Love Does, by Bob Goff

I promised at the beginning of the summer that I'd write about Bob Goff's darling book Love Does. I finished it a while ago, but I'm not sure that I want to say much about its content. The purpose of the book is to encourage and inspire you to live more fully, and it works toward that purpose by telling stories of Bob Goff's own life doing exactly that. The title says a lot, reminding us that love is more than an ideal or a feeling, but an epic motivator. The book provides countless reasons to love humanity, and countless inspirations to turn that love into action. I'd say more, but the stories speak for themselves, and they are worth sitting in for a while. Each chapter tells its own story, and you could - if you felt like it - hop haphazardly between chapters, sampling whatever you have time for.

I called the book "darling" a moment ago, not to be dismissive of its significance (and there are moments of great significance within), but because reading the book is like meeting a dear friend for coffee. Nothing frivolous, just minute by minute conversation of health and wholeness. If you need something to remind you that there is, as George MacDonald daringly wrote once, "more love in the world than anything else," this is a book to pick up.

As an aside, one chapter is devoted to discussing the book's own writing process and how Bob's friend Don helped him with his craft. Don is the well-known Donald Miller of Blue Like Jazz fame. And if you are familiar with his writing, you will not need this chapter to know that he had a hand in the book. Love Does could cozy up next to Donald Miller's canon on your bookshelf and feel right at home. If you are not a fan of Don's writing style (not sure who would feel that way, but I'm sure someone will), Love Does might not be super fun to read. But the stories stand on their own regardless of comparison. Enjoy.

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