I'm sorry. It's true, I read this. I was embarrassed the whole time. Reading Tom Clancy is something like having a stubble beard and playing video games on your computer until 4am.

Maybe I have low standards. Maybe reading Harry Potter has changed me. Either way, I read a Clancy novel. And, gulp, I kinda liked it.

This is a super informative book by a highly qualified doctor. His explanations are simple and straight forward. I haven't taken any of the supplements he recommends yet, because Im still waiting to see the effects of my raw diet. But his suggestions are the first I will turn to if the raw food doesn't help as much as I hope.

I plan to buy this book at some point. A friend loaned it to me and the recipes sound amazing. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in healthy eating. All the recipes are raw and vegan, but anyone would enjoy them. And its bright and beautiful.

I'm not afraid to say that I simply love Harry Potter. I fought it for years. But, the fight was silly. I should have given in long ago. I think I would have started loving stories and literature earlier if I hadn't refrained from reading this stuff.

And this was the best one yet. 750 pages of complete awesomeness. If you don't think that Harry Potter is awesome ... well, you need awesome lessons.

Wow. This was powerful. I am so thankful that I read it.

Kate told me that I really needed to read this. And, honestly, I didn't really want to. It's not the kind of book that a guy picks up and reads. But, I was wrong to think that this book would be boring or slow. I mean, yeah, it starts slow. Snorze-ville. But, after a while it's as good as anything. And then at the end ... phew! The feeling it left me with lasted for some time.

Read it.

Loved 'em.

Loved 'em.

Loved 'em.

Seriously, this is good junk.

This is the only raw cookbook I own to date. I chose this one because it is "a beginner's guide" to raw food. And it is a great book for that purpose. Alt is not extreme, and has no spiritual or moral reasons for eating raw. It's only about health for her. In fact, she isn't even vegan (a rarity amongst raw foodists), and includes seared fish and beef in her diet. As far as her recipes, I haven't been too impressed. But I'm still glad I got and read this book.

This is the craziest book. I thought it was supposed to be Science Fiction ... but it seemed more medieval than tech-ish. But, things change.

It was tough to get going with this one. But, wow, it was worth it. Such an amazing story ... and told in such a creative and perfect way. I loved it, all the way until the end.

I finally read ye ol' harrie'd pooty. It was pretty good. I was on pins and needles the whole time (I think it had something to do with the dark arts).

Occasionally I found the book super cheesy. But cheese sells. Look at the Davinci Code.

For the most part, though, I loved the story. Tons of fun. Surprises around every corner. J.K. has an insane imagination. I love it. This was the fastest 200+ book I ever read. I think it took me 2 days. I'm a slow reader. Anyway, I loved it.

I can't say Im the better for reading these (all three in a couple of weeks), but they are fun. My friend Kat loaned them to me (without my request), and I finally picked them up. And then I couldn't put them down. Rowling does a fantastic job of writing in a way that keeps the interest of a 10 year old as well as a 30 year old. The world she created is so believable, and with each book I've been more impressed with the complex story she is weaving. I'll get to the next 4 eventually, but Im taking a break for now. I need some Muggle time.

This is a beautiful book that my friend Esther has been recommending for some time. I saw it for cheep at a local book store and am the better for reading it. The style is a unique mixture between dialogue (without quotation marks) and poetry. It takes place in South Africa, and deals with the generations, classes and races in South  Africa at the time. It's a tale of love for a people, and faith that is deeply challenged. It is slow moving, yet so worth the journey. I highly recommend this book.

This is one of the best multi-player games of all time. It's hard to believe how great this game is. You can play at home by yourself or with your kids. Also, you can hook it up online via WiFi and play ranked matches against human opponents. And the, as if that wasn't enough, you can play your friends online.

Generally, once or twice a week I've played my friend Rob. It's like having a friend sitting next to you playing old school nintendo games. I love it.

Apparently this book was in large part an autobiography of Narayan's marriage. It was the saddest, most intense book that I've ready by this author.

