Archive | October 2006

Books I Think I Want to Read

Oct16

I’ve put THE LIST (of books I want to read) up on the internet for all to see how crazed and impossibly optimistic I am. THE LIST and I have a love/hate relationship. I love having a list of all the books I find all over the place–the bookstore, the library, on blogs, in newspapers, at book sales, in people’s houses– that I want to read. If I didn’t have a list, I’d never be able to remember even half of them.

However, I hate the fact that even if I read nonstop for the rest of the decade and never add another book to THE LIST, I’ll still never be able to read all the books I already have on THE LIST. “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp-else what’s a Heaven for?” –Robert Browning. Or to put it another way, will I be able to read all the remaining books on THE LIST when I get to heaven? Or will I even be interested? If not, Heaven’s not all it’s cracked up to be.

We’re going to spend another, unscheduled, week in Korea in our homeschool this week. And I’ll be plugging away at THE LIST in one way or another. I hope you enjoy perusing my list as you work on your own.

Visit Semicolon’s Amazon Store for more great book recommendations.

Friday’s Center of the Blogosphere

Oct12

Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference nowhere. Blaise Pascal

The Queen of the Beehive waxes eleoquent on the subject of Texas Chili Apologetics. “I believe that chili should be crafted toward the purpose of reminding you that you are fully alive.”

Miss Jennifer has a gift exchange going Well, actually, it’s a gift idea exchange. Do you have any great ideas for Christmas gifts? Share them and link.

Joe McKeever recommends laughter as medicine for whatever’s ailing you. “Make yourself laugh. You can do this. It’s not nearly as hard as it sounds. It feels fake at first–after all, you’re forcing it–but the effect is past in a moment. You start feeling so silly that the very act of laughing makes you laugh. At the end of two minutes, you’re glowing. It’s like you have had a tonic.”

Don’t forget to participate in the Saturday Review of Books tomorrow here at Semicolon. Let us know what you’re reading and how you liked it.

Book-Spotting #21

Oct12

Julia Golding’s Top Ten Characters in Children’s Historical Fiction (Guardian). I may add some of these books to my list. I’ve only read four of the books she lists: Ivanhoe, Treasure Island, A Little Princess and one or two of the Flambards books by K.M. Peyton. The Shakespeare time travel book by Susan Cooper sounds especially good.

David Montgomery on the 10 Greatest Detective Novels.
A long discussion (see comments) at Petrona of why all the authors on Mr. Mongomery’s list are male, and which female authors should have been included. Obviously, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and P.D. James should be on any such list.
My Best 10 Detective Novels (in no particular order):

1. The Mother Hunt by Rex Stout

2. The Murder of Roger Akroyd by Agatha Christie

3. Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers

4. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

5. The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey

6. The Holy Thief by Ellis Peters

7. The Black Tower by P.D. James

8. The Case of the Fabulous Fake by Erle Stanley Gardner

9. The Long Good-bye by Raymond Chandler

10. A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

You will notice that I have five men and five women authors on my list. Totally unplanned. I also note again that the limitation of such lists made by one person is that I can only consider those books that I’ve actually read. So you may find better books on Mr. Montgomery’s list, but these are MY picks. And Dorothy Sayers is the best of any of the authors on my list or anyone else’s. Because I said so.

Nobel Prize for Literature, 2006

Oct12

So Orhan Pamuk, Turkish author of My Name Is Red and Snow, won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Thanks to Kimbofo at Reading Matters, I read Snow earlier this year, but it seems that the Nobel Prize committee and I do not have the same tastes in literature. Or I just don’t get it. Or something.

My comments on Snow.

Discussion of Snow at Reading Matters.

Andrei Codrescu reviews Snow.

Fiction writer Christine Fischer Guy and poet Adam Sol, author of Jonah’s Promise and Crowd of Sounds, discuss Snow.

Nobel Prize site with a telephone interview with Mr. Pamuk.

So, have you read any of Pamuk’s novels? If so, what do you think?

LOST Rehash: The Glass Ballerina

Oct11

*************SPOILERS*****************************
If you have not watched this second episode, third season, of LOST and you don’t want to know what happens, don’t read.

1. I don’t like Sun so much anymore. She managed to get her lover killed, get mad at Jin for obeying her daddy (for her sake), lie to Jin, and shoot somebody. Will the Others really “become” the enemy now? I think, that despite protestations to the contrary, they’ve been doing a pretty good enemy imitation all along.

2. Sayid is a little over-confident in this episode. He’s going to take two of them as hostages and kill the rest —single-handed? I like Sayid; I think Sayid’s the best offensive player the Lost team has, but he needs a reality check. Maybe he got one tonight.

