The Joys of Amazon

How I look forward to getting a box of books from Amazon! Today was delivery day, much earlier than anticipated, based on my "Free Super Shipping" option. In fact, the books came within three days of ordering the books.

I bought a slew of Thomas Merton books, and a deal that I just couldn't pass up on the first two volumes of the Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis. (Scott...you might want to jump on this, while it lasts).

All told, the Amazonian Elf delivered nine books today. Yay!

Thomas Merton's writing will undoubtedly endure, as will Lewis's. Lewis has always been my favorite author, but the more I read of Merton, the more he becomes elevated in my mind. Lewis is the pinnacle of authors in my mind, so I do not doubt that his place will be usurped ever. It just may be that he'll have a few companions on the dais. It will be hard to say whose writing will have influenced my thoughts on this book more, but isn't that the exciting thing about books?

I feel a tremendous pleasure to take the words of such wise men into my hands, words that will live on and edify generations to come. I feel this even more keenly when I read the works of someone like Clement, or the recent bit I read from John Chrysostom. In fact, the passage I read from John Chrysostom the other night gave me an answer to a question that has perplexed me in Romans for a couple of decades, and it will definitely find its way into this book I'm chipping away at.

I can't really describe how exciting it is for me to be reading along and stumble upon something that is absolutely and unequivocally apropos of what I'm writing. I've been praying that I would read the right stuff, and it's exciting to see that prayer answered. As I look at these nine books that came in the mail today, I view them as veritable treasure chests.