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bookslovejenna's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
kvcatnip's review against another edition
1.0
I can't even finish this book. It's TERRIBLY dry.
I got it last year from the publisher, but we were so near Christmas that I didn't get a chance to start. However, I was happy to do it this year!
But it's not very good at all. Some of the chapters are interesting, but for the most part - I have no idea what they're talking about. And I don't feel any more enriched or more in communion with God by having read nearly half of it.
I tried. I really did try.
I got it last year from the publisher, but we were so near Christmas that I didn't get a chance to start. However, I was happy to do it this year!
But it's not very good at all. Some of the chapters are interesting, but for the most part - I have no idea what they're talking about. And I don't feel any more enriched or more in communion with God by having read nearly half of it.
I tried. I really did try.
behudd's review against another edition
4.5
I really enjoyed this Advent book! Spanning from November 24-January 7, the whole season of Advent through Epiphany is covered. Viewing this season through the eyes of so many religious, spiritual, & philosophical writers was fascinating, and more than once as I was reading, I remarked on how refreshing it was to have to really use my brain to read an Advent book.
The poem “Black Rook in Rainy Weather” by Sylvia Plath was definitely a stand out entry for me, as was “The Holy Mother” by Romano Guardini.
I will definitely be reading this one again next year!
The poem “Black Rook in Rainy Weather” by Sylvia Plath was definitely a stand out entry for me, as was “The Holy Mother” by Romano Guardini.
I will definitely be reading this one again next year!
eupomene's review against another edition
5.0
I can't remember how many times I've read through this book. Some years I would start and not finish, but this year I stayed the course. The readings vary, ranging from Sylvia Plath's "Black Rook in Rainy Weather" which I have printed out and hanging up in my cubicle at work, to selections from Madeleine L'Engle and Kathleen Norris, who are favorites of mine. CS Lewis is here, along with TS Eliot, Henri Nouwen, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and many others.
The season of Advent can easily be lost in our time, a time which really assigns Christmas to the whole month of December, and can often mean just preparing for Christmas day -- buying gifts and decorating and so forth. I find reading the offerings in this book allows me to detach from the rest of the world for a while, and follow the cold, dark journey to the light of the Nativity, and on into the new season. If you follow the seasons of the year, both on the calendar and in the church, you will enjoy beginning the Advent season with this and following it all the way to Epiphany.
The season of Advent can easily be lost in our time, a time which really assigns Christmas to the whole month of December, and can often mean just preparing for Christmas day -- buying gifts and decorating and so forth. I find reading the offerings in this book allows me to detach from the rest of the world for a while, and follow the cold, dark journey to the light of the Nativity, and on into the new season. If you follow the seasons of the year, both on the calendar and in the church, you will enjoy beginning the Advent season with this and following it all the way to Epiphany.
alcazalsir's review against another edition
2.0
I’ve used this book during advent and Christmas twice now and I still feel the same about it. It’s only so-so. Which surprises me since I really like most of the contributors to this volume. One of the things I don’t like about it is the entries are uneven. Some are as short as a page, others are more than ten pages.
joriekae's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
For the last couple of years, I've practiced Advent, which is putting aside time each day leading up to Christmas to reflect on the life of Jesus Christ. This year, I read <i> Watch for the Light</i>, a collection of daily readings from Christian thinkers. It was really interesting to see Christianity through various lenses and contemplate different aspects of the Jesus Christ's ministry. It was solid introduction to some Christian writers that I've heard of for a long time but whose works I've never read.
justjohnson93's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely fantastic compilation of Advent and Christmas readings. An absurdly wide range of personalities and theological perspectives represented without sacrificing any quality or blurring the central focus on the coming of the Light.
"It is impossible to conceive how different things would have turned out if that birth had not happened whenever, wherever, however it did … for millions of people who have lived since, the birth of Jesus made possible not just a new way of understanding life but a new way of living it. It is a truth that, for twenty centuries, there have been untold numbers of men and women who, in untold numbers of ways, have been so grasped by the child who was born, so caught up in the message he taught and the life he lived, that they have found themselves profoundly changed by their relationship with him.” -Frederick Buechner
"It is impossible to conceive how different things would have turned out if that birth had not happened whenever, wherever, however it did … for millions of people who have lived since, the birth of Jesus made possible not just a new way of understanding life but a new way of living it. It is a truth that, for twenty centuries, there have been untold numbers of men and women who, in untold numbers of ways, have been so grasped by the child who was born, so caught up in the message he taught and the life he lived, that they have found themselves profoundly changed by their relationship with him.” -Frederick Buechner
ktmomma's review
I will come back to this book. I think it will be the kind of book that speaks differently to the seasons of life. I really appreciated the breadth of voices in the essays.