through different strengths. Where their stories unite is in their resilience through challenges. It is Abigail Adams who wrote, “Great necessities call out great virtues.” Kearns Goodwin agrees. She believes that while leaders might have certain inborn traits, they are made through seasons of trial.
One note is worth making: Kearns Goodwin chooses these four presidents because they are the four she has studied the closest, not because she believes they are the four strongest leaders among the United States presidents. I was particularly impressed with how she handled Lyndon Johnson, who obviously has a checkered history, with significant Civil Rights advances made under his leadership, but the fiasco of Vietnam also part of his record. Kearns Goodwin does an excellent job explaining why she thought he succeeded at the one and failed at the other. Despite the fact that she had a close relationship with Johnson she maintains her credibility as a trustworthy historian in her treatment of him.
Unsurprisingly, it is Lincoln who stands out among these four as a truly remarkable man and leader. His humility is staggering. If you don’t have time to read through the entirety of Kearns Goodwin’s Leadership in Turbulent Times, I would encourage you to at least read the sections on Lincoln.
Happy reading, friends! What do you think I ought to have on my summer reading list?
Photo by Link Hoang on Unsplash
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