My Fellow Pilgrims: Aaah, Summer

Monday, 05 June 2006

Aaah, Summer

It has been a long school year, and I am pooped. Just dog-tired. Nice to have a few days to do mindless but necessary stuff like cleaning the house. It has been great to sleep past 6 for THREE DAYS IN A ROW. Wow! What a gift. I've read today. Watched some TV. Like I said, worked on some cleaning of the house. About to make lunch. This is great.

We had a fantastic service on Saturday night, and I know that it was a hardship for many of our folk. Thanks for making our Pentecost service so powerful and fun.

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Books I've read in 2006

Christopher Paolini: Eragon
Too predictable, the boy saw Star Wars too many times, and rehashed the same plot. Well written for a teen, but expected more from all the hype. (***)
Donald Miller: To Own A Dragon
A touching and honest look at trying to be a man without the model of a dad around. Very telling, knowing from experience. More about being a man than not having a dad. (*****)
Gregory Maguire: Wicked
Insightful and and inciting. A tough but eminently readable look at the Wicked Witch of the West from Oz. (*****)
Elisa Carbone: Blood on the River: Jamestown 1607
Our whole school is reading this over Winter Break. It will be fun for the boys, and oh so timely! Recommend it for kids wanting to get in on the 400th anniversary. (****)
Dave Barry: Peter and the Starcatchers
Fun kids' book. I throughly enjoyed it, despite being over 9-12. Always have been a Dave Barry fan. (****)
Trudy Knowles: What Every Middle School Teacher Should Know:
Pretty good and much more progressive than I expected. Very readable. (****)
Daniel Keyes: Flowers for Algernon (Bantam Classic)
A pondering on the meaning humanity and intelligence. Well-told and moving. (****)
William Goldman: The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure (The 'Good Parts' Version)
Have always loved the movie, and loved reading this to my daughter. Just fun and funny. The best of the movie, plus. (****)
Gary K. Wolf: Who Censored Roger Rabbit
Fun, summer read. NOT the movie. Much better, much less child friendly. Good send-up of hard-boiled detective fiction. (***)
Christopher Marlowe: Dr. Faustus
Classic from the time of Shakespeare. Kind of the anti-Job. Simple, but opens some good doors for discussion. (****)
Catherine Ryan Hyde: Pay It Forward
Considering this for school next year, and found it a thoughtful read, with some subtleties the movie did not bring out. Still chewing on it. (****)
Jon Scieszka: Guys Write for Guys Read
One of our summer reads. Short, simple memoirs talking about being a guy. (***)
Donald Miller: Searching For God Knows What
Good solid book, not as enjoyable as his wonderful Blue Like Jazz, but good. (****)
Dan Brown: Angels & Demons
Actually liked this one better than DaVinci Code. Less predictable and rehashing of other people's thoughts.
Ray Bradbury: The Martian Chronicles (The Grand Master Editions)
A classic, another summer read. (****)
Carl Hiaasen: Hoot
One of my classes required reading for next year. A fun little read for anybody, but has good coming of age issues. (***)
Charlaine Harris: Dead as a Doornail (Southern Vampire Mysteries)
Love this series, but this is the weakest of them so far. It is obviously a transitional book in the series. Love, them so far. Just a fun, Southern, fantasy/mystery series. Barmaids and vampires, what's not to like? (***)
Pete Hautman: Godless
I assigned this book for summer reading, and was impressed with where it went with such honest frankness and ambiguity. It does not soft-sell anything, despite it being from a youth fiction perspective. Loves Dan's confrontation of the main character at the end. (****)
Stephen King: The Wolves of the Calla
Read the first four, and wanting to finish it up. Not life changing, but fun, entertaining read. (***)
J. R. R. Tolkien: The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1)
The beginning of the best. What more can I say. (*****)

Books that changed my life, literally & literarily

Victor Hugo: Les Miserables
The most amazing depiction of grace v. law that I have ever seen. (*****)
Walter Wangerin, Jr.: The Book of the Dun Cow
A wonderful novel of the fight of good v. evil. A spiritual war where the heroes are not always the ones you suspect. Read it in 5th grade and have read it repeatedly since. (*****)
J.R.R. Tolkein: The Lord of the Rings
Simply the best fantasy fiction ever. (*****)
Richard Adams: Watership Down
This book taught me the use and importance of story in our lives. Simply wonderful. (*****)
Aldous Huxley: Brave New World
Restructured my philospohical understanding, emphasizing TRUTH and BEAUTY over comfort and happiness. Disturbing, but powerful. (*****)
Dallas Willard: The Divine Conspiracy
This is the best book on Christian discipleship I have ever read. It changed my life, though not an easy read. (*****)
Etienne Wenger: Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning and Identity
A transformative work for my view of how people work together, live together, play together. It changed my entire perspective on how people interact, both in ways that do and do not work. (*****)
C.S. Lewis: Mere Christianity
Simple radio addresses saved for posterity, thank goodness. It is a wonderful, systematic approach to the Christian faith. It is surprising, becuase it rarely takes you where you think it will. Do not assume it is simple because it is "Mere." (*****)
Yann Martel: The Life of Pi
An intriguing novel questioning the very nature of truth and reality. Not for everyone, but a truly postmodern novel deceptively disguised as a fanciful journey of a young man coming of age, with a tiger, of course. (*****)
Frank Herbert: Dune
I have read and reread this book, and the following series of books, and it changes every time. It is one of those books that reads me. (*****)
John Irving: A Prayer For Owen Meany
A powerful and rich narrative about a remarkable boy full of his call and clearly desiring to fulfill God's purposes on Earth, and the costs for that commitment to those he loves. Disturbing. Inspiring. Glad is it over; wanting it to last forever. A book that reads me as much as I read it. (*****)
Brian D. McLaren: A New Kind of Christian
This fictionalized non-fiction came at a point when I needed it most. Brian has since become a friend. Thanks, Brian! (*****)

Fellow Pilgrims