Scott Black Johnston: Summer Reading 2017

Summer is upon us.

With the promise of hot days, plastic tumblers of iced tea and (I hope) a slower pace comes one of the great pleasures in life: summer reading. This year, the stack I am taking with me on study leave includes serious, prepare-for-the-fall-sermon-series books, but also some fun stuff.

Here is a sampling of the titles in my hammock-ready stack:

Brian K. Blount, Can I Get a Witness?: Reading Revelation through African American Culture (Westminster/John Knox Press, 2005)

Spoiler alert: I have always wanted to preach a sermon series on the last and (some say) scariest book in the Bible: Revelation. This fall - finally - we are going to saddle up and explore the apocalypse. Brian Blount is a marvelous New Testament scholar with an expertise in Revelation. I covet his wisdom for this journey.

Anthony Horowitz, ** Magpie Murders ***(Harper, 2017)*

This mystery novel is getting all the raves. The New York Times says, "This fiendishly brilliant, riveting thriller weaves a classic whodunit worthy of Agatha Christie." I'm in!

C. S. Lewis, ** The Space Trilogy, originally published 1938-1945**

I have read the Narnia books so many times. In recent months, though, I have felt it might be time to return to the science fiction novels. Lewis pitched these books to a more mature audience. His protagonist, Elwin Ransom, is trying to figure out why Earth is such a mess. Seems fitting!

If you have a book to recommend, I still have room on the stack. Let me know! Like introducing someone to a new friend, there are few things better than the suggestion of a good read.

From Scott's blog, Sharp About Your Prayers