It's Like He Read My Mind: the Pope on vacation and summer reading

Appearing on the balcony overlooking the square, the Pope said "each of us needs time and space for meditation, reflection and calm ... Thank God it's so! In fact, this requirement tells us that we are not made only for work but also to think, reflect, or simply to follow a story with our minds and hearts, a story that we can connect with, in a sense 'get lost' in to then find ourselves enriched."

Of course, Pope Benedict is talking about reading the Bible, especially those books that you might not have read before. I've gotta agree on that subject too. Ruth, Esther, and Tobit are some of my favorites and I'm always surprised at how few people have read them.

I'd also encourage investigation of Robert Alter's many excellent translations of the Old Testament. He is scrupulously accurate and yet makes the text really come alive.

Thanks to Scott Danielson for the link!