From the Library of C. S. Lewis, compiled by James Stuart Bell, is a compilation of one-page snippets from books that C.S. Lewis read. There are a couple hundred pieces from over 100 different authors. What fascinates me most is that there are pieces that were authored from all different times in history. Some pieces are from just a hundred years ago, some five hundred, a thousand, and even almost two thousand years ago!If you are looking for information about C.S. Lewis, this is not the book for you. It has nothing to do with him, other than these were books he read (which I'm sure many other scholarly people could say they have read these as well). The only negative thing I have to say about the book is that the selections are so short that you can't get a good taste of what the author of each particular selection is saying. It reminds me more of a devotional style book, although it is not mean to be that. I did learn from some of the selections and was convicted by others, so that was a bonus. I did not (and you probably won't either) agree with everything that each author had to say, but the book isn't claiming that these are all of C.S. Lewis' favorite books, authors, or selections, merely that he read them.
I really enjoyed that at the bottom of each selection, there is a blurb about the particular author, telling us when and where he/she lived, and sometimes how he/she related to Lewis or why Lewis liked him/her. This book provides a unique opportunity to sample many authors that you may have never heard of, and to read pieces from long ago from books that you may have never otherwise procured. This would be a nice book for any rhetoric stage student to have on hand to look up the pieces that were written in the time period they are studying.
One petty thing to note is that the book feels cheaply made. It has a super thin paperback cover. If you are looking for a nice book for your shelf that will look beautiful and wear for years to come, you might want to see if there is a hard cover edition.
I received this book to review from Waterbrook Publishing and I am happy to recommend it to you!
If you would like more info about this book, check out the links below...
Happy Reading!
It looks like an interesting book. It is interesting to know which works of others our favorite authors have read. :)
ReplyDeleteI really liked Surprised by Laughter by Terry Lindvall. I definitely found some of the book over my head and out of my comfort zone but it gave a lot of insight, I felt, to Lewis. It is a rather long book, though, and written by a Ph.D.
Yes! That is why I was intrigued to read this book. The once you mentioned sounds interesting too! Thanks for suggesting it.
DeleteWe just started the Narnia series here. I have actually never read any of them or seen any of the movies so we are really looking forward to it. Just thought I would share. :)
ReplyDeleteHow are you liking the Narnia series? I have read a few of them (before I had kids) and have seen the two recent movies. I look forward to reading the books with my kids. Which book did you start with?
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