Amazed & Confused

Why are we so fascinated by Vampires?

The trailer for Peter Chan-wook's vampire thriller 'Stoker' is online and I have to say it looks chilling.  It seems a decidedly different take on a genre that has come to be dominated by sparkly vamp vegetarians.  I loved the casting, haunting soundtrack, and ambiguity of the characters and I will definitely be checking it out when it's released in March next year.

Watching this prompted me to consider how many vampire stories I enjoy in book or film format.  It's a mythology that's enjoyed many come-backs with reincarnations of these night feeders growing more diverse and the subtext expanding from repressed sexuality to include religion, self control, the animal within and more.

Why all this success?  What truly lies at the heart of our fascination?  

Is it immortality? Our fear of death?  The resonances with sexual repression? Or something else?  Do we just like brooding anti-heroes with more than a little danger to offer?  What do you think?

Best opening line ever

I've been thinking about openers today...

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

This has got to be one of the best first lines ever.  The opening words of Jane Austin's beloved novel 'Pride & Prejudice are imbued with all the intent and humour the story holds.  It makes me want to re-read it rolling those words around in my mind.

A good beginning must be compelling; like this one from Stephen King's 'The Gunslinger',

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed..."

(I think that would be Steve's favourite...) and this gem from Ann Patchett's 'Bell Canto',

"When the lights went off the accompanist kissed her."

The pictures these words paint draw me in immediately.  I must know whom is being kissed / pursued / married off and I will trust the weaver of this tale, the crafter of these sentences, to take me on that journey of discovery.

What's your favourite opening line?  Are there any that have stayed with you?  I know there are the famous ones (It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, etc.) but what words have moved you, stayed with you, evoke a memory of feeling you long to regain?  Love your thoughts in the comments - hoping for some new recommendations for my book list :)

 

Are some people predisposed to be good at prayer? What if you're not one of them?

I just read a fascinating email exchange between a good friend and a fellow smart person.  The topic of conversation was "Are some people predisposed to being good at prayer?"  An interesting question.  As I considered the thought that some people are just good about being regular and disciplined - and one's suggestions on how materialism, technology, self control and more affect our psyche, I was brought back to a brilliant book I read over the summer that gave me real hope for prayer amateurs.

Prayer and Temperament by Chester P. Michael and Marie C. Norrisey won't be everyone's cup of tea.  Based on the four core Myers Briggs personalities it explores how our strengths, weaknesses and methods of perception and process affect not only how we interact with God but which Gospel writer's account of Jesus' life we're most likely to connect with.

I am a firm believer that prayer is for amateurs, that God excludes no-one from conversation, relationship and the chance to be changed and change the world around us.  If people find prayer hard - they simply haven't found their language yet.  This book took by intuition (oh yes - I'm an 'N') and gave me some solid reasoning as to why some personalities find prayer easy and others struggle.

Most fascinating was the exploration about how different streams of the church teach prayer in ways tailored to only one personality type.  (It goes into detail on this looking at different monastic traditions.) If you find prayer hard maybe the way you've been taught isn't for you?  

What do you think?  Read, experienced or discussed anything around this topic?  As our conversations amidst friends evolve I may blog again about where we're heading with it.  Until then - conversation in the comments.

Learning to tell the story

"Where and how you begin the story, and where and how you end the story, shape and determine what story you're telling." Rob Bell

I'm two teachers into my new season on studying the art of preaching and teaching and both Jon Ortberg and Rob Bell have given me much to think about.  January to March has been a busy season of sharing and speaking for me as I've prepared and taught more than I have before and felt like I am embarking on another steep learning curve. 

Three or four years ago I realised that if I wanted the honour of speaking to people about Jesus then I needed to tame my gab and feed my heart and mind.  After taking a year and a half hiatus from speaking to study a bit and pray I dove back in with a new passion and a real joy in God's word.  (Wow - there was I time I never thought I'd say that!)

A few years on I feel I've made a good stab at implementing the things I've been learning and focussing on and I'm feeling a renewed season of focus and stretching is needed.  I'm seeking out resources!  Anyone got any?  

I started with Jon Ortberg's sessions on Crafting Life Changing Messages (lots of food for thought!) and now I'm working my way through Rob Bell's Poets & Preachers videos.  (Absolutely brilliant!)  I have such a long way to go, and so much to learn… but I want to be a courageous encourager to my Revs church family and others I get to hang out with. 

As I look afresh at my study life, the way I approach messages and my identity as a daughter in God I am so grateful that I get to do this.  I never want to lose sight of what an honour and joy it is. 

Stream of consciousness / update over.  If anyone has any suggestions of books or speakers who could stretch and shape me on the topic of preaching and teaching I'd love to hear about them in comments :)

Book thirty: Bonhoeffer was a smart bloke

This lunchtime, as I sat under a weak sun munching on peanut butter and jam sandwiches, I finished the final passages of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book, 'Life Together'. My conclusions are thus:

a. He's a pretty smart bloke
b. It's a beautifully Christo-centric look at life, community and growth
c. This sphere of thinking has greatly inflenced my sub-family within the Christian Church

Reading Bonheoffer's words brought into sharp focus the reasoning behind many values and aspirations I'm very familiar with.  (Not that we have perfectly attained them!)  It's a book I have imediately decided I want to share and re-read.  I love how he considers community life, and keeps it firmly focussed on living for Jesus and serving each other.  His words, though first published around 60 years ago, are incredibly relevant and challenging to the individualistic and self-gratifying culture we live in. 

I highly recommend reading this short but meaty text; it's written with a wonderful heart even if the translation and contextualisation of some of his ideas made me smile. I've ordered a copy of his other famous work 'The Cost of Discipleship' so it's likely he'll be making another appearance in my great reading challenge of 2011.  (Speaking of which, I'm slowly catching up with my target - hurrah!)

Book twenty nine: authority and submission

I fancied a little bible study this week so the twenty nineth book in my 52 in a year project was 'The Role and Ministry of Women' by Martin Scot.  I whipped through this short bible study in a couple of hours and found it an interesting read.  I particularly liked his thoughts on the nature of authority and submission.  Can anyone recommend any other good books or study on the topic?

