As tends to happen, I find myself reading a handful of books simultaneously.
On the nightstand
I recently finished a borrowed copy of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Catherine, whose blog I enjoy, loved this book and articulately explained her reasons. I, on the other hand, was underwhelmed and haven’t been able to say why. Something was missing. Anyone help me out with this?
I’ve been re-reading Chicagoan Joseph Epstein’s Friendship: An Expose and enjoying it as much as the first time. There’s nothing fantastical about Epstein’s understanding of friendship: it’s complicated because humans are complicated but ultimately the effort is well worth it. Epstein writes as an essayist with a marvelous grasp of language and sentence structure; I sometimes forget the forest while admiring his grammatical trees.
Today a publisher sent a handsome hardcover of Peter Manseau’s latest, Rag and Bone: A Journey Among the World’s Holy Dead. I’m a couple chapters in and it looks promising.
Church-related
With the upcoming Bronzeville church plant there’s a stack of church-planting and multi-ethnic church books next to my desk at the moment. I’m finishing up One Body, One Spirit by University of North Texas professor George Yancey. Even though I’m a part of one, this has been a helpful introduction to multi-racial churches. Next up is Building A Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church by Mark DeYmaz.
While visiting Powell’s Books in Portland this summer my sister and brother-in-law gave me a nice used copy of The Meaning of the City (published in 1970) by Jacques Ellul. It’s been on the to-read list for about seven years so it’s about time to dig in.
I’m keeping a running list of films seen and books read in 2009. Any books you’ve read this year that you’d recommend? What’s on your nightstand at the moment?
David W. Swanson 
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