jbfideidefensor tries for 70 books in 2008

In 2007, I managed to get through 79 books. As much as I'd love to beat that this year and top 80, I'm not sure if circumstances will allow for that, so I'll set a more modest goal at 70.

Anyone who glimpsed the topic I made last year will be well aware that virtually everything I read has some relationship to theology, philosophy, ancient history, etc.--religion tends to be a dominant theme. Expect more of the same in 2008.

Thus far, I've gotten through one book this year: The Atonement: The Origins of the Doctrine in the New Testament by Martin Hengel.

I can't believe how long this has taken... I've finished a second book, Richard Bauckham's The Testimony of the Beloved Disciple: Narrative, History, and Theology in the Gospel of John.

That brings my total to 2, and I should have another pretty soon. After that, it might be a while. Yikes...

Alright, now I've finished the other book I was working through: Critiques of God: Making the Case Against Belief in God. It's edited by Peter Angeles, and it includes essays by John Dewey, Antony Flew, Sigmund Freud, Kai Nielsen, and Bertrand Russell, among a number of others. Of course, in terms of quality and success with respect to its goal, it fails miserably.

Anyway, that's the third book completed so far this year, so I guess I'm somewhat caught up, though it'll be a while before I get a fourth done, I think.

I'm not done with the larger book I'm working on, but I did today read through The Bacchae of Euripides. Since I'm reading such a long work otherwise, I figure it'll even things out if I count this play as a book on its own, so that makes #4.

At long last, I've finished N. T. Wright's massive Jesus and the Victory of God, a fantastic treatment of the subject of the historical Jesus. This tome has won the honors of joining the highly exclusive ranks of my favorite books. It may not have been the lightest read--and let's face it, most books with which I could potentially dent someone's skull tend not to be that--but a thorough read is bound to revolutionize one's picture of an incredibly revolutionary figure: Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah.

Total books read to date in 2008: 5. Not terribly bad for within the first two weeks.

Crud, this is taking too long... I haven't had much reading time lately, so I've only recently finished another book: Modern Cosmology and Philosophy, edited by John Leslie. That makes... just six. And I'm almost a full month into the year. That means I'm behind. I'd better get faster.

Actually, to read 70 books in 12 months, you only need to read 5.83 books per month, and January isn't even over, so I would say you are ahead.

True, but usually January is one of my most accelerated reading months, whereas the next few months will probably have five books each at best.

At least I'm more back on track now. Since I last posted, I finished two books: Battles of the Bible by Chaim Herzog and Mordechai Gichon, and Time and Temporality in the Ancient World, edited by Ralph Rosen.

That brings my total up to eight, a more acceptable value for the year's first month. I'd really like to top 80 if at all possible this year, even though I have some pretty massive books to read.

Yesterday I finished reading The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries: Cosmology and Salvation in the Ancient World by David Ulansey. It was... amazing. For anyone who cares even remotely about ancient Mithraism, I recommend this book.

Total: 9

I've finished a couple books since last I piped in. First was the worst book I've ever read, The Christ Conspiracy: The Greatest Story Ever Sold by Acharya S. Absolute rubbish. Not worth picking up for any reason except maybe a few laughs at her expense.

Second, this morning I finished a much better book, Who Was Jesus? by the esteemed N. T. Wright. Very excellent, especially for such a comparatively slim volume.

That brings my total to 11.

I'm finally done reading A Future for Presentism by Craig Bourne. Took long enough....

Also, I finished The Error of the Pagan Religions by Firmicus Maternus. Interesting fourth-century work.

My total is now 13 books since the beginning of January. If I can accelerate my pace, I may have a decent shot at getting to my *real* goal of 80 books this year.

I'm now done reading Jesus and the Restoration of Israel, edited by Carey Newman. It's a critical assessment of N. T. Wright's Jesus and the Victory of God, one of my favorite books.

Interesting read. Brings my total up to 14.

Alright, well it took a while but I finished Gordon Fee's Pauline Christology. Hefty book, pretty good. Brings my total to 15.