Book twenty eight: Best fantasy I've read this year!

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson is one of the best books I have read this year!  A generous gift from a fellow fantasy enthusiast I whipped through this tale of intrigue, politics and allomancy at lightening speed.  Finally, a book to rush home for, a book to stay up way past my bed time and awake tired next the day for.  I absolutely loved the complexity of the characters, the suspense and the fullness of the world it's set in.  There was a great sense of reality and physicality, and I was genuinely surprised by the twists and turns of the plot.  Can't wait to read the next in the series.  

I will say no more because it was a truly original read and I'm going to be passing it around my fellow fantasy geeks to share the love.  If you like a thrilling tale of fantastical lands this is a must read.

Book twenty seven: friendship, love and truth

It's official; John Green has become one of my favourite authors.

“Will Grayson, Will Grayson” (written in collaboration with David Levithan) is the third book of his I’ve read, and like the previous two I absolutely loved it. Green has the ability to write characters that jump off the page and feel truly authentic in all their flawed glory. 

His latest literary offering has an interesting premise. Will Grayson, Will Grayson explores how a chance meeting drastically alters the life path of two people with the same name. Their journey explores love, relationship, friendship, depression, sexuality, truth and how we form and evolve our self-image. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea as there is strong language and sexual references, but it made me laugh out loud and cry in public.

Seriously.
I’m not joking. 
Weeping.
On a busy train.

The characters and relationships at the centre of this story felt so real I was celebrating and mourning with them page after page. I recommend this book if you’re interesting in a coming of age tale of teens exploring their identity and coming to terms with their sexuality in the modern world.  I have now pre-ordered my signed copy of his next book "The Fault in our Stars" and can't wait to hear it thud through our letter box.

Book twenty six: The Art of Prayer - Believe the Hype

There is only so many times you can hear a book praised to the high heavens before you feel you ought to give it a read. That’s pretty much what brought me to Timothy Jones’s book, “The Art of Prayer”.  Friends with great taste have raved about his contribution to the sea of literature on talking to God, and I have to say, they weren’t wrong.

It definitely floats to the top.
It’s brilliant.

Though my reading of “The Art of Prayer” has undoubtedly suffered from being put down and picked up over a busy few months, the value in these pages has not been lost on me. In grounded and demystifying language, Jones explores the highs, lows, beauty and challenge of prayer without once making it sound boring. This is quite a feat! I have been reminded of things I’ve forgotten, taught things I never knew, and brought through a rich tradition of prayer from a very personal perspective.

If you find prayer difficult or just fancy a refresher I highly recommend this read. It’s a good foundation and a very easy book to engage with. It definitely improved the quality of my conversation with God.

Book twenty three - twenty five: total froth

In a failed effort to keep reading during my book-a-week-in-2011 funk, I filled July with books that wouldn't tax a 12 year old.  They were uneventful and less than thrilling, merely filler in a year of challenge and adventure. Therefore I decided that rather than boring you (and myself) by posting about them individually, I would kill three birds with one post as I catch up on my pet project. Here goes... 

Book twenty three: The Undomestic Goddess

Utter drivel.  Exactly what I was looking for though it would have been nice if it was a little less predictable.  Also - does anyone really not know how to make toast?!

Book tweny four: Ultravoilet

Actually this little novel surprised me.  A rather unique and interesting concept for a science fiction / teen drama around perception, mental illness and obviously the love of a good alien!  I quiet enjoyed this one.  Maybe I'm being harsh lumping it into the drivel category...

Book twenty five: The Red Pyramid

I picked up this Rick Roirdan novel hoping it was as good as his Percy Jackson series.  Sadly, though it wasn't without it's charms, the Egyptian mythology reboot did not match the world of Greek gods engaging in western culture.  Splitting the perspective of the book between a brother and sister lead was a little jarring and this story felt younger than his others.  I may or may not continue the series.  We'll see how hard it is to find something more appealing.

To get back on track to achieve my goal I need to pick up six books in the next month or so.  Any suggestions of short and engaging reads to help my total? 

Readers block

The inevitable happened... I hit June and my ability to read dried up.  Ok so I can still interpret the squiggles and shapes into words and literally read... but I have lost all ability to concentrate for longer than 10 minutes on a book.  (It's been a slog to keep reading my Bible!)  Why of why can I not sustain anything regular for more than six months?  It's like my brain revolts and demands a change. 

Audiobooks and music have filled the time I previously spent cracking spines and pouring over pages. As you may have guessed, my book a week in 2011 project is slightly scuppered at present.  I got behind on posting about each title, then used up my buffer during a busy period and have now crumbled beneath the pressure of catching up.

Doh!

I have a cunning plan though.  I'm going to start actually taking lunch breaks on working days and sit in the lovely sunshine and push through my block.  I must!  If I don't read, I don't write. (Blog posting has dried up at approximately the same time my reading did.)

I'm not making myself start again for the sake of fulfilling a goal, but rather because reading (and writing for that matter) are two of the few activities that bring me to complete halt.  I cannot multi-task whilst doing either (believe me I've tried).  I cannot even have other sounds around when I'm focussing so off goes my music/podcast/conversation and on switches my creative mind.  When I turn my attention to words I am utterly faithful... I cannot divide my attention...

I guess it's not surprising then that I've found prayer and study harder for the last month as well.  Stillness is essential to awareness for me, and it's harder to achieve when I'm out of practice.  So I am resuming my reading for enjoyment, for inspiration, for rest, and for you God.  One helps the other I think... stream of consciousness over. 

Never too old for fancy dress or fake hair

Yes, that is me dressed not as a goth, or an 80s pop star but as the infamous Bellatrix Lestrange from the Harry Potter series. To mark the last instalment of this epic series in film Adam, Lisa and I (aka the Trundle siblings) dressed as Harry, Luna and Bellatrix respectively to watch the film that ends many years of reading, watching and geeking out...

Is it healthly for an almost 30 year old to dress up as a character in a (sort of) kids book and trapes around in public?  I think so.  Why should the fun stop just because you have to also be responsible and do things like pay a mortgage?

