I thought Martin Marty's 2004 (reprint 2008) biography of Martin Luther was delightful. I found it readable, quick-paced, thoughtful and brief. I would recommend it for those who have seen the 2004 movie Luther and want an introduction to the Reformation through a biography. Marty is a Lutheran religious scholar who will turn 83 in February 2011. He taught at University of Chicago Divinity School for many years and wrote regularly for The Christian Century from 1956 to 2010.
In my free time, I have been reading two non-theological books. Both are thought-provoking.
The first, The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss, encourages you to focus on doing less and eliminate distractions. Tim Ferriss says you should just check email at noon and 4:00 pm. You should do the one thing you need to do that day before 11:00 am.
I was inspired to try to get my wife Amy and I to "batch" all of our household chores (like laundry, cleaning and finances) until Saturday except for daily tasks like washing dishes and making meals as opposed to always looking for things to do whenever I have a down minute. I have changed my home page of my internet browser to google.com because it is not distracting rather than gmail.com with tabs for igoogle.com and Twitter and Facebook.
Disclaimer: I need to add that the advice of the author (Timothy Ferriss) should be received with lots of skepticism. This is self-help literature of the most dubious kind. See the scathing New York Times review of his newest book: New! Improved! Shape Up Your Life! By DWIGHT GARNER Published: January 6, 2011
The second book, Social Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, stresses the importance of relationships and teaches you how to relate well. It is a generally reputable book that gives an overview of psychiatry literature.
Both would be worth reading with your spouse.
Neither encourage blogging. But I will still see you here from time to time.
Ryan is five, Jacob is three, and Allie is 7 months.