I had a hard time putting this book down. I was tied to it. I'd read it during my lunch break and then be emotionally impacted for the rest of my work day. Basically, the narrator's wife contracts Typhoid and dies. The pain represented in the narration seems so real.

The main topic of this story was the crappy domestic life of a couple that had been married for 15-ish years.

We see a woman who is disgusted by her husband's attitude, words, and affair. She has to figure out how to live life apart from her husband.

When she is sulking or frustrated she goes into a dark room in the house and doesn't speak or come out until she is ready. The whole story is a lengthy, emotional dark room.

This story is told from the perspective of a tiger named Raja.

I really liked this one. It was different than Narayan's other stuff - mostly because it was told by a tiger.

I loved the creativity and the thought that went into this story. It's so genius.

This is the second book within the same hardback that I read Swami and Friends. There are 2 more past this one ... you'll see them soon.

This is a cool book. It's about a young college grad who is trying to figure out what he wants to do in life. He's drawn to a pretty face of some girl he walks by and is lost for months trying to figure out how to marry her. Things don't work out so he becomes a holy man for a year and then finally returns to "normal" life. I enjoyed this one because I've known so many people who were working through this period in their lives. It was very insightful.

This book was really fun. It details a year in the life of a young boy, he's probably between 8 and 10. Narayan captures the thoughts and foolishness of a kid, along with the hopes and the infatuations of a young boy. Swamithan wanted to be a great cricket player, he wanted to be liked by his two buddies, and he wanted his father to leave him alone so we could live he life he wanted.

Eventually Swamithan gets worked and it is cool to see him "remember" that he is just a little boy still. Poor guy. Good book.

I really liked this one. Many of Narayan's novels have a theme of the battle between youth and the wisdom of tradition. I've always had interest in this theme as I see always feel myself so given to the perspective of modernism or novelty.

It was very cool to "see" inside the mind of a man who has lived many years and made choices to be what he is. And then to see him struggle with the choices of his son who basically ditches all that has been offered to him in the way of a rich tradition. You see how the father is blinded in some ways and how the son is arrogant and assuming in other ways. This was a great book.

This was one of my least favorite Narayan novels. It was written very well, but I just didn't like the main character.

Nagaraj is painfully self-interested and others-blinded. He interprets everything in the world through the grid of his own interests. I definitely see aspects of myself in him, which is tough. Also, I've seen this type of life from people I've known. It really hurts to see it so absolutely expressed in a book.

This book was the best. As I always say, "Narayan is the best, you gotta read this ol' Indian writer." Yeah, I've been saying that for months.

The Talkative Man is about a guy who is known around town as The Talkative Man (or TM). Narayan gives glimpses of this character throughout many of his other stories in Malgudi. So, I was intrigued when I saw this one at the library. Also, it's noteworthy that this is one Narayan's last novels before he stopped writing and died. So, you know it's good.

I highly recommend this one. I highly recommend all of Narayan's stuff.

I don't have much to say about this book.

Overall I did not care for it. Although it was well written, the subject matter was difficult for me.

I did like that it is told from three different perspectives. A father's, a son's, and a lover's. So you see the same events and characters but from different points of view.

Caleb and I have decided to teach our kids through life learning, not forced curriculum. And this book explains how other parents are doing the same thing. If you are interested in the topic, I recommend this book. It explains "unschooling" on a basic and clear level. It encouraged me in our journey.

I reread this because of a conversation I had with a mom. It reminded me of all I learned from this book, and I thought I should refresh my memory. This is my favorite Christian parenting book to date. The authors believe that Scripture teaches parent's have authority over their kids, yet feel this should be carried out with honor and respect for your kids. The object is to teach the whole family to show preference to each other and treat each other as special. They encourage independent thinking yet mutual understanding among family members.

It helped me see that I can be in charge, yet not be domineering or authoritarian. I have often felt I either have to be totally lenient or completely strict. This book helps me find a balance (not that I've reached it).

I highly recommend this to parents with kids still in the home.