Sunday's fancy dress expedition was actually my second viewing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and I must say it didn't disappoint.  I am long passed hoping that they capture every little nuance of the books and have accepted that film is simply a different genre.  What makes a successful book and a successful film are two quite different things.  Having said that I think they made a really good stab at capturing the complexity of the final book.  Though I know virtually by heart every twist and turn of the story I found myself surprised, thrilled, tearful and caught up in the suspence.  Kudos Mr Yates.

I've now seen it in 2D and 3D and my ambivalence to the bespectacled and expensive medium grows.  It is to the credit of the film makers that my stinking funny glasses induced headache didn't ruin the film... Sigh... I guess 3D won't be leaving us any time soon... I'm becoming less inclined by the viewing to fork out for it though.  Hmm... better sign off before I start ranting!

Book Twenty Two: Lost in Translation

It is often with some trepidation that I open the cover of a book recommended by a friend.  Particularly if it's one I know is greatly loved.  Good books are like good companions, you can get awfully attached to them.  What if I didn't appreciate what this companion could be?  What if we didn't get on?  Conversely,  if I have an affinity with the person making the recommendation there is much potential that a treat is in store... these thoughts and more were passing through my mind as I opened Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett.  One of my lovely friend Alana Wiens' favourite novels.

Alana is an intelligent, compassionate and interesting woman with whom I have passed many an hour talking about life, the universe and everything.  So when she blogged about the book she's read more than once I was intrigued... Bel Canto did not disappoint!

To describe this book would be to mislead you.  It is surprising, interesting, touching, enchanting, intriguing and thought provoking. It is about love, fear, politics, youth, talent, culture, music, beauty, language, translation, power and much, much more.  I absolutely loved it.  Like the characters it creates, I did not want the story to end... but end it must.  If you're in the mood for something original and interesting I highly recommend it to you.  I won't tell you anything about the plot as it will give you totally the wrong idea about the genre and style of writing.  I suggest you go in blind and enjoy the tale...

Book Twenty One: Does Love Win?

Every now and then a book will come a long that strikes a nerve.  It stokes the fires of debate and it provokes many to ask large questions and seek important answers.  Rob Bell's latest book Love Wins (the 21st in my year long challenge) is most certainly the latest in this long line of nerve hitting, hot potatoes. Here's the thing though... if you're reading this post because you're interested in my stance on the nature of heaven, hell, God's love, holiness and Jesus Christ, then I'm going to disappoint you.  I will not  be donning a jersey and picking a side today...

Nope... today I want to talk about something else... I want to talk about love, anger, argument and debate... that and the perils of the internet.

If you're a Christian and partake in the blogosphere, or the world of Twitter, it's likely you've come across the hurricane of opinion this book has stirred up.  At first I was taken aback by the strength of feeling, the certainty of opinion, the metaphorical lines being drawn in the sand.  I'm all for debate, but there have been some who've brought a level of... well... something that most certainly does not resemble familial love to the table.  Now, in some ways I can get it.  On both extremes of the spectrum being discussed there are people who deeply love God and feel that the subjects addressed are vitally important.  It makes sense that the book could anger or upset people... my problem with it is that in those moments, when all we can see is red... let's all step away from the internet.

There's something very easy about venting online.  I think it's easy to be unkind, blunt even when you're not looking someone in the eye or personalising your opinion to real life situations.  As I read through page after page there were some gems of restraint and thoughtful contemplation, but much that made me deeply sad.  

“A new command I give you: Love one another..." John 13:34

The title of the book seemed ironic.  Whatever it's alluding to, love was not the hall mark of how we've spoken to each other as a community...

So... if you want to know what I think of this book I'm afraid you won't find it online.  I have read it.  I have discussed it.  I've already planned further reading about aspects I want to explore further.  Make me a cup of tea and I'll share my reactions as I look into your eyes.  Offer me a biscuit and I'll talk you though my incomplete, but current thoughts on our future hope.  But not here, not now... It's hard to talk humbly to a computer screen.  It's difficult to remember the art of speaking and listening when your typing. Issues of life and death, are too important, too close to many hearts, to be handled by my clumsy blogging.  So face to face it is.  Shall I pop the kettle on?

Book Twenty: Mother is a dirty word

Designer babies, genetic predestination and a life of hedonism... I'm not sure I've read anything more chilling than Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.  The perfect companion to my earlier read of George Orwell's 1984, BNW extrapolated 20th/21st century Western Society's desire for instant gratification to a terrifying conclusion.  Huxley deftly and intelligently paints a world where humans are not born but factory made, where 'Mother' is a dirty word and free will has been almost systematically eradicated, no brain washed, nay scoured out of humanity from our mental processes to our very DNA.  The result, a near content and productive society, a world at peace... but peace at a high price.

Though I was initially wowed/terrified by the first half of this book I have to say it did not hold such intense interest as it progressed.  The story arcs of characters I'd connected with drifted into uncertainty, while a central character I was only half interested in closed out the tale.  That aside, I'm glad I read it.  I can see why 1984 and BNW are hailed as the God Fathers of much modern Science Fiction and particularly dystopian imaginings.  Most dystopian films and stories in recent years borrow heavily from one or the other. Though one explores an extreme manifestation of something that resembles socialism, and the other capitalism, I think both are relevant and challenging to the state of the world today.  What do we value?  What are we pursuing?  What price will we pay for it?  Who will hold the power in the societies to come and what role with faith, belief, religion play?  What struck me about both futures was the lack (and at times aggressive annihilation) of the spirit and faith in God.  Whether humanity is squashed under the weight of fear, paranoia and oppression, or numbed by the sensory overload of having every whim satisfied, both worlds seem grim, hopeless and without real life... Terrifying... Thought provoking...

Journey's end, journal closed...

Thoughts, questions, prayers and pleas... rants, raves, epiphanies and ideas... doodles, notes, names and more... Since August last year one book has held all of these things.  

My mind, my heart, poured out through a fountain pen into the companion that rarely leaves my side.  As I say goodbye to one journal, and add the pens strokes that stain the pages of my new journey mate,  I feel simultaneously elated and at a loss.  The bulging dog eared pages of retiring book have talked me through much.  I don't feel ready to leave it behind.  

Yet...

I am always excited about the potential of the blank page. What next?