3. What was the name of the girl who got shot? Colleen? Carrie? Is she dead?

4. Did you hear Hurley talking to Desmond at the end? “Uh, the hatch blew your clothes off!” 🙂

5. Why do Sawyer and Kate get a sentence of hard labor while Jack gets to lie around in his cell and have soup and sandwiches brought to him on a platter? Are they trying mind games with Jack because they think he has a mind? And Sawyer and Kate are fit only for breaking rocks and making plans that are monitored over the intercom? Shouldn’t they have some clue that their discussion might not be so private?

6. Did Ben introduce himself as Benjamin Lyons? As in, he’s a LIAR? I believe they have contact with the outside, but I don’t believe they can get off the island or out of its magnetic field or whatever it was that brought the raft back to the island. She-Who-Was-Shot-By-the-Glass-Ballerina wasn’t worried about the Losties escaping in their sailboat; she was only worried that they might find Other City.

7. Sun’s daddy is a bad guy. A really bad guy. Is Sun stupid or willfully blind? I guess she’s willfully ignoring and avoiding the subject.

8. Maybe all the Losties are somehow Enemies of Dharma, and so Dharma sent them to crash on the island/prison where they can’t get out and do any more damage to Dharma. And Sun’s dad, along with Desmond’s girlfriend’s dad, is a Dharma Director. It’s all some kind of criminal syndicate.

9. However, there are other things going on, too. The Dharma people only know that the Island is a convenient place to send unwanted people. But it’s also a healing place and a place where odd things happen to people. And the Others are just as confused about the real purpose of the island as anyone else.

10. Who pushed Sun’s special friend out the window? Or did he jump?

11. Is Sun really pregnant? Or is it a false pregnancy? Or another lie?

Anyone else see anything interesting or illuminating tonight?

Capturing Thoughts

Oct11

“It is an unhappy thing, but it is the fact with many men, that if you do not seize your fancies when they come to you, and preserve them upon the written page, you lose them altogether. They go away, and never come back.” —A.K.H. Boyd

“A really good book . . . should make you walk into a lamppost. That’s because you can’t stop reading it when you are walking down the street.” —Nick Hornby

I’ve always been forgetful. I’ve lost my keys more times than I can count. I’ve left my purse in the grocery cart in the Kroger parking lot about as many times as I’ve misplaced my keys. (And it always is there when I come back for it, either in the cart where I left it or turned in to the service counter. So far.)

However, I’m getting worse, not better. I do believe I’m slowly losing my mind altogether, and it’s an interesting process. I forget thoughts I want to hang on to. I forget what I read and why I liked it. I forget why I started reading a particular book in the first place. (I also forget my name, but Ihaven’t come to the place that my mothere predicted I’d get to al ong time ago. I haven’t lost my head—because it’s still screwed on.)

So, what works for me is to start a blog post for each book I’m reading and type in the quotations and profound thoughts I want to remember about the book as I read it. If I wait until I finish the book, or heaven forbid, a week or two after I finish reading those thoughts are gone and the quotations are un-find-able. If I have a draft of a post with quotations and observations, I can go back and organize and edit it later —or delete it if there wasn’t really much there to write about.

It works for me. Try Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer for more Works-for-Me Wednesday tips, even a few from people who haven’t yet lost their minds. If you find mine (mind), please email it to me.

Life Lessons from Children’s Books

Oct10

Inspired by Kelly at Big A little a, Jen Robinson blogs about life lessons she learned from children’s books.

Oh, and Kelly was inspired by a couple of articles from the Guardian and its blog, Culture Vulture:

Michelle Pauli on Life lessons: which children’s books have taught you the most?
Lucy Mangan on why she’s still reading children’s books.

So, now I’m inspired. Here are some of the life lessons I learned from children’s books:


Curious George by H.A. Rey: Curiousity is good, but be careful. It’s also good to have a friend (or a dad?) with a yellow hat to rescue you when your curiousity gets you into trouble.

A Bargain for Frances by Russell Hoban: Being careful (suspicious that your friend is out to trick you) isn’t nice. Being friends is better.

Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Red Shoes by Maj Lindman: A real gift is something you work hard to get for someone you love.

Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel: When you run out of will power, go home and bake a cake. Also, a friend loveth at all times, whether you’ve lost your list or your button and especially when you’re embarrased to be seen in your bathing suit.

The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins by Dr. Seuss and Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll: Odd things happen in this world. You just have to go with it, and see what will happen in the end.

Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss: “I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, and an elephant’s faithful one hundred percent.” Sometimes faithfulness gets its reward.

