Good books: Lauren Winner

As promised--a reading recommendation. Lauren Winner reads like a refined Anne Lamott--funny and wise--I have almost forgiven her for being only 29. (I got to interview her for Inner Compass recently; the podcast should be available in a month or two.) Her Girl Meets God is a memoir that made me think about my own faith choices; Real Sex: The Naked Truth about Chastity is a realistic discussion about sex--problems with the way the church talks about it, and alternative ways to think about it. Winner seems to earn "street cred" among my students because she readily admits her own failings and reluctance to adopt chastity as a way of life. But it's not a preachy "and then I saw the LIGHT" thing either. I think church groups tend to err on one side or the other: either a simplistic "just say no" approach, or utter silence that can be taken as approval or lack of concern about premarital sex. Winner encourages us to think about the ramifications of our private behavior in the context of Christian community, rather than simply adopting a set of rules. [I'm always troubled when we insist that Christians must obey God blindly. Of course we are to obey God, but I trust that God welcomes our questions.]

Lanyard poetry

Everyone who has worked at Mowana (or probably any other camp) will appreciate this from poet laureate Billy Collins: The Lanyard (even if you don't like poetry--or gimp.) Collins, one of my favorite living poets, was on Prairie Home Companion on New Year's Eve. I had just arrived at a gathering of old Mowana staff and was parking my car when he started to read the poem. I was torn between running inside and yelling "Turn on NPR!" and sitting to listen. I listened. (You can too. The poem starts about five minutes into this linked audio segment.) Enjoy.

That evening, because it was indeed a wild party, involved the sharing of some reading recommendations and a bit of actual book-swapping. Of course most of us forgot the titles instantly. I'll try to remember my suggestions and post some ideas here as they come to me. I'd be glad to get ideas from the rest of you, too.