Okay, I definitely need to update. Since concluding the book listed above, I've finished God and Other Minds by Alvin Plantinga, Making a Meal of It by Ben Witherington, and The Last Word by the perpetually awesome N. T. Wright. Not bad for four days, eh?

That lifts my total to 18, and it shouldn't be long before I have a few more to list.

Wow, when I said it wouldn't be long, I wasn't really envisioning "within six hours", but I just got finished with the Historia Ecclesiastica of Eusebius of Caesarea. My total is now 19. Onward I must press!

Alright, since Wednesday I've finished both Oliver D. Crisp's Divinity and Humanity: The Incarnation Reconsidered and N. T. Wright's The Challenge of Jesus: Rediscovering Who Jesus Was and Is. Unless I'm missing one, which is unlikely, that brings my total up to 21.

I should note that I finished The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks, edited/translated by Benedicta Ward.

Total: 22.

The insanity of the past couple of weeks has majorly slowed my progress, and I'm not exactly happy about it. Still, this morning I finally finished J. L. Mackie's The Miracle of Theism.

Total: 23.

Okay, since the last thing I've finished reading Questioning Q: A Multi-dimensional Critique, edited by Mark Goodacre and Nicholas Perrin, and also now Paul: In Fresh Perspective by the perpetually insightful N. T. Wright.

Current total: 25. I guess that technically puts me a quarter of the way to 100 at about a quarter of the way through the year. If I can at least sustain this kind of rate... awesome.

I've now also finished Dionysos Slain by Marcel Detienne. It actually wasn't as great as I'd initially expected - I found Detienne to be unusually scatterbrained here, going off on tangents of no substantial import for the topic at hand - and in the end, only a fraction of the book was on target.

Still, that brings me to 26.

Alright, I've now also completed Cybele and Attis: The Myth and the Cult by Maarten J. Vermaseren. Much better than Dionysos Slain was. Granted, I could still wish that Vermaseren had focused more on Attis, but given the material, it's not terribly surprising.

That brings my total to 27 thus far, which it where it'll stay until sometime in April (hopefully early).

At long last, I've forced my way through Suns of God: Krishna, Buddha and Christ Unveiled by Acharya S. Terrible book, but at least now the horror's over and I can get back to reading things by people with relevant credentials.

Total: 28.

Ahh, well it took ages, but I finally finished Macrobius's Saturnalia, a lengthy fourth-century dialogue concerning... well, various topics, really, most of which took the concept of "dull" and pushed it to the extremes. I mean, egad... Still, now I can resume the books I set aside to tackle it, so hopefully I'll make some decent progress there.

Total: 29

Okay, earlier today I finished reading Walter Brueggemann's The Word That Redescribes the World: The Bible and Discipleship. It started out a bit quirky, but I have to say, I really warmed up to it. It was an alright book after all.

Total: 30.

I just a few moments ago completed The Climax of the Covenant: Christ and the Law in Pauline Theology by N. T. Wright. It was... amazing. Stunning. Beautiful. My approach to the subject will never be the same. My theology will never be quite the same.

Total: 31.

Okay, this morning I also completed George Nickelsburg's Resurrection, Immortality, and Eternal Life in Intertestamental Judaism and Early Christianity.

Total: 32.

Today I finished reading The Case Against Christianity by Michael Martin. I wish that, for once, I could give a truly positive summary of one of these anti-Christianity books, but... I mean, for crying out loud, Martin thinks that "women" is a singular noun, and that's one of his minor mistakes. The book wasn't absolutely terrible, as was The Atheist Debater's Handbook which I read last year, but it was by no means a persuasive case at... well... any point, really. Not even just overall, but... anywhere. I certainly hope that he's done better work elsewhere.

Anyway, that brings my total to 33, I suppose. I'll probably get one more book read before I leave for China on Sunday; after that, well, it's a long plane ride.....

Ah, what good fortune! Since that last note, I finished not one but two books: John's Wisdom: A Commentary on the Fourth Gospel by Ben Witherington III and Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't by Stephen Prothero. Both excellent reads that bring my total up to 35 thus far this year, putting me technically halfway toward what is technically my goal (although in reality I'm shooting a bit higher, something around 80).

