Justin Welby

Now in the store, Archbishop Justin Welby’s biography.

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This Just In:

A new book from Henri Nouwen’s papers.

Myths about Books and Reading

In a recent blog post, Robert Bruce exploded five myths about reading. Bruce proposed that we can learn from fiction, we all have time for reading, reading is an important activity, our opinions about books we read matter, and real reading doesn’t depend upon genre.

The myths about reading reminded me of some myths about books and buying them that we hear in the bookshop regularly. Here are some common book-buying myths:

1. Buying books is a temptation one should always resist. Most staff at Crux can sympathize with the idea that buying books is a temptation. Books, however, are not inherently bad for you, like junk food. Reading books has been known to feed your soul. Feeding your soul is a good thing, not something to resist. Buying books is, therefore, sometimes a soul-feeding activity that should be embraced.
2. Books are too expensive. What are you comparing the price of a book to? At an hourly rate, books are excellent entertainment value. Further, books can be invaluable companions over a long period of time. They are soul food (see above). It is true that some books are expensive. Many are worth the price. Reviews and personal recommendations can help you choose which are worth adding to your library.
3. I don’t have time for reading. What is important? If you think that reading is important, you can make time for it. One regular Crux patron, a busy priest in an urban parish, reads many books by setting aside time at the end of the day. Books refresh and restore her for the next day in ministry.

What prevents you from buying and reading books?

Academic Writing

Academic writing can be a confusing thing. It can be a frightening thing. It is often poorly done. There are lots of books with tips for writing well — over the summer we’ll look at a few of those resources and point out some helpful online resources as well.

To start with, here is a long-but-helpful blog post on academic writing by a person who worked in academic publishing. I plan to work through the tips on this page while working on my own academic writing this summer. Happy reading!

Esther & Daniel

This Just In — Esther & Daniel in the Brazos Theological Commentary series by Samuel Wells and George Sumner (respectively).

What Does Summer Reading Mean to You?

Recently Crux staff discussed the idea of summer reading. For some people, summer is vacation time, a time to take a break from assigned books and catch up on all the things you really wanted to read when you were studying Greek. For others, summer is the perfect time to dive into a challenging read and learn about Greek verbal aspects. If you have a look at the Crux Staff “Next Five Reads” series you can see some books we hope to read in the next few months in all the sunshine and heat. Some of us are going for the challenging reads, others are hoping for a break from Greek.

What does summer reading mean to you?

Our Foreign Correspondent’s Next Five

Heather worked at Crux over the past year and has left us for the moment, first to be at home, but then (all being well) to travel and study in Asia and Europe during the fall term. She plans to contribute to this blog from away as time and circumstances allow. Heather’s next five reads are:

1. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis.
2. Being Salt: A Theology of an Ordered Church by George R. Sumner
3. Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
4. On The Incarnation by Athanasius (with an introduction by C.S. Lewis)
5. Down To My Last Skin – Antjil Krog

 

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