About Books

Well, I'm a bookish kind of guy, obviously (after all, I'm a librarian). I've probably read more books this year than seen movies. If you scroll down the sidebar, you'll see the list. Kind of interesting (to me anyway). I started the year by immersing myself in Middle Earth (again), then read some Biblical history type things, then some inspirational stuff. Then, thirsting for more fantasy literature, I started rereading Lewis' space trilogy. I'm into the 3rd book now, and I've got to say these are impressive works of the imagination.

I'm pretty cranky in my reading habits, and don't usually like people to give me books. Unless of course the book is SHORT. Which is why I consented to read Dave Barry's Book of Bad Songs. It's a hoot. And short enough to read during your lunch break (or two). On the other hand, anything recommended to me by my kids I will make an effort to read. Son Tim, the Strong & Brave, recommended Street of Crocodiles, by Bruno Schulz. A small book with lots of really striking imagery, but strangely soul-less, it seemed to me. A bleak picture, many characters touched with insanity, I put it down half way through and decided not to pick it up again. I asked Tim about it, and the funny things is he seems to have lost interest also.

Tuesdays with Morrie may have been the most powerful book I've read lately. Many of you have probably read or heard about this one, as it was a best-seller not long ago. It is a portrait of a uniquely dying man. That is, a man who has chosen to die uniquely. It is really a book about ethics, about how to live life. Although some of its sentiments would be right at home on a Hallmark greeting card, somehow it manages to fill these commonplaces with new power. I was moved and inspired despite myself. A rewarding book.

Messy Spirituality really did me good. Not that it's a great book, but it recalls its readers to a few fundamental truths. For me it served as the antidote to the programmed-spirituality of The Purpose Driven Life, which depicts itself as a roadmap to spiritual nirvana. The late Mike Yaconelli did the Christian world a favor when he wrote this one.

Yesterday I picked up Washington's Crossing. I really love reading American history, and the Revolution is a piece of my country's history that I haven't delved into in years. This looks like a very good book. Meticulously researched, yet written with panache. That's a rarity in history books.

And there you have it. My book report. Dull reading, I guess, but that's all I've got today. See ya later!