Alright I did it, 52 books in 52
weeks. Probably the only one who will celebrate this feat with me is my mother
but that’s alright the joy comes from the stories and new things I learned
along the way. You can all judge my use of time, I know the general public won’t
care what I read this year, this post is for me. When you read in mass and live
a turbulent life, you start forgetting what you just read so, here is a synopsis
of the year. What I liked, didn’t like and just some general rambling that I
can’t get anyone to listen too in real life. Feel free to comment about any
book you have read too, and we can be nerds together J
2013 Book List
January
1. Roots (Alex Haley)
I started the year off with Alex Haley’s acclaimed Roots. Everyone has seen the mini
serious Roots except for me, I haven’t even seen a trailer or anything for it.
But I see it referenced all the time, still that wasn’t enough to a make me
tackle it until Mrs. Mary Lynn, a retired English Teacher, came to Mali and we
got to talking about my favorite people group in Liberia the Mandingo. She
said, she thought that the book Roots first character was a Mandingo man. I got
really excited and downloaded the book the next week. Turns out Kunta Kinta, is
actually a Maninka Man from The Gambia, which is in the same family grouping as
the Mandingo but not really the same. Still it was fun to read about a fictional
character who came from a land close by me, I haven’t been to the Gambia but I
have spent time in Senegal, which surrounds the Gambia. I loved reading about
the Fulani, because they are just everywhere in West Africa and they maintain
their culture pretty well across the whole, so it was fun to read the name Fulani
and see him connecting them to Cow herding and be like “Hey! You got that one
right.” I really enjoyed the book, even if half of it was plagiarized. And I
can’t wait to get home and rent the Miniseries… are there any Rental stores
left over there?
2. Ruling Your World: Impactful Living
(David Oyedepo)
This book was sitting on the book shelf in the Baptist Guest
House in Guinea, I read it to put me to sleep and it mainly just annoyed me. It
was written by a Nigerian I think, and was all about self-empowerment
February
3. All Things Bright and Beautiful (James
Herriot)
My mother really wanted me to read James Herriot while I was
growing up but I was obstinate and refused to read any fiction that wasn’t classic
literature. James Herriot was one of her favorite writers and I remember
laughing at some of his stories on audio tapes on car rides up to see our
Grandparents as a kid (on the days we were not listening to Adventures in
Odyssey). Well, a missionary friend in Guinea (who was also home educated and
shares a lot of my reading taste), suggested James Herriot among others as a
good read. I felt a little ashamed for having continued to ignore my mother’s
favorite author all the way into my twenties, so I downloaded a 3 book series,
All Things Bright and Beautiful, All things Wise and Wonderful and All
creatures Great and Small. I fell in love. He’s just so homey. You feel so
cozy, reading about all the characters and corky situations. And they are great
travel books since each chapter is its own story, so it doesn’t matter how long
you set down the book. I feel like
downloading another series right now, but then I’ll read it and I think there
is only one more book left… then what will I have to look forward too?
4. Reflections on Language (Noam Chomsky)
The two books came in a package deal. This Chomsky was
actually an interview translated, which was given to him in French but he
answered in English (geese, linguist, gotta make things complicated). It was hard to read, since I don’t have any
back ground in linguistics, so I used my Kindle dictionary a lot. I wish I
would have read Language and Responsibility first, it would have made these
interviews easier to understand.
5. Language and Responsibility (Noam
Chomsky)
So back in October I was on a research trip on the
collection of islands that make up Cape Verde. On the island of, Sao Vicente, I
met a very interesting Wycliffe couple who are working on the Cape Verdean
Creole translation of the book of John. As we talked, Steve explained what a
creole language really is. How the grammar of one language mixes with the
vocabulary of another, how it gets simplified down to what Chomsky calls the
“Universal Grammar.” Not everybody believes in this Universal Grammar in which
Chomsky put forth that all languages are not learned or changed over time but
are rather changing and adapting but resourcing an innate grammar that is
within our very humanness. So it’s like, birds are born with the ability to
learn to fly, people are born with the ability to learn to use language. Bird’s
don’t just mimic their parents, I raised finches, one day they are sitting in a
nest getting shelled seeds shoved down their throat the next day they jump out
and fly, maybe not very well, but they almost never fail, People are born innately
knowing how a language is structured, they mimic from their parent’s the sounds
and vocabulary but they already have something innately in them in which to
judge these patterns by and form new sentences that they may not have heard
before…. I’m not explaining this well, and that’s because I don’t understand it
too well. Having read every word of this book, I probably only understood, ¼ of
it. But what captured me and caused me to read it was two things, Steve said
that Chomsky (an atheist) once said that in order for the Universal
Grammar to make sense you had to imagine
that a higher being ordered things… or something of that nature. I didn’t come
across that quote myself yet but I did come across that idea again and again in
his book. There is an innate order inside of people that doesn’t really make a
lot of sense, given that the world tends to disorder, but never the less, there
is that order and people are using this innate order that is put in only humans
to produce language. He also said that Chomsky studied twins, who were locked
away together and produced their own language that followed what you see in
creole grammars or “Universal Grammar.” I thought that was cool and wanted to
read about it, but again I didn’t run across it in this book, however Chomsky
is a freaking maniac writer, I have no idea how he has produced so many written
bodies of work. I had a really hard time trying to decide which of his works I
should read. What I understood of this book I enjoyed, And I enjoy the idea
that language is an innate thing, written into our genes or whatever makes us
human. I like whenever the universe and the things in it show the finger prints
of a designer.
