New Favorite Book

Shelves of favorite books now wait in boxes for their new home.

It’s the best book I’ve ever read, and second isn’t even close. Seriously. From the first chapters I’ve been telling anyone inclined to care, “I’m reading my new favorite book.” 

I’ve read a lot of fiction. If you scan the Book Recommendations page on my website you’ll see titles like Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. The Last Sin Eater by Francine Rivers. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. And Long Way Gone by Charles Martin. Earlier this year I read A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, and I’ve been meaning to add it my list. Each of these stories is—in my humble opinion—exceptionally well written, and poignant in its telling. These are the titles I have in mind when I ask AI to “recommend a book that is beautiful, innocent, and redemptive.” Sometimes it works. 

But it was friends—not AI—that recommended Theo of Golden. It had come up in more than one conversation, and I’d added it to my phone notes, and reserved a digital copy on my library app. (Currently 62nd in line, started 98th.) Then a few weeks ago the cover caught my eye at my favorite local bookshop, and I decided it was time. 

As a quick aside. The local business I’ll miss most when we move back to the suburbs, is an independent bookstore called Scout & Morgan. The owner, Judith, has been wonderful, generously stocking The Covenant Story since the summer it was published, as well as introducing me to some literary gems. Scout & Morgan sells new and used books, so several weeks ago, while purging and packing for our upcoming move, I set aside a bin of what I deemed “worthy of Judith.” Which is how I found myself in the delightful possession of a bit of in-store credit. As well the opportunity to leave the shop with the perfect souvenir.  

Judith lit up when she saw I’d chosen Theo. She asked if I had time for a quick story, which of course, I did. She told about two women on a cross country roadtrip, their discovery of a self-published book, and an encounter with an author who lives what he writes. A few minutes later I walked to my car, giddy with a hunch I’d just uncovered a treasure. Which I had. 

I won’t spoil it for you, but I will give you a teaser, an enticement. The story is like a parable, and if you know Jesus, you’ll see Him everywhere. Allen Levi lifts a veil of sorts, giving his readers a generous glimpse of an incarnation. 

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 

Typically I read my fiction in bed at night. Because I’m nearsighted, I’m most comfortable reading print-on-paper without corrective lenses. Mornings are for Bible and nonfiction. Evenings for memoir and story. But after a few chapters of Theo of Golden, I found I’d unconsciously re-categorized the book to devotional, and resolved to reading it at a slower morning pace. I didn’t want it to come to an end. 

But it did. Sunday morning. Three days ago. 

While my husband and dog slept upstairs, I sat in my living room, gripping pages of a book growing soggy from clammy fingers and dripping tears. 

Perfect. Perfect. Perfect. 

Theo has changed me. At least I hope he has. Like his fictional friends in a fictional southern town, I find myself longing to be transformed into a truer version of the human God made me to be. A saint—to borrow from the author. I want to look into the faces of the people I meet and see what their Creator sees. 

I’ll be reading the book again, sometime soon. Maybe several months from now when I can borrow it for my Kindle. Or maybe yet this summer, once we’re settled at the river. Mostly I just want to let it soak as deeply into my soul as possible. But also, I’m pretty sure the author has tucked a bit of mystery into the ending, begging the reader to reexamine his tale.

Thank you, Allen Levi. 

Thank you, Judith. 

And thank you, neighbor Marlyn, who hasn’t read the book yet, but knew enough to know I’d like it. You should definitely read it soon!

Summer 2022 at Scout & Morgan Books