Sofa Spotlight - Run with the Horses, Eugene Peterson

This is a second read for me and once again I was struck by how relevant this book is. And particularly now I think that this book has a lot to say to us during this pandemic.

Eugene Peterson takes us through parts of the book of Jeremiah, giving us a feel for the time and place he lived. I found it very easy to picture what life would have been like for Jeremiah. Peterson is a great story teller and knows how to bring the pages of the Bible to life. But what he drew out from Jeremiah’s story was his faithfulness and the depth of Jeremiah’s relationship with God.

This isn’t a commentary on the book of Jeremiah, but it does lend many insights into the book. I feel like I need to read it again straight away to gather what I missed the first time round. There are many striking similarities between Jeremiah’s world and our own and the challenge to be faithful is always with us as it was for Jeremiah. Having said that, Jeremiah had to contend with a lot and then he ended up dying in Egypt. But it is an example of faithfulness without seeing the results in this life.

Sofa Spotlight - The Idiot, Fyodor Dostoevsky

I love reading Russian literature. So, I knew that I would enjoy reading this one. What I love so much is how it gets you thinking and questioning your values and attitudes. Not surprising then that I had a great experience with this book.

The Idiot is about Prince Myshkin, who has epilepsy and has suffered an emotional and mental breakdown in his past. The Prince is a really likeable character, but his goodness is thought to be naïve and he is often taken advantage of. I’m still working out what I think of him and his actions but there are many things that this book makes you think about.

One of them is that because the Prince is fairly open about his illness sometimes people think that it is ok to call him an idiot and say harsh things in his hearing because they think he doesn’t understand. It becomes clear that he does understand and doesn’t appreciate this. But also, it got me to thinking that even if someone doesn’t understand what is said, or doesn’t appear to understand, that doesn’t give permission for cruel things to be said.

There’s so much that could be said about this book and much to ponder. Give it a read and see if you agree.

Sofa Spotlight - Gentle and Lowly, Dane Ortland

I read this because it had been recommended to me a few times – and I can see why it was recommended. The book looks at what is the heart of Christ and delves deep into what the means for us as Christians today.

When I was reading this, I was astounded because this book could have been written for me. The stuff it covers is things where I thought I must be the only one who felt like that but turns out there are lots of people! If you’ve ever thought that you are a Christian because God has to let you and He disapproves or is disappointed with you then this is the book for you.

It is beautifully written, and although it’s not the longest of books it is one that you will want to spend a long time in. There is so much to consider and truths that need time to really sink into your soul.

If you read no other book this year let it be this one. You won’t regret it.

Sofa Spotlight - Finding the Right Hills to Die on, Gavin Ortland

I think this is a great title and I was certainly intrigued to find out what was meant by theological triage. In I jumped and thoroughly enjoyed the journey that I took. The book is all about assessing our own theological viewpoints and determining which ones are the ones that we need to guard and which ones don’t need to be fought over.

What I found to be really excellent about this book was the humility of the author. At no point does he try to tell the reader what they should thing about doctrine or which doctrines to hold as most important. What he does instead is to explain the value of different doctrines and how we can decide what is important and what is not worth falling out over.

There were many highlights for me through this book, but one was the immense damage that Christians have done to one another over disagreements on theology. It showed why it’s important to keep things in perspective and work towards unity.

Brilliant book, well worth reading.

Sofa Spotlight - Shades of Light, Sharon Garlough Brown

 I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book. I’m not the biggest fan of Christian fiction so my expectations were not high, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The storyline is about Wren, a social worker in her late 20s who suffers an emotional breakdown after the departure of her best friend, Casey. Casey doesn’t feature much in the book but his presence is throughout and he isn’t certainly key to the story and Wren’s mental health.

What I loved about this story was the care that was taken to describe what Wren was going through. I’m sure that her experience will ring true for many people, as it did for me. But what gave the book great depth was also the impact of Wren’s illness on the people around her. Her great-aunt Kit is clearly a solid support for her but her mum’s journey is just as significant as Wren’s own.

I would say this is a must read, even if it is just to get a glimpse into what life is like for someone who loses their grip on their mental health, even for just a little while. Great book, loved it.

Sofa Spotlight - Landmarks, Robert Macfarlane

I chose this book because having just read Underland I needed a post great-read fix. This intrigued me because of its reference to language. I love words, and their origins and use is fascinating to me. So a book that looks at the locality of language, and how it is used to describe the world around us, was a must read.

My favourite part of each chapter was the glossary section at the end. I spent hours looking over the different words that describe subtle differences in weather, or details about hedgerows that I would normally miss. It’s a book that encourages you to engage with the world that we can see and experience and to go out and find or create our own words to describe our environments.

It was another excellent read, well enjoyed and very important. Language gets lost all the time and there’s such a wealth of vocabulary that we are losing.

Sofa Spotlight - Underland, Robert Macfarlane

When I saw this book I was so intrigued by its title and blurb that I had to pick it up and read it. What’s not to love about someone exploring deep places underground and mixing in a bit of the concept of time. Amazing. And it didn’t disappoint, for many reasons.

I like my books to teach me things and take me places I wouldn’t normally go (which, if given a choice, would be anywhere outside my front door). This book fulfilled both requirements, in fact, it was so good at taking my imagination on a journey underground that I was left feeling slightly claustrophobic. There was so much to learn from these journeys that I will be mulling them over for some time. The chapter on the tunnels under Paris alone makes this book a good read.

My recommendation would be that you read this on a really chilly winter’s day. It helps because it’s dark outside so you get a bit of a feel for the underland, and the chapters that are about the glaciers in Greenland – you’re going to want to fell cold so that you can appreciate them even more. So good was this book that I immediately went out and bought Landmarks, review coming soon.