I bought this book (as well as Three Junes) at a cute local bookstore (Book Tales). I walked in wanting an interesting novel that had won lots of awards. I have always thought that guarantees a good read (and Im not talking #1 bestsellers. I mean like "book of the year" type awards.) So I began Small Island with high expectations due to it's impressive array of awards. But I struggled through it. I found it really boring at parts and then page turning at others. I would set it down for days at a time. And then race through a good section in one night. The end was super interesting, which helps my opinion of the book.

It's told from four different voices. Two Jamaican characters and two British characters. It takes place during and  following WWII, with a lot of emphasis on the lack of honor given to Jamican's fighting for Britain.  The cultural issues are pretty interesting, and I loved reading about the Jamaican man's culture clashes with England. 

But, overall I don't recommend this book. I realize now that impressive book awards don't necessarily guarantee a good read.

06•07 Mix CD
06•07 Song List

This book looks at the lives of American adolescent girls, and their depressions, eating disorders, suicide attempts, etc. It is a heavy book, that was pretty depressing to read. But it was also eye-opening. For one, I realize how great my adolescence was compared to many others. Although I wanted to fit in, I did have community and support, which I believe God used to keep me from a lot of things.  I also think this book will help me be less naive when my little girl hits 13. She tells many stories of good parents who were surprised by their daughter's depression, drug use, sexual activity,etc. in Jr. High and High School. Pipher's ideal answer to this problem is for the culture to change. "We live in a look-obsessed, sexist 'girl-poisoning' culture." She wants girls to be able to keep their "true selves", and not be taken in by society's inconsistent standards.  She recommends parents keep their girl's safe, yet allow them the freedom to be independent  without totally separating. A lot of discussion about culture and media should be had in the home. And girls should ask themselves questions about who they are and what they truly like and want; hopefully sorting through what culture tells them they should be. This is an exercise that still benefits me (at 31).

I recommend this book to anyone with or working with adolescent girls.

We got this game yesterday. it was $17 - normally $50. It's worth about $10. It looks awesome - but kinda sucks.

We got this a few weeks ago. It's a family favorite.

Again with the R.K. Narayan stuff. I just think the stuff he writes is so good. I'd call it safe.

I don't really know much about Indian culture - so maybe that's why his stories appeal to me so much. These are the tales of simple people in such a different world. This one was about a guy who ends up as a holy man. It then describes his life up to that point ... which was very much not holy. He was a guide who worked at the railroad station. He'd take people around the country. He prided himself on understanding what they wanted to see and experience. He uses this knowledge when he becomes a Swamiji in a small village at the end of his life. He just tells people what they want to hear ... or what they need to hear.

Very recommended.

I really enjoyed reading this. I doubt I can explain it very well - but I highly recommend it. Basically, the story revolves around two different couples. Of primary interest is the husband who owns a TV shop. He's kind of this strange, detached guy who doesn't really give a rip about his wife or kid - but who continues to move through life for some reason. The story is a glimpse into the mind and soul of a person who is living the empty american dream. It reminded me of that one song by Glenn Philips called Half-Life.

I loved this book. Philip K. Dick and myself have deep roots. My dad used to read Dick's short story called The Father Thing to me when I was a kid. It was his favorite.

When I was in college I saw a movie called Minority Report. I really liked that movie. And then I realized that Philip K. Dick was the one who wrote the original story ... as well as tons of other super cool science fiction movie/story/scripts. So, I started reading all his sci-fi stuff. It's super good.

I guess I never realized that he also wrote non sci-fi. And, well, this apparently one of the better ones. Dick's style makes me happy - he's somewhat laid back and brutally honest. But honest in a way that doesn't get annoying. You know how Donald Miller is honest? The thing with Miller is that he knows he's being honest and plays it up a bit. And when you're done reading a Miller book you feel like you read something that was super honest. That's not the way it is with this book. It's honest in the sense that it describes important domestic and emotional scenes in a way that makes you nervous that either you relate (which would be bad) or that you don't relate but can clearly see how you could relate (which would be bad).

