Over on his Facebook page, Dr. Michael A. G. Haykin, professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has been posting pictures of the covers of books that he is reading this summer. The list is as fascinating as it is eclectic. Below is the list that he has posted. The links are to the Amazon book pages and the comments are Dr. Haykin’s own from his original Facebook posts. I don’t think the list is meant to be taken in order of importance, so you probably should read them all.
The Noise of Time: A Novel by Julian Barnes.
Summer reading #1: read a review of this in the WSJ and it sounded fabulous. Just bought it at my fav bookstore in Hamilton: Bryan Prince.
The Lives of Muhammad by Kecia Ali.
Summer reading #2: as a believer in the Triunity of God and the deity of the Lord Jesus and his atoning death, I believe Islam to be wrong…but I am deeply interested in Islam as a religion and desire to learn all I about it. Hence this new book.
Brown: What Being Brown in the World Today Means (To Everyone) by Kamal Al-Solaylee.
Summer reading #3: this is by a Canadian author and I was drawn to it by the title and then the contents drew me in.
Reformations: The Early Modern World, 1450-1650 by Carlos M. N. Eire.
Summer reading #4: this is a tremendous overview of the Refm by Carlos Eire.
John Calvin’s ‘Institutes of the Christian Religion: A Biography by Bruce Gordon.
Summer reading #5: I loved Gordon’s Calvin bio and this looks equally good.
2 Timothy by Craig A. Smith.
Summer reading #6: along with Hebrews, 2 Timothy is my fav NT book and I am very impressed with this commentary by Craig Smith.
Being Protestant in Reformation Britain by Alec Ryrie.
Summer reading #7: this is a fabulous study of Protestant piety–very deep and scholarly. Not for the novice!
Chaucer’s Tale: 1386 and the Road to Canterbury by Paul Strohm.
Summer reading #8: Geoffrey Chaucer is very important for the English language: without his work we might all be speaking French. I know little about him and looking forward to having my ignorance illuminated.
Not God’s Type: An Atheist Academic Lays Down Her Arms by Holly Ordway.
Summer reading #9: I love memoirs and biographies and I look forward to this recent account of Holly Ordway’s rejection of atheism for Roman Catholicism.
Praying Together: The Priority and Privilege of Prayer: In Our Homes, Communities, and Churches by Megan Hill.
Summer reading #10: I need this for my soul: for praying is the hardest part of my Christian life.
John Owen, Richard Baxter and the Formation of Nonconformity by Tim Cooper.
Summer reading #11: in preparation for our Fuller Conference this fall on Baxter, Owen, and Kiffen, I have this splendid work by Tim Cooper (whom I am very much looking forward to meeting at the September conference).
Tolle lege!
