August books
Sep. 3rd, 2007 04:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coffeesnob31834. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering our Hidden Life in God by Dallas Willard
This book is well written and well cross-referenced. I have added about twenty more books to my “to read” list. Mmm…book list…. *drools*
He reviews basics of experiencing God and life with Jesus. It was an intense book - it took me about six months to finish it, but it was worth it. It was a refreshing analysis of the Sermon on the Mount, not as a list of how we should act but a revelation of how pervasive the love of God is for us, with examples probably taken from the people around him when he was speaking. Everyone can know this love. Everyone can play.
A lot of misconception in Western Christianity stems from the fact that we are so literal, and Jesus taught in parables. We have this obsession with making everything tidy and neat, and Jesus just doesn’t work that way. Most of the previous teachings that I’ve heard on the Sermon on the Mount paint it as a hard, impossible standard. That never sat well with me because, in my experience, life with Jesus isn’t typically drudgery. In fact the only time it have even seemed so to me was when I confused religion for Jesus. Religion is hard; life with Jesus is perfect freedom. This book was a good reminder that anything that weighs me down is probably not the Lord.
One of my favorite parts was on the section about casting pearls before swine. I have never liked this passage, because I've read it as "Don't waste good things on people who don't appreciate it," and, while that satisfies my own selfishness, I could never really reconcile it with the person of Jesus. But the way this author approached it makes more sense. It does no good to throw pearls to pigs because pigs cannot use pearls – pearls, regardless of how precious they are to us, don’t feed them. It is foolishness (and, worse, an issue of control) to force “good things” upon people who are not ready for them. It will overwhelm them, back them into a corner, where their only choice is to attack or remain overwhelmed. “The point is not the waste of the ‘pearl’ but that the person given the pearl is not helped.”
There is so much more that I got out of this book. But I'll spare you. If it sounds like something you'd be interested in, I highly recommend it.
35. Speaking With the Angel – edited by Nick Hornby
I seem to be obsessed with short stories this year. This one included a story by Colin Firth and Helen Fielding and Dave Eggers (written from the perspective of a dog) and Irvine Welsh and lots of people whom I’ve read and very much liked. This book was various little nuggets of happy. I liked some of the stories more than others, of course, but Hornby’s NippleJesus (which was both exactly like and nothing like it sounds) was my favorite.
36. Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
I am so in love with Anne Lamott. Her words are the best summary:
“...that everyone is loved and chosen, even Dick Cheney, even Saddam Hussein. That God loves them, because God loves.”
“These are the words I want on my gravestone: That I was a helper, and that I danced.”
“It’s hard to remember that you’re a cherished spiritual being when you’re burping up apple fritters and Cheetos.”
“Why didn’t my faith protect me?” “It did. You found your way out of danger – and disgust – through humility, and even confession – to the love of safe people. Now you are safe again.”
“Joy is the best makeup. Joy, and good lighting.”
“You want to know how big God’s love is? The answer is: It’s very big. It’s bigger than you’re comfortable with.”
“I don’t hate anyone now, not even George W. Bush. This may seem an impossibility, but it is true, and indicates the presence of grace, or dementia, or both. While I still oppose every decision he makes and am appalled at his general level of malfunction, I no longer want to hurt him.”
37. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
It's hard for fiction to be inspiring for real life (at least to me), but this one accomplished that. It wasn't one thing in particular, just little bits here and there, such as in Spanish, the word for wait and hope are the same. Little nuggets like this. And phrases that I’ve only heard from my Memaw. Summer’s first rain = New Year’s Day. I want to celebrate that – to usher in a new beginning with the sounds and smell of rain – to dance and drink and be gloriously happy. Maybe that would lift the fog before it had a chance to really take hold.
“There seemed to be no end to the things that could be hiding, waiting it out, where you thought you could see it all.” How can a sentence be about hope and despair at the same time?
“The wisteria vines on their own would just barely get by, but put them together with rhizobia and they make miracles.”
38. Firstlight by Sue Monk Kidd
This is a collection of some of her first writings for Guideposts. Having read a few of her later books, it was interesting to see where she started. It had been a while since I'd read anything she's written. I'd forgotten how much I like her as a writer. I'd forgotten how much she inspires me to write, too. This book inspired a fairly lengthy journal entry at home. I'm not sure I want to share it with anyone else, but it felt good to write it.
This was one of my favorite quotes:
"People who are able to hold the balance between love and principle are those who carry the humbling awareness that they are capable of breaking every principle they hold, of abandoning each truth they espouse, of caving in a thousand times. This keeps them human; it keeps them real. It saves them from becoming arrogant and intractable in their righteousness."
39. The Other Woman by Jane Green
I liked this one, although admittedly, after the last one, my expectations were not that high. It was an easy read. It was still no Jemima J, but it was ok.
39½. All That Remains by Patricia D. Cornwell
I am such a wuss these days. I just can't handle the crime-that-did-or-could-really-happen stories any more. I thought it would be ok - it's not like CSI, where you can't really escape the visualization, because it's TV. The only things I saw were in my head. But I still couldn't do it. I read about 75 pages, and I just couldn’t go any further. I gave it a try, though. And it's sad because I was enough into the story to want to know what happened. *sheepishness*
So that's it for the month. I think I might actually surpass the goal of fifty books this year.
