Friday, January 15, 2016

A little conversation about books



There is not a time that I can remember that I have not had a stack of books within reach, a volume slipped inside my purse, a few library books stashed in my car, or as a child, hidden under my bed.

One of my most powerful memories as a young girl was when I carefully printed my name on a single line in front of a kind-looking lady whom I recognized as the keeper of the books. I had practiced writing those letters over and over again to get my first public library card.

My extrovert musician mother who loved performing with her violin before crowds of people did not know what to do with a shy reader of books. She utilized every available moment to practice.  And I read.

Mom threatened me that I was going to ruin my eyes.  Indeed, I often hid under the covers to finish yet another chapter, running down the batteries in my big brother's Cub Scout flashlight, until I was caught red-handed one night.

A good story can still keep me up late.

2015 was a year of books that I always wanted to read (The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy), books that I plowed through (once was enough), and ahhh, the favorites I embraced like old friends (Danny, Champion of the World).

Again this year, I took the sage advice of C. S. Lewis who encouraged readers that for every newly-published book consumed, read an old one.

I hope this list encourages you.

          Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry (2000)
          Radical by David Platt (2010)
3          Things As They Are:  Mission Work in Southern India by Amy   Carmichael (1905)
       The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Timothy Keller (2012)
5          Mimosa by Amy Carmichael (1924)
            Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray (1895)
        The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom (1971)
        Economic Shalom:  A Reformed Primer on Faith, Work, and   Human Flourishing by John Bolt (2013)
        A Christian’s Response to Islam by William M. Miller (1976)
1        The Rider by Tim Krabbe’ (1978)
1        Humility:  The Journey Toward Holiness  by Andrew Murray    (1828-1917)
1        God Guides by Mary Geegh (missionary to India 1924-1962)
1        Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism by Carl Medearis
1        God’s Joyful Runner  by Russell W. Ramsey (1987)
1        The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien (1937)
1         Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee (written 1957, published   2015)
1        Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will   by Kevin DeYoung (2009)
1         Lord of the Rings:  Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien   (1954)
1         Whitefoot:  A Story from the Center of the World by Wendell Berry   (2009)
2        The Attentive Life:  Discerning God’s Presence in All Things by   Leighton Ford (2008)
2         Lord of the Rings:  The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (1954)
2        Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King by J. R. R. Tolkien   (1955)
2        To Live is Christ, to Die is Gain by Matt Chandler (2014))
2        Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton (1908)
2       Danny, Champion of the World by Roald Dahl (1975)
2       What Did Jesus Really Mean When He Said Follow Me?   By David   Platt (2013)
2        Be Resolute: Determining to go God’s Direction (book of Daniel)   by Warren Wiersbe (2008)
2        The Abolition of Man by C. S. Lewis (1943)
           My Final Word: Holding Tight to the Issues that Matter Most by   Charles Colson (2015)
          With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray   (1828-1917)
           Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God   by Dallas Willard (1984)
3        The Practice of the Presence of God  by Brother Lawrence (1691)   
        The Colson Way: Loving Your Neighbor and Living with Faith in a   Hostile World  by Owen Strachan    (2015)
3        A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an   Instant Society by Eugene H. Peterson (1980)
3         The Bible

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