Have you ever wondered what would happen to your journals after you die?  I've gone back and forth on the idea of having them buried/cremated/whatever with me... they're so intimate, my life laid bare... To whose hands would I entrust them other than Steve's?

Book seventeen & eighteen: hunger ends

Last week I unashamedly dove into part two and three of The Hunger Games trilogy (Catching Fire and Mockingjay) and as they're essentially two parts of one story I thought one blog would suffice.  My conclusion on this thrilling teen series is:

The first book's the best, but it's worth reading until the end.  

As I followed Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch and others through opposing political orders, rebellion, war, madness and grief, the trilogy kept me hooked though did not entirely sate my appetite.  I was interested in Cinna's back story, I wanted to explore more of the cultures and landscapes of the districts, I was keen to explore the history of this distopian North America with it's hunger and brutality.  Sadly these things were touched on and breezed over.  I can't help wondering what The Hunger Games could have been in the hands of someone like Mr Stephen King; a master of worlds, subtext and little regard for brevity.  

Don't get me wrong they weren't bad.  They were good... The story just captured my imagination in a way that I wanted it to go deeper and further.  The first book I'd give four stars in five the following two I'd give three.  Now to thumb through the pages of a book written by a good friend...  Approaching God by Lisa Borden :)

Book sixteen: a precocious child

Since childhood I've had a soft spot for the tales of Roald Dahl.  The Twits were a particular favourite, I poured over his poetry and scared myself silly trying to take in The Witches.  His grasp of the Grim Brothers macabre and the imagination of a child have always combined to make witty and interesting tales.  I knew I hadn't read all his tales, Danny Champion of the World and his Boy books didn't particularly interest me for example, but imagine my surprise when I realised I hadn't read Mathilda.  I knew the story quite so naturally assumed I must have, but as I sat and thought about it I realised I hadn't... Oh what fun, two days to whip through a new tale, to enjoy a new Dahl world.

Mathilda was charming.  It suffered a little as I did know the story quite well but it was very enjoyable all the same. (I must collect all his books so I can read them to my children - is that a weird thing to do when you're not even pregnant?)  The only negative part of reading it was that every now and then the actors who played parts in the US film version kept popping into my head and they didn't fit at all well with the old English feel the book.  I was able to disspell them quickly though and swiftly extrapalated my own impressions of each character based on the magnificent illustrations by Quentin Blake...

Being free to create an image of characters is important to me I've realised.  Maybe that's why I'm so naffed off when someone completely different is cast in film versions...

Anyway - Mathilda was charming, perfect for recovering from a very busy week.  Now I'm off to the cinema and then I'll dive into my new book - Catching Fire, book two of the Hunger Games :)

Book fifteen: girl on fire

I was turned on to this young adult trilogy by a fandom.  I was listening to some podcast or other (can't actually remember which... hmm maybe it was a youtube vid... nope it was definitely a podcast) and I listened to a group of enthusiastic fellow geeks go off on a literary tangent to rave about the final book in a series called "The Hunger Games".  They were so enthusiastic about adventure and thrill of the story I immediately opened my laptop to check it out online.  (Hmmm fandoms are directing me to more and more of my fiction at the mo... "Oooo you liked such and such!  Well your gonna loooove this!")

After trying and failing to pick up a free copy through Bookmooch (check it out - it's a second hand book exchange community)  I eventually succumbed and ordered it through Amazon's market place.  I was not dissapointed.

I yearn for a book that makes me want to rush home to read.  It doesn't necessarily have to be a masterpiece, it simply needs to capture my imagination; to introduce me to a world and characters that continue to play out in my mind even after I close book.  The Hunger Games approaches this literary high.  Set in a disstopian future where a wealthy and technologically advanced elite oppress the impoverish majority, it reminded me a lot of Stephen King's The Running Man... obviously not quite as well written and a little less gritty.  I was swept up in the survival story of Katniss Everdeen (the names are probably the worst bit of the book!) as she is forced to fight her fellow citizens to the death for the amusement of the masses.  The romantic interest was a little hammy (at least it's not as unhealthy as the twilight trio) but I am really hoping that the wider world and the back stories of the minor characters are more fully explored in the next two books.  

I guess the greatest compliment I could pay the book is to say I bought the next one.  Suzanne Collins, I will journey a little further in the world of Panem with you...

Book thirteen: three old ladies and a goat

I have a friend who often speaks on the topic of prayer.  Whenever he shares about prayer meetings he is known for saying, "the average attendance is three old ladies and a goat... and the goat was inconsistent," (or something to that effect.)  It never fails to make me smile :)   Well, right now his words are a challenge.  I am investing time and energy into the way the community of Revelation Church prays together and what I'm discovering is we have some things to learn/re-learn.  We love to pray creatively, many have deep personal lives of devotion and we're used to praying in small groups and with friends, but we have a way to go to confidently and powerfully pray together.  

As a quick aside - if you're reading this as someone who wouldn't consider themselves a follower of Jesus or attend a church this probably sounds weird.  If you will indulge me for one moment and dare to believe that this universe was created by a person, a person who is inconceivably powerful, imaginative, generous and present.  A person we call God.  And if you can hold that possibility in mind and understand that we can know Him, more than that, He invites us to converse with Him, to walk with Him, to live with Him... and most pertinently, to bend His ear about this world, to ask His intervention in the bad and His blessing in the good... well what an invitation.  As a church - we're getting a little better at taking Him up on his offer together...

Back to the topic - so with monthly prayer breakfasts to plan I am feeling the need to learn and stretch once more.  The aforementioned friend recommended reading my latest book, "A Church on it's knees" by Jeremy Jennings.  I was not disappointed.  It was what I believe a good book about the Christian faith should be... practical and to the point.  Jennings' no nonsense approach to why we must pray, and many ideas on how, sparked much thought and brainstorming in my journal.  I already have several things I'll be trying over the next few months.  I recommend it to anyone in a similar position.  I read it in one commute from the London office - if only all book were so swift in getting their point across! 