That's definitely the last book I'll finish before my travels--as I said, I depart tomorrow for Beijing--and so I'll update this list when I return.

I'm back in America!! And during my travels, I managed to complete just two books: the first, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, translated by Geza Vermes; and the second, The Buddhist Tradition in India, China, and Japan, edited by William Theodore de Bary.

That makes my present total 37, I think. Now to gear up for the madness to come...

Since my return to America, I've completed Paul for Everyone: Romans Part One by N. T. Wright, Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche, and Paul for Everyone: Romans Part Two by N. T. Wright.

My total is thus 40 now, and it shouldn't be long before it rises further. Seeing as how it isn't quite yet the middle of the year, I suppose this bodes moderately well for my progress towards my goal.

Okay, to the total we can at least add Paul and First-Century Letter Writing: Secretaries, Composition and Collection by E. Randolph Richards. Good work.

I've been slowed down because I'm reading a lot of stuff online (but I'll factor all that stuff in later), and also I'm not reading as much (offline) as I used to.

So I guess my total right now is 41.

Okay, now I'm just plain lazy. But at least I finished Why You Should Believe in the Trinity: An Answer to Jehovah's Witnesses by Robert Bowman. That brings my total to 42.

Alright, between tonight and today I managed to finish off two more books: A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentiles by Stanley K. Stowers, and God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens. Neither was terribly fantastic. Stowers is, ultimately, unconvincing in many aspects of his interpretation, and while Hitchens is superb at rhetoric, he never actually gets around to making a substantive case.

Total: 44.

Sometime kinda recently I finished The Story of Romans: A Narrative Defense of God's Righteousness by A. Katherin Grieb. Good book.

Total: 45.

I've now completed The Orthodox Church by Timothy Ware.

Total: 46.

I've also now completed Jesus Christ and Mythology by Rudolf Bultmann and Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell. I'm gonna have to give them both my downward-pointed thumb.

Still, brings my total to 48.

Now done with Evangelicalism in America, written in 1967 by Bruce Shelley.

Total: 49.

I guess I've actually got two books to add to this list. First of all, there's Shattering the Christ Myth: Did Jesus Not Exist?, edited by James Patrick Holding. Technically, I read the pre-publication manuscript a couple times. I should perhaps mention that I was one of the contributors to the work. Still, I say it counts, since I did indeed read the entire thing this year.

Also, I've FINALLY finished reading Philip Francis Esler's Conflict and Identity in Romans. Excellent book on Romans, quite excellent. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but I'm rather glad I'm finished so that I can move on to another book on Romans.

That brings my total to 51. I'll definitely be able to top my goal of 70, probably even my secret goal of 80. Hopefully, I'll be able to get to 90. 100 just isn't gonna happen, especially with some of the thick commentaries I've assigned myself for August.

Since I've last posted, I've finished first N. T. Wright's Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church and second Mark Reasoner's Romans in Full Circle: A History of Interpretation. Two good reads.

Total: 53.

Okay, I've now finished both An Anthology of Atheism and Rationalism, edited by Gordon Stein, and Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus Christ, and the Gospel of John by Robert M. Bowman. Brings my total to 55.

Recently finished The Variety of American Evangelicalism, edited by Donald Dayton, and The Central Message of the New Testament by Joachim Jeremias.

Total: 57.

Okay, I haven't yet completed any of the books I started to replace the ones I just finished, but I have finished We Left Jehovah's Witnesses, which was an interesting collection of personal testimonies. Brings my total to 58, and hopefully there should be a few more before the end of August.

Alright, I've now also finished a delightful little parody called The Da Vinci Cod: A Fishy Parody by Don Brine (pseudonym for one Adam Roberts, literature professor at London University). Quite a witty work, though the ending was rather unexpected.

My total is now 59, and if I don't waste away my existence on this blasted Internet, I may be able to get one or two more completed before the academic year gets back underway in a couple days.

