Kevin T. Bauder Lots of people produce recommended reading lists. Typically these are bibliographies of the books that the compiler found most useful. The lists are often labeled something like “Best Books of…” or “Best Books about….” I do my list a bit differently: I give you a list of the reading that I found… Continue Reading
I have vivid memories of spending long summer mornings at the library picking out piles of books to read. My very first trip to the library was the summer after my kindergarten graduation. The elderly librarian handed me a vintage hardback of Betsy’s Busy Summer by Carolyn Haywood–a little treasure in a sweet series of… Continue Reading
Before we ever left for the UK, I knew that I wanted to bring back books. I am just a build-a-library, rescue the out-of-print books kind of person. I have been a reader since childhood, I majored in English literature at university and I’m currently working on a PhD, and now I homeschool my children,… Continue Reading
Consider this: Parents are called by God to disciple their children. Luke’s gospel tells us, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). This is true of character, but this is also true of habits and loves. Consider this: Mothers bear the image… Continue Reading
Becky and I have read to our children since they were infants. We read so much to them, and some of the books over and over (and over and over!) again, that they began to recite from memory every line of some books before they could read themselves. (In case you’re wondering, my favorite is Where… Continue Reading
Kevin T. Bauder Last week I published a list of the most interesting books that I had read during the 2016-2017 academic year. The problem is that I got wrapped up in a couple of categories of reading, with the result that several interesting books were left out. So this week I want to fill… Continue Reading
Kevin T. Bauder Just over a year ago I published a “best reading of the past year” list. It was my first in years. Since my reading patterns are a bit odd, I thought perhaps that no one would be interested. To my surprise, I heard from quite a number of people who enjoyed the… Continue Reading
In honor of national poetry month, here is a list of my favorite poetry anthologies to use with children. A Child’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson (My favorite illustrated versions are by Tasha Tudor and Jessie Willcox Smith.) A Child’s Book of Poems by Gyo Fujikawa A Child’s Treasury of Poems by Mark… Continue Reading
I haven’t done a reading post in awhile. It’s not that I haven’t been reading, but it always seems that the last few months of the year I have a harder time keeping track of my reading. At the end of 2016 in particular, I just blew through a bunch of modern mystery novels. I… Continue Reading
The current political season has revealed that many avowed conservatives are less driven by ideas than they are by resentment and ambition. The turn from thoughtful conservatism to a conservatism of bitterness is unfortunate. Conservatism begins with ideas before it moves on to policies and then political candidates. Sadly, few today who label themselves conservative… Continue Reading
June was baby month around here (Christopher arrived on June 20th). In addition to getting everything ready for his arrival and resting up for the big day, I managed to get in a decent amount of summer reading as well. I love the extra time I generally have in the summer for reading. Here’s what… Continue Reading
It’s been years since I’ve done a “best reading” list. I hesitate because my reading habits are admittedly odd. Most people wouldn’t enjoy following my example. What I read isn’t nearly focused enough to win the approval of the scholars. It’s not all deep enough to appeal to intellectuals. It’s not all fun enough to… Continue Reading
We finished school this month, so that has, thankfully, left me with some more time to read. As a summer goal, I’m going to try each month to read some fiction, have a biography or history going, and also have a more purely didactic book going (on education, theology, Christian life, parenting, etc.). We’ll see… Continue Reading
So, I feel like I’ve been in a huge reading (and blogging) slump. I’m blaming it on the pregnancy. When I would normally be reading or writing I’ve been…sleeping (or working on projects for the baby). But I did read a few things over the last several months, and I’m determined to do better once… Continue Reading
So you’re a pastor. You might be interested to know that the Schleitheim Confession, an early Anabaptist creed, specified that the first duty of the pastoral office “shall be to read.” The Anabaptists were right. Nearly everything a pastor does in shepherding the flock—preaching, instructing, encouraging, admonishing, counseling—depends upon his growth through reading. That remains… Continue Reading
Our library book sale is coming up this month, plus I’ve been frequenting our local Half Price Books, so I recently made myself a book list to take along anytime I’m doing book shopping. I’ve gleaned these books from Sarah Clarkson’s Read for the Heart (I explain why I like this better than Honey for… Continue Reading
August: August was back to school month for us as well as me getting ready to speak at a conference, so, while I didn’t get much read, two out of three of my books were excellent. Caught Up in a Story by Sarah Clarkson I bought this after listening to Sarah on a podcast at… Continue Reading
After the fun beach and car reading of June, I was ready for some nourishing fare this month, and that was just what I got. I have rarely had such an encouraging and refreshing month of reading, in terms of the books themselves, as I had this month. I started about three or four books… Continue Reading
Last week I made the argument that all pastors and church musicians (or “worship leaders”) should give themselves to the study of worship, hymnology, and philosophy of ministry. I had a couple requests to offer a reading list on such topics, so that is what I intend to give today. Here is a basic list… Continue Reading
This essay was originally published on July 17, 2009. The apostle Paul instructed the young preacher Timothy to give himself to reading. In the ancient world, reading was normally done aloud, and it was often a public activity. Books were scarce, and if you were going to read aloud anyway, why shouldn’t others benefit from… Continue Reading