London 7/12

I bought two books while in London, received one as a gift and borrowed another.

The first book I bought from Metanoia Books, the book shop affiliated with the London Mennonite Centre, where I was staying: and that book is The Human Being by Walter Wink. The human being Wink writes about is none other than Jesus. This promises to be a provocative book which builds on Wink's Powers Trilogy but ventures beyond what some would consider acceptable Christology. I've only read one chapter, but am already intrigued. As soon as I finish (and the title of the book subsequently appears on one of my new sidebars!), I'll let you know what I think.

The second book I bought for a fiver at a second-hand book market near the Thames: and that book is The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever by Stephen Donaldson. It's actually a compendium containing the first three books of a 10 book series (only 7 of which are currently published). My friend Vic recommended this series to me as some of his favorite books of all time, so I couldn't help but snap this volume up when I discovered it at the market.

The third book Vic gave to me. It is one of his own: Sign of the Manipogo. (It's also available on amazon here.) Vic has written two novels, the second of which is as of yet unpublished. I very much look forward to reading them both!

A book which I borrowed from my hosts and read in its entirety was Short Cuts, a collection of short stories upon which the identically titled movie is based, which I blogged about earlier. I recommend the collection of stories just as highly as the film. Raymond Carver exudes brilliance.