If nothing else, this is a wonderful time for all of us to catch up on our reading. To that end, let me encourage you to check out the April e-book sale at Eerdmans, which has discounted 300+ titles to prices as low as $1.99. (Most are under $4.) The sale runs through the end of the month.
Here are just a few books that caught my eye — either because I’d already read them and would recommend them to others, or because I’d like to read them myself:
• Up front, I should acknowledge that my “spiritual, but not religious biography” of Charles Lindbergh is being published by Eerdmans, as part of its Library of Religious Biography. Two books from that series are on sale: D.G. Hart’s on H.L. Mencken, and Rick Kennedy’s on Cotton Mather (both $1.99).
• The editor of that series of biographies is also the co-editor of an important collection of essays on Turning Points in the History of Evangelicalism ($1.99).
• If you want to dig deeper into the origins of evangelicalism, Roger Olson and Christian Collins Winn’s Reclaiming Pietism ($1.99) is a great place to start retrieving that often-overlooked tradition.
• My mom is currently reading a biography of Joy Davidman, so A Naked Tree, a collection of poems written before and after she met C.S. Lewis, caught my eye right away ($2.99).
• You’ll have to save Fleming Rutledge’s book about Advent for later in the year, but her Crucifixion seems like the perfect selection for Holy Week (both $2.99).
• A book on How to Survive the Apocalypse seems oddly appropriate right now. Just $1.99 right now, it features Robert Joustra and Alissa Wilkinson analyzing apocalyptic themes in TV series like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, and (one I’ve actually seen and enjoyed) Battlestar Galactica.
• I’ve only read one book by Rowan Williams, and that was more about history than theology or Scripture. Fortunately, I’ve got three to pick from in the Eerdmans sale (all three $1.99): Being Christian, Being Disciples, and Being Human.
• Somehow I’ve never read anything by James D. G. Dunn. Neither Jew nor Greek ($4.61) and Dunn’s commentary on Proverbs ($2.51) are both on sale.
• One more British author: Sam Wells, whom I’ve heard preach twice at St Martin-in-the-Fields but whose books I’ve missed so far. Learning to Dream Again seems like a good place to start ($1.99).
• I’m not sure I’ve read a book more challenging than Allan Boesak’s on hope ($1.99), though Denny Weaver’s The Nonviolent God (also $1.99) is provocative in a different way
• I praised Believe Me by John Fea ($1.99) when it first came out, but it seems as relevant as ever. For an example of how Christians can move beyond the culture war polarization that John laments, try Charlie Camosy’s 2015 book on abortion (also $1.99).
• Speaking of relevant as ever… advocates of traditional sexual ethics need at least to grapple with how James Brownson reframes that debate ($1.99).
• And on the always heated topic of immigration, both Tisha Rajendra and Mark Amstutz show up on this list (both $1.99).
• Finally, if fellow Christian college professors are feeling disconnected from their learning communities and nervous about their institutions’ futures, they might refresh their sense of calling with Rich Mouw’s short meditation on the life of the mind ($1.99), Joel Carpenter’s account of the global renaissance in Christian higher education ($2.51), or David Smith’s book on teaching ($1.99).
The Pietist Schoolman 