Eight Cousins and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. A big family might be fun.

The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien: Hobbits, and by extension hobbit-like people, are amazing, and they may rise to the occasion with resources you never knew they had. Maybe I have stuff within me I don’t even know about?

I don’t know what I learned from Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey , but I do remember Captain Kangaroo reading it out loud with the beautiful illustrations, and I remember how comforting the story was. Maybe I learned that stories can bring comfort as well as insight. I know that when I’m depressed or distraught, I go to books.

So what life lessons have you learned from children’s books?

Week 9 of World Geography: Korea

Oct9

Music:
Johannes Brahms

Mission Study:
1. Bold Bearers of His Name: Sohn Family
2. Window on the World: North Korea

Poems:
I’m trying something new for our poetry study this week. I’m copying Cindy at Dominion Family who wrote last week about her poetry colloquy. We’re reading poems from the book, One Hundred and One Famous Poems, published by Barnes and Noble.

Science:
Simple Machines

Nonfiction Read Alouds:
The Pageant of Chinese History–Seeger

Fiction Read Alouds:
Seesaw Girl–Park
Tales of a Korean Grandmother

Picture Books:
A Is for Asia—Chin-Lee
Be-Bim-Bop–Park

Elementary Readers:
The Kite Fighters—Park
A Single Shard–Park
Year of Impossible Goodbyes—Choi
The Girl-Son–Neuberger

Movies:
Korea video: This is a video produced by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention that was in the library of my old church. I’m going to try to go by and see if we can borrow it.
Little Women Dancer Daughter is studying the Transcendentalists this week and next.

Books Shaping Evangelicals

Oct8

Christianity Today published this list of the Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals. The rule was that they only included books published since World War II. I’ve put in bold the ones I’ve read. I’ve heard of or know something about almost all of the books listed. I thought it was interesting that they listed Paul Tournier’s The Meaning of Persons. I haven’t heard anyone mention that book, by a Swiss psychiatrist, in years. But it was very popular among a certain group of Christians that influenced me when I was in college.

50.Revivalism and Social Reform by Timothy L. Smith
49.Knowledge of the Holy by A. W. Tozer. Mr. Tozer and I have not had the pleasure although I have heard many people recommend him.
48.The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill Corrie Ten Boom I do know. Of course, evangelicals have been influenced by the story of Corrie and her sister Betsy. “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still.”
47.The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? by F. F. Bruce
46.Out of the Saltshaker and into the World by Rebecca Manley Pippert I read this one while I was still in college. I’m not sure I became a better evangelist, but I did realize how insulated I had allowed my self to be.
45.The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark A. Noll. I was supposed to read this book last year. Eldest Daughter read it at college, and I told her I would read it. However, I didn’t. I suppose I never could get interested because I think I already know what it will say. I’m tired of hearing about how anti-intellectual, “poor, uneducated and easily led” evangelicals are. Sometimes we are, but I’m not sure we’re any less interested in the life of the mind than any other group of people in the United States of America.
44.The Gospel of the Kingdom by George Eldon Ladd. Never heard of it.
43.Operation World by Patrick Johnstone.This one is not a reading book but rather a book of information and statistics about the state of missions and the Christian church in the countries of the world. It’s probably been quite influential in giving evangelicals a worldwide perspective on church growth.
42.The Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren Yes, I read it. No, I don’t think it’s the last word on Christianity and how to live the Christian life. Nevertheless, it’s not a bad start. “It’s not about you. The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. . . If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God.”
41.Born Again by Charles W. Colson. Chuck Colson’s spiritual autobiography shaped evengelicals, but even more it told non-evangelicals who we are. After all, I knew what “born again” meant long before Jimmy Carter or Chuck Colson used term. In fact, I remember thinking that journalists back in the mid-seventies were making fun of evangelical Christians by pretending to have never heard the phrase.
40.Darwin on Trial by Phillip E. Johnson Engineer Husband has made a more thorough study of the subject of Darwinism and creationism than I have, but I’ve read enough to be skeptical of the answers we have now from both sides of the debate.
39.Desiring God by John Piper. I haven’t read Piper either although I have one of his books on my TBR list.

