When it comes down to it, Lewis was a professor and he talks like a professor in his private life. I should have seen THAT coming. Therefore, this book took me awhile to pick through, even though reading letters is a lot like reading diary entries and nothing like the mundane task of a history book that has 50 page chapters. At least I felt I could put it down at moments and not be lost in a plot device or thought.

I'm so glad I read this book. I think my generation of Christians (even my parents' generation) has idolized C.S. Lewis as one of the great minds in Christian thought. I'm not disputing this. I think he's BRILLIANT. But he's just one man. And I was glad to discover his humanity, his vices, his love for cats :) and to hear him discuss his own problems as well as give advice.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has read a lot of Lewis. Before reading this, you must try to read Mere Christianity, The Great Divorce, The Problem of Pain and/or the entire Chronicles of Narnia collection. He references MANY authors, biblical passages and his own works. I think I want to read a little George McDonald now, based on how many times he recommended it as reading to those Lewis was writing.

A great read. Take your time with it.

Loved it! I love to see the path of CS.Lewis' thoughts being shaped and expressed through these letters. It is a chance to see a more "private" Lewis - to find out what his real struggles and real excitements were at the times he was writing. And through these letters I felt as though I got to know the people he corresponded with. I got a bunch of book recommendations from him (those I followed up with were definitely worth it) and reading many of his letters often encouraged me... certain ones were so akin to my own spiritual questions that I went back to them several times. Reading this book made me feel nostalgic for the days of real, handwritten letters, and the depth of thought that went into them.

"Think of yourself just as a seed patiently waiting in the earth: waiting to come up a flower in the Gardener's good time, up into the real world, the real waking. I suppose that our whole present life, looked back on from there, will only seem a drowsy half-waking. We are here in the land of dreams. But the cock-crow is coming. It is nearer now than when I began this letter."

-Lewis to Mary Willis Shelburne, 28 June 1963