What I've Been Reading

Dietrich Bonhoeffer: A Biography (Eberhard Bethge)
Generally known as the authoritative biography of Bonhoeffer, this book gave me a much more detailed picture of Bonhoeffer's life and work than I had before. I was impressed with his willingness to stand alone (for years he was one of the only men in the Confessing Church who stood strongly against Hitler and the Reich Church) and to do what it took for righteousness to be done. The picture of the events leading up to World War II and the war itself from the perspective of a Christian German man was so interesting to me. NOT all Germans were Nazis! I also liked the more detailed account of the activites of the German resistance against Hitler fascinated me, too. Fascinating book, but not for the fainthearted--it's over 1000 pages long.

Friendship and Resistance: Essays on Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Eberhard Bethge)
Essays about remembrance vs. forgetting, confession and resistance, the Bonhoeffer family, friendship, and more. I enjoyed the "snapshots" in this book by Bonhoeffer's best friend.

Last Letters of Resistance from the Bonhoeffer Family (edited by Eberhard and Renate Bethge)
No, I'm not obsessed with the Bonhoeffer family. :) Or maybe I am...when I find a subject interesting, I tend to make the most of it. (Anybody have any recommendations for works on the Resistance movements in Nazified Europe, or biographies of the resistors?? Seriously.) This book is a poignant (painfully so) collection of short biographical sketches and the last letters of 5 men (Klaus and Dietrich Bonhoeffer, brothers-in-law Hans von Dohnanyi, Rudiger Schleicher, and Justus Delbruck) who died as part of the German resistance. Good book, though sad.

Daddy-Long-Legs and Dear Enemy (Jean Webster)
Just for fun! The letters of a young orphan girl, Judy Abbott, to the anonymous man who sends her to college (in Daddy-Long-Legs) and the letters of her friend Sallie MacBride to Judy and others after taking over the orphan asylum where Judy grew up (in Dear Enemy). The author wasn't a Christian and that is made clear at a couple of points in the books, but I enjoyed the witty (hilarious at times) writing style, enhanced by line drawings. If you're tired of writing boring letters, these just might provide the stimulus you need!

Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
adapted by Focus on the Family Radio Theater
Wow--what a story. I read an abridged version of the book some time ago (sorry, even this voracious reader doesn't aspire to the 1400-page unabridged translation) and liked it. More recently, I really enjoyed the Radio Theater version. There is a lot of depth in this story and the characterizations are amazing. Jean Valjean, the ex-convict who learns to show grace to others; Inspecter Javert, driven by the idea of justice at all costs and seemingly incapable of showing mercy; Cosette, the Thenardiers, Marius, the young men of the Revolution... It's my belief that the shortened versions help with understanding the flow of the story. (I also have a sneaking suspicion that some aspects of the story have been cleaned up in the versions I've read...)

Silas Marner (George Eliot)
adapted by Focus on the Family Radio Theater
Not as good as Les Miserables, but still enjoyable. I haven't read the book yet, but I'm thinking about it. Silas Marner, a weaver in England, is betrayed by his friend and framed for a crime he didn't commit; he turns from people and from God and devotes his life to accumulating gold. When all of his money is stolen and a little girl appears at his home, the changes begin... A story about choices and the consequences thereof.