6. Chosen but Free (Norman Geisler)
I spent a lot of time in my youth thinking over the Calvinist
verse Armenian (or where ever you fall outside of the Tulip) debate. I thought
long and hard about things, I debated people, I read a lot online, I read a few
books, I compared passages, I thought it was the most important question to
answer, “Who is God?” That’s what the debate boils down too. What are the
characteristics of God; Is he all knowing, is he just, is he sovereign, etc. I
really wanted to find a solid answer but I never did. Then I went away to
Impact and from time to time the debate would be brought up there or afterwards
in college, but I had given up on finding all the answers, and learned to Trust
that God, whatever else he is, is Good, and that was enough for me. I didn’t
want my faith in God to be swayed like a reed by all these debates, so I set it
aside. I knew I would never be 5 point Calvinist, and I probably wouldn’t
resort to Open Theism but exactly where I fall in-between is still to be
announced. I love Geisler, he makes my heart warm. I love reading his work, and
I love hearing him speak. This book comes pretty close to winning me to
whatever side he is on in the debate, some middling view. But there were points
and metaphors that I did not agree with. It’s been many months since I read
this book, and it require to be thoroughly read again, but I recall a metaphor
comparing our relationship with God as him wooing us but knowing already that
we would be won… that sounded pretty cheap to me. I wouldn’t want a man to woo
me only if he knew he’d get me, I’d rather him do it because he thinks I’m hot
and he wants to win me, not because I was a sure thing. It kind of cheapens
individual salvation, to say, Oh well, yes God knew you would fall for him,
that’s the only reason he put out any effort. Sometime soon, I’ll try again
with this whole debate and see if I can’t nail my position down a little
better, and I’ll probably start again with this book. I loved how he went
through each, extreme view and then showed a middle way, and worked his way
through popular passages. The multiple appendix’s were also interesting and
helpful, he’s just so thorough in his thoughts.
March
7. All Things Wise and Wonderful (James
Herriot)
More delight, reading James Herriot always made me long for
some mountain cabin somewhere with a fire place, a quilt, some hot chocolate,
and a big comfy chair to snuggle down into read. However I believe I was
in-between Guinea and Liberia when I was reading this one, And the guest houses
were not really snug though there was one right on the beach that was pretty
awesome.
8.
The
Liberian Dream
I picked this little book up at a grocery store in Monrovia.
It is a poetry book written by a local pastor. There were several very nice
poems in this book I was glad I grabbed it, on my way out. I dropped my copy
off when I was at home in May or I would include my favorite poem, sorry-o.
9. Quiet: The Power of Introverts.. (Susan
Cain)
I am introvert hear me roar! Or type, aggressively. I grew
up with a lot of self-hatred, much of it stemming from my lack social ability.
I remember the first time, I liked myself, introversion and all, came seconds
after I read a letter from a friend at Impact, it in part read, “Stewie, I love
that you are quiet, that you never talk
without having something to say. ” What?! You like that I am quiet?! Hello,
were you not paying attention to our societal norms? You are not supposed to
like that, you’re supposed to gently try to “pull me out of my shell” and
encourage me to “speak my mind” even if my mind is made up the same on the
topic as the last 9 people that spoke theirs. Everyone likes repetitiveness
right? This book made me feel a little more justified in my, none bubbly/chatty
personality. It made me not despise myself so much for failing at small talk
and wishing that people would please stick with formal introductions. I’ve seen
what Cain wrote in this book, paired down into spiffy blog posts and bouncing
around Facebook world, the past few months. Introverts are coming out of the
wood works, (mostly just liking the link because we don’t feel like we need to
say things twice). It’s pretty nice that introversion or the tendency to be
more private or reserved is not being viewed as a social problem that needs to
be remedied anymore.
