Alan Jacobs’s Followers (529)

Alan Jacobs

Born

in Birmingham, Alabama, The United States

September 28, 1958

Website

https://ayjay.org/

Genre

Literature, Theology

edit data

Alan Jacobs is a scholar of English literature, literary critic, and distinguished professor of the humanities at Baylor University. Previously, he held the Clyde S. Kilby Chair of English at Wheaton College until 2012. His academic career has been marked by a deep engagement with literature, theology, and intellectual history.
Jacobs has written extensively on reading, thinking, and culture, contributing to publications such as The Atlantic, First Things, and The New Atlantis. His books explore diverse topics, from the intellectual legacy of Christian humanism (The Year of Our Lord 1943) to the challenges of modern discourse (How to Think). He has also examined literary figures like C. S. Lewis (The Narnian) and W. H. Auden. His work ofte ...more

2654 posts
Alan Jacobs's Blog

Alan Jacobs isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.

should Christians be leftists?

Phil Christman has said that Adam Roberts, Francis Spufford, and I form a kind of writerly school — though he has yet to define its parameters. I kinda hope he does that one day. But in any case, Francis has blurbed Phil’s new book Why Christians Should Be Leftists, and Adam has written at some length about the book, so I suppose I have no choice but to weigh in. Be true to your school.

But I haven

Combine Editions
Alan Jacobs’s books

Average rating: 4.01 · 15,655 ratings · 2,692 reviews · 78 distinct works • Similar authors

	How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds 3.96 avg rating — 4,443 ratings — published 2017 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis 4.15 avg rating — 3,311 ratings — published 2005	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction 3.94 avg rating — 2,943 ratings — published 2011 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Breaking Bread with the Dead: A Reader's Guide to a More Tranquil Mind 3.92 avg rating — 2,040 ratings — published 2020 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Year of Our Lord 1943: Christian Humanism in an Age of Crisis 4.04 avg rating — 588 ratings — published 2018 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Book of Common Prayer: A Biography 4.23 avg rating — 546 ratings — published 2013 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Original Sin: A Cultural History 3.83 avg rating — 343 ratings — published 2008 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Gnostic Gospels: Including the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene (Sacred Texts Book 2) 3.94 avg rating — 253 ratings — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Theology Of Reading: The Hermeneutics Of Love 4.16 avg rating — 120 ratings — published 2001 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wayfaring: Essays Pleasant and Unpleasant really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 103 ratings — published 2010 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Alan Jacobs…

Quotes by Alan Jacobs (?)

“Read what gives you delight—at least most of the time—and do so without shame. And even if you are that rare sort of person who is delighted chiefl y by what some people call Great Books, don’t make them your steady intellectual diet, any more than you would eat at the most elegant of restaurants every day. It would be too much. Great books are great in part because of what they ask of their readers: they are not readily encountered, easily assessed.”
― Alan Jacobs, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction

tags: reading

43 likes

“Those who will never be fooled can never be delighted, because without self-forgetfulness there can be no delight, and this is a great and grievous loss.”
― Alan Jacobs, The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis

tags: delight, innocence

23 likes

“I would not be practicing love toward God OR my neighbour if I were to smile benignly on an unjust social order. It is not charitable to refrain from moral judgment: when Jesus says 'Judge not, lest ye be judged," he is forbidding condemnation, not discernment. There are times indeed when Christian charity demands that one speak forcibly.”
― Alan Jacobs, A Visit to Vanity Fair: Moral Essays on the Present Age

tags: ethics, jesus, judging-actions, morality

18 likes

See all Alan Jacobs's quotes »

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: Summer Challenge 2012: Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC	2637	932	Aug 31, 2012 09:02PM
Glens Falls (NY) ...: What are U reading these days? (PART EIGHT (2012) (ONGOING THREAD for 2012)	1151	54	Jan 03, 2013 03:12AM
The Mystery, Crim...: Currently Reading? Just Finished?	10121	3959	May 09, 2013 11:36AM
Literary Exploration: The Insane Challenge - 2013	385	493	Dec 30, 2013 07:32PM
The Life of a Boo...: What Members Are Reading	9665	5225	Jan 04, 2014 12:04AM
Reading with Style: SP 2015 RwS Completed Tasks - Spring 2015	1046	116	May 31, 2015 09:05PM

More…

Is this you? Let us know. If not, help out and invite Alan to Goodreads.