Philip Gulley

Sometimes I look on my reading blog for a book or a series of books that I am sure I have reviewed, and am astonished to find that they are not there. I have enjoyed Philip Gulley's books for many years and maybe even a couple of decades now, but  neglected somehow to record this fact on my reading blog. Time to correct this.

Gulley has written collections of essays called the Porch Talk books, and a fictional series called the Home to Harmony books. He set that fiction series aside a few years ago to write religious nonfiction, but readers apparently clamored for more of his fiction and he has revived and updated the Harmony series. I don't want to spill any plot details, but the book cover below is the beginning of his new story.

Gulley is funny; he is thoughtful; and he has a talent for capturing the foibles of human nature in a way that helps us take ourselves less seriously. Who doesn't need a lesson or two in that? In his Harmony/Hope series, he is a small town preacher in a Quaker church in rural Indiana. If you have had the pleasure of reading the Thrush Green books set in rural England and featuring a small town vicar (Miss Read), or the All Things books by Herriot you will be happily entertained by this American version of village life. 

"I don’t want to spend this last half [of my life] trying to recapture the first half. I want to stretch and grow and do bold things, question what I’ve been taught and generally alarm people with my broad-mindedness." This is the sort of optimistic self-reflection that Gulley gives his fictional character; his lighthearted ruminations are deep enough to stimulate some thought without getting too lost in it. 

Winter is around the corner; the days are already shorter. Either the Gulley essays or the fiction will provide amusement and add a little light to a long winter evening. You can find a comprehensive list of his work here.