What are you currently reading?

I am currently reading The Catholic Doctrine of the Church of England by Thomas Rogers

 

I know it's all off topic etc but I couldn't resist telling you how British politics and diplomacy works, from the two books I am reading.

It's 4:40 pm and it's someone's task to get a photo of Teresa May signing Article 50 to leave the E.U. to put into the evening papers. Time must be getting tight to get it into the papers, but then the really important discussions occur- will we sign it with a black pen or blue pen. Just get a pen and sign the F***ing document says the photo op person. They eventually decide on a black pen as that's apparently the colour you use for official documents, but before it's signed someone says "what will we do with the pen afterward?" The book doesn't say how that conversation went.
Eventually May signs the document and it's then that they all realise no one had thought of how to get the damn document to Brussels. They didn't want to send it with a high profile person for security reasons so they eventually sent it with a low level civil servant on a commercial flight.

About 40 British diplomats and politician are in high level EU negotiations with 40 odd EU negotiators. The talks go on for longer than expected but the British get their priorities right and arrange for updates on the test match to be smuggled in in diplomatic bags.

 

Listening via Audible Plus (the free section): Hearing God / Dallas Willard. I plan to buy the book itself and the companion study guide; wish I could form a group study for this....

Being close to God means communicating with him―telling him what is on our hearts in prayer and hearing, and understanding what he is saying to us. But how do we hear God's voice? How can we be sure that what we think we hear is not our own subconscious? What role does the Bible play? What if what God says to us is not clear?

The key, says bestselling author Dallas Willard, is to focus not so much on individual actions and decisions as on building our personal relationship with our Creator. In this beloved classic, you'll gain rich spiritual insight into how we can hear God's voice clearly and develop an intimate partnership with him in the work of his kingdom.

Hearing God is now available as part of the IVP Signature Collection, which features special editions of iconic books in celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of InterVarsity Press. A new companion Bible study guide with contributions from Jan Johnson is also available.

https://www.amazon.com/Hearing-God-Developing-Conversational-Relationship/

 

How did that turn out, Carolinian?!

 

God is Good for You.
A defence of Christianity in troubled times.

author| Greg Sheridan.
published| Allen & Unwin 2018.

 

Europe in the High Middle Ages - William Chester Jordan.
Mediaeval Europe; The Inheritance of Rome - Christ Wickham,
Lancaster and York: The Wars of the Roses - Alison Weir.

I'm a strong Mediaevalist

 

I am reading the latest Gabriel Allon novel and a book about the downfall of nations by Joseph Johnston

 

The Tiffany Aching series by Terry Pratchett. Currently on The Shepherd's Crown. His last book. It's incredible what he was able to do even with advanced Alzheimers. May he rest in peace.

 

I'm taking a break from theological tomes briefly. I found the entire run of Louis L'Amour's 'Sacketts' series of novels at an antique store last fall, combined into 5 volumes. I've cracked open the first and read the first novel, Sackett's Land, which begins the saga with Barnabas Sackett in the early 1600s. The second story is Too the Far Blue Mountains, which is of course a reference to the American Blue Ridge Mountains. I've read many of these, but not all of them, before and marveled at L'Amour's ability to write these in non-sequential order and to build a 250+ year saga.

 

I am going to start reading the Autherian poems from the Middle Ages. Not sure why I have decided to start that but I am.

 

A decade ago I gathered the entire set of L'Amour's western novels in paperback from a second-hand bookstore. Last year I re-read the Sackett series in chronological order. Good entertainment, very relaxing. I also have hardbacks containing the collected short stories.

 

My grandfather had most of them. I wonder what happened to the books when he passed? Probably in the garage sale. My favorite recurring character was Kilkenny.

 

The Divine Conspiracy by Dr. Dallas Willard. Brilliant. YouTube series extends the study.

 

Luther's Works, Vol.1: Lectures on Genesis (1-5)

 

Live Not by Lies, by Rod Dreher. Worthwhile.

 

I just signed up for a CE class on Genesis. The required book is a commentary/translation by Robert Alter.

 

That sounds very interesting. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Alter’s work. I’d definitely be interested to hear what you think of the book.