Anyway, this was such an interesting story. There was some strange stuff - as to be expected from Dick. But, I definitely recommend it.

I'm not sure if I really like Aldous Huxley's work - or if I really hate it. This book was pretty good I suppose. Although, I definitely don't recommend it unless you are really into philosophy. If you want a great story with thick plot-iness - looks elsewhere.

Apparently, this book was written soon after Huxley moved to California. This is his commentary on American life. And, to be honest, it's a bit bleak. But also true in many respects. Wow, just what we need. Another voice telling us that the American dream is actually a nightmare.

Huxley mocks the American infatuation with youth, superficial beauty, and hollow living. The story is about an Englishman who comes to America to work with a wealthy oil investor who is hell-bent on staying alive.

After I finished this book I started reading another Huxley novel. I gave up on the new one. I guess I'm not cut out for Huxley. But, I will say that I really enjoy some of Huxley's philosophical meanderings. There is one character in After Many Summers who was a revolutionary in religious and social thought. Some of the stuff he said moved me - I definitely felt the hollowness in the pursuit of material possessions.

04•07 Mix CD
04•07 Song List

This book is a collection of rare, previously uncollected short stories. As with everything Vonnegut writes, I loved it. His career began with this stuff.

It's amazing to think that these are the first stories he wrote. I can certainly tell the difference between these stories and his final ones.

Kurt Vonnegut has passed away very recently. I thought that was a bit strange since I was in the middle of reading his writings from the beginning of his career - and all of a sudden, his career abruptly ended, so it goes.

I don't know much about Vonnegut. I'm quite interested to start learning things about his life and writings. I do know that he had a family ... and that his children are all grown - and probably my age. That's strange to think about. His kids are my age and he died ... I'm just glad my dad isn't a famous writer, otherwise I'd be worried.

Please read these stories. They're the best. My favorite story was A Night of Love. I read it during the day ... but I loved it all the same.

I completely loved this book. It's really refreshing to read stories by Narayan. This one made me happy. I couldn't understand why I was so caught under the spell. I couldn't put this book down. Most good books haunt your thoughts while you're not reading. The Painter of Signs would never do that. But I always wanted to read it.

The book is about a fella named Raman who is a sign painter. He's smart, analytic, simple, and happily single. Until he meets this strange girl named Daisy who turns out to be a "family planner" of sorts. Daisy is decisive, very bossy, and beautiful. Raman is smitten and turns his life upside down to fit her lifestyle and expectations.

This story reminded me of couples back in college. It sort of reminded me of Kate and I back in college. However, Kate is not bossy ... or decisive.

Additionally, there is an interesting theme regarding spirituality. The main characters are "scientific thinkers." But there is a strong sense that the gods, who are merely statues, have an important role in the world and in the lives of the characters.

About R. K. Narayan (1906–2001), born and educated in India, was the author of fourteen novels, numerous short stories and essays, a memoir, and three retold myths. His work, championed by Graham Greene, who became a close friend, was often compared to that of Dickens, Chekhov, Faulkner, and Flannery O’Connor, among others. October 10, 2006, is the centennial of Narayan’s birth.

I really liked this book.  I don’t think I ever would have thought to read it, but I saw my sister-in-law (Wendy) reading it. I found the few pages I read interesting, so she lent it to me. And it IS super interesting.

I’ve always been distantly interested in Bono’s faith, and liked U2’s music. He is faith-filled, driven, philanthropic and inspiring. I was really encouraged by his love for the Scriptures and desire to help the helpless. His relentless effort to help the poor and sick in Africa is awesome.
He lives out his relationship with God in a different way than I have traditionally seen, and that was helpful for me. I don’t want to copy him completely, but there are many ways I do want to.

I was shocked when he shared the gospel of Jesus with Michka (the interviewer and author of the book). It was so cool. He was humble yet bold. And Michka said he wished he could believe what Bono did.

He is not an introspective person, and I was helped by his frustration with those who are too analytical (which I am prone to be).

One of my other sister-in-laws loaned me this book (Ann). I took a couple of months to read through this. Each chapter deals with a different marital issue, and I needed time in between each chapter.