38.The Gospel in a Pluralist Society by Leslie Newbigin. The name of the author sounds familiar, but I cna’t say I’ve heard of it.
37.God’s Smuggler by Brother Andrew with John and Elizabeth Sherrill I remember being quite impressed by Brother Andrew’s Bible smuggling operation. Such adventure!
36.Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. Never read it, but I feel as if I have.
35.The Stork Is Dead by Charlie W. Shedd. I must admit I got my first dose of sex ed from reading All You Ever Wanted to Know . . . , but I did read The Stork Is Dead somewhat later.
34.This Present Darkness by Frank E. Peretti. Read it. Thought it was interesting. Didn’t let it influence my theology or my prayer life.
33.The Late Great Planet Earth by Hal Lindsey with C. C. Carlson. About the time I read this book, back many years ago, I decided that I would most likely remain undecided on matters eschatological.
32.The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson with John and Elizabeth Sherrill. Oh, yes, what a great story! Nicki Cruz, gangs, the dangers of drugs, the power of Christ to redeem anyone.
31.The Next Christendom by Philip Jenkins. Never heard of it.
30.Roaring Lambs by Robert Briner. I always intended to read this book, but somehow I never got ahold of a copy. Is it still relevant, or have we moved on?
29.Dare to Discipline by James Dobson. I read it and don’t think there’s anything terribly controversial here. Correct, discipline and teach them when they’re young.
28.The Act of Marriage by Tim and Beverly LaHaye. We got a copy of this book and of Intended for Pleasure by Ed Wheat when we got married. Influential? Maybe. Helpful to a couple of virgins who were just starting into this marital relation thing? Definitely.
27.Christy by Catherine Marshall. Christy is a wonderful story, too. Yes, I would say it shaped me, besides being one of the few “Christian romance novels” I would recommend.
26.Know Why You Believe by Paul E. Little This book sets down in easy to understand language just what Christians and why.
25.Boundaries by Henry Cloud and John Townsend. I think I started this book once, and I know it’s about setting boundaries and learning how to say no.

24.The Meaning of Persons by Paul Tournier I said I was surprised to see this book on the list. I thought my friends and I were all reading it as a result of a much more popular book (as I remember it), The Edge of Adventure by Keith Miller and Bruce Larson. Mr. Miller and Mr. Larson refer to Tournier frequently in their book(s), and because of them and the recommendations of a friend I read some Tournier. I wonder how it would sound now if I went back and re-read it.
23.All We’re Meant to Be by Letha Dawson Scanzoni and Nancy A. Hardesty. I’ve heard of this book—frequently and usually negatively. Never read it.
22.The Genesis Flood by Henry M. Morris and John C. Whitcomb. We have this one, but I’ve never read it. Did I ever mention that I’m not a science sort of person?
21.The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Emerson Coleman. Never heard of it.
20.A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle I love A Wrinkle in TIme, but I’m not sure how it influenced or shaped evangelicals. I’d say all of Mrs. L’Engle’s books together influenced and shaped me and other evangelical lovers of story to see that Christanity could be discussed in fictional terms as well as nonfictional ones.
19.The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer Of course.
18.The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard. I’ve read something else by Mr. Willard, but I can’t think of the title. I’m left with the impression that the book I read had to do with Christian disciplines and reminded me of Rachard Foster’s book, The Celebration of Discipline.
17.What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey. I’ve read oter books by Yancey, too, but not this famous one.
16.Basic Christianity by John Stott. Good, basic stuff.
15.The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism by F. H. Henry. Why is our conscience uneasy? I’ve read about it, but I don’t recall.
14.Let Justice Roll Down by John M. Perkins.
13.Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell. I was quite impressed with this compilation of evidences for the reliability of Scripture and the historicity of the Resurrection back when I was first introduced to it in high school. I daresay I’d still be impressed.
12.Power Evangelism by John Wimber with Kevin Springer. I heard all about this one —signs and wonders.
11.Celebration of Discipline by Richard J. Foster I read it; now if I could only practice what I read.
10.Evangelism Explosion by D. James Kennedy. One of those books I don’t feel as if I need to read because I already know all about it. I attended the Baptist version of EE, called WIN Institute, and I, too, learned the famous question: “If you were to die tonight, do you know for sure that you would go to heaven?”
9.Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot Inspiring story of martyr Jim Elliot. However, I think some of Elisabeth Elliot’s other books ave been just as mind-shaping as her biography of her husband.
8.Managing Your Time by Ted W. Engstrom
7.Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ronald J. Sider. As a poor college student, this book made me feel really guilty without giving me much idea of what to do about it. Eat less meat? Would that help anyone else?
6.The Living Bible by Kenneth N. Taylor I had a green puffy Bible. Did you have a green puffy Bible? It really was helpful because I could read the Bible and share it with friends and it made sense!
5.Knowing God by J. I. Packer. Never read it, to my shame.

