With a toddler on my hip, and a lukewarm long black in my hand, I present a few things that I’ve enjoyed this year, in ascending order of frivolity:
1. The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is by N.T. Wright
This book is like 20 years old, but I’m new to the playing field and this is my current read. So far I’ve enjoyed this very accessible defence of the historical Jesus. It’s a compelling case for reexamining everything that feels familiar to you in the Christian faith, not in a iconoclastic way, but in the spirit of discovering more and more about the Christ you worship. Wright argues that we shouldn’t be content with knowing just what Jesus said but should strive to understand what those words would have meant at the time they were spoken.
2. The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller
When I got married I decided to, you know, wing it, so I didn’t read any marriage books. Surprisingly this naive strategy didn’t work too badly, because I think if I had read this before actually being married I wouldn’t have the context like I do six years in. This is not a perfect book, but I found it a sensible and helpful read. Chapters written by Kathy Keller are a nice addition. Another bonus is that you can’t help read Tim Keller in Tim Keller’s voice, which, as we all know, could charm snakes.
3. The Writer’s Voice, a fiction podcast from The New Yorker
Hosted by Deborah Treisman, fiction editor at the New Yorker, this podcast features new fiction published in the magazine and read by its authors. Hearing stories read as they were imagined is something special, and the perfect addition to any lunch break, bus ride, or windy walk.
3a. Christina the Astonishing (1150-1224) by Kristin Valdez Quade
(July 25th episode)
On July 24th of this year, the 793rd anniversary of her death, The New Yorker published this story, based on the perplexing and provoking life of saint/mystic/holy-woman Christina Mirabilis. Written from the perspective of her sister, Mara, this short story from Kristin Valdez Quade is both horrifying and alluring. Its earthy, gothic descriptions and flawed narrative voice shock you into reexamining the nature of sin and humanity, just like Christina’s life and witness continue to do for those devoted to her memory.
4. Light Up The Stairs, a new album from The Welcome Wagon
Christmas has come early. The third album from husband-and-wife indie-folk duo The Welcome Wagon is just what you need to help you reflect on your year. Gentle yet fun melodies are mixed with sensitive lyrics written by people who are doing full-time ministry and part-time music making. Thematically and musically, their work borrows (almost unironically) from those twee seventies/eighties/nineties Friday night youth group vibes, and the gifts your grandparents buy you from a Christian bookstore, elevating what was good about those experiences without a hint of cynicism. Gold.
Emotional childhood? Unresolved issues with your parents? Flashes of painful memories? Join the club—this album is its secret handshake.
5. The Greatest Gift, a B-sides type album from Sufjan Stevens
Did you just finish stitching your heart back together after Carrie & Lowell? Sorry, but here’s some outtakes and remixes to smash it all up again. Join Suf and friends as they claw their way back into your limbic system with haunting relatable content you wish wasn’t so relatable! Emotional childhood? Unresolved issues with your parents? Flashes of painful memories? Join the club—this album is its secret handshake.
6. Song Exploder, a podcast created by Hrishikesh Hirway
Song Exploder is the one I pick first when my podcasts have new episodes. Each episode consists of musicians pulling apart one of their songs, providing commentary we don’t usually hear from creatives, now that no one is excited about DVD special features anymore. It’s fascinating to hear early versions of songs you know so well, or the original dodgy iPhone recording of the artist drumming out a rhythm on their knee. The episodes end by playing the finished track, your experience enhanced by what you know went into it.
7. Stranger Things 2, available on Netflix
This hit is back with its second season, once again pulling you into a world of delightful pre-teen80s sci-fi nostalgia. With solid performances from its young cast, alongside Winona Ryder at arguably her most neurotic and with the wonderful addition of Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee!), Stranger Things had me laughing and hiding behind a pillow, sometimes in the same scene. Highly recommend watching this show with a burger and a beer, bonus points for wearing a baseball tee and a pair of Converse.
8. Postman Pat, available on iTunes and YouTube.
If the toddler in your house needs to hang tight while you Do The Things, may I suggest a short episode of this very not-annoying show? With its inexplicably diverse yet entertaining array of British accents, Postman Pat is gentle enough so you can answer emails but written well enough so that you don’t mind watching it when obliged. Unlike some snore-fests (cough, Thomas the Tank Engine, cough), Postman Pat has the right amount ofsuspense for the under-6 crowd—a sheep runs amok, a toy goes missing, a surprise party is almost ruined—but Pat, often the deus ex machina, manages to fix any problem with a smile and some common sense.
Here’s to discovering more good things in 2018!