Book twelve: Echthroi & Cherubim

I've regained my reading stride this week with a few more books under my belt.  The twelfth of my fifty two was A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle.  As interesting and creative as it's predecessor, this science fiction series barrels ahead in the lives and adventures of Charles, Calvin and Meg.  The first of the series, A Wrinkle in Time, took us into outer space, this, the second, takes us into the human body. Think inner space... but with kids... and no miniaturised ship... and way trippier.  

In fact 'trippy' is exactly the adjective I would use to describe this book.  It may not have been helped by my mental (on the brink of sleep) state when reading it, but the story definitely dove into the deep end of the surreal pool.  I liked it - though, honestly, not as much as the first.  I would read the rest of the series though.  The imagination alone is worth the effort.  I'm yet to really connect with the main female character (which is part of my challenge) but I like her well enough to find out how she will grow.  So with that book done and another read in a day (my thoughts on that tomorrow), I find myself at a loss as to what to read next.  Books, books everywhere but not a word to read... hmm that doesn't really work does it!

Book eleven: a little imagination

Last week my ambitious reading project hit a road block... I got really busy.  I couldn't lose myself in a story for an hour at a time and I was often falling asleep with the book across my face at night.  It brought my reading speed down to a crawl and provoked a quick substitution.  After a recent run of fiction I had every intention to dive into something more substantial; "With Christ in the School of Prayer" by Andrew Murray.  A few pages in however I realised this was not a pick-up-put-down read.  This tome will take perseverance!  So, in the midst of many priorities vying for my time I swapped it for a book I'd been looking forward to reading, but knew I could abandon when needed... Anne of Green Gables.

I felt bad.  Once more my good intentions were put aside.  But, I do agree with Paul Scanlon who said last week, "It's not just about the right book to read but the right time to read it." Murray - I will return - I just want to give you my full concentration...

Having said that, I was surprised by what I found in the covers of AOGG.  The tale of Anne Shirley and her growth from childhood to womanhood is amusing, moving and a surprisingly insightful spiritual journey.  Not only does Anne grow in knowledge, wisdom and character, but she makes amazing observations on the Christian life and particularly prayer.  When she arrived at the home of Matthew and Marilla Cuthburt, she may not have known the 'proper' way to pray, but she had the most amazing, instinctual grasp of talking with God.  She embodies one of the most beautiful examples of contemplative prayer I've read.  I may use it as an illustration some time.  

The book was surprisingly challenging and thoroughly entertaining, I immediately mooched the next booked in the series for later this year.  For now I've picked up A Wind in the Door, the second book in the Madeleine L'Engle series. 

Book ten: amnesia, ambrosia and adventure

This week I broke one of my unspoken rules.  As I embarked on this little challenge of 52 books in 52 weeks I began automatically alternating between fiction and non-fiction.  I guess I knew that if I didn't set some kind of rhythm I would likely slide into all fantasy, all of the time.  Well my good intentions lasted until February.  This week I wasn't feeling so hot, so I dove from pre-moon landing SciFi classic, A Wrinkle in Time, into the latest instalment in Rick Roirdan's mythological series, Heroes of Olympus: The Lost Hero. 

I have a soft spot for young adult adventure novels and I tore through the first five books in this greek-mythology-alive-and-kicking-in-the-21st-Century series (otherwise known as the "Percy Jackson and the..." series) at the end of last year.  I can read them in a few days and they require nothing of me whilst entertaining me greatly.  The latest instalment was a bit of a risk for Riordan.  He's expanded his world, introduced major new characters and done it all with his aforementioned titular character missing in action.  Where was Percy?!  At first I didn't like it.  I've spent five books following this kid around - bring him back.  Buuuut... the tale of Piper, Leo and Jason was enjoyable and as there are hints of Percy's return in coming books soooo I was able to overlook his absence.  

I'm still not feeling brilliant but as I've indulged in two adventures in a row I feel it's time to reinstate my good intentions.  The next book in my reading marathon is suitably worthy - With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray.  I guess I'm unlikely to find bronze dragons or temporal travel within it's pages, but I am likely to find a lot of wisdom...

Book nine: Mrs Who, Mrs Which and Mrs Whatsit

So, one month into my year long experiment I'm ahead of the curve.  In four weeks I have finished eight books!  I'm really enjoying it.  Taking in the thoughts and adventures of others is stretching and awaking my mind in so many ways.  It's good to be blogging again regularly.  It's a relief to feel like the the rusty cogs of my brain are getting a good oiling... sentences and musing are flowing freely as my fingers fly across my keyboard.  Apparently Stephen King says that if you want to be a writer, you must be a reader.  I have many worlds I've grown up imagining and developing and one day I hope to be somewhere near competent enough to capture them on paper.  Even if they're just for my children.

So, on to book nine!  A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle was a gift from a dear friend.  When I listed it in my potential 52 for the year it got some comment and seems to be greatly loved by many.  How had I never read it before?  As I read through this pre-moon landing science fiction adventure I was taken back to CS Lewis's Out of the Silent Planet.  There was a similar feeling of exploration, not just within our solar system but in ourselves.  By the end of the book I was hoping it wouldn't end and keen to know more about L'Engle's world.  Thankfully above mentioned friend also gave me the second book in the series so I may have to break it out soon.

Book eight: Jesus wants to save Christians

"Jesus wants to save our church from the excile of irrelevance. 
If we have any resources,
any power,
any voice,
any influence,
any energy, 
we must convert them into blessings for those who have no power,
no voice,
no influence." 

I just turned the last page on a peculiarly titled book, "Jesus wants to save Christians" by Rob Bell and Don Colden. Uh... aren't Christians already saved? Isn't it implied in the name?  That was the question foremost in my mind as I began my swift journey through this book.  A few pages in I soon came to realise that it was going to surprise me.  

A lot of the books I read address individuals; let us tell you how you can improve in prayer, studying the bible, live a good life, make friends and influence people...  Bell & Colden are going against the flow, they're not writing to their reader in iscolation. They're writing to a body of people - the body of the American church (and I think you could reasonable extrapolate to the church thronghout the Western world). 