April
10. Survey Research Methods (Earl R Babbie)
An ex-pat friend was leaving Guinea and left us a box of
books. This book which was more like a textbook was in the box. I read it
because I am currently doing research among people groups in West Africa and
thought the information might be handy. It was a long boring read and mainly on
common sense concepts but I persevered and I’m sure my thoughts are more
organized now because of it.
11. Interpreter of Maladies (Jhumpa Lahiri )
Trying to culture myself a little more, so I read this
famous Indian American short stories. I loved the grotesque characters. I liked
the title story a lot, because I could see it happening here, or anywhere
outside the western world. My favorite stories are The Treatment of Bibi Halder
and When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine.
12. Keep a Quiet Heart (Elizabeth Elliot)
I love Elizabeth Elliot, I think her writing is timeless. I
love Passion and Purity. Let me Be a Woman impacted me a lot, I read it the
summer before I started college. I’m not usually a huge fan of the short “My
Utmost for His Highest” style devotional books, and I can’t make an exception
for this one. It’s me, it’s not you Elizabeth. I’m just not that into short
reads, It’s because I get side tracked so easy, and forget to pay attention, so
I need a book that has a consistent theme, that I can follow.
13. Emerging Africa (Steven Radelet)
I really liked this book. It was refreshing to read about
the positive economical movements coming out of Africa, granted not long after
the book came out one of these “emerging countries” went through a coup which
booted me into one of the “thresh hold” countries. I downloaded the book because
it was forwarded by Madame Sirleaf (the president of Liberia) but I was very
impressed with it and it was full of statistics which I like to look at. There
are countries in Africa that are doing alright. Not every country is drowning
in a civil war and can’t feed its people, for those who have pulled themselves
up some, we should applaud them. They have 17 countries listed as “Emerging
countries.” These countries have shown a steady economic growth rate over the
past 13years and have remained
democratic without any major
interruptions. Emerging countries
are :Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Mali,
Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome, Seychelles, South Africa,
Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia. Okay so some
of these were obvious to me, Botswana, Ghana, Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho
the Island countries, I knew these were richer countries in Africa but some
surprised me, Burkina Faso… really? And I was surprised about Uganda until I
went there last summer, Kampala is America. I haven’t been to Burkina but
imagine it can’t be too much different than Mali, which the city is beautiful
and clean, and the main roads are awesome but there’s that whole vast desert
with extremist groups thing going on. Ethiopia and Uganda surprise me, since
they seem to be the two countries of which westerners are adopting children
from, so I would assume they are not doing financially well enough to take care
of their vulnerable children. And Zambia, maybe I was just all new to scene and
couldn’t distinguish poverty from village life, but I thought I was seeing
children so sick with mumps they didn’t have strength to greet, and baby
orphanages packed with 30+ abandoned infants and 3 workers (which was closed
the next year due to finances) who had children die because of the heat. They
couldn’t keep their babies hydrated, I guess. So I think, that the “Emerging
Countries” are a little broad in their inclusion of countries but I can see
where even Uganda, Ethiopia and Zambia are well on their way. I mean Kampala it
totally America. And on my second visit to Zambia I visited the capital and
they have a mall, so pretty much got it made. And to include Cape Verde, I think
is cheating… That country is more like East Europe as far as poverty goes, and
it’s culture heavily influenced by Portugal and Brazil, and it declared itself
independent without any fight. I would imagine the other Island countries of
Africa have similar stories.
14. This Child will be Great (Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf)
Madame Sirleaf is the first female president in Africa, and
I’m right proud to be dwelling in her country, during this historic period. I
know that people are never happy with delayed gratification but this country
was a wreck when she was elected and now there are a few paved roads, and as
much or more electricity returned as there was before the war and women’s
rights have definitely been championed. This country still has a long way to go
but they are moving forward not backwards and I think Madame Sirleaf has a
large hand in that movement. Her story is endearing and inspiring. I really
don’t know how she did it. How she became the first female president in Africa,
it’s kind of hard to get respect around this place, but she is intelligent,
bold and persistent and she did it. I think the country is better because of
it.
15. A Room of One’s Own (Virginia Wolf)
Women need space. Give it to them.
