Books and more books

Recently, Ben Myers wrote on his blog, ‘I love not only reading books, but also possessing them and placing them neatly on shelves’.

Oh indeed!

I sniff them, take them to bed, devote hours of attention to them, gaze on them affectionately, caress them, and yes, even read them.

It will be no surprise, therefore, to hear of my excitement as I discovered from my friend Volker (more on him tomorrow) that a local second hand book shop had received hundreds of new theological books, and that some had already been put on the shelves. It will also be no surprise to hear of my unrestrained joy as I found on the shelf:

• Karl Barth’s Lebenslauf by Eberhard Busch
• All three volumes of Balthasar’s Herrlichkeit
• Theologie der Hoffnung by Moltmann
• And, wait for this ...! Three volumes of Bultmann’s Glauben und Verstehen (Mohr Siebeck hardback)

Oh I could have kissed the bookshop owner’s face, stubble and all. Feeling all emotional I fell on his neck and burst out in tears. OK, I made that bit up, but something like it was happening inside. For not only did he have the books to sell, they were cheap! Oh yes! Woo hoo! CHEAP! I feel another Winds of Worship coming on ... (Theolgie der Hoffnung [Hardback], 4 euro, for example!)

Another book I’ve been enjoying is one Jim West recommended me while Instant M-ing, namely, Locher’s Die Zwinglische Reformation. Initially I was somewhat put of by the size, but the clarity of writing makes for highly enjoyable reading. Highly.

So many books, so little time, and soon I’ll be starting my biggest project to date. But more on that another time!