'25 SUMMER READING LIST, #2 - "THE BENEDICT OPTION" BY ROD DREHER

I was about to write that there are few books that really inspire me, and the fact that I had no problem coming up with 25 books for this summer reading list probably means I'm easier to impress than I think (or that there are more really inspirational books than I think). Either way, "The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation" by Rod Dreher is on that list.

Allow me to confess that Dreher is more Catholic/Orthodox than I am, and several of the ideas fit that line of thinking. However, I agree with his main thought that Christians need to strengthen community with fellow believers, both by forming communities and by encouraging others.

There are not as many community-building books in this summer reading list as there are apologetics (like yesterday's book). However, I remember being in a Facebook group discussing this book and Dreher's follow-up "Live Not By Lies" and reading a question about if we're reading any other books on community. At that time, I was finishing Leah Libresco's "Building the Benedict Option..." Check. I also started reading Rosaria Butterfield's "The Gospel Comes With a House Key..." Check. Then, in fiction, I was reading "Amish Werewolves of Space..." well, at first I thought "Two out of three aren't bad" until I reread the cover and read the first chapter and realized it was three of three. (Kerry Nietz' Terror in Plain Space trilogy all have strong themes on community, on our responsibilities to community, and that our community might be bigger than we think. 

You know, maybe I ought to reread this one.