Reading as if for Life

David Dickinson is a retired Methodist Minister and an avid reader. He has researched and written in the field of literature and theology since the early 1990s and ministered in churches from the late 1980s until 2023. Another work of Dickinson's published by The Lutterworth Press is Make-Believe: God in 21st Century Novels (2020).

• Acknowledgements1. Introduction 2. The Beginnings of a Spirituality of Reading3. Reading Charitably4. Circling the Text5. Self-­Identity and Reading6. Silent Conversation with the Absent Other7. Giving Texts Holy Attention8. The Beauty of Books9. Contemplative Reading10. Escaping the NetBibliography Index

David Dickinson teaches us what it is to love books, especially novels and poetry. He teaches us the need for close attention to the text and reading as a spiritual exercise through teachers from Augustine to Ricoeur and leading us through literature from Hardy to Auden and Murdoch. Dickinson writes gently and passionately from wide and deep literary and theological wisdom that draws us finally into the silence of understanding.Emeritus Professor David Jasper, University of GlasgowWith originality and insight, this lucid book brings a wide range of stories to bear on the beguiling alliance between reading fiction and the search for life's significance. Aware that good literature often takes us out of ourselves, into other lives, and that sometimes it even gestures toward Transcendent Mystery, David Dickinson provides opinions that are erudite and astute and are punctuated at times with great warmth and personal touches. Thoughtful readers will find themselves challenged, encouraged, and ultimately heartened by Dickinson's compelling work.Darren J. N. Middleton, Professor of Literature and Theology, Baylor University, USA