Their carefully crafted words paint beautiful, broad strokes across the narrative of the Bible.  They highlight patterns, lessons, potential pitfalls and hold up a mirror to today's church.   I thoroughly loved the exploration through the story of the people of Israel. I had to pause in places to consider my response and think about my community... Mostly I felt like this book was a start...  A foundation...  An excellent precursor to a long and detailed conversation about how the church of the US, or UK, or any western nation could use wealth, influence and energy to benefit those who don't have such privilege.

I finished this book feeling it was unfinished...

Thinking about it - that's not a criticism. I think I need to continue the thought process with my community...

Book seven: the journey to room 101

Astounding. Compelling. Terrifying. Brilliant... I have just finished the pages of George Orwell's modern masterpiece Nineteen Eighty Four.  I am in awe.  

What a world.  What a tale.  If you have not read this book much of it will seem surprisingly familiar.  I was told it was the grandaddy of modern dystopian fiction, but I had no idea just how much the concept (and language) of this book had penetrated the zeitgeist of today.  Orwell gives language to some of our greatest fears.  I don't want to say too much about the story, or the journey of Wilson, the protagonist through who's eyes we experience a world gone mad, I only want to encourage you to explore it for yourself.  

Already I have read some great books this year (and it's only January!) but it's hard for me to imagine a book that will better the world, intellect or the pull to keep reading as this.  Ah!  What do I read next? Is it all downhill from here?

Book Six: tear stained pages

Richard Foster is a very smart man. Thank you God for giving him a brain that can take a wealth of information and boil it down into something I can wrap my head around. I've benefitted greatly from previous Foster forays, "The Celebration of Discipline" and "Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home". So I opened my recent read, "Streams of Living Water", penned by the same mind, with great anticipation. I was not disappointed.

A good friend recommended this thick book. It's an exploration of the different steams of the Christian faith and we what we can learn from them. As I read about the life of Jesus and the stories of some amazing people through history, I was moved to tears several times and challenged frequently. Streams of Living Water was not a quick read. It took perseverance, but, as with Foster's other books, it is well worth the effort.

Book Five: reading poetry with a dictionary

I've always thought that I had a reasonably comprehensive vocabulary. I've learned much through reading, which has led to many embarrassing mispronunciations, but hey, it's good for my ego and all part of learning. It's not often I come across a word I'm unfamiliar with, but when I opened District and Circle (a collection of poems by Seamus Heaney), I had to read it with a dictionary by my side!

Every third poem or so I'd check a definition and my eyebrows would raise as a sentence came to life. The frequent interruption didn't detract from the experience, somehow having to strive for understanding made the reading richer. I love the choices Heaney makes. The rhythm of his sentences and the vivid imagery he conjures in my mind, make him my favourite poet... (Not that I'm terribly knowledgeable or well read.)
I heartily recommend District and Circle. The words of it's title poem in particular have stayed with me. Heaney's observations and perspective of the world we live in, has broadened my own in a small but beautiful way.

How to Choose a Book: Finding my 52

I've been asked a few times this week whether I know all of the 52 books I will devour in 2011.  The short answer is no... but that's not the complete answer.  When I sat down to think about it I realised I had a lot more titles than I'd realised.  The piles by my bedside are looking precariously tall (especially as they are directly in the line of fire for the laundry basket).  As I walked through our modest library* pulling out books to add to the topple-waiting-to-happen I realised that I did have criteria... even if until now it wasn't full considered.  In 2010 I tried to read books that would expand my horizons, that would require perseverance, or a foray into a genre I'd previously avoided.  It made for slow, but interesting reading.  2011 however will need to be different.  Four things will shape my book list this year: size, subject, ownership and the BBC.

They can't be too big; well unless I create a book buffer getting ahead like now before tacking a beast.  I need to choose books I can realistically get through in the time I have to read weekly.  (That has meant my re-read of The Lord of the Rings will need to be post-poned!)

I want to enjoy them.  Though my book list is varied I really want to enjoy what I read this year.  As I glance through the titles I want a sense of anticipation about the stories and ideas they hold.

I'll start with what I own.  I am ashamed to realise how much of our book collection I haven't read!  So, I have decided I cannot mooch or buy any more books until I go through a good portion of the ones already taking up residence in our home.

I'll take the BBC's advice.  Years ago I blogged about how many books I'd read on the BCC top 100 books list.  Bizarrely that post still attracts daily visitors to my cyber home and I enjoy watching the comments grow as people chime in.  There are some cracking titles on that list so I've been accumulating a few to tackle this year.

Other than the above I will re-read a few things I haven't read in a while, I will take recommendations from friends and strangers alike and I am going to try and blog about each one I complete.  

So, in no particular order my 52 books to read in 2011 include:

Already read:

1. The Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
2. Acts for Everyone Part 2 by NT Wright
3. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
4. Looking for Alaska by John Green

Currently reading:

5. Streams of Living Water by Richard Foster
6. District & Circle by Seamus Heaney

To read:

7. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
8. Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home by Richard Foster
9. Surface Detail by Iain M Banks
10. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
11. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
12. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
13. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
14. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
15. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
16. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 
17. God Stories by Andrew Wilson
18. Life After God by Douglass Coupland
19. Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
20. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
21. Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis
22. The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
23. The Role and Ministry of Women by Martin Scott
24. The Long Walk by Richard Bachman/Stephen King
25. Roadwork by Richard Bachman/Stephen King
26. The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
27. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
28. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle
29. Matilda by Roald Dahl
30. Bell Canto by Ann Pratchett
31. Tales from the Perilous Realm by JRR Tolkien
32. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
33. Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell
34. With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray
35. Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan
36. The Bible

(Books in italics are re-reads, books in bold are from the BBC top 100 books list)

I reserve the right to edit this list at any time.  Anyone care to fill in the blanks?  What should I read for number 37 to number 52? Suggestions in the comments please.  

*Can I call one heaving set of bookshelves and four buldging homemade shelves a library?  How many books does it take to be a legitimate home library?

Book Four: first friend, first girl, last words

"I go to seek a Great Perhaps."

The dying words of French poet Francois Rabelais propell Miles Halter to a new state, a new school and a series of firsts and lasts that will stay with him through life.  Looking for Alaska, the first (and award winning) novel by (my joint favourite Youtuber) John Green is... well... amazing.  As I began to get to know the lives, loves, flaws and fascinations of Miles/Pudge, the Colonel, Alaska, Lara and Takumi I couldn't shake the feeling that I was reading a modern day The Catcher in the Rye.  Except - I could relate to this book.  

