Episode 4: More *Best* Books of 2019 & the Perils of "Professional Reading"

**Note: all 4 initial episodes of the ERB Podcast were recorded before the COVID-19 outbreak in the US. This is why this important event is not mentioned.**On this episode Chris and Jen welcome essayist and ERB contributor Meghan Florian to discuss more favorite books from 2019, their own reading habits, and what it's like to be a "professional reader." They also highlight the Redbud Writer's Guild and have a discussion about the idea of intentionally-slow reading, and, of course, they talk about a few books they are currently enjoying.Books/Writing mentioned in this episode:The Middle of Things: Essays by Meghan FlorianA Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’EngleThe Neapolitan Novels by Elena FerranteThe Recovering: Intoxication and its Aftermath by Leslie JamisonMiddlemarch by George EliotHard to Love: Essays and Confessions by Briallen HopperNotes From No Man’s Land: American Essays by Eula BissThe Empathy Exams: Essays by Leslie JamisonEx Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne FadimanShe Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story that Helped Ignite a Movement by Jodi Kantor and Megan TwoheyEducated: A Memoir by Tara WestoverThe Dutch House: A Novel by Ann PatchettThe Turner House by Angela FlournoyThe Yellow House: A Memoir by Sarah M. BroomThe Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism by Jemar TisbyThe Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race by Willie James JenningsSpecial thanks to Brazos Press, sponsor of this episode, and publisher of the new book, Exiles on Mission bit.ly/ExilesOnMissionERB.Many Christians in the West sense that traditional Christian teaching is losing traction in the public square. What does faithful Christian witness look like in a post-Christian culture? In Exiles on Mission, Paul Williams invites readers to embrace the language of exile and imagine a hopeful mission of the church in the post-Christian West. He shows a clear pathway for fruitful missional engagement for the whole people of God, helping Christians make sense of the world in which they live, more authentically integrate faith with everyday life, and orient all of their efforts within God’s missional purpose for the world.