I’m jealous of anybody who has time to read. I’m especially jealous of folks who have time to read fifty two books in one year! (more…)

Letters like this make my day. I hoped that the book would inspire people to meet together, watch great films, and discuss them. And it’s happening. I continue to hear from people who are discovering the book and starting their own discussion groups. Here’s one that came today:

… [M]y dad purchased your book for me and I read it over the summer while I was working as a counselor at a Christian camp. I cannot remember being so enamored of a book and eager to read since the first time I picked up and started the Tolkien books in middle school.

I am now back at school … and have started a small group with about seven close friends. I have never led a small group before, much less one in which I am attempting to incorporate reading out of the meeting time and discussion over the reading in our meeting time plus trying to watch at least one of your most discussed movies per chapter and discussing it as well. For our first meeting i handed out your book to all the group members and then we watched The Story of the Weeping Camel.

…

I just wanted to tell you all of this because your book has greatly influenced me and encouraged me as a Christian who really enjoys movies and (until recently) hated to feel like I had to condemn movies because of “bad” things in them.

Along similar lines, a blogger named Stephanie is exploring new territory “through a screen darkly” too….

We are reading [Through a Screen Darkly] AND watching a film a week to discuss on Sunday morning. This past week we watched a film called Don’t Come Knocking …. I was not real keen on watching this movie. I dislike heavy drama. It does not entertain me much. But I enjoyed the film much more than I would have thought especially after discussing it with Edward once it was over. And my estimation of the film grew even more after sharing thoughts with the class on Sunday morning. We all agreed that had we seen it in the movie theatre we would have soon forgotten it and probably not have recommended it to friends. But by the end of the hour of discussion we were all talking about seeing it again because it was so rich and deep. haha.

I must admit that the book, Through a Screen Darkly, would never had been my choice for the class either but Edward was enthusiastic at a time when I had no energy to suggest anything else. So I find myself reading a book I would never have picked up AND seeing movies I would not have choose to see either. So I guess this is where I admit that my life is richer for it and I am happy for the opportunity to step out of my little box. I know Edward is smirking as he reads this. (Quit it!)

Matt Page has a blog where he tracks the development, release, and reception of movies that are in some way based on the Bible.

This last week, he came down with a cold, and he suffered through it by reading Through a Screen Darkly. He’s posted a few comments…

Yet another satisfied reader. You folks had better be careful. You might just convince me to write even more about the revelatory power of movies!

Reading is Annie’s superpower, and she’s focused those powers on Through a Screen Darkly.

At a writers’ retreat several weeks ago, I met Tina Forkner, a novelist who was still dizzy with the excitement of just getting her first book contract. Tina’s a storyteller with a poet’s eye for detail, and it was a pleasure to get to know her a get a glimpse of the stories she’s going to share with the world.

Tina and I come from very different places, but our experiences as artists within the church have had some striking similarities. I sent her a copy of Through a Screen Darkly, and was delighted to discover this description of it on her blog.

Here’s another blogger, Len Evans, thinking about Through a Screen Darkly.

Mentions of Through a Screen Darkly are popping up online. I’m going to keep track of this, partly because I’m curious to see where the book lands, and what happens when it does. And, partly because… well… I wrote the book in hopes that it would inspire further conversation about the power of movies, the rewards of movies, and the dangers of movies, and if that conversation’s gonna happen, I want to be there. (I especially want to be there if someone offers critique, because, well, I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go in this journey.)

Today’s Through a Screen Darkly webtour takes us to:

• Matt Page’s Bible Films blog.
• Matthew Winslow at Christian Realism.