I read The Catcher in the Rye early last year - partly because of that urban legend that ever lone gun man in America has owned a copy - and partly because I was trying to read all the books I thought I should read.  It was good.  I could appreciate the writing, the mood, the suspense, the irony... but I just couldn't relate to the protagonist.  I appreciated it from an intellectual perspective but it never touched my heart or occupied my thoughts.  Not like Looking for Alaska... 

People are not just one thing.  Green writes characters who can be kind and cruel, smart and dumb, self aware and gloriously oblivious.  He captures the hope and pain of the in-between, those years that stretch from childhood to adulthood, with subtly.  I was rivetted.  I think I read the book in two days (another long journey home and nothing on telly helped somewhat!)  So the tail of Alaska Young and impact on the people in her life becomes the forth book in my 52 of 2011...

"If people were rain, I was a drizzle and she was a hurricane" 

Tomorrow I'll post my book list as it currently stands and the decisions that brought me to those pages. 

Book Three: Coffee and Crushes

It is such a joy to be reading again!  I have ticked off number three in my 52 books to finish in 2011 tonight.  Yes three!  And it's only the beginning of week two!  I figure it's good to get ahead while I'm enjoying it, let's face it there's bound to be a time when I'm either a) too busy, b) bored with my book list or c) generally unmotivated.  It's all about the buffer right now :)

My newly reinstated commute into London is helping greatly.  I used to reserve the 90 minute train ride home to share a film with the lovely Lottie but since she moved on to be all successful in Brighton (sob - I miss you honey!) I've felt a little odd watching films alone.  My now solitary journey home has become the perfect time to get my teeth into the latest book.  I am relishing it...

I finished Anna and the French Kiss in two days!   It's a charming (and distinctly girly) tale about confidence, self assurance, facing your flaws and of course... falling in love.  The protagonist Anna is forced to spend a year in another continent stumbling over a new language and leaving all that is familiar and comfortable behind.  It totally drew me in.  I recommend this to anyone who wants a book that can paint a cheesy grin on your face as you speed read it on the tube.  (Oh not we're approaching my stop...  must... finish... chapter... YES!)

Maybe it's unfair to call it girly as I read it on the recommendation of John Green, an author I enjoy and my joint favourite YouTuber*.  If you haven't checked out John and his brother Hank (AKA the Vlogbrothers I highly recommend them).  Mr Green also happens to have written the next book on my night stand.  I have just transferred my magnetic Little Miss Sunshine bookmark from the back of Anna and the French Kiss to the front of Looking for Alaska.  Here's hoping for another story my nose gets stuck in... hmm, weird mental image... let's move on.

* John Green ties for my YouTube affections with the Annoying Orange :)  

Book Two: The Dragon, The Raven & The Wolf

"The Wheel of Time turns, and Ages come to pass, leaving memories that become legend.  Legend fades to myth, and even myth is forgotten when the age that gave birth to it comes again..."

The second in my book-a-week marathon for 2011 is the penultimate instalment of the epic/bloated fantasy series The Wheel of Time.  Despite the fact that creator Robert Jordan slowed his tale down to a near snail like speed toward the centre of the series, the last few books have been a rip roaring read well worth my patience.  The book I've just finished is the thirteenth in the series (that doesn't include the short prequel I have also read) so it takes a lot of dedication to get to this point, but I have so much affection for the literally hundreds of characters whose lives I have followed that I must walk with them too the end.  

Sadly, Jordan passed away a few years ago with the series incomplete. He did have time to make extensive notes however, so Book 13 or Towers of Midnight was actually written by someone else.  Brandon Sanderson is the man who has taken on the unenviable task of finishing a much loved and long anticipated climax to the series.  In my opinion he's doing a brilliant job.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  It makes for a gripping instalment to the series and I wept not once but three times whilst turning it's pages.  As I followed the fortunes of Rand Al'thor, the Dragon Reborn, Perrin 'Golden Eyes' Aybara, the Wolfbrother and Mattrim Cauthan, the Prince of the Ravens & Lord of Luck this book became one I rushed home to read.  I enjoyed it so much I even carried it by hand too and from my London office (it wouldn't fit inside my rucksack - it's a bit of a beast) in order to read it on my journey home.  

If you're looking for a fantasy series dealing with good and evil and set in a world similar to that of Tolkien's Middle Earth then I heartily recommend this series to you.  It is not perfect... but it is compelling.

Book One: shipwrecks, persecution and an undying hope

I love to read.  There's a level of peace my mind achieves when giving it's entire focus to words printed on a page.  I don't find it in conversation, nature, watching films or many other pursuits.  It's not that I don't find rest in those things, it's simply a different kind.  One of the joys of the last month has been the unanticipated but much relished time I've had to read.  The more I do the more I want to.  As I traded booklists with friends for the coming year my mouth is almost watering in anticipation of the wisdom and adventures I would find in the dozen or so titles currently piled by my bed.  So I've made a decision... I aim to finish a book a week in 2011.  I can't wait.

I'm sort of cheating this week as I'm probably going to finish a few books I've been reading over the last month but hopefully it'll give me a buffer as I head into the new year.  The fiction titles are (no surprise) dominated by Sci Fi and fantasy, and the Christian titles range from commentaries to manifestos to teaching.  

Book one of my potentially overambitious challenge is from the latter category.  Acts for Everyone Part 2 by Tom Wright.  For the last two years Wright's Bible for Everyone series has dominated my regular study time so the end of this excellent book marks a bit of a shift for me.  In 2011 I aim to read the Bible from cover to cover.  Shockingly, I've never done this before.  I always get a bit bogged down in the prophetic books of the Old Testament and skip over chunks.  This year no more skipping; I will read it all!  Book one of my 52 was a brilliant walk through the lives of the apostles Peter, Paul and others, and an amazing, inspiring and challenging account of the early days of Christianity.  I took a lot from studying it and Luke and Wrights words have filled the pages of my journal with thoughts, realisations and prayer.  As I put it down and change tack in my study (gone will be the ten-ish verses a day to look at in some detail - now begins the gauntlet of several chapters at once) I feel energised to approach God's word afresh.  

