I'll be honest. I purchased and read this book to have a "Competitive Title" on my book proposal for my own Psalms book. (Which is currently being submitted to publishers by my recently signed-with literary agent! I'm so excited!) I heard about it when I had mentioned my book to a friend from church, and they said that their own small group had just begun a study of Psalms, using this book.

So first, the good news is that the books complement each other, taking different approaches to Psalms. So that particular small group won't need to skip my book because they've already studied Psalms. Instead, each book has a different way of showing readers the riches found in Psalms.

James Howell's deep love for Psalms shines in this book. His Introduction talks about how that love developed and how much the Psalms mean to him. This book isn't so much a study of the book of Psalms as a riff on six particular Psalms. He has a chapter for each of Psalms 8, 27, 51, 73, 90, and 116. In each one, he dives into that particular Psalm and all the side trails that it may bring up, showing us how rich the Psalms are in emotion and in application.

Here's a paragraph from the Introduction:

What are the Psalms? Just a long collection of prayers that cry out, give thanks, plead, ponder, praise, and speak with God in surprising and profound ways. Most were sung, and from memory. Thankfully, they landed in the Bible, not because they are about God, but because they are directed to God. And when we read and speak them aloud now, they reveal to us what we'd never noticed or what we'd feared to notice about ourselves. I could deliver a lecture on what the Psalms were and are. But there's no substitute for reading them, slowly and quietly.

It's easy to see in this author the same desire I have - to get people reading and savoring the Psalms, knowing they'll end up loving them, too.

How is my book different? Instead of looking at Psalms individually, I divide the Psalms into ten types and talk about what each type has in common - so the reader can pray their own psalms, using those patterns. So the two books can go together, with my book giving more of an overview, and this book looking at six particular Psalms, giving examples of five of the types.

And both of us hope that you will glimpse God's heart toward us by taking a closer look at Psalms.