May
16. Mississippi in Africa (Alan Huffman)
This book was suggested by one of my Liberians friends as a
good book that showed some of the Americo-Liberian history. The author is a
white American who grew up in Mississippi in America and became intrigued with
the story of a plantation in his home town. He hears the story about how before
the civil war, when the owner of the plantation died he willed that the slaves
belonging to him would have the option to go free and move to the Coast of West
Africa (which would become Liberia). So the author tries to trace all of the
living relatives of the plantation owner and the relatives of the freed slaves
that stayed in the states, and then he takes his journey to Liberia to try to
meet some of the Americo-Liberia decedents of the Mississippi plantation. The
settlement is in Sinoe county Liberia and is called Mississippi in Africa. It
was a good read, it could get tedious with his research of dates and names but
it was fun to see how much this guy nerded out over the whole process.
June
17. Facts About Slavery: Goree Island (Guy
Thilmans)
In June, I visited the Island off of Senegal called Goree.
It was the last stop for captured West Africans before they headed off on their
voyage into slavery. This was a little book I picked up at the museum on the
island that detailed a little bit about the slave trade coming out of West
Africa.
July
18. End the Fed (Ron Paul)
I figured, I supported him during two of his 3 presidential
attempts, I should probably read one of his books. DOWN WITH BIG GOVERNMENT!
END THE FEDERAL RESERVE!!! RETURN THE GOLD STANDARD!!! Oh Ron Paul, I hope your
son is as dependable as you.
19. Mansfield Park (Jane Austen)
Really Fanny? You picked your cousin, who was like a
brother, weird. Personally I think you could have reformed Henry. And really,
Jane, Fanny was the best name you could think of for your heroine?
20. Northanger Abby (Jane Austen)
This book is real, I liked it a lot; didn’t gloss over to
much, showed people with real prejudice and practicality. Catherine just seemed
so real and normal. In Jane’s other books, like Fanny, Elizabeth, Anne they
were all supposed to be plain and homely but they always had these spectacular
personality or character traits. Not Catherine, she’s as ordinary as you can
get. She wasn’t too poor, she wasn’t too homely, she wasn’t overly educated and
she wasn’t that witty or pretty, she was just average and the story was just
life. She acted so much like a teenager it was funny.
21. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
I wanted some decent books to read so I looked up Ron Paul’s
reading suggestions and this was one of his favorites. Ayn Rand made economics
into an action novel. That’s pretty cool. I really loved the stories and it’s
twist and turns. Some of it was silly and overly dramatic, some of it was a
little too risky but on the whole I loved it. I might be setting this on the
shelf next to some of my other favorites (Little Women, Heart of Darkness,
Awakening, My Antonia, Atlas Shrugged… J)
August
22. Through the Looking Glass (Lewis
Carroll)
Loved the cartoon movie growing up, was disturbed by the
differences in the recent movie so I read the books to find out what’s up.
Cartoon got it right.
23. Thinking as a Science (Henry Hazlett)
Ron Paul’s reading suggestions led me to mises.org which had
so many cool books for free download. This was one of them, I hadn’t heard of
Hazlett but he is apparently a logistician and an Austrian economist. I like
the way he writes, it somehow reminds me of the way C.S. Lewis writes. This
book was about how to think. It wasn’t exactly about logic, although that was a
part of it. It was published in 1916. It’s amazing how little humanity changes,
the book was very applicable. He focused on thinking on purpose not just the
wondering thoughts that come along throughout the day but focusing on some of
those thoughts for a purposeful amount of time and following them through into
completion. He talked about being careful not to read passively, and blindly
accept whatever the current book’s viewpoint happens to be.
24. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis
Carroll)
In the book the queen shout “Off with their heads!” all the
time too but the king always pardon’s them. No one gets their head cut off.
25. Agnes Grey (Anne Bronte)
I wish that I could have met the Bronte Sisters. Their books
are so odd, the characters have to go through the worst and weirdest
situations. I can just see the Bronte
sisters reading each other books, “Oh that’s good sister! Creepy.” But at least
Agnes gets her man and a puppy dog in the end. My favorite Bronte is still
Charlotte’s Jane Erye.
26. At the Back of the North Wind (George
McDonald)
When I was a preteen, just after we moved, so I would have
been eleven, I picked up a copy of this book and read the first few pages. I
was so creeped out by the wind blowing through the hole in Diamond’s window and
trying to coax him out of his nice snug bed that I slammed the book shut. I
couldn’t sleep well that night, I was certain every shadow was some creepy
being coming to steal me from my bed. Then I grew up, went to college, and met
one of my favorite people who said that this was her favorite book. I felt a
chill still, when she said it. This time around it didn’t seem creepy at all, I
guess my imagination isn’t quite as vivid anymore. It was a great imaginative
story with awesome parallels between Diamond’s perfect trust in the North Wind
and Christian’s trust in God.