4.The God Who Is There by Francis A. Schaeffer. I did read Francis Schaeffer, but I think the books by his wife Edith (What Is a Family? and The Hidden Art of Homemaking) were much more influential in my life and in that of many other evangelical women. Mr. Schaeffer wrote very dense prose and tended to repeat himself. I got a lot more out of his film series, How Should We Then Live?.
3.Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis Of course. However, I think Lewis could have taken places 1-6 on the list with his other books, too. What about The Great Divorce and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Till We Have Faces and The Screwtape Letters and ?
2.Understanding Church Growth by Donald Anderson McGavran. Never heard of it, but at #2, it must have shaped someone.
1.Prayer: Conversing With God by Rosalind Rinker. Ah yes, I’m a little surprised to see that CT places this book at #1, but I agree it was revolutionary for its time. In my youth group we began to talk to God in regular words, and I became impatient with those who were older than I and used “thees” and “thous” in their prayers. I’m ashamed of the impatience, but I’m glad I learned to talk to God in colloquial speech and read his word in Ken Taylor’s paraphrased words.

It’s a pretty good list. I’ve read twenty-six out of fifty, and I’m familiar with many of the rest. I haven’t heard of a few of the books on the list, but it’s supposed to be list off the books that have shaped evangelicals as a whole, not just the books that shaped me as an evangelical. There are only four works of fiction on the list, but that’s probably about right. Fiction is not as easy to point to as mind-shaping; the ideas in fiction are more nebulous, encased in story, and therefore more enduring perhaps, but that’s another discussion. Still, I would add the following books to the list (in addition to the C.S. Lewis books I mentioned above):

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. Not just the story itself, but the whole idea that you could write a great work of fiction without even mentioning God or Christianity and still have it be infused throughout with a Christian worldview and atmosphere . . . that was mind-bending and exciting. Yes, I know Tolkien was Catholic, not evangelical. He could still shape the evangelical mind.

Joni by Joni Eareckson. I don’t know why this book wasn’t on the list. As much as anyone, Joni helped me and other evangelicals understand that God allows suffering for His own purposes, that God doesn’t always heal, that He is always there even when we don’t understand what He’s doing, that handicapped persons are valuable to God and can glorify Him in their afflictions. What a wonderful gift to the Church of Jesus Christ and to evangelicals Joni’s life and work have been!

The Kingdom of Cults by Walter Martin. I know there are all sorts of controversies about Martin’s life and his writing, but I’m just stating facts when I say that he drew the lines that evangelical Christians still hold to today in differentiating between Christian denominations and cults.

Visit Semicolon’s Amazon Store for more great book recommendations.

Friday’s Center of the Blogosphere

Oct6

These have kind of stacked up. Here’s the Best of the Best I’ve read in the past few weeks:

The Anchoress prays—for all of us. “Prayer is a force and it is real. I came away from Adoration convinced that we will not defeat the enemy (and on the most fundamental level, the enemy – both within and without – is hate) unless we are willing to use the weapon of real and loving prayer – faithfully, humbly, daily…and did I say humbly…we will not win.”

Adrian Warnock and Dan Phillips discuss interpreting proverbs, particularly the book of Proverbs in the Bible. “A proverb communicates a truth. It does not characteristically communicate all truth. It is a sage insight; it isn’t a legal contract.”

Lars Walker, the Bloodthirsty Librarian: “Any reasonable person would recognize that rioting and murdering people are a self-contradictory means of proclaiming one’s peacefulness. And the fact that a large part of the Muslim world fails to get the joke (such as it is) pretty much says it all.
But the Islamic world doesn’t care. Because they’re not involved in a struggle of ideas, but a struggle of honor.”

Patry Francis blogs about grocery store treasures, those healthy and delicious foods that you can find in your local supermarket. I think my favorite “grocery store health food” is the fresh tortillas that are made in-store down here in Texas. I’ll bet they don’t do that in New York.

Mr. De Thinkling on Manhood, particularly Christian manhood. What a great essay on the real problems that Christian men face! I want to send a copy to every Christian man I know, but I’ll content myself with posting a link here and telling you all, men and women and boys and girls, to read it.

Mental Multivitamin does Shakespeare . . . again. You don’t want to miss her guide to resources for enjoying and appreciating Shakespeare for the first time or for the forty-fifth time.

Shannon Rocks-in-my-Dryer really liked Jewel by Brett Lott. I really liked it, too. Here are my thoughts on Jewel. But if like Shannon you don’t care for book reviews, you could just go read the book.

Go here to read the Parable of the Soccer Mom and the Human Embryo. The parable was written in response to this statement by politician Chris Bell: “What would Jesus do? He would not let political objections stand in the way of healing the sick. Stem cell research isn’t just a good idea; it’s a moral imperative.”