This past week I finished two books from my TBR Challenge list. It helped that they were also both books chosen for my F2F groups too!
The first one was The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, a book I’ve had for awhile and was glad to finally get too. It was an interesting book, one I found I had to concentrate on to really "get" what he was saying. The premise of this book is basically that Screwtape, and expert devil, is writing encouraging and full-of-advice letters to his nephew, Wormword, as he is trying to win over the soul of some nameless ordinary man on earth. It was strange to have a devil’s point of view and to have everything be flip flopped, meaning, the Enemy was God and Our Father was Satan. I underlined a few interesting little tidbits that jumped out at me:
And so on. Lots to ponder in this book.
The other book I read from my TBR list was Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. I’ve heard people talking about this book for awhile now, and wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Also, it
won the Pulitzer Prize recently (last year?) so it must be good, right? :) It, too, was quite the spiritual book, full of profound insights into life. However, I didn’t mark it up or take notes this time. Oh, well. It’s simply about an elderly man, writing to his young son at the end of his life, hoping to tell him things of his past, lessons he’s learned, all the stuff that he’d talk to him about when he got older, if he (the dad) was still around. It had some funny stuff, some sad stuff, and lots of good stuff to take to heart. I really enjoyed it.
The first one was The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, a book I’ve had for awhile and was glad to finally get too. It was an interesting book, one I found I had to concentrate on to really "get" what he was saying. The premise of this book is basically that Screwtape, and expert devil, is writing encouraging and full-of-advice letters to his nephew, Wormword, as he is trying to win over the soul of some nameless ordinary man on earth. It was strange to have a devil’s point of view and to have everything be flip flopped, meaning, the Enemy was God and Our Father was Satan. I underlined a few interesting little tidbits that jumped out at me:
"It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting
things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things
out."
"Indeed the safest road to Hell is the gradual one– the
gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones,
without signposts."
"The whole philosophy of Hell rests on recognition of the
axiom that one thing is not another thing, and, specifically, that one self is
not another self. My good is my good and your good is
yours."
And so on. Lots to ponder in this book.
The other book I read from my TBR list was Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. I’ve heard people talking about this book for awhile now, and wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Also, it
won the Pulitzer Prize recently (last year?) so it must be good, right? :) It, too, was quite the spiritual book, full of profound insights into life. However, I didn’t mark it up or take notes this time. Oh, well. It’s simply about an elderly man, writing to his young son at the end of his life, hoping to tell him things of his past, lessons he’s learned, all the stuff that he’d talk to him about when he got older, if he (the dad) was still around. It had some funny stuff, some sad stuff, and lots of good stuff to take to heart. I really enjoyed it.
I'm glad you liked this! Another book I tried to read. For some reason, it bored me to tears! The writing was beautiful, but it wasn't my cup of tea!
ReplyDeleteI DEFINITELY need to read the Screwtape Letters!
Diane
ReplyDeletehttp://bookinhand.blogspot.com
I find CS Lewis very difficult to read. I have read The Scorpion Files by Michelle Willis and Jackie Cole, which is written in the tradition of the Screwtape Letters. As for Gilead, this is a book I have had my eye on for awhile and I look forward to reading it in the future.
I really loved Gilead; I thought it was so beautifully written. I was able to take my time reading it and I think that really helped me.
ReplyDelete