“Told in vignettes both simple and sublime, ‘Called’ is a record of faith and revelation, and a reminder that life with Jesus will shake up all our expectations—but that upheaval will be worthwhile.”
Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz.
Like many folks my age, I first read Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz in undergrad, when Coldplay was still a new band on the scene, Apple had just launched its new iTunes service, and The Terminator himself was elected governor of California. For many of us, Miller's "non-religious thoughts on Christian spirituality," set in the familiar Pacific Northwest I called home, was a rite of passage.
But more than the book's thought, Miller's approachable, "Let's sit down for a chat," writing style left the biggest impact on me. It was in reading Miller that I learned how to have a conversation with the reader.
So you can imagine my excitement when, some 10 years later, I stumbled upon a BookPage review that set my new, debut book, Called: My Journey to C. S. Lewis's House and Back Again, alongside Miller's latest work, Scary Close: Dropping the Act and Finding True Intimacy. I was speechless.
Oh, and someone by the name of N. T. Wright has a new book in the same feature. So, you know. There's that.
Check out the BookPage review, The Easter Season's Promise of Renewal, which features "Five new books [that] offer fresh perspectives to help readers find God, themselves and each other, and renew their hearts for another year."
Thanks for following the journey, friends. And thanks for all your help spreading the word. Really, it means the world.
Peace.
-Ryan