I haven’t read a marriage book in a long time. And we are in our seventh year of marriage (which is supposedly one of the hardest) so I think it was really great timing. Its cool to read a book like this when your not having “problems” in your relationship.

Although there were not a lot of new ideas in this book, it was good to be reminded of the basics: communicate, be understanding, keep learning about each other, and embrace your differences.

It was fun that the authors reminded me of mine and Caleb’s personalities. It made it easy to relate, and more practical. I recommend it.

COMMENTS BY CHARIS:

I like when they all met Aslan. I like when the war came. It was fun that we almost read it every night. My favorite part was when Aslan died...that they tie a rope around him. And I really liked the movie.
 
(We read this together as a family. It took several weeks, and Jonas didn’t love it. But it was a cool thing to do. We watched the movie together when we were done. We’ll start another family book once we’ve had a good break from this one.)

This was the third Vonnegut book I read. Apparently many people read this in college or high-school. Not me. And I’m glad about that. I liked this book the least of the three K.V. books. Not that it was the worst written - far from it - but I just didn’t like it as much.
 
Slaughterhouse-Five is an antiwar novel. The main character suffers from schizophrenia and a case of the ol’ time-travel-and-aliens-kidnapped-me disease. I’m sure glad I read it though. It’s sorta a classic and everything - and all classics should be read. Right?

I have no idea why I grabbed this book. Rumor has it that Narayan rivals most contemporary english writers. Fact has it that he is Indian and all his stories are told from an Indian perspective.
 
I very much liked this book of short stories. I now plan on reading a novel by Narayan about a sign painter. I hope it’s at least half as good as this book. We’ll see.
 
I recommend this book. The stories are 2-4 pages each. Can’t go wrong.

Remember when “dick” was a person’s name and not a bad word? I certainly don’t. But I hear people mention it here and there. I always find it strange that older men don’t realize this clear change in the word’s imagery and meaning. Seriously, Richard is much cooler. Why is this even an issue? Everyone should agree.
 
Moving on ... I really loved this book. I think that Vonnegut is definitely one of my favorite writers now. He’s up there with J.D. Salinger, Nicholson Baker, and Sinclair Lewis, and Jesus (j/k on that last one).
 
The story is about a social outcast (very Vonnegut-esque) who accidentally shoots and kills a pregnant woman. He struggles to deal with this issue the rest of his horribly painful and lonely life. Oh, he’s also a self-identified neuter. It only gets better.
 
The way Vonnegut writes is so appealing to me. He’s extremely funny, holds the illusion that he has no opinion on the matter, and then zings you right in the kisser. It’s really effective if you ask me.

I’ve never read any German literature. Well, I had never read any German literature ... that all changed last week.
 
I liked this story. It was strange and completely disjointed - but pretty good. Apparently this was an incomplete novel that was published against the author’s dying wish. Doesn’t that make it sound more intriguing? It did to me.
 
It’s about this dude who gets accused of something and is then arrested in a really strange way. We never find out what he did unlawful - which kinda makes for a fun story.
 
I identified with the main character in his battle against the way the established “system” lingers on for no explainable reason. If you’ve ever felt the frustration of waiting at the DMV or trying to get a Passport - you’ll probably identify with Joseph K. as well.
 
A friend of mine at work asked if the book was Kafka-esque. Apparently Kafka has this thing with redemption through backward transformation. Which, if that sounds cool, go ahead and read this book. The worse Joseph K. is degraded by the system - the more human he becomes.

I didn’t read this book when everyone else did. And it seemed everyone I knew was talking about it. So I didn’t feel the need to read it for myself. But I reached for it the other day, and am glad I finally did.

I really appreciate Donald Miller. I relate to a lot of his struggles with Christian culture and the church, as well as to his affinity for hippies.

