Book Binge

"Books can speak to us like God, like men, or like the noise of the city.... They speak to us like God when they bring us light and peace and fill us with silence...when we desire never to leave them. They speak to us like men when we desire to hear them again. They speak to us like the noise of the city when they hold us captive by a weariness that tells us nothing, gives us no peace, and no support, nothing to remember, and yet will not let us escape." - Thomas Merton (1915 - 1968)

I've been on a bit of a "book binge" lately, and absolutely loving it. I seem to go in cycles with reading, and I am definately on the upswing now in reading books. Here are some books I have read recently:

"The Shack" by William P. Young. A bestselling Christian fiction book that has you take a look at who God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit really can be. Has been scrutinized by some Christian evangelicals because of theological differences, but my response is, it is a book of FICTION, and wasn't written as a theological dissertation. I think it if gets people to think about their relationship with God in a new and different way, then so be it. I highly recommend this book.

"A Year By The Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman" by Joan Anderson. This tells the story of a woman who goes and lives by the sea at Cape Code for a year, and learns about herself. Her time alone not only strengthened herself, but strengthened her marriage as well. A wonderful book about learning to take time for yourself, and learning to take risks.

"Tuesdays With Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson " by Mitch Albom. This is one of those books I have wanted to read for years, because I wanted to watch the movie they made based on the book. But I refused to watch the movie until I read the book. What a delightful book showing a wonderful perspective on life. Someday I'll have to do a blog post on some of the things Morrie shared with Mitch. A book everyone should take time to read.

"Shoofly Pie" (Bugman Series #1) by Tim Downs. I heard Tim Downs interviewed on a Christian radio program this summer, and he was talking about these books he had written, where the main character was a forensic entomologist. The main character, Dr. Nick Polchack, studies bugs on corpses to find out about their death. It was a pretty good read. A little predictable, but a fun read. The forensic entomology part was very interesting to learn about, and he goes into pretty good detail about those proceedures throughout the book. My personal reading patterns tend to go in cycles, and I'm glad I am on the upswing these days. I can't wait to dive into the next book, based on a the screenplay of a Canadian film opening next month called "Passchendaele". To find out more about the upcoming movie, go here.

And I'm still making my way through all the used books I purchased this summer.

So many books...so little time