During this global Coronavirus crisis, our state and national government leaders are wisely recommending that all of us, except for those in health care or emergency or food service industries, maintain social distance and work, where possible, from home. We are on day two or three of this and some of you more extroverted people are already stir crazy. I am here in my favorite place to be, my library, working, and decided to invite y’all into it with me (virtually, not physically).
Starting today, I am going to post what I’m calling “Reading in Exile” videos to all our platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc.). Here’s what we’ll do. Every day (or maybe multiple times a day; who knows?), I will go to a shelf here in my library and pull down a book, telling you why I like it or hate it, why you should read it or skip it, and what I’ve learned from it.
I will try to include fiction and non-fiction, and stuff that spans the whole range, from poetry to short stories to novels to theology to history to graphic novels and comic books and children’s literature.
The first episode will start with an introduction about, what else, the Bible. Unlike the others, it will be less about the content of the Bible (see elsewhere on this site for that) and more about how I read the Bible, how I make notes for myself, and so forth.
Social distancing is not exile, in a biblical or sociological sense, of course. But it can remind us a bit of what the Bible tells us we already are: “sojourners and exiles” (1 Pet. 2:11), wayfarers in a strange land.
So let’s read together. Social distancing doesn’t have to mean disconnection.
If you have suggestions of books you’d like me to walk through, let me know in the comments on my Instagram or YouTube or Facebook or wherever.
Stay safe and well.
I’ll be posting more content soon. You can see my home library in this video our team put together a few years ago.