He does remind me of Anne Lamott because he is honest and funny and you don’t always like him, but then wish you could have coffee with him. But I connect more with his understanding of Christianity. He seems to believe Jesus is the only way to God. And I think Lamott is fuzzy on this. I really appreciated what he wrote about loving yourself.  and the ability to receive love. This is not popular where I come from. But I was helped by what he said. And I loved his thoughts on the mystical nature of worshipping God.

Loved it, loved it, loved it. Very non-plot-ish. Nicholson Baker has turned out to be one of my favorite authors in a while. His stuff is so great. He makes the most mundane and normal topics of life so appealing and happy. After reading his stuff I walk around admiring doorknobs and laughing at the way I stare into the refrigerator for the 8th time in 10 minutes.
I’ll admit - I didn’t stumble upon this guy because I’m a “real” reader. I saw a blog somewhere that was about how to be interesting. The first thing to do in order to be interesting was to read The Mezzanine by Nicholson Baker. The reason? Baker turns everything in the world into gold and chocolate. Seriously.
If you work in the corporate world, read The Mezzanine. If you have kids and a house, read A Box of Matches.
Oh, if you have ears, listen to Gary Jules - totally unrelated.

Wow. This was a bit different from The Mezzanine (see below). Checkpoint is a dialogue between two old friends. One of them had decided to assassinate George W - while the other guy is trying to talk him out of it. I liked this book, but I didn’t love it like I loved the other two Nicholson Baker books. I’m glad I read it, it only took 2 days of lunch-breaks.

I think this is the first book Nicholson Baker wrote. It’s the first book I read by Nicholson Baker.

Sitting and reading it was one of the most enjoyable things I’ve ever done. I waited 3 months to find this book for less than $10 (it’s only 135 pages in paperback form ... $14? - no way). In the end, I received it as a gift. Kate got it for me. She’s great. So is this book (in a different way of course).

I’m assuming most people who read this know me at least a little bit. If you think you’re anything like me - get this book. YOU WILL LOVE IT!

This is my first fictional novel by Lamott. Mattie, the main character, seems extremely similar to Lamott. I kept thinking she was talking about herself, because her other books I’ve read were memoirs. That was kinda weird to me. But I feel like Im friends with Mattie as well as Lamott, due to her personal and real portrayal of people. She describes the mundane rhythm of life in a way that I can relate to.

I can’t believe I wanted to keep reading about this woman’s day.  She wasn’t amazing or exciting. But she was real. And her life sucked much of time. And she did things that I don’t want to do.  But I continue to think about her. And I’ll wonder what she would say about something.  I guess that’s the sign of a well written book.

I get to hear Anne Lamott speak in a couple of weeks. Im really interested and excited to hear her.  Maybe I’ll blog about it.

I liked this book lots and lots. The story line is crazy. The book is narrated from a million years in the future ... well, a million years from 1986. And the narrator is a ghost. Yeah!
 
Also, the story is written in the air with the pointer finger of the ghost’s left hand. Why his left?
 
It is about the origins of the human race as it exists a million years in the future. They don’t have huge ol’ brains in the future ... and they don’t really have the kind of hands we have now - they wont have the brains to operate them anyway.
 
I’m not sure if this is making fun of evolution or what. But, the point is that this small group of people get stranded on a galapagos island while the rest of the world dies from world war 3. through natural selection and the mutation caused by nuclear war, human kind has fur and flippers and eventually becomes fisherfolk.
 
Sound dumb? No, it’s not. The stuff I just wrote really has nothing to do with the story. Seriously, it’s crazy. You should just read it ... I recommend it highly. I need to read more from this guy.

This is a tiny little novella. It’s about a friendly sea captain who finds this wacky ship full of slaves and a couple spanish guys. Turns out, the slaves are being sneaky. Sneaky-sneak - if you know what I mean.
 
The thing is that the whole story is kind of spooky. You know something aint stirrin’ the kool-aid, but you don’t know what ... is ... not stirring the kool-aid? Sorry, that didn’t make any sense. I liked this okay.

