Books I Read in June!
A list and short review of a pretty good reading month of theology, spirituality, novel, sci-fi, history, horror and poetry.
Reading the Bible on Turtle Island, An Invitation to North American Indigenous Interpretation, T Christopher Hoklotubbe and H Daniel Zacharias
This is a phenomenal new book of theological and biblical engagement from two Choctaw and a Cree-Anishinaabe/Metis scholars. They help unlock Turtle Island hermeneutics which take seriously Indigenous worldviews, approaches to nature and harmony, visions and dreams and ancestors, the trauma of colonizing forces, the possibility of (re)conciliation, and ways of supporting and celebrating Indigenous ceremonies and traditions. It is a book that is deeply faithful to Jesus, and also deeply faithful to the knowledge and experience of Indigenous communities, an approach that always should have been the norm but tragically wasn’t. This is a must-read.
A Quality of Light, Richard Wagamese
I am a very big fan of all of Wagamese’s work, and this novel in particular is an extraordinarily beautiful meditation on childhood, faith, spirituality, culture, baseball, family, and what it means to be a warrior. The character arc that both Josh and Johnny take is subtle and mature - cliched takes are eschewed here for a more complex, nuanced development that defies easy expectations. The central conflict in the novel involves a white kid from a disastrous, untethered home who dreams of being an “Indian Warrior”, and an Ojibway boy who was adopted into a loving, stable, white farming family who has to learn what it means to be Indigenous. The story is filled with grace and truth, and lands on the light that we shine for those who are to come after us. Wagamese has left such a light with this book.
My Heart is a Chainsaw, Stephen Graham Jones
Jade is the world’s biggest slasher fan, a graduating high schooler who takes solace in her encyclopedic knowledge of the horror genre. When events begin conspiring towards a slasher cycle in her hated home town of Proofrock, Idaho, Jade is excited and horrified. It’s not just a game anymore. This is a page turner, obviously great if you are familiar with the genre, but also very good if you aren’t and want to follow Jade down into both personal and societal trauma. The ending is…messy.
The Lesser Blessed, Richard Van Camp
Van Camp’s debut novel is a northern Outsiders, a bleak, funny, raw and raunchy re-telling of adolescence. The voice is exceedingly authentic - Larry thinks and talks like a messed up, hurting, horny, searching kid. His friendship with Johnny, his longing for Juliet, his battles with Darcy and Jazz, his fraught but loving relationship with his mom and her boyfriend Jed all hit right. It is a story of tragedy, but also life and hope. (June)
Starship Troopers, Robert Heinlein
An extremely well-written description of a militarized future society in which voluntary military service is the only way to become a citizen. Johnny Rico is a privileged student who joins up against his parents’ wishes, and we get a detailed description of his infantry boot camp experience, drawn no doubt from Heinlein’s own history. Then Earth finds itself at war with the Bugs, and Rico works his way from cap trooper to Lieutenant - each stage carefully and engagingly narrated, along with philosophical poli-sci discussions of why this type of militaristic society is the only kind that actually works. It is a worryingly effective argument.
The Art of Simple Living, 100 Daily Practices from a Zen Monk for a Lifetime of Calm and Joy, Shunmyo Masuno
Just what it says in the description. One page for each piece of advice, and the advice is simple, straightforward, practical and immediately applicable. I have begun incorporating those things which I was not already practicing and they have been helpful.
Zen Poetry, collected by Peter Harris
What if I walk, but only to walk? Sit, simply to sit? Eat, just to eat? Pray, to pray? Sleep, sleep? Is it enough?
Ireland’s Forgotten Past: A History of the overlooked and Disremembered, Turtle Bunbury
A fun and informative series of chapters detailing underreported aspects of Ireland’s past, ranging from its geological history, the various people groups that inhabited the island, the tribes and chiefs and political machinations that shaped its social history, and into more modern times following the Easter Rising and Home Rule.
The Illustrated Al
A graphic novel with illustrations of a number of Weird Al songs throughout the years that never got videos to accompany them. Trip down memory lane for me.