Welcome to Dennis' Pile of Books

If you were to walk into my office, either at the church or at my house, one thing you would most likely notice many, many books. I have piles of books everywhere so it seems. I love books and surround myself with them wherever I am (at work, on vacation, in the bathroom... you get the picture). So welcome to my pile of books!

On one of my other blogs (Immersed in Mystery) I have a running list of books I have recently read, and ones I am currently reading. In the past few months I began writing short comments after each book title, these were sort of like mini-book reviews, really mini. I thought that rather than lose these comments in the future (I only keep 10 titles on the list at any one time) I would create a blog dedicated to the books I have read.

Having this blog dedicated to the books I have read will also allow me to expand on my comments, perhaps even expanding into a full book review on occasion. Each book will have its own entry, and after the initial 10 entries future books will be noted in this blog when I finish them (in other words the date of the blog entry will indicate the date I finished that book). Mostly this blog is for my own benefit (to help remember all I've read), but I also like to share good books with others. Occasionally I feel the need to warn people about a disappointing book - our free time is scarce enough as it is, no use wasting it on a book that isn't worth the time or effort.

I welcome other comments on these books, it is always interesting to hear how others react to a book I've read - so feel free to leave comments on this blog. And I'm always open to book suggestions from others, I've encountered some great books because of other people's suggestions. Enjoy browsing through my pile of books.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Celtic Christianity: A Sacred Tradition, A Vision of Hope

by Timothy Joyce

A comprehensive overview of Celtic Christianity, from its beginning in the early 5th century to its transformation in the second millennium.  An introduction to the uniqueness of the early Celtic Church, with its holistic approach to faith and life. I learned much more than I might have expected in this book - especially the history of how the early form of Celtic Christianity was transformed over the centuries into the very rigid and traditional Irish Catholic Church.  I appreciated Joyce's way of approaching this material as a theologian and historian, a poet and a sociologist.  Once I started the book it was actually hard to put down, not so much because there was a fast moving plot, put simply because I was gaining so much insight and understanding throughout the whole work.  I found the book to be inspiring as well, at the end I felt both hopeful, and committed to be more intentional about weaving more of Celtic Christianity into my own experience and ministry.



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