Last time I counted, I had about 15 books on my bookshelf by Frederick Buechner. A good start, but I’ve still got a way to go before I catch up with Eric Peters and Andrew Peterson, fellow Buechner aficionados. One of his books I’m reading now for the first time, Secrets in the Dark – A Life in Sermons, was given to me this past Christmas by my brother and his wife. And there are several more books by him on that shelf that I haven’t read yet. After reading his newest book, The Yellow Leaves: A Miscellany, when it came out a couple weeks ago, I wondered why I have any books of his that I haven’t dropped everything else to read. And I figured out that it is for the same reason you set aside a good bottle of wine.
Last week, while browsing at a used bookstore with my friend Clint, I pointed out a good Buechner book to start his collection. And on Thursday, I loaned two of his books to another friend, Andy, after quoting several passages to him over lunch. Andy has already posted a paragraph from one of them on his blog. As I mentioned, I read The Yellow Leaves: A Miscellany a couple weeks ago just after it was released. My review is up now at the Rabbit Room. Check it out. It wouldn’t be a bad choice with which to start your Buechner collection.