I think this is my favorite book of all times. I FELT so many emotions and had so many THOUGHTS while reading. I’ve never wanted to be like a 50 year old man before. But Jean Valjean is someone I want to be like. His selflessness appalled and inspired me, and his gracious generosity is something I am so far from. He is a beautiful, yet imperfect, picture of Jesus. And it helps me to have that picture painted in a new way.

I think of “carrying other’s burdens” - Valjean is an amazing example. I was mortified and overwhelmed at what he was willing to do for others, without credit. I know he is a fictitious character, but I feel like he is real and I know him after so many beautifully written pages about him and those connected to him.

Even if you have seen the movie and play, I recommend reading this book. I had seen the movie twice and the play 3 times before reading this. And I was impacted more than I could have imagined.

Loved it, loved it, loved it. Thank you Mr. Sophomore AP English Teacher who’s name I forgot but who offered my friend Phil $100 to say the F word. Phil didn’t go for it. Phil had no imagination. Anyway, this teacher I had made me love literature. UPDATE - Mr. Raymond.

I wasn’t sure who Voltaire was. I had heard that he wrote satirical tragedies ... and that’s all I had heard. But when I pictured him in my mind he had a really awesome gray fro that was mostly on top of his head rather than a traditional round fro.
 
As far as this short little story goes, the gray fro doesn’t matter. Voltaire was a Frenchy back in the 1700’s. This book was a little intense in many ways, but I definitely liked it. The whole purpose of this story is to mock a world view that Voltaire thought was silly. He continually proves how silly it is to think that everything in the world is as it should be and it is in fact the best as it could be. I highly doubt he cared much for the Christian faith. It seems that he was primarily arguing against a version of Deism that emphasized the goodness of the Deity’s creation. So, since I don’t care much for Deism myself - I didn’t care much about the argument. However, there is an aspect of Christianity that does get ruffled a bit. Particularly the idea that all things are working together for  the good of those who love God. Voltaire offers some interesting thoughts in this regard. I’d give this book a shot. It’s quick, interesting, funny, and really gross. Rated R for violence and comic mischief.

I really like that movie called Spy Game with Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. Spy movies with secrets and killing and other such nonsense really appeal to me because they’re cool and smart. Not James Bond crap with the ladies and the cigarettes and everything. It’s the simple spy-ingenuity that gets me every time. I never had any Spy Gear toys growing up, but if I did have that one motion detecting set back in the day, I’d probably be working with the KGB by now.
 
So I read this 650 page spy/espionage/assassin book. It was okay. I’ll stick with the classics for literature and the Spy stories for the movies. I just love that Moby song. Extreme ways indeed my friends, extreme ways indeed.

It’s kind of a fluke how I ended up reading this book. It all started back in high school when I read this short story by I’m not sure who entitled Bartleby the Scrivener. I loved Bartleby. But, for some reason I could never remember his name. I could only remember this other name, Babbit. But this brain malfunction made me want to read Babbit because I kept thinking about the name on accident. So, I went to get it one day but walked away with another book instead by the same author. It was called Elmer Gantry. Why? I’m not sure. But I loved it. So now, years later, I read Babbit finally. It was very good ... I mean it was no Elmer Gantry, but it was very good ... although a bit mucky at times.

A new friend loaned this book to me. I read it somewhat out of obligation. And I will be happy to take a long break from Christian living books. But, of course, this was good to read. It contains account after account of women who needed help and found it in God.  They are all true stories, and all inspiring.
 
If you like biographies and need to be reminded that God is working and answering prayer, this might be a good book for you.

Yeah, obviously this is no book. But look here, the Wii is an important piece of everyday Hagen-life .. and as such, it deserves some recognition in the best section of our site.
 
At some point during the day Charis will ask if she can use her pass (each day they each get to use their pass once to ask for anything they want). She always asks to play the Wii ... and I always say yes. We love it. Paxton throws some mean pitches in baseball on Wii Sports and Charis loves to play MonkeyBall. Personally, I think it’s super cool that you can download old school games like Super Mario Bros. and Bomberman ’93. I can’t wait for Excitebike, Rampart and 007.
 
