Meet my bookshelf. I have a secret to tell. I speed-date books. There is not just “one†book that I dedicate myself to until it is finished. Rather, they sit all around my home – by my couch, on my kitchen table, on my desk, on my nightstand – and await my spontaneous impulse of interest to be picked up and granted my attention. (Which, is usually NOT “undivided,†I might add).
Perhaps it’s because I am a woman of many hobbies and interests. Or, perhaps it’s because I love reading, but don’t like sitting still, so I get easily distracted. Most likely, it’s simply a result of having 17 daughters who are vying for my attention, especially in the evening hours, when I like to do my reading.
Nevertheless, I’ve been able to finish some great pieces of literature in the last seven months. My list of “Books to Read†is ALWAYS longer than the list of “Books Read,†but I am of the mindset that if books are not slowly chewed and savored, you will get ‘reading indigestion’, because your mind and heart and intellect tried to swallow up too much at once. And, believe me, I KNOW when I have reading indigestion: I pick up where I left off, and have no clue what the last ten pages or chapter were about.
So, here is a list of Books I’ve finished since last August (it’s humblingly short). That’s my new vocab word I just made up. Humblingly.
Three Cups of Tea, Mortenson, August – October 2009
Spiritual Mothering, Susan Hunt, August 2009
The Gospel for Real Life, Jerry Bridges, August – October 2009
All Things for Good, Thomas Watson, October – December 2009
A Severe Mercy, Sheldon Vanauken, December 2009
Just Do Something, Kevin DeYoung, December 2009
The Dangerous Duty of Delight, John Piper, December 2009
Worldliness, CJ Mahaney, January 2009 – March 2010
Instrument in the Redeemer’s Hands, Paul David Tripp, December –March 2010
Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail, February 2010
My current list includes:
Dug Down Deep, Joshua Harris
Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds, Pollock and Van Reken
Knowledge of the Holy, AW Tozer
The Ishbane Conspiracy, Alcorn
Daily Strength for Daily Needs, Mary W Tileston
On my list of books TO read:
East of Eden, John Steinbeck
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith
Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories, Agatha Christie
Bleak House, Charles Dickens
This is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession, Daniel J Levitin
A Heart to Serve: The Passion to Bring Health, Hope and Healing, William H Frist
CH Spurgeon on Spiritual Leadership, Steve Miller
Everyone has a different reading style, preference, rhythm. I am learning that for me, reading is relaxing. It gets me to slow down and think. Really, it is an art. The art of being quiet; the art of sitting still; the art of focus. And, as I live out life here at RVA, I’m finding that reading is something that refreshes me, in the midst of a crazy day when I don’t seem to catch my breath. It helps my brain to engage, even when my body feels like mush. And, sometimes I wonder if our culture (the American culture) feels almost guilty for sitting down with a cup of tea and being still and quiet for an hour? It’s as if we can’t seem to put it in the same category of TV watching. People in the States watch TV for hours at a time…why can’t we read for hours at a time? Here in Kenya, the locals cherish and value “quiet times,” whether it’s just having a cup of Chai, or resting in the grass, or having a long conversation. And, to them, it is the most natural thing to do! I want to be more like the Kenyans in this regard.
PS. It’s 1 week until the End of Term 2, and just 1 week till my brother, Peter, and best friend, Britt arrive for their visit. I couldn’t be more thrilled!
Emily, I see “The Help” on your picture, but not on your list. Do yourself a favor and bump it up to #1. I couldn’t put it down and neither could the 3 people who have subsequently borrowed it. Honestly. You know there are about 12 books after “The #1 Ladies Detective Agency” and it is a terrific series-even better, my mom just got me the DVD’s that HBO made of the series and you can borrow it when you return home, they are terrific. I may as well comment here on your slum trip. I have been in 2 slum situations. The one that affected me the most was when I transitioned from 4 months in China to Hong Kong for a 2 week break before I returned to China. China had only been open to westerners for 2 years when I went to study there. I can only tell you about the poverty in person. But when we first arrived in Hong Kong and went into the city from the YMCA to eat, I was so overwhelmed by the lights, flash, food, cars, wealth, that I finally found a dark doorway to sit and cry. I couldn’t even get through the injustice of it all. I could hardly breathe for lack of ability to understand or accept it. I returned to China hardened for 4 more months and then to my last semester of college bitter toward the US and $ in general. It took me a long time to get over that disparity. The next slum was the Garbage Dump in the Philippines. YWAM had a soap and underwear ministry that I helped with. It wasn’t as intense, but left me with such a helpless, hopeless feeling. All of the Philippines where I stayed was poor so it wasn’t as drastic, but poverty and illness anywhere changes our perspective. I’ll be interested to talk to you about that when you get home. Who are the next visitors so I can send a care package with them? love you, Tracy