Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Book List

I'm a reader.  I much prefer reading to watching television.  I do watch television occasionally but I could lose myself in a book 90% of the time.  I got a Kindle Fire for Christmas from Husband Clause and that has just fueled my love even more.  Unfortunately right now I think most of my reading is done through a text book(which is kinda boring).  However, I do still try to find time to read real books.  Here's my list for the last year or so(it is by no means a complete list, it's just some that really stand out):

  • "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
    • Loved it.  Read it in about 3 days over Christmas break.  I haven't seen the movie because of lack of time.  But the book is definitely worth a read.
  • "The Blind Side:  Evolution of a Game" by Michael Lewis
    • I love football and I love reading.  Of course the marriage of these two would be close to perfection and they most definitely were.
  • "Through My Eyes" by Tim Tebow
    • I know there are a lot of late comer Tebow fans and that's great.  He is using his notoriety quite well to proclaim that Christ is Lord.  With that being said we have followed Tebow since his UF days.  The book is good.  It's an easy read that anybody over the age of 12 could easily read through in a few days.  And the book does exactly what Tebow always does.......proclaim Christ as Lord.
  • "Choosing to See" by Mary Beth Chapman
    • So I went through a phase where I only read what I call "baby death blogs/books".  Please understand what I'm trying to say.  These blogs(and for a while I was the author of such a blog) are wonderful outlets for a grieving and hurting heart.  They are wonderful snippets of life and I still follow some of them.  As my heart is being mended by Him, I have somewhat moved away from that line of reading.  I read this book during the darker days of early grief when I needed to know that what I was feeling was completely normal.  I mean that we made a conscious choice not to be completely bogged down or consumed with grief.  Chad and I made active choices to honor Johanna and the Lord by using her life as a platform to proclaim God.  And that is exactly what the Chapmans have done with their daughter's life and death.
  • "I Will Carry You" by Angie Smith
    • This was another book I read during the early days after Johanna's death.  I could ditto everything I put in the last bullet about this book.  Want to know how to praise God in the difficulties?  It's easy.  Just do it.  
  • "Rekindling the Romance" by Dennis and Barbara Rainey
    • I believe that Chad and I have no "real" marriage problems but we are still very much human living in a very busy life.  It's so easy to get sidetracked about the real reason why we got married.  And no it's not because we "love" each other despite what we all think when we say "I Do".  This book is a great reminder that "love" is always the under current of marriage but not always what moves the boat along(really lame analogy but it's the best I got).
  • "Feminine Appeal:  Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother" by Carolyn Mahaney
    • Oy, I should read this about once a week and then immediately start reading it again.  I need to be reminded that often.
  • "My Dog Skip" by Willie Morris
    • One of us reads to Clayton every(almost) night at bedtime.  We are hoping to start a love of reading(and in my humble opinion a love of learning) in his heart and mind too.  this is the first chapter book that we have read to him.  I was a little unsure how he would do with it since there are no pictures but he loved it.  He wanted to know every night was Skip was going to do.  Precious memories with my favorite red head.
That is just a really short list of the books I've read in the last year.  There's a lot of fiction thrown in there too for "mindless" reading.  I will honestly read just about anything.  I try to read new books that are all the rage and I try to read the classics too.  I read fiction and non-fiction alike and both in equal amounts.  We read every night to Clayton.  It's just important to read.  It does the mind good.

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