So, we’re pretty happy with it. I’d recommend getting one if you can. If you already have a blessed Wii, our digits are 0340 8433 8366 4303.

I’m reading this mother too. It’s awesome ... I love it. Keep up the good work Hugo!
 
01/07 • UPDATE by Caleb.
Finally finished this a couple of weeks ago. Without hesitation I hereby declare this book to be my very favorite. Smiling used to be my favorite, but now this book is. Yeah, I mean that.
 
I’ll admit that I had no intention of reading any of it when Kate first bought it. But, she asked me to read the first couple hundred pages because she was so impacted by them. So after a few weeks I got around to it ... and then I stole the book from her. It took me a few months of lunch breaks in the park to finish it ... but it was well worth it.
 
I really can’t recommend it enough. Go find some used bookstore and grab an older unabridged version for $6. Good luck, and enjoy.

Have you read this book? I highly recommend it. It is a quick read; simple and repetitive and a bit cheesy. But it was a really good reminder to me of what is important in life. This dying man shares his insight on love, money, nature, etc. It’s a true account.
 
I think I was most moved by his challenge to always live as if we are dying (in a since). How would we treat people of we knew it would be some of our last days with them. What would we value?
 
He says to embrace each life stage you are in. “..if you’ve found meaning in your life, you don’t want to go back. You want to go forward. You want to do more, see more. You can’t wait until sixty-five.”   This has been a theme for me recently - not regretting. not wondering “what if?...”

If you’ll be so kind as to scroll to the bottom of this review page, you’ll see a book by the same author (which I rave about). This book here, as well as the one down below, contains 2 stories which describe different members of the same family. I don’t dare mention anything more about them, I like them too much.
 
Generally, all of the time I spend with a J.D. Salinger book is very happy. He makes me smile tons and get sad just a bit.
 
Get some J.D. and read it with some J.D. Not really, you probably couldn’t read this stuff with a J.D. - my grandma probably could have though. I think she liked that stuff. Me, I’ve never touched the stuff. Not out of moral decision, it just scares me.

You know how you feel when you’re watching a suspenseful movie. You love the scary tension but you can’t wait for it to be over. This is how I felt while reading Drowning Ruth. It was strange and haunting and confusing. Schwarz’s writing style is unique and a bit odd. But I really liked it.

As far as story line, again, strange. There were many uncomfortable relationships going on, and they are presented in an emotionally engaging way. I appreciated her insights into motherly love that has become selfish and twisted.

I couldn’t put the book down, but mostly because I wanted the suspense to end. Just how I feel about those kinds of movies.

Rob Bell? Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith? If this title isn't blowin'-out-the-choochy-postmerderny-liberalish-conversationy-artsy-fartsy than I don't know what is.
 
This book came  highly recommended by a couple different friends ... some very trusted ones at that. And I'm super glad i read it, thanks Action!
 
Maybe I'm wrong here, but I see Donald Miller riding the line of orthodox theology & conservo-christianity and Rob Bell riding on the edge of liberal theology & postmynerdish-christianity. If I read this book 2 or 3 years ago I would have hated it's guts ... but things have changed and so have I. I found myself impacted every time I sat down with Velvet Elvis. It challenges an endless amount of what I've "accepted" as Christianity and how I'm supposed to approach Jesus and the gospels.
 
My background with the Scripture has been primarily instructed by The Master's College and the surrounding peeps who adopt (for the most part) the theology taught therein. Apparently Rob Bell didn't go to Master's (eghh!) and he doesn't even mention J Fullerton M (double eghh!). But don't worry, he likes John Piper (whewh). Anyway, the stuff this guy discusses as well as the historical background of Jesus' time that he pulls much of his interpretation from is all new to me. So in a way it's refreshing ... and that's what I loved about this book. In another way it's scary because on every other page I thought, "I didn't know that ... and I went to bible school ... why have I never heard that before?" After a few chapters of thinking that I began to get even more scared because my thoughts started going like this: "If I've never heard this stuff before (and it changes everything) what have I been hearing this whole time?"
 
This brings me to the age-old spot of frustration with