Reading now/soon/next -
- The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn - Jordan
- Fear and Trembling - Kierkegaard
- The Cellar - Laymon (although let's not hold our breath - I'm not sure how I'll do with the horror these days, either)
- The Cloister Walk and Amazing Grace: a Vocabulary of Faith - Norris
- Bastard out of Carolina - Allison
- Insecure at Last: Losing it in our Security-obsessed World - Ensler
This book is well written and well cross-referenced. I have added about twenty more books to my “to read” list. Mmm…book list…. *drools*
He reviews basics of experiencing God and life with Jesus. It was an intense book - it took me about six months to finish it, but it was worth it. It was a refreshing analysis of the Sermon on the Mount, not as a list of how we should act but a revelation of how pervasive the love of God is for us, with examples probably taken from the people around him when he was speaking. Everyone can know this love. Everyone can play.
A lot of misconception in Western Christianity stems from the fact that we are so literal, and Jesus taught in parables. We have this obsession with making everything tidy and neat, and Jesus just doesn’t work that way. Most of the previous teachings that I’ve heard on the Sermon on the Mount paint it as a hard, impossible standard. That never sat well with me because, in my experience, life with Jesus isn’t typically drudgery. In fact the only time it have even seemed so to me was when I confused religion for Jesus. Religion is hard; life with Jesus is perfect freedom. This book was a good reminder that anything that weighs me down is probably not the Lord.
One of my favorite parts was on the section about casting pearls before swine. I have never liked this passage, because I've read it as "Don't waste good things on people who don't appreciate it," and, while that satisfies my own selfishness, I could never really reconcile it with the person of Jesus. But the way this author approached it makes more sense. It does no good to throw pearls to pigs because pigs cannot use pearls – pearls, regardless of how precious they are to us, don’t feed them. It is foolishness (and, worse, an issue of control) to force “good things” upon people who are not ready for them. It will overwhelm them, back them into a corner, where their only choice is to attack or remain overwhelmed. “The point is not the waste of the ‘pearl’ but that the person given the pearl is not helped.”
There is so much more that I got out of this book. But I'll spare you. If it sounds like something you'd be interested in, I highly recommend it.
35. Speaking With the Angel – edited by Nick Hornby
I seem to be obsessed with short stories this year. This one included a story by Colin Firth and Helen Fielding and Dave Eggers (written from the perspective of a dog) and Irvine Welsh and lots of people whom I’ve read and very much liked. This book was various little nuggets of happy. I liked some of the stories more than others, of course, but Hornby’s NippleJesus (which was both exactly like and nothing like it sounds) was my favorite.
36. Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
I am so in love with Anne Lamott. Her words are the best summary:
“...that everyone is loved and chosen, even Dick Cheney, even Saddam Hussein. That God loves them, because God loves.”
“These are the words I want on my gravestone: That I was a helper, and that I danced.”
“It’s hard to remember that you’re a cherished spiritual being when you’re burping up apple fritters and Cheetos.”
“Why didn’t my faith protect me?” “It did. You found your way out of danger – and disgust – through humility, and even confession – to the love of safe people. Now you are safe again.”
“Joy is the best makeup. Joy, and good lighting.”
“You want to know how big God’s love is? The answer is: It’s very big. It’s bigger than you’re comfortable with.”
“I don’t hate anyone now, not even George W. Bush. This may seem an impossibility, but it is true, and indicates the presence of grace, or dementia, or both. While I still oppose every decision he makes and am appalled at his general level of malfunction, I no longer want to hurt him.”
37. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
It's hard for fiction to be inspiring for real life (at least to me), but this one accomplished that. It wasn't one thing in particular, just little bits here and there, such as in Spanish, the word for wait and hope are the same. Little nuggets like this. And phrases that I’ve only heard from my Memaw. Summer’s first rain = New Year’s Day. I want to celebrate that – to usher in a new beginning with the sounds and smell of rain – to dance and drink and be gloriously happy. Maybe that would lift the fog before it had a chance to really take hold.
“There seemed to be no end to the things that could be hiding, waiting it out, where you thought you could see it all.” How can a sentence be about hope and despair at the same time?
“The wisteria vines on their own would just barely get by, but put them together with rhizobia and they make miracles.”
38. Firstlight by Sue Monk Kidd
This is a collection of some of her first writings for Guideposts. Having read a few of her later books, it was interesting to see where she started. It had been a while since I'd read anything she's written. I'd forgotten how much I like her as a writer. I'd forgotten how much she inspires me to write, too. This book inspired a fairly lengthy journal entry at home. I'm not sure I want to share it with anyone else, but it felt good to write it.
This was one of my favorite quotes:
"People who are able to hold the balance between love and principle are those who carry the humbling awareness that they are capable of breaking every principle they hold, of abandoning each truth they espouse, of caving in a thousand times. This keeps them human; it keeps them real. It saves them from becoming arrogant and intractable in their righteousness."
39. The Other Woman by Jane Green
I liked this one, although admittedly, after the last one, my expectations were not that high. It was an easy read. It was still no Jemima J, but it was ok.
39½. All That Remains by Patricia D. Cornwell
I am such a wuss these days. I just can't handle the crime-that-did-or-could-really-happen stories any more. I thought it would be ok - it's not like CSI, where you can't really escape the visualization, because it's TV. The only things I saw were in my head. But I still couldn't do it. I read about 75 pages, and I just couldn’t go any further. I gave it a try, though. And it's sad because I was enough into the story to want to know what happened. *sheepishness*
So that's it for the month. I think I might actually surpass the goal of fifty books this year.
Reading now/soon/next -
- The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn - Jordan
- Fear and Trembling - Kierkegaard
- The Cellar - Laymon (although let's not hold our breath - I'm not sure how I'll do with the horror these days, either)
- The Cloister Walk and Amazing Grace: a Vocabulary of Faith - Norris
- Bastard out of Carolina - Allison
- Insecure at Last: Losing it in our Security-obsessed World - Ensler
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Date: 2007-09-03 12:49 pm (UTC)Happy Reading.
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Date: 2007-09-03 05:45 pm (UTC)