Ha! I've since completed three more books. First is Give God the Glory: Ancient Prayer and Worship in Cultural Perspective by Jerome H. Neyrey. That one was quite excellent. Second was Heresies Exposed by William C. Irvine. It's an older book, kind of a precursor to the modern counter-cult compendiums (e.g., Walter Martin's The Kingdom of the Cults). Third was Christus Victor by Gustaf Aulen. That one was... highly flawed in several extraordinarily salient ways. Interesting defense of his position, even though he claims that it was never his intention, but the author's bias seeps through on every page, and he misrepresents both of the main systems in view.

That brings my total up to 62, and I'm only a few pages from completing my next one, so I should have that here soon too.

I'd hoped to finish it a little bit sooner, but I've completed Ben Witherington III's Paul's Letter to the Romans: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, bringing my total to 63, I guess.

Alright, I've gotten through a few more books since I last posted just short of a month ago. They include:

~ Plato's Sophist, trans. Eva Brann
~ God, The Multiverse, and Everything: Modern Cosmology and the Argument from Design by Rodney Holder
~ Gilgamesh: A New English Version by Stephen Mitchell
~ The "Word" - Who is He? According to John, a 1962 publication of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society
~ Rethinking Religion: A Concise Introduction by Will Deming
~ the first two volumes of the Library of History by Diodorus Siculus

Brings my total up to 70, which is technically my annual goal. That having occurred, I would now like to raise my official goal to 80 and my unofficial goal to 90. I've got a few books underway that shouldn't take much effort to complete, I think.

I've now also completed a book called The Role of Theology and Bias in Bible Translation by Rolf Furuli. Considering that it essentially tackles the realm of the impossible--defending the slant of the New World Translation--it doesn't do terribly bad. However, that doesn't make its arguments good, only good relative to the position defended.

Total: 71.

Beginning yesterday morning and finishing about an hour ago, I've managed to read The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic by R. K. Narayan. A wonderful epic; I look forward to reading the full version someday.

Total: 72.

I've finished reading Universes by John Leslie, bringing my total up to 73. Man... things are really getting slow these days. Hopefully I can deliver on my big goals by the end of the year somehow.

Somehow amidst all the chaos--and boy are things chaotic right now!--I've managed to complete The Harp of God: Proof Conclusive That Millions Now Living Will Never Die by J. F. Rutherford. That ups my total to 74. ...Augh! Too slow, too slow, too slow...

Alright, I've also now completed Cosmic Jackpot: Why Our Universe Is Just Right for Life by Paul Davies. Decent book, though the critiques of theism were incredibly weak, and some of the counterproposals that Davies favors were so inherently and obviously absurd that it's fairly clear which explanatory hypothesis REALLY enjoys an edge.

Total: 75. I know for certain at this point that, unless I manage to die, I'll beat last year's record without problem... but I was really hoping to press beyond that this year. My secret goal had actually been 100, but I'm gonna stick with my unofficial yet announced goal of 90. I probably won't make it... but that just means I'll have to press myself even harder, I suppose.

I've FINALLY finished another book, at long last. Not a very impressive streak, especially because this one was a novel: Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Decent novel, but the protagonist has a terrible understanding of religion.

My total is now a measly 76. What progress... Of course, the last half of December will probably be covered by a frenzy of book-completing, which I know will compensate for my current lack. But still, this is rather embarassing. I'm really starting to doubt that I'll beat 90. I mean, yes, sometime in the next month or so I may be lucky enough to finish four more books... but then ten in the last portion of December? It's possible--I have a bunch of books waiting for me to finish them--but it doesn't seem so terribly likely.

I've also completed Ancient Indian Cosmogony by F. B. J. Kuiper. Total: 77. But that's gonna be it for a while.

....Well, maybe not SO long. I've just finished reading The Divine Plan of the Ages, the first volume in Charles Taze Russell's Studies in the Scriptures series (originally "Millennial Dawn"). I'm beginning the project of working my way through all seven volumes. Anyway, this brings my total up to 78, and I could maybe have another to add sometime in the next few days. But after THAT, that's gonna be it for a while. And maybe I mean it this time.

