Let me be up front with you: if you’ve read at least a dozen books on writing, you’re not likely going to find anything new in this list. However, these are the seven books that have shaped my writing over the last decade. You may notice glaring omissions, like Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art,…
Tag: Madeline L’Engle
What I Read in 2013 and Reading Resolutions for 2014
Last year I posted What I Read in 2012 and Reading Resolutions for 2013, and it’s a post I’d like to make a tradition. As a fan of words, I think it’s important to look back on what you’ve read and make a few resolutions for the forthcoming year. That said, I’m not going to list…
The Questions Behind 'The Gospel According to Breaking Bad'
If you read “The Genesis for The Gospel According to Breaking Bad,” you know that this book began as an inquiry into a quote from show creator Vince Gilligan regarding his beliefs in heaven and hell. As the book progressed, I realized that many more questions followed. In addition to the numerous questions I present in…
Reflections on Boston's Day of Darkness
I. Sunday with Solomon Two days ago I listened to a sermon from Ecclesiastes 11. While the pastors’ words focused on the positives that can be gleaned from that passage, Solomon litters the whole of Ecclesiastes with somber reminders that life is fleeting. (How many self-help books use Ecclesiastes as a starting point?) In 11:8,…
Learning from L'Engle: Healed, Whole and Holy
In this third chapter from Madeline L’Engle’s fascinating Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art, I was arrested by the fact that in my often vain attempts toward maturity, I’ve forgotten how incredibly freeing it was to be a child. “All children are artists, and it is an indictment of our culture that so many…