New Books

In the last couple of days I've picked up two books that look promising for different reasons.

Kevin Vanhoozer's The Drama of Doctrine seems to be a book that follows naturally from his work in theological interpretation, most especially Is There Meaning in This Text?, but at the same time it promises to demonstrate his expanding perspective on many matters like the role of Christian community. I have only read a few pages but already I get the sense that he is taking up some of the challenges that I bring up in my dissertation (see here and here). Since the dissertation was in the hands of my readers before I could get a hold of this book, I wonder if I might need to note Vanhoozer's arguments in a brief footnote before the dissertation goes to final print.


And, just today, I picked up Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. I have not read any Lamott stuff before, but I've heard people rave about her. Since I am interested in improving my writing but hate the normal writing-improvement books I figured this book would be a good way to kill two birds with one stone (no pun intended!). Plus, who can pass up a book with chapters like, "Shitty First Drafts"?

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