One of the really cool things that Calvin Seminary does for its community is the Book of the Semester program. Each semester (Fall and Spring) a book is chosen by the powers that be and a free copy is given to any student, faculty, or staff that promises to read the book. In the past, the school has then brought in the author to give a lecture about the book at semester's end (not to mention the lecture last semester was accompanied by a free lunch).
Last semester, the book of the semester was Letters to a Young Calvinist: An Invitation to the Reformed Tradition by James K.A. Smith, a Calvin professor. The books chosen are not necessarily theological in nature. For instance, past books have included: Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, and Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson. For a full list of past selections see here.
This semester's book of the semester is Letters from the Land of Cancer by Walter Wangerin Jr. I hope to provide some comments on the book later in the semester. In the meantime, I am grateful for a school that generously makes available the opportunities to read widely and cost-effectively. For a poor, Dutch seminary student, free is about as good as it gets.
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