Frederick Buechner, Henri Nouwen

First, a couple books I bought last week at a lovely used bookstore in Denton, Texas called “Recycled Books”. It was a massive gem of a bookstore and I enjoyed browsing and then taking a brief walk around the downtown Denton square where I had a nice lunch in an old fashioned soda shop that had it’s own version of a presidential vote where patrons voted using straws! (I read about it on the wall). Two books I bought of note for a nice price (I always buy used books if possible, new books are just too pricey for me and used books in great condition are easy to find. And of course the library has them for free).

The Eyes of the Heart: A Memoir of the Lost and Found by Frederick Buechner
The Sacred Journey: A Memoir of Early Days by Frederick Buechner

I have read both of them at one point in the last 5 or so years and look forward to reading them again. Do I remember anything about them? No, not really. Strangely, that isn’t why I like to read Buechner. He in my opinion is more of a writer’s writer than anything. That is to say that he is an absolutely beautiful writer, a master of words yet very simple. Yet I don’t read his books because I like to read, rather I like the way Buechner makes me feel. Though he does say many beautiful and insightful things throughout his writing, I love more taking in his thoughts and being soothed by them, like listening to rain while on the front porch. Like a song. Like a walk in the hoods. He is not heavy, yet he is not light. He is a shoe that feels good on my feet. He is not dramatic. He is not driven by plot. He is a storyteller, a thinker. While some writers "are ____", he simply "is".

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Speaking of the way certain writers make me feel, Henri J.M. Nouwen is another such writer (of course, along with Thomas Merton as well). Nouwen was a Roman Catholic Dutch priest, educator, writer, and later in life known for living with handicapped people (I forget where, I believe the community was known as L’Arch or something like that). He wore his heart on his sleeve at all times, he wrote profusely about the contemplative life and his desire for God but his constant shortcomings. The Past couple days I have again turned to him my old friend. I am reading The Genesee Diary: Report From a Trappist Monastery for the first time, I have a beautiful hardback edition from the 1970’s and I love the cover and feel of the book in my hands, to my eyes. He has many published journals and this is one of them.

Nouwen is again a writer that I just like to consume and not necessarily think all that much about. Not for his lack of wisdom and insights, which are beautiful and profound, but he is comforting in the way he writes and I truly find myself in his writings. I relate to him. And now, for example, when I feel I have some burdensome decisions to make in my life, I find myself turning to him to calm me down a bit. He encourages me to walk with him in his attempt at stripping away his fears and concerns to be in the presence of God.

If I could say one of my favorite books of all time and by favorite I mean most impacting, and by most impacting I mean most life changing, I would suggest his Return of the Prodigal Son book. But books are like art, and art is subject to the one beholding it. Hence, what Nouwen is for me he may not be for you, especially if you don’t find yourself the contemplative type. And if you don’t know what the contemplative type is then you either are not one or just haven’t heard it called such. I would define one as this: one who is more likely to be content while alone and fancies the thinking of things, particularly thoughts on God. Some of us are this way, and some of us are not. While I think Nouwen, along with Thomas Merton, have many things to teach all of us, they might have more to teach us the contemplative type. (p.s. both are heavily Catholic, one being a priest and another being a monk. This does not frighten me and I don’t think the reading of them will frighten you that are afraid of Catholic theology either. You just have to get a bit used to hearing about some things and then on you go, you are used to it and are prepared to be taught things of God that all believers should be able to identify with).

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I don’t want to weigh you down anymore at the moment as I went on writing more than I intended and have not even got to my recent book review/suggestion! So I’ll wait a bit to post it. It being The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs.

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As for what book to read together, I know December is nearly over now but let’s go ahead and say the book for December is by apparent popular demand in the comments Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. I bought and read three fourths of this book years ago after watching Conspiracy Theory starring Mel Gibson but couldn’t finish it (the book) because I found it boring but that was many years ago and I have changed so I’ll give it a go again. It’s a classic coming of age novel, (whatever that means) and it’s plenty full of swear words to warn some of you. So let’s say read that now and in January we will pick another but more promptly. Sound good everybody?

Cheers!
Bradley