“If you see my face all black, don’t be frightened. If you
see me flapping wings like a bat’s, as big as the whole sky, don’t be
frightened. If you hear me raging ten times worse than Mrs. Bill, the
blacksmiths wife—even if you see me looking in at people’s windows like Mrs.
Eve Dropper, the gardener’s wife—you must believe that I am doing my work. Nay,
Diamond, if I change into a serpent or a tiger, you must not let go your hold
of me, for my hand will never change in yours, if you keep a good hold. If you
keep a hold, you will know who I am all the time, even when you look at me and
can’t see me the least like the North Wind.”
27. Blow Back (Chalmers Johnson)
I heard this title several times, new the basic concept but
never taken the time to read it. I saw it on, Ron Paul’s reading list and
downloaded it. He showed the negative effect that permanent American troops
were having on the Japanese islands and the hatred that was building up in
Japan and also Korea over American policing tendencies. Blowback is a term that
refers to unintended consequences of a mission. The “blowback” that Johnson
foretold was of other countries becoming angry at the US for its military
meddling ways and attacking the U.S. because of their interference in foreign
regimes. The book was published about a year before the 911 attacks and was
broadly acclaimed to be kind of prophetic, however, its prophetic teaching did
not hinder the U.S. from continuing and broadening its meddling ways and here
we are today, still dodging Bombs in Boston.
28. The Cost of Discipleship (Dietrich
Bonhoeffer )
Mom made us watch a rather yawn worthy documentary on
Bonhoeffer when I was growing up. I didn’t read anything of his until Impact
360 put the blessed little book “Life Together” in my hands as a parting
farewell gift. I loved Life Together especially the first chapter, the other
chapters seemed to repeat the first too much. After that book, I knew I needed
to read his most popular “Cost of Discipleship” but put it off. Until I was standing
in a missionary friend office, staring at the book on his shelf, “Where you
named for Dietrich Bonehoffer, Dietrich?” “Sure ways, my Dad read it shortly
before I was born and said it changed his life.” So I downloaded it. I liked it
a whole lot and feel I probably need to read it again, during a less turbulent
time in my life so that I can really focus on it. I felt the same way about
this book as I did his other, he front loads his books and leaves the rest to
trail along and repeat.
29. Humility (Andrew Murray)
God first, People second, I am third. This book was
challenging, especially with the humbling yourselves before people you don’t
think deserve it. Philippians 2:11-21 is just too convicting. If the son of God
humiliated himself for humanity we ought to be able to humiliate ourselves for
the most high God.
September
30. The Secret Garden (Francis Burnett)
I remember seeing the trailer for this movie as a kid, but I
never actually saw it. I remember my girlfriends talking about it and loving it
but it didn’t appeal to me for whatever reason. But hey it’s free on Kindle.
Turns out, I loved the book. It’s not often an author will allow their
protagonist be complete little heathens. Most, will claim that their
protagonist were bad and became good but all the while showing little signs
that they were truly good and just misunderstood to begin with. Not Burnett,
these two little snob cousin are truly mean little things, wicked to their
core. They have good reason to be corrupt spiteful beings because of their
parent’s emotional neglect and material overindulgence, but there is not a hint
of hidden goodness in them until they come into contact with people better than
themselves and begin a journey to put faith in the “magic” which transforms
their bodies and their minds and spirits. I love, love that even though the
little boy’s father was a horribly neglectful man and does nothing to deserve
the love or respect of his son, the book still give him a second chance to
learn after ten years of neglect.
31. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
Again the Bronte sisters were unique people. I just imagine
them all in this big creepy grey house, sitting in rocking chairs discussing
some weird plots they dreamed up during the night. This book also had some
honest to goodness mean-hearted people. Difference between the Secret Garden is
that these people don’t get redeemed they die awful spiteful people with
jealous and vengeful obsessions. I recall my professor suggesting that
Heathcliff was actually the illegitimate son of Cathy’s father rather than a
random Gipsy boy that he brought home but I just don’t buy that. I just didn’t
read any allusion to that scenario and its weird enough that Cathy the second
married her first cousin without her mother being in love with her
half-brother.
