Wendell Berry, The Memory of Old Jack (fiction, 1974)
Berry is better known as an essayist and poet, but his series of novels from “Port William” are poignant and well-written. Berry raises many of the issues he is passionate about (faith, friendship, history, land conservation, authenticity, questioning cultural progress and technology) in these fine novels.

Richard Brautigan, Trout Fishing in America (fiction, 1967)
A very short novel from the 1960s that is filled to overflowing with symbolism and questioning of American culture in a way which is, quite frankly, way over my head. I think. Puzzling.

Oscar Wilde, Salome (play, 1894)
Wilde was an extremely controversial figure in late 19th century England, an early “out” homosexual embroiled in legal battles and personal tragedies in the midst of his brilliant writing career. This play is the biblical story of Herod’s daughter who asked for and received the head of John the Baptist.

Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places (theology, 2005)
Peterson is writing his “magnum opus,” a five- volume set which he subtitles “A Conversation in Spiritual Theology.” This is the first book in the series. For anyone who likes Peterson’s earthy approach to scripture, theology and life, this book is sheer gift. But then, I’m biased. I’ve loved almost everything Eugene has ever written or taught, and having three days of conversation with him was one of the highlights of my sabbatical.

J.K. Rowland, Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince (fiction, 2005)
The sixth in Rowland’s record-breaking series came out the day before our family arrived in London, so we picked up the British version and passed it around the family. As with the others, entertaining and slightly addictive. Some interesting twists that deal with the power of love and its bent towards self-sacrifice.

Mark Noll, The Rise of Evangelicalism (church history, 2004)
Noll is a prominent evangelical scholar (history, philosophy) from Wheaton College who has written a great number of very helpful books. This one is simultaneously fascinating (1740-1790, John and Charles Wesley, George Whitfield and Jonathan Edwards), carefully researched and a bit dry at times.

Charles Williams, War in Heaven (fiction, 1930)
Williams was a brilliant scholar and one of the “Inklings,” C.S. Lewis’ discussion group with Tolkien and others. A modernized version of the quest for the Holy Grail with lots of conversation about good and evil, War in Heaven is good reading. A little creepy at times as darkness is routinely present, but one of William’s most readable books.

C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory (sermons/lectures, 1949) Several of these were originally given in St. Mary’s church, Oxford, which we visited and so seemed particularly accessible. As always, strikingly prophetic as Lewis grapples with topics (following Christ, symbols and sacrament, membership, war, outsiders) in ways which now seem far ahead of his time.

Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist (fiction, 1838)
One of Dickens’ classics in a London setting. I love Dickens anyway, but this was particularly engaging. Dickens can both underscore the horrors of his culture and highlight the good in some people in a breathtakingly powerful way.

Steven B. Sample, The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership (business, 2002)
Sample is the president of the University of Southern California, widely given credit for guiding USC into its status as a top-notch school in the 21st century. This book is really interesting. Not only does Sample talk about leadership issues in fresh ways (i.e., decision making: Never make one that can be delegated, and never make one today if you can make it tomorrow!), but it is spiced with real life stories from business and academia. Unfortunately, ends with something of a whimper, but 95 percent of the book is very provocative.

Timothy B. Tyson, Blood Done Sign My Name (nonfiction, 2004) Whoo, boy. This is the book on this list. I will probably suggest it for one of Bethany’s “Read Good Books” seminars. Jesse had to read it before starting classes at UNC this fall, so Anne and I both picked it up and were mesmerized. Tyson is an African American studies prof at Wisconsin, and his title comes from an old Negro spiritual. The story is a true one from the 1960s. In a small town in North Carolina (where Tyson was an 11-year-old boy), a young black man is murdered by a white man and his two sons, who are then acquitted by an all-white jury…in a county that is two-thirds African American. Tyson’s father was a socially conscious Methodist pastor in the town at the time. The combination of insight into the racially-charged ’60s, Tyson’s own story and the repercussions down to the current day are powerful. Beautifully written, on top of it all.

Marilynne Robinson, Gilead (fiction, 2004)
A Pulitzer prize winner for good reason. A beautifully written narrative in the form of a letter from a 77-year-old dying pastor to his 7-year-old son, intended to be read by the boy when he becomes an adult. Faith, life, love and family in a small town. Well worth reading.

Douglas Coupland, Girlfriend in a Coma (fiction, 1998)
Coupland is the Gen-X author who coined the Gen-X phrase, and the one I want to find Jesus! As in other books, he does a great job of asking all the right questions but can’t seem to find his way to God. A slightly sci-fi, slightly spoofed story of a group of friends who see their friend lapse into a decades-long coma, and experience something like the end of the world together.

Cornelius Plantinga Jr., Not the Way It’s Supposed to Be: A Breviary of Sin (theology, 1995)
Plantinga, a prof at Calvin College, won several Christian book awards for this one. It is well-written and surprisingly engaging given the topic (sin). Understandable, perhaps over-footnoted and pretty difficult to read without applying it to yourself. Ouch.

Charles Dickens,The Pickwick Papers (fiction, 1837)
Topnotch Dickens. In this early novel (originally published in monthly installments), Dickens shows just how far ahead of his time he really was. We hear all the time that the TV show "Seinfeld" was a work of genius because, while nothing really ever happened on the show, it held great entertainment and popularity. Well, Seinfeld has nothing on Dickens at all! Little really happens in this plot, yet it holds interest through 800 pages! Along the way, Dickens playfully explores character virtues like friendship, loyalty, honesty, compassion and graciousness, elevating them to a far more respected status than our world would ever think of today.

Sherman Alexie, What You Pawn I Will Redeem (fiction, short story, 2003)
Alexie is a Native American from the Northwest, and well known as a novelist, essayist, poet, speaker and cultural critic. This short story appeared in "The New Yorker" and it is truly marvelous. Wow! Find painful reality and grace in surprising places around our own city. You can actually get this online at http://www.newyorker.com/printables/fiction/030421fi_fiction.
I guarantee you will not regret the short time it takes to read this.

"The Question of God" on C.S. Lewis & Sigmund Freud(4-hour video special).
This video series ran some time ago on PBS, and I suspect is re-shown periodically. Dr. Armand Nicholi, a Harvard prof and psychiatrist is the host. He meets with a very diverse small group for conversation on the big issues of life, death and faith. The group’s discussions are mixed in with historical documentary and acted vignettes from Lewis and Freud’s life.

"PCUSA Theological Task Force Report on Peace, Purity and Unity."
This group was formed by the Presbyterian Church’s General Assembly and has met for the last four years to try to articulate a direction for our very conflicted denomination as to leadership, sexuality and civility. The group worked very hard, and their report and recommendations to the 2006 General Assembly are available in full online at http://www.pcusa.org/peaceunitypurity/. More on this later.

Dan Baumgartner Personal Journals, 1989-2005.
I had the unusual and unexpectedly rich opportunity to read through my own journals from the time I was in business and we began to sense God’s call to full-time ministry, through the years in seminary, in Minneapolis and then the call to Bethany and these years in Seattle. It’s an interesting thing to see how I have grown over 15 years, and also a little embarrassing to see what patterns of chronic frustration emerged from my own thoughts!