Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Surprised by Oxford
Surprised by Oxford: A Memoir | Carolyn Weber
9 posts | 7 read | 10 to read
"Well written, often poignant and surprisingly relatable." - Kirkus Reviews "A hugely readable journey of cultural and spiritual discovery, sparkling with wit and wisdom." - Alister McGrath "Carolyn Weber's memoir reads like a fast-paced novel. I loved the humor, skillful use of language and her compelling account of her steps to finding God at Oxford. I was totally captivated from beginning to end." - Marilyn Meberg Surprised by Oxford is the memoir of a skeptical agnostic who comes to a dynamic personal faith in God during graduate studies in literature at Oxford University. Carolyn Weber arrives at Oxford a feminist from a loving but broken family, suspicious of men and intellectually hostile to all things religious. As she grapples with her God-shaped void alongside the friends, classmates, and professors she meets, she tackles big questions in search of Truth, love, and a life that matters. From issues of fatherhood, feminism, doubt, doctrine, and love, Weber explores the intricacies of coming to faith with an aching honesty and insight echoing that of the poets and writers she studied. Rich with illustration and literary references, Surprised by Oxford is at once gritty and lyrical; both humorous and spiritually perceptive. This savvy, credible account of Christian conversion and its after-effects follows the calendar year and events of the school year as it entertains, informs, and promises to engage even the most skeptical and unlikely reader. "Surprised by Oxford is a sprightly contribution to the genre of spiritual memoirs in the vein of C.S. Lewis's Surprised by Joy and Lauren F. Winner's Girl Meets God. Carolyn Weber is an unconventional thinker whose engagingly told faith journey will speak to folks who still believe that thoughtful people cannot be Christian." - Lyle W. Dorsett
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
Pam.Kokomo
post image
Pickpick

This book made me want to read Scripture all night in a cathedral, memorize all the poetry, and eat all the confectionary delights of a proper English tea.

3 likes2 stack adds
blurb
smilingshelves
post image

Finally finished the last book from my February TBR. It's the tagged book, which I loved. Now onto my March reads, starting with this beautiful cover! I loved the Grisha trilogy, so I can't wait to read this one!

BookishBlonde12 Loved Language of Thorns!! 7y
smilingshelves @BookishBlonde12 I'm loving it so far! 7y
24 likes1 stack add2 comments
blurb
smilingshelves
post image

My #FebruaryTBR is surprisingly blueish. It also includes my first reads for the #litsypassport challenge and a couple of books I've been wanting to read for quite a while. Can't wait to dive into this pile!

30 likes1 stack add
blurb
Celeste57
post image

This is the closest thing to #NFaboutacountryyoudliketovisit that I have. I'm not a big nonfiction reader. 😕 #uncannyoctober

blurb
brittanyreads
post image

To end our #brewsandbooks weekend adventure, here is a picture from my most favorite book shop, Oxford Exchange. One part bookstore and knick knacks, one part tea and coffee bar, and one part restaurant all beautifully decorated. The food is amazing, the book choices are superb and the atmosphere of the place is literally through its terrarium roof. My happy place 💓

26 likes2 comments
blurb
ephemeralwaltz
post image

And this is why I support the Oxford comma! From my course on semantics, dealing with structural ambiguity 🙄 This wouldn't even be an example.

31 likes1 stack add
quote
Court7
post image

Dr. Deveaux spotted and looked at me hard. he leaned in and whispered, "The rest is all bullshit, Miss Drake. It's as simple as that. Your purpose here in life is to discern the real thing from the bullshit, and then choose the non-bullshit. Think of the opportunity that God has given you to study as the means by which to attain your own personal bullshit detector."

1 like1 stack add
quote
emilyesears

I‘m like an addict when it comes to books. Compelled to read, understand, savor, wrangle with, be moved by, learn to live from these silent companions who speak so loudly. Surely some language must have a word for such a “book junkie”?

blurb
emilyesears
post image

I bought this in a Kindle sale a few months back. It's a memoir of Carolyn Weber's conversion to Christianity while a graduate student at Oxford. I have only read 30 pages or so, but it's engaging so far. As someone who consistently struggles with faith, I'm hoping to glean some insight.

9 likes1 stack add