Imagine for a moment that you are invited to a party where there will be many people you deeply admire but don't know personally. You nervously prepare for the event and part of you wants to cancel, but how could you not be in the same room with all of these amazing people? As you are walking up to the front door, a friend appears out of nowhere. You reconnect and then enter the party together. To your amazement, that friend knows the room and all its happy inhabitants. They introduce you to people you have always wanted to meet, and by the end of the evening, you leave full of stories, new friendships, and a sense of community.
Jeff Crosby is like the friend in my little story and his new book, World of Wonders, is like the party. Just as a vibrant party brings together space, time and personality, Jeff's book brings together faith and reading, along with the writers who celebrate both.
When Jeff, a personal friend I have known for many years, shared about his book project, I was immediately intrigued. Since I am an avid reader, any book about reading sounds exciting. But I was even more excited because Jeff had taken on the challenge of showing how reading and spirituality are integrated and meaningfully affirm each other. I am thinking a lot about alignment these days and seeking out integration between my spiritual life and things I love. This book helped me to see the many ways reading reinforced the spiritual disciplines in my life. It goes on to make the case that reading is itself a discipline worth submitting to in our quest to know God and be known by Him.
As I read, I began to deepen my understanding of reading as more than a personal pleasure or a practical way to get information. Reading creates mystery, community, belonging and a growing appreciation for those people and experiences that I have not yet known. Reading requires focus and demands a response. It pushes me to ask questions, imagine different scenarios, and learn. In the end, reading makes me a life-long learner because each page is an author's opportunity to help the me see the world anew.
After building his case for the spirituality of reading as a concept, Jeff organizes his book into two main sections. One explores how reading different genres integrates with faith. The second explores how reading in different seasons of life integrates with faith.
I had never thought deeply about how different types of books might impact my spiritual life. But Jeff's thoughtful exploration of fiction, poetry, nonfiction and memoir was very insightful. I've always struggled to read poetry and understand it. Jeff's explanation of poetry as "an exercise in paying attention" was a helpful lens. I also enjoyed thinking about memoirs in new ways. As Jeff says, "Memoirs have the power to . . . help us understand the stories of our own lives, even as we are reading about the unique story of the author."
The final section about reading in different times of life provided a very different and insightful lens as well. I loved how Jeff talked about reading during the various stages of family life. I resonated with reading as a child, as a young couple, reading to my kids, and thought for the first time about what it might be like to read to someone in their final stages of life. That was a new thought for me and a meaningful one for me to prepare for as I get older. The sections on reading in times of sorrow and doubt were also very moving. I have looked for comfort in books before, but Jeff's thoughtful probing of those vulnerable times helped me to see the role of reading in a new way.
Each idea I've shared above, and many more, get shared through the voices of dozens amazing authors attending this literary party. It seems to be a room of his closest friends, even though he doesn't know all of them and some have been gone now for decades, centuries or millennia. But either way, He treats them with a warm affection and he so wants you to know them and all that they have meant to him.
That is what I loved most about World of Wonders. Each chapter ends with a list of books for you to read as a result of the topic he just walked through. Like the friend who walks up to a guest at a party and brings you into the conversation, he introduces you to their stories, their impact on his life, and the books they produced.
I could spend the next several years simply trying to get to know the richness of the books Jeff recommends as he explores the subject of reading and spirituality. I am sure I will. I hope you will consider Jeff's invitation to join him at this gathering of faith-filled writers and explore how reading can be an essential part of your faith journey.
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