32. The Picture of Dorian Grey (Oscar
Wilde)
I liked this book. It’s so true that often people are more
concerned about how they are perceived than their actual moral essences. If you
took away the evidence of your immorality and could get away with any evil and
it never would taint your reputation how degraded would you become? If there
was no consequence of your sin, what would you do? Since evil tendencies seem
to be in humanities very nature without a physical or visible consequence for a
wrong action, I think we all might end up as Dorian, spinning out of control
into worse and worse evil actions. This shows that a consequence for our
actions even the negative consequences might actually save us from further
damning actions that ruin the soul.
33. Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Finally got around to this one. I read 1984 in high school
but just hadn’t managed to pick this one up, until I was browsing through the
open air African market, outside the official offices in downtown Monrovia. I
liked how it shows what happen when you fail to stick with law that make things
equal for all and allow a republic to slowly step by step degrade into a
dictatorship. Poor Boxer.
34. The Man Who Would Be King (Rudyard
Kipling)
This is really a long-short story or maybe a novella. It was
a funny little tale. I liked how it was about ex-pats going crazy. It was
ridiculous and outlandish and not based on any reality.
35. Why Nobody
Knows When He Will Die and Other Stories (Wilton Sankawulo )
This was a collection of short stories by a Liberian author.
Most of the stories were just weird folk stories but some showed the recent
Christian influence.
36. The Case Against the Fed (Murray
Rothbard)
Having grown up reading the Uncle Eric series beginning with
Penny Candy I have a very basic understanding of inflation and how the Federal
Reserve controls and exaggerates this inflations and deflation. I enjoyed this
book as it give an overview of how the Federal Reserve came into being and what
negative affects it’s had on our money since its creation. The Federal Reserve
is an independent agency with no oversight from any of our governmental
branches and thus is very susceptible to bribes and corruption; I was incredibly
surprised to learn this. I was intrigued by the almost “Mob” like history of
the Federal Reserve coming into existence to help serve some of the top
“Families” which were controlling the markets at the time. I was also intrigued
that the original plans for the Federal Reserve were written up right at Jekyll
Island where my family used to vacation when I was a toddler. I was very disappointed that the book only
devoted one very short and skimpy chapter at the end of the book to talk about
how you could dismantle the Federal Reserve and return to an unregulated Money
supply or a Money supply based on Gold again.
37. Liberian History Up To 1847 (Joseph
Saye Guannu)
A short history of Liberia mainly concerning the entry of
American Ex-slaves and Congo peoples (people captured from the Congo area to be
sold but then released in what is now Liberia because of the Slave trade
abolition).
38. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Frank Baum)
This book was just kind of dumb. I guess it was meant for
kids but still… the movie is just like the book nothing different at all except
in the book when they come to the city of Emeralds that have to put on glasses
tainted green that make the whole city look green but the character don’t
realize the glasses are tainted and think the city is glowing green…. Lame.
October
39. The Great Gatsby (Earnest Hemingway)
I don’t know what all the fuss is about this book. Sorry Dr.
Young I know you liked that blinking light deal and all its symbolism. It
seemed like a pretty empty book to me but I guess that’s the point… that whole
lost generation deal.
40. To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
I can see why this is a classic, it was a wonderful read and
Atticus is such a good father and role model. I loved all the family dynamics
and that you see their normal life and seasonal patterns before the book gets
to the main story. I like that the book shows other unequal class structures
with the Farmers outside of town as well as the main point of the persecution
of the black population.
41. The Man Who Was Thursday (G.K.
Chesterton)
This book was weird. I get that is was supposed to be
allegorical but I couldn’t really understand what the allegory was and
apparently no one else can either because I read some notes online and they all
just mention the last like three pages of the book which has all the characters
dressed in costumes representing the 7 days of creation. They mention this as
being allegorical but… I mean that’s pretty straight forward because the book
straight up says that they were wearing costumes to represent the 7 days of
creation and that the costumes matched the characters personalities. What about
the rest of the book? What about the anarchism? What about that girl at the
start of the book? What about all the people who were real anarchist? What
about them chasing Sunday around like a wild goose? What about every single
anarchist at the round table actually being a police in disguise but not
knowing the others are also police?
42. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Ken
Kersey)
This book was pretty awesome despite the crude language at
times. I liked the main character defiant personality; I can feel him trying to
contain his anger at being controlled and welling up at being treated like a
child. He just couldn’t help himself. I liked how his “deviant” behavior helped
to show the others that they were broken but not quite as broken as the doctors
wanted them to believe.
