(Jon) My first New Year’s resolution is:
Stop buying books.
I have enough books on church, culture, cities and community on my shelves to last me at least through December. And they all came highly recommended by those who have a love for the city. Take a look:
- Home From Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler
- Suburban Nation by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck
- The Great Good Place by Ray Oldenburg
- Celebrating the Good Place, Ray Oldenburg, editor
- Lectures on Calvinism by Abraham Kuyper
- Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- Face to Face by Steve Wilkins
- The Meaning of the City by Jacques Ellul
- The Calvinistic Concept of Culture by Henry Van Til
- The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
- The Christian Imagination: G.K. Chesterton on the Arts by Thomas Peters
Here’s what I’ve read in 2007 or earlier but hope to restudy in 2008:
- Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith by Eric Jacobsen
- City Comforts by David Sucher
- The Geography of Nowhere by James Howard Kunstler
- Heaven Is Not My Home by Paul Marshall
- The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida
- Angels in the Architecture by Douglas Wilson and Douglas Jones
- Mother Kirk by Douglas Wilson
- Plowing in Hope by David Bruce Hegeman
- all 22 books by Francis Schaeffer
And beyond actually reading them and understanding them, I intend on commenting on them here at The Good City. Good grief!
I’ve just begun Life Together because I felt I needed some more spiritual sustenance. But do you have any suggestions on what I should pick up next? Any books on my bookshelf that you’ve already read and would recommend?
– Jon Swerens · photo by austinevan on Flickr
Francis Schaeffer. Yes.
I’d suggest moving the Eric Jacobsen book to the top of the list, and letting Florida slide down a bit. Not a lot; just a bit.
And some reading of your almost-neighbor Phillip Bess’s works (“Till We Have Built Jerusalem” is a super compilation) would well supplement Pastor Jacobsen. They’re New Urbanist buddies.
I just found your blog, and am happy for it!