book list mania

So no one tagged me but I’m not going to be a spoiled sport about it. Jonathan said he would tag me if he knew what that entirely meant. Plus I saw it on Shawanda’s blog long before Jonathan did, so there. (this is how all great arguments end by the way, with a very huffy SO THERE!)

1. Number of books I own. I’m seriously thinking about going through and counting because I am curious about this one. Jonathan was just reading over my shoulder and he decided he was going to go do it instead. It’s raining presently so this is a good rainy day activity. I’m guessing about 400 if you count the books that I bought for my school work that just so happen to be “Children’s” books. I love them too so I think they should count.

2. Last book I bought: Don’t really get an opportunity to buy books here. Found out that BN will ship here, it’s pricey so when we order we make it worth the money. I just ordered and in that order I bought Babywise Ages 5 months to 2 years, Real Questions, Real Answers about Sex, and some book about things you should know about the person your marrying (sadly I’ve forgotten the title). A lot of marriage questions come our way and folks love books here. We have become a lending library. Folks have a real hunger for books on good guidance from Christians.

3. Last book I read: Just finished What looks like Crazy on an Ordinary Day… by Pearl Cleage. Good little read about a woman who is struggling with her HIV positive status, and her identity as a black single woman. She goes home to be with her sister for a while and mischief ensues. There is a lot of swearing, really too much, but it’s a sweet little read anyway. Can I give away the last line of the book because I love it “And we danced too wild, and we sang too long, and we hugged too hard, and kissed too sweet, and threw back our heads and howled just as loud as we wanted to howl, because by now we were all old enough to know that what looks like crazy on an ordinary day looks a lot like love if you catch it in the moonlight.”
I suspect that would be a little taste of heaven.

Presently I’m reading Cat’s Cradle by Vonnegut. It isn’t going entirely well. Sometimes Jonathan builds books up too much for me. I’m also rereading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Yeah, I’ve already got the fever.

4. 5 Books that mean a lot to me:
1. The More with Less Cookbook by Doris. Funny yes, but the text and even the recipes have called me to a level of accountability and spirituality that many purposefully Christian books haven’t been able to pull out of me. Things about my responsibility to the world as a believer. How can someone starve while I have too much? How can I tell them about my God? The importance of good health if my body is truly a temple. Things that give good energy. The idea of food and eating meals being about family and friends. A celebration of life. Combine this with a little Blue Like Jazz and you probably have a pretty clear idea of where I’m at spiritually and doctrinally.
2. Basic Christianity by John Stott. Roger gave me John Stott at some point and dog gone if it didn’t get under my skin and stay there. I had the wrong idea of John Stott, thinking he was a high minded spooky theologian. From this book I’m pretty sure he knows where I’m at. Just ordinary girl, wanting to know God a little more and understand a little better. Goodness, he did a good job with this book.
3. Rose is Rose books She’s a Mama Not a Movie Star, and Right on the Lips. There cartoon books but Rose is a wonderful character. You have to really read her for a while to understand all of the beauty of the thing. Sometimes she is just a regular mom, sometimes she is a biker babe, sometimes she is Prudence the Mennonite woman, sometimes she’s a little girl herself. She has a son named Pasquale. Her husband is Jimbo. Largely the themes are very simple things of love and family; the importance of childhood and imagination.
4. A Passage to India by E.M. Forrester. I remember reading this and learning that as an American I live in a cultural shoe box (Nike does make these too, same North Korean kids they get paid 1/3 of a penny each week, instead of the regular 2/3). There are people in the world that are dying a slow death but not from poverty; from oppression. Combine this with #1 and they all blend together.
5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Honestly this is how @ got his name. I read this for the first time when I was in High School Sophomore Honor’s English. Mrs. Thurn made us read it and I was entranced by the second page. I remember feeling utterly undone by the simple fact that @ had to exist for justice to even have a chance. I loved his character from the moment I met him. I’m crazy about Jem and Scout. Yeah, I’ll probably be reading it again before the days’ out.

Now it isn’t fair to stop there. Look for more on the Honorable Mentions blog.