As you may or may not know, I’m writing a book. Sometimes, I think the book is writing me—showing me things about myself, helping me to become a better person, spiritually directing me, and generally kicking my butt. Part of the process of writing is reading and while reading can sometimes be an excuse not to write, often I find that the more good writing I read the more I want to write. Good writing, whether it’s pertinent to the topic I’m writing about or not, makes me want to dialogue with it, to notice how sentences go together to form not just paragraphs but feelings, to spend time working on my own craft to produce similar results.
In that vein, I thought my final list of books to share would be the (not at all exhaustive) list of books I’m reading or have read while I’m in the process of writing this book. Because there’s so many of them, I’ll only share a sentence or so about each.
The Situation & The Story: The Art of Personal Narrative by Vivian Gornick: A great book on writing creative non-fiction. Helpful from start to finish.
Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections Between Sexuality and Spirituality by Rob Bell: For someone who writes, teaches and thinks a lot about the connections between sexuality and spirituality, this is one that’s on the top of my list.
A Sensual Orthodoxy by Debbie Blue: A collection of sermons that insist on the sensuality of Jesus. Small bites of inspiration.
The Soul Tells A Story: Engaging Creativity with Spirituality in the Writing Life by Vinita Hampton Wright: Reading this book helped me to remember that I’m not totally insane, and that creativity can be a tiring business.
The Sabbath World: Glimpses of a Different Order of Time by Judith Shulevitz: Great writing by a New York Times reporter. This book reminds me that it’s possible to write about spirituality without sounding dorky.
Christianity & Eros by Phillip Sherrand: A book of short essays by an Orthodox writer that opens up sexuality and sensuality in a beautiful, soul-expanding way. Underrated and overlooked, I think it’s deeply important.
Mr. Putter & Tabby Write The Book by Cynthia Rylant and Arthur Howard: A children’s book that pokes a little fun at what the writing life is really like. So worth reading every day.
Caring For Words In A Culture of Lies by Marilyn Chandler McEntyre: A reminder of why good writing matters.
Earthen Vessels: Why Our Bodies Matter To Our Faith by Matthew Lee Anderson: This book is part of the oeuvre into which my writing will (I hope) be placed. Same themes, slightly different perspective.
Marvelously Made: Gratefulness and the Body by Mary Earle: Also along the same lines as what I’m working on, but more focused on the spiritual practices that keep us in tune with our embodiment. A really helpful resource.
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard: This should have also appeared on the list of books I own by am embarrassed I haven’t read yet. It will be read shortly, however.
Before We Get Started: A Practice Memoir of the Writer’s Life by Bret Lott: Because (a) it’s a spiritual memoir and (b) it’s about writing.
Real Sex: The Naked Truth About Chastity by Lauren Winner: Great writing about sexuality. Another good book for those looking to explore the connections between faith and sexuality.
The True & The Questions by Sabrina Ward Harrison: This is actually more of a journal, but it’s an endless source of inspiration.
Sexuality and Holy Longing: Embracing Intimacy in a Broken World by Lisa Graham McMinn: This is a dense book on the subject, but one I recommend to my students often.
Reclaiming the Body: Christians and the Faithful Use of Modern Medicine by Joel Shuman and Brian Volck, MD: This one is an in-progress read for me. It keeps sparking ideas and explorations, which I think good books in the field should.
Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life by Margaret Kim Peterson: Different topic, but the same style that I’m writing in.
The Embodied Eye: Religious Visual Culture and the Social Life of Feeling by David Morgan: This book was recently released and is completely fascinating. At the same time, it reads like a series of academic papers and can be hard to slog through. It’s a pick up, skim and start writing type of book for me.
Writing to Change the World by Mary Pipher: Another book on writing and the inspiration thereto. I keep these types of books nearby for when I’m feeling self-pitying or alone.
The Art of Family: Rituals, Imagination, and Everyday Spirituality by Gina Bria: This book reminds me that there are other writers out there who experience the world the way I do—kinesthetically. It’s an odd thing to be someone who needs kinesthetic experience in order to write, but that’s what most consistently inspires and speaks to me. Bria seems to experience the world the same way I do, and her writing encourages me.
And, with that, I’m going to sign off the blog for a while. This exercise of bookshelf snooping has been so very helpful, and I hope that it’s inspired and entertained you as I’ve tracked along with fellow blogger Sarah Bessey. In shaking off the writing cobwebs, I’ve prepared myself for a plunge into the work that shapes my soul, work that I’m called to pursue faithfully. So, I’ll be absent here on the Anam Cara blog for a while as I focus my attention on that part of my writing life. Don’t worry, I’ll pop back here occasionally, and you’ll always be able to find me (and the Anam Cara community) on my Facebook page. You’ll know that the work is complete (or at least complete enough to hand in to my editor) when I resurface here. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a writer’s blessing by Lisa Gardner:
A Writer’s Blessing
May you always remember the thrill of being swept away by a really good book.
May the words you’re typing on the page be as worthy as the words running through your mind.
May your deadline be behind you.
May a good story lie ahead of you.
And as we go forth
May you always enjoy the journey to finding those two perfect words: The End.
• • •
Oh, and here’s the full set of my books from “10 Book Week”:
Monday: 10 books that formed me spiritually
Tuesday: 10 books that I keep in my spiritual direction room
Wednesday: 10 books that I own but am embarrassed I haven’t read
Thursday: 10 books that help me pray
Friday: 10 books that remind me God’s the Great Storyteller
Saturday: 10 books I read on the weekends