43. Tramp for the Lord (Corrie ten Boom)
Corrie ten Boom is still my hero. I read all her books that
were in our Church Library when I was a youth but I didn’t realize she had
others like this one. I really identified with her in this one as she “Tramped”
about living from a suitcase. I get
tired of her claiming to be so wicked when she is quiet obviously a saint. I
love all her stories, I love her boldness, her reckless faith but reasoned
belief. She is such a practical Dutch women to her core but then she lays out a
map and prays and makes her decisions based on prayers not flight routes or
premade appointments. She prays and shows up in countries unannounced without a
single friend and just talked to people and shares her stories. OH! And she
lived a year in Uganda?! I didn’t know that. She had a home looking over Lake
Victoria, I could have passed it in my travels there this summer and I didn’t
even know. I loved reading this
continuation of her journey.
44. The Insanity of God (Nik Ripken)
Give’s the author’s journey from country boy to missionary
to one of the darkest places on earth, to world travel seeking answer of how to
maintain a Christian faith in the face of persecution. I heard the author speak a few years ago and
he shared many of the same stories found in this book. The persecuted believer’s
stories of faith and of joy in adversity is challenging and inspiring.
45. The Road (Jack London)
This was a fun book. It reminded me very much of the tales I
heard from my brother as he hiked the Appalachian trail and when he was road
tripping across the U.S. The train tramps also had nic-names and special signs
for their names just like persons on the Trail do, and information traveled
along the line the same as the trail too.
46. If God Why Evil (Norm Geisler)
Geisler is always delightful. He tackles the problem of
evil, and does an awesome job of it. Something’s just will not make since until
we are standing face to face with our Lord but for those things that can be
explained, Geisler does it in this book.
As I read this book I recognized all his argument and I can’t decide if
I heard him speak on this topic before or if I read this book in high school
but forgot about it. Q. Why did God create evil? A. He didn’t. Q. I thought he
created everything, if he didn’t who did? A. Evil isn’t a thing in itself, it’s
a privation of good. Q. Okay, so he didn’t create evil, but he knows everything
and he knew that evil would occur in our world so why did he allow it? A. In
order to have good things he had to allow the evil privation to be a
possibility, apparently the good things were worth not only the risk of evil
but the actualization of it as well because an All Good, All knowing God would
only create the best of any possible worlds.
November
47. The
Chronicles of Narnia Series (C.S. Lewis)
It was good,
Aslan made Jesus feel close. He made him feel physical. When I watched the 3rd
Narnia in the theater, when Ridecheep surfs over the wave and Aslan’s tells the
children they must learn to know him by another name in their world, joy and
tears came to my eyes. I found tears in my eyes as I read it as well. You can’t
help but to identify with the characters, especially when they’re botching
Aslan’s plans. When Susan admits that truly in her heart she had known Aslan’s
was leading them but she just wanted to get out of the forest, such conviction,
I don’t know how many times I’ve closed my eyes because I don’t want him to
lead me through a dark forest. Aslan, undressing Eustace, how many times have I
tried to remove what only he can remove from me? He never tells them other peoples stories,
only their own but he cannot tell them what might have happened. The
consequences for disobedience are real. I like how C.S. included some of the
current thought of all gods being the same god, Tashlan, and hypocrisy in it.
Loved that Aslan sung the Narnia into existence and that the morning stars sang
with him. He is not a tame lion but he is good. I love that the children can’t
help but want to please Aslan and the respect he commands but the laughter he
joins in as well. C.S. you did a right good job.
48. Forgotten God (Francis Chan)
The Holy Spirit of God that Jesus sent after he ascended to
the Father was hardly spoken of in the churches that I went to growing up. I
was much older before I realized that I was not praying directly to Christ or
God the Father but the H.S. was actually the closest person to me. Christ is at
God the Father’s right side, both are in heaven, the person of God that is
closest to us is his H.S and yet all that time, I did not know that. My pastors
and youth pastors instructed me to pray to Jesus “as though you were talking to
a friend sitting in a chair beside you.” They never said anything about God’s
H.S. actually being the one who intercedes for you. When you read through Acts it’s shocking how
often the H.S is mentioned and how He guides the young church forming. I don’t know how many times growing up I was
told that Jesus told us to go and make disciple out of all nations but did I
just miss it when they said also and pray for the H.S. who will give you the
power to go? I like that Chan makes much
of the H.S. in this book, I think he does a good job of making much of the H.S.
without falling into sensationalism. I
don’t really like the title of the book, it makes it seem like there are 3
God’s if you call the H.S. “forgotten God.”
49. Come Let Us Reason (Norm Geisler)
Fhew! This book was hard to push through, too many
unfamiliar terms. This is a basic book on logic, it’s not a book you can read
casually, you really need to study the terms. Therefore one day, my little
homeschool nerds will read this book and I will study it then ;) If you like logic or if you are a writer,
it’s a good book, it helps you to define what you are really saying in clear
terms.
