Bibliography

This is a list of things that I have read this year. It’s not exhaustive, as I’m just starting it in June, and can’t remember everything I’ve read, and the ALA, working to protect my privacy, expunges my record when I return books and pay fines. I’m going to group works in broad categories, and alphabetize by author, and might add a few annotations along the way, too. Beyond that, you’re on your own.

What I’m Reading Right Now

Driscoll, Mark, et al. Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches: Five Perspectives. Actually, Michael is reading this one, and is annoyed with the lovefest. The book is set up so that each author writes an essay, and the other four respond, which is intriguing, but I can see how it might get old pretty fast.

Gibbs, Eddie, and Ryan K. Bolger. Emerging Churches: Creating Christian Community in Postmodern Cultures. This is the one I’m actually reading right this moment, as it was cited most often in the Mc Knight lecture What Is the Emerging Church?

Kimball, Dan. The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for New Generations.

Kimball, Dan. They Like Jesus but Not the Church: Insights from Emerging Generations.

Kinnaman, David. unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity… and Why It Matters. This is the next one I’m going to “really” read, which is to say, we’re “currently” reading through these, not actually reading them all at once (though I am known for doing just that).

McKnight, Scot. The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others. Since it was McKnight’s lecture on the emergent movement that started us down this path, this one’s high on my list of ones to tackle next. Okay, really, I want to read them all, so I just might read several concurrently.

McLaren, Brian. The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth that Could Change Everything.

Pagitt, Doug and Tony Jones, eds. An Emergent Manifesto of Hope (emersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith).

Theology

McLaren, Brian. A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I Am a Missional, Evangelical, Post/Protestant, Liberal/Conservative, Mystical/Poetic, Biblical, Charismatic/Contemplative, Fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist/Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, Green, Incarnational, Depressed-yet-Hopeful, Emergent, Unfinished CHRISTIAN. Uh, yeah. That’s the title. I didn’t accidentally link my review. The title does, however, pretty much say it all, as the things between the commas are the chapters of the book. McLaren is a little defensive (he seems to be getting it from all corners), but he’s very positive and hopeful, and that’s reflected in the book.

Fiction

Ackerman, Diane. The Zookeeper’s Wife: A War Story.

Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1). This is the first in a series of four (New Moon, Eclipse , and Breaking Dawn follow). Meyer’s done an admirable job of setting up the tension of desire between the main characters, Bella and Edward (who is a vampire). Will Edward take Bella’s life so they can be together forever? Or will she, as she begins to on her 18th birthday, age past him toward death? I’m tempted to jump forward to the last book to see the resolution, but I’m rather enjoying the tension.

Morrow, James. The Philosopher’s Apprentice: A Novel. Mason Ambrose, ABD in philosophy, takes a position on a secluded island to be the tutor for 17-year-old Londa Sabacthani. Once on the island, he runs into a talking feathered iguana, a tree with a heart, and the strange fertility and genetic experiments of his employer, Edwina Sabacthani. And then, things get weird. I know after “talking feathered iguana” there isn’t a lot of room for “weird” . . . but there you have it. Morrow’s the same brilliant mind of the Towing Jehovah trilogy, and The Last Witchfinder.

Spencer, Scott. Willing.

Non-Fiction

Albert, Alexa. Brothel: Mustang Ranch and Its Women.

De Bottom, Alain. Status Anxiety.

Diamond, Jared. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.

Kolata, Gina Bari. Flu: The Story Of The Great Influenza Pandemic.

Gladwell, Malcolm. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.

– – – . The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.

Merkel, Jim. Radical Simplicity: Small Footprints on a Finite Earth.

Nearing, Helen and Scott. The Good Life – Helen And Scott Nearing’s Sixty Years Of Self-sufficient Living. Robertson, Una. The Illustrated History of the Housewife, 1650-1950.

Roach, Mary. Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex.

Weisman, Alan. The World Without Us.