Book Review: Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren
Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life by Tish Harrison Warren
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Own.
There were valuable ideas to be mined in this book. Things like dealing with our digital world rightly, ordering our physical devotional life, thinking about routine and habit. I really enjoyed the first 5 chapters.
Warren lost me, to some extent, in her chapter about food. I started to find nuances in her thinking that were overly burdensome, in my opinion. Being thoughtful about details is good, but not everyone can think about canned food or the sources of food in this way. Not everyone can afford a chair built by their neighbor. She decries me-centered evangelicalism but doesn’t see how being overly introspective about her day to day and choices is a part of that.
I found the writing to be a little less tight as she went on, I felt like I was reading the same ideas and sentences re-written. My favorite passages in the book were the quotes she pulled from other sources.
The final chapter, on rest and sabbath, was about a topic that I think is important and could use more highlighting, so I was glad it was included.
I can see why it has been a popular book, I found some of the ideas helpful, but it isn’t one I’d recommend everyone read.
Thanks for reviewing this one. I was curious about it.