Presbyterian Outlook's Page Turners - "A Rebellion of Care" & other picks 📚

One more trip, one more book: Summer reads to savor Dear Outlook Readers,   “I can’t believe summer is almost over…it’s going too fast!”   Just because it’s trite doesn’t mean it isn’t true. It’s late July, and there’s so much more summer reading to do. With just one more trip planned, my carry-on is loaded with choice summer selections, including the mysterious Sister, Sinner — I’ve been eager to read since my colleague Bill Tammeus sold me on it in his review — and Ocean Vuong’s poignant novel, The Emperor of Gladness, covered by new Outlook reviewer Ross Fogg.   Abundance, this month’s featured book, was a welcome companion on my last plane ride. It’s an ideal choice for those who prefer accessible non-fiction around contemporary issues. And our quoted book, A Rebellion of Care, speaks to lovers of short, pithy poems that pack an enormous punch. It was nearly impossible to choose just a snippet to quote. David Gate’s poems are either laugh-out-loud funny, a gut punch of wry reality, or an invitation to sit and reflect on a deceptively simple thought. After reading it online, I immediately ordered a hard copy. I’ll want this one on the nightstand for weeks to come before I press it into the hands of a poetry-loving colleague as inspiration for this fall’s preaching. Happy Reading,   Amy Pagliarella Book Review Editor BOOKS OF THE MONTH Abundance Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson Avid Reader Press, 297 pages Published March 18, 2025 The cover image of Abundance says it all: it depicts the planet, cut open to reveal a city of futuristic skyscrapers, surrounded by verdant fields of crops and solar panels. Just past a flowing stream, a majestic deer is surrounded by a “rewilded” forest, as tropical birds fly overhead. A Utopian fantasy? Journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson think not. This could be our future, they posit, if we “build and invent more of what we need.” It’s that simple … and that difficult. Instead, America’s story is that of “chosen scarcities,” an outcome “coproduced by both parties and reinforced by their leaders” that government cannot solve our country’s problems. Instead, the authors sketch a vision of an abundant future in which long-time Americans and immigrants alike flourish, and the planet is sustained. Abundance is equal parts hopeful and discouraging; the authors detail failed project after program after policy at both the state and federal levels. Many well-intentioned requirements (e.g., insisting on environmental studies, requiring multiple bids, and ensuring that women and minorities are included) cost time and money that hamper government efforts. Everything takes longer and costs more than anticipated — and audacious plans such as high-speed rail in California never come to fruition. They learn from emergencies, such as Operation Warp Speed (development and implementation of a COVID vaccine) or Pennsylvania’s response under Governor Josh Shapiro to rebuild an essential bridge on I-95 in 12 days rather than months. Drawing upon these examples, the authors show what government can achieve when it gets out of its way. In our current climate, it’s hard to imagine elected officials from either party taking Abundance seriously. The non-partisan authors critique both/all sides, accusing conservatives of intentionally undermining government effectiveness and progressives of “everything-bagel liberalism,” a tendency to pile so many standards and rules into a bill until it collapses under its weight rather than accomplish its goals. Abundance offers hope, an alternative lens through which to evaluate issues, and “a new set of questions around which our politics should revolve.” Churches and community leaders will find Klein and Thompson to be faithful conversation partners in seeking a better way forward and identifying issues on which to focus. QUOTE OF THE MONTH STARDUST   Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return however it is stardust so it’s okay to sparkle a little before you go A Rebellion of Care: Poems and Essays David Gate Convergent Books, 225 pages Published July 15, 2025 Excerpted from A Rebellion of Care by David Gate. Copyright © 2025 by David Gate. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.  Book Giveaway!    Congratulations to last month’s winner, Susan King. Thanks to our friends at Eerdmans Publishing Co., she received a copy of The Godless Constitution and the Providential Republic by Steven D. Smith.    This month, one fortunate reader will receive a copy of A Rebellion of Care, written by David Gate, and generously donated by our friends at Convergent Books. If you're reading this note, then you're all set! Know someone else who should be reading Page Turners? Send them this link and they'll get entered for a chance to win, too. The contest closes on August 19. OTHER READS The Emperor of Gladness "Ocean Vuong’s richly imagined characters push back against the material and spiritual scarcity of their surroundings, recognizing collective strength in shared rejection." — Ross Fogg Big truths for little readers Three new children’s books explore big faith questions with beauty, joy, and hope — from Miriam’s dancing to a magical lunchbox and what the Bible really is. [ … ] Poems In "[...]," a Palestinian American author dedicates his poems to “the relatable and unrelatable, the translatable and untranslatable Palestinian flesh.” Andrew Taylor-Troutman offers a review. One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This "One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This" calls preachers and other church leaders to pay attention, show up, and work toward a renewed moral compass in our country and culture. — Amy Pagliarella Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson  "McPherson was a remarkable female American religious leader when that description fit few others, making her story relevant to Christians today." — Bill Tammeus

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