The Singing Heart : Orthodox Christian Translation Society : 9780692983188 : 06 Dec 2017 : Every writer worries about how he will be read. Will his readers understand him? Will they see what he wanted to show them? Will they feel that which his heart has loved? Who will his readers be? So much depends on this... Most importantly, will they experience that desired spiritual meeting with themes distant yet near, for which the author secretly wrote his book?" So begins Ivan Ilyin's Foreword to The Singing Heart, a work that rewards the reader not only with an understanding of what the author means by a heart that sings, but with a taste of that reality in her or his own heart. But how can one be the careful reader that Ilyin desires for his work, one who grasps the spiritual insights that he shares and avoids what he describes as "mechanics without soul" and "entertainment without responsibility" (p 13). Although offering instruction in proper readership lies well beyond the scope and int