Okay, okay. So I forgot that Thanksgiving vacation equals just a bit of reading time here and there. I've completed Out of the Cults and Into the Church by Janis Hutchinson and also Naming and Necessity by Saul A. Kripke. Working bit-by-bit on a couple other books now, though I really ought to be working on some other tasks... At any rate, this brings my official total to a firm 80, which means I've beaten out last year's total of 79, and with a month and some spare change remaining in which to sweep up a few more completed books. No way I'm making it to 100 as hoped, but I can always keep 90 in my sights. If I fall short, no big deal, I suppose.

At last, the semester is over! I'm free, free! It's about time...

I didn't get to actually complete any books between Thanksgiving break and the end of the semester, but now that it's over, I'm going back to all the partly read books from the semester and wrapping them up. Since last night, I've finished two: Plato's Timaeus and Critias, and Hannah Arendt's Crises of the Republic. My total is now 82, and over the next days I should be able to wrap up a few more. 100 is out of the picture, but 90 is doable, methinks. Onward!

Okay, since then I've finished two more books: Gavin Flood's An Introduction to Hinduism and Plato's Five Dialogues. I need to keep pressing on, but that brings me up to 84. I might finish another tonight, if I'm diligent.

Three more to add. First up is Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image in India by Diana Eck. Second is Friedrich Nietzsche's On the Genealogy of Morality. And the third, completed this morning, is Journey Through the Twelve Forests: An Encounter with Krishna by David Haberman.

My total is now 87, quite close to my goal. Just three more to go, and as it happens I have three books to finish yet from this past semester, plus a few that I'm working through otherwise.

Okay, two more to add. First is The Real Jesus: The Misguided Quest for the Historical Jesus and the Truth of the Traditional Gospels by Luke Timothy Johnson, and second is True to Life: Why Truth Matters by Michael P. Lynch.

My total is now 89, and it shouldn't be long before I top 90. Might I actually reach 100 after all...?

Ah! According to some of my other records, I read the third volume of Dicdorus of Sicily's Library of History back in early October. That means I've been underestimating my total by one all this time, meaning I've officially reached my goal of 90 now after all!

*Party!*

And now, I press onward, onward.

Okay, three more books completed now. First is Theories of Religion: A Reader, edited by Seth Daniel Kunin. Second is Christology of the Later Fathers, edited by Edward Hardy. And third was The Evidence for Jesus by R. T. France.

Total is now 93, with a bit over ten days remaining. Can I... can I really do it? Get the triple digits? Onward!

Alas, I think I've only finished one book since then, although in fairness I had a lot more of it to get through, and that was Kirin Narayan's Storytellers, Saints, and Scoundrels: Folk Narrative in Hindu Religious Teaching. Later today I ought to be able to get through one more book, and the next few days should see still more... but it's gonna be tough to really get enough books finished in the time I have left, I'll bet. My total now stands at 94.

Okay, that's more like it. I've finished Paul Among Jews and Gentiles, and Other Essays by Krister Stendahl. Brings me up to 95, and I can plausibly see myself finishing five books yet this year. Still, I mustn't make the mistake of slacking.

Haha, well so far today I've finished three more books! First was Quarks, Leptons, and the Big Bang by Jonathan Allday; second was The Concept of God: An Exploration of Contemporary Difficulties with the Attributes of God by Ronald Nash; and third was Worldwide Security Under the "Prince of Peace", a 1986 book from everyone's favorite Watchtower Bible and Tract Society. My total now stands at 98, and with over a week remaining in the year, I have utter confidence that, unless I manage to get myself killed somehow, I'll reach 100.

*VICTORY DANCE*

This morning I finished both The Time is at Hand (second volume of Studies in the Scriptures) by Charles Taze Russell and Reclaiming the Old Testament for the Christian Pulpit by Donald E. Gowan.

Thus, my total for the year thus far is 100. My quest is finished; I am triumphant. Now to take a well-earned rest as I celebrate the glory of the incarnation of God the Son...