Walter Hooper, “C.S. Lewis Companion and Guide”
At 940 pages, this book can be called comprehensive; it includes a 120-page bibliography, summaries of works, and lists of key ideas, who’s who, and what’s what.
C.S. Lewis
Entries that relate to C.S. Lewis and his work.
James T. Como (editor), “C.S. Lewis at the Breakfast Table and Other Reminiscences”
This book is a series of vignettes by people who knew C.S. Lewis personally. What a wonderful man: generous, talkative, unpretentious, positive — a real role model. And there is material of interest beyond his personality in here: Jacques Barzun was a fan, Lewis accepts original sin because Paul seemed to (159), Lewis did not … [Read more…]
C.S. Lewis, “The Great Divorce”
I reread this in 2013 as a Lenten study. Two thoughts: First, I’ve thought more about what Heaven will be like than what Hell would be like; I wonder if that’s true of most people. Second, if the raised body is, in some sense, solid, then Heaven must be, in some sense, an actual place … [Read more…]
Alister McGrath, “C.S. Lewis — A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet”
This is a very good and recent (2013) biography. One annotation I made (139): The fact that Lewis’s conversion was bifurcated — that is, first he became a theist, then a Christian — is “Interesting/reassurring” re my short essay (elsewhere on this site), “Why Am I Christian (and You Should Be, Too), in 600 Words.”
Richard J. Foster & James Bryan Smith (editors), “Devotional Classics”
There are about forty excerpts from a Who’s Who of Christian theologians (Luther, Calvin, St. Thomas, Wesley, C.S. Lewis, etc.). Needless to say, there is some good stuff in here; there’s also a biography, bibliography, and questions for each. Note: I did not read the whole book (my notes don’t say why). I read the … [Read more…]
Julia L. Roller (editor), “25 Books Every Christian Should Read: A Guide to the Essential Spiritual Classics”
This is a very interesting selection (made by “Renovare,” by the way). First there is commentary and then there are excerpts from each. Some notes: Calvin is much more accessible than I would have thought. He also interprets Scripture with an eye on what is implicit as well as explicit in it; it’s very … [Read more…]
Apuleius, “The Golden Ass” (also known as “The Transformation of Lucius”)
I read this because Professor Timothy Shutt of Kenyon College recommended it in an audiobook lecture as a great way to see what life was like in the provinces of the Roman Empire; because it’s the only surviving ancient Latin novel, and a rare documentation of life in the lower classes; and for the story … [Read more…]
C.S. Lewis (editor and preface’s author), “George MacDonald: 365 Readings”
Lewis regards MacDonald as his “master,” but in the preface acknowledges that sometimes MacDonald’s writing is not all that great (and so, by the way, I have not read beyond these selections). MacDonald seems to me to be more of a mystic, which is not really my cup of tea — but why should every … [Read more…]
Douglas Gresham, “Jack’s Life”
This biography of C.S. Lewis by one of his stepsons is a short and enjoyable read. It doesn’t really offer any insight into his work, but it does make clear what a selfless man he was (and not just with Joy, but also with Janie More, Warnie, and others). Not very well edited; sometimes it … [Read more…]
Timothy Keller, “King’s Cross: The Story of the World in the Life of Jesus”
This close reading of Mark is very good, though it drags a bit toward the end. The author says C.S. Lewis is his “favorite author”; he cites N.T. Wright, too. And he says that a key way to cultivate faith is to pray for if (cf. 56). “And straightway the father of the child cried … [Read more…]