December
50. Who
Moved my Cheese? (Spencer Johnson)
This book was in the waiting area for the clinic that I went
to get checked at. We had to wait around a bit so I read it. It was a cute
little story of two mice and two small people who follow mazes in order to find
some cheese. When they find it, the two little people get complacent while the
two mice stay always ready to look for more cheese and stay alert to the
dwindling supply of cheese. Eventually they eat up all their cheese and the two
mice happily move on while the two little persons, have a considerably harder
time dealing with their cheese crisis. Finally one of the two little person’s
makes the decision to move on and finds out a lot about himself and the world
in the process. He leaves encouraging notes for his friend to follow but sadly
his friend never succeeds in getting over himself and giving up the old to look
for the new. The story is followed by questions, that are meant to help persons
in the business world deal with change in the work place. I won’t lie, I kind
of liked the book, it was simple and cute and all the things Sniff, Scurry, Hem
and Haw learn, are applicable. If someone moves your cheese, don’t get in a
tizzy, just put on your running shoes and start looking again.
51. Concerning Christian Liberty (Martin
Luther)
Hmm… Wow. This was a good one. He spelled the Christian
Faith out too clearly. I know he was writing in a different language, in a
different time and in another country but everything he says is truth and so
applicable to my faith, today.
“One thing, and one alone, is necessary for life, justification, and Christian
Liberty; and that is the most holy word of God, the Gospel of Christ, as He
says, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me shall not die
eternally’ (John 6:25) , and also, ‘If the Son shall make you free, ye shall be
free indeed’ (John 8:36), and ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God’ (Matt 4:4).
Let us
therefore hold it for certain and firmly established that the soul can do
without everything except the word of God, without which none at all of its
wants are provided for. But having the word, it is rich and wants for nothing,
since that is the word of life, of truth, of light, of peace, of justification,
of salvation, of joy, of liberty, of wisdom, of virtue, of grace, of glory and
of every good thing.”
“This is that Christian Liberty, our faith. The effect of which is, not that we
should be careless or lead a bad life, but that no one should need the law or
works for justification and salvation.”
52. Faith,
Form and Time (Dr. Kurt Wise)
Welp, I read this one a good bit more quickly then I should
have but I’m headed out to the bush tomorrow! So I had too, I’m sorry Dr. Wise,
I needed to get to 52 before the end of the year. The first time I listened to
Dr. Wise speak, was 10 years ago. I was a simple 16 year old home school kid with
a love for Christian Worldview, which led me to give up all other church trips
and take my timid self alone to a World view camp in Dayton Tennessee known as
Summit. I heard Dr. Wise speak and was astounded by his testimony and depth of
knowledge. He took a group of us on a little spelunking adventure where he
pointed out fossils in the rock layers and we even went fossil hunting around an old mine… oh for
the simple days of youth again. Any ways, flash forward to my last year of
college in 2010, I was in a RA meeting and they announced some new professors
coming into the school at Truett and I about sucked the air out of the room.
KURT WISE! He’s like a genius! Do you guys know who he is?! I was enthused and
went right down to his office as soon as he was in to greet him. I had been in
the creation museum in KY the summer before while visiting my fam and had read
a little display about his pre-flood Floating Continents theory. I nerded out a
little bit at that display. And was happy to read a little more about it in
this book. I was also struck by an alternate interpretation of Revelations
3:15-16, That whole if you are not hot or cold I will spew you from my mouth
passage. It never set quite well with me, you either want me all in spiritually
or you want me to be complete out? I try really hard but never feel I really
give my all. It’s kind of a harsh passage the way I heard it preached in the
past. Seemed to give an excuse not to really try, I mean if you are not giving
it you all, and you end up lukewarm, why not just be cold? Wise presented
historical background to the passage concerning there being two springs in that
town, one warm salt spring used of medicinal purposes and one cool fresh water
spring used for drinking water, but when they mixed together they became
useless and if drunk caused vomiting. With this background it can be interpreted as you can either be
useful in one way or another but please be useful! I like that interpretation
better. A lot of this book was a review
for me from what I used to study in high school but it was a pleasant review.
Some of this book was just too technical for a quick read, like the DNA
structures and the Tectonic plates, just over my head a little. I really
enjoyed his interpretation with what happened at the Tower of Babel and the
creation of not only languages but worldviews, I never consider the possibility
of God not just confusing the words but the way they thought about the world as
well… interesting.