So I know what book one is, I aim for the whole Bible to be book number 52 but what titles will fill the 50 between? Any recommendations?  What's on your book list this year?

'Approaching God' From Lisa's Perspective

 

My dear friends, Lisa Borden speaks wisdom, poetry and grace with almost every word that flows from her mouth... or at least that's how she seems to me.  (She'll probably laugh and deny it.)  I met Lisa, Byron and one or two of the Borden brood through the interweaving lace of relationships that is the 24-7 Prayer movement.  From our first time together I could sense something entirely peaceful about them.  It's good to be with them.  They make you feel like it's all gonna be ok.  Their life is less than ordinary spending more of it living outside of the US than in it, and acclimatising to the tribes of youth culture in Portugal as eagerly as to tribes of Masai in Kenya.  They're continental adventures in life make them deeply interesting people and their pursuit of God in each situation gives them perspectives that feel fresh to a little old middle class westerner.  It makes total sense therefor that Lisa has distilled some of this experience, poetry and learning into a beautiful and life giving book...

'Approaching God' has been released and I was fortunate enough to receive a pre-copy so I could submit a little 'yay-Lisa-yay-God' quote for the publishers.  It is an absolutely beautiful journey into the mind and heart of someone who honestly and sincerely lives and longs to know her creator.  Here's what I sent back after my first read...

"Lisa's warmth, compassion and wisdom is worth flying half way around the world to enjoy. Though continents separate us, this book was like a long and life giving conversation about the God we follow. Lisa's words are like a balm to the heart and an invitation to the soul to dive in and swim deeper in the mysteries of our Creator. The pages of this book left me yearning for more."

Please do get your copy and support my good friend in her first foray into print.

Jesus Loves Ibiza

Like my new Bible?  All summer long, this sunny, little, life giving book has been handed out and passed around the streets of San Antonio.  'Jesus Loves Ibiza' it shouts across the front cover of these custom printed New Testaments in the Message translation.  (I cannot believe that Navpress/Eugene Peterson let them do it!)  These nifty, easily give-away-able books of the Bible were the brain child of the 24-7 Ibiza team who've been living and loving the people of the white isle for some years now.  If you've never heard of them before then check out this brilliant little short about their work and vision.  They're best known for making friends, praying, offering to help people in need, driving their vomit van around making sure people get home safe and now a prayer space that gives away free Bibles right in the centre of the bars of San An.

If you want to support their work these Bibles are a brilliant way to do it.  For £5 a pop every copy you buy puts a free copy in the hands of someone in Ibiza.  I bought three!  There've been a couple of friends I've been meaning to give a New Testament to for a while anyway and I thought these were perfect.  There so tiny and colourful and cute!  If you want to find out more you can arrange the order yours here.

The magic of words...

I've notice a direct correlation between the amount I read and the rising desire to write.  Could my resurgence in blogging passion correspond with five fabulous books I've read recently?  Scrap that... make it six.  It's a rare and precious thing the well written word.  A good book is so much more than a collection of words; with the first crack of the spine and the subtle smell of papery promise there's a world as lucid in my mind as the one that waits for me to close the book... Hmmm I've definitely caught the bug.  From Holden Caufield's disillusioned musings to Big Jim Rennie's nefarious ambition  I've been gripped by characters, places and ideas.  From the life and uncompromising mission of Hudson Taylor to the roller coaster of the apostles as the first expressions of the Christian community sprang up around Jerusalem.  As one series after another that I do enjoy has come to a conclusion on my telly rather than wondering what will take it's place I'm gleefully (and yes that is a reference) turning it off to curl up with my latest adventure.  If only I had more time... xc

Three Lives... One Inspiration

 

I’m not a huge fan of biographies. Ordinarily, if I’m honest, they bore me stupid. But recently I’ve been reading about the lives of three different men. They were from different countries, spoke different languages and walked this earth in different centuries. But there is something that unites them. They found their one thing… 

I began with a very slim book given to me by a very good friend (I like slim… less chance I’ll get bored). It was called ‘The Practice of the Presence of God’ and was filled with the words and accounts of a monk called Brother Laurence who lived in France in the 1600s. This man is thought by many to be exceptional for his absolute dedication and singular focus on the awareness of God’s presence. He didn’t lead a very glamorous life; one of the few things I learned about him was that he was apparently very clumsy (there’s hope for me yet)! It’s amazing that one moment of revelation became a passion strong enough that it redirected his whole life course. Enough people noted his journey that I am reading about this kitchen assistant over three centuries later. Simply summarised, he basically did everything with an awareness that Jesus was with him… naturally everything then became an act of worship and a sacrifice of love… even the pots and floors and ovens he scrubbed. Brother Laurence was a content man… 

After closing the book on this unassuming monk I felt drawn to a rather larger tome about the life of an English man from the 19th Century… I was afraid that my ambition would relegate this book to the rather shameful pile of reads unfinished, but I was wrong. Though I am still at the beginning of his journey, Hudson Taylor has captured my attention. As I read yesterday, on a slow and snowy train journey to London, a few lines jumped out at me during his journey to faith… 

‘“Dear God,” he prayed, “please give me some work to do for you, as an outlet for my love and gratitude.”’ 

The man, famous for his life in China asked God for work to do as an outlet for his love… His passion for China wasn’t about vision, or determination, or strategy… God seems to have sent him there in response to this prayer. His one thing was a desire to express his gratitude for being saved and offering that incredible gift to others. Amazingly his incredible and inspiration story began there… in his room… in prayer… 

The final man I’ve spent my week reading about was a first century Rabi who created quite a stir in the Religious and Political arenas of His time. As I read an account of His life, written by a close friend, I’ve been struck by how focussed He was on a goal He would later die for… Jesus of Nazereth came to re-unite the earth to the Father. This was no small goal. His one thing… it was huge. From Him, it would require everything. Words were spoken, signs were given, lives were utterly turned about and blood was shed. How did He keep His focus when the powerful apposed Him and others offered Him a crown? What gave Him the strength to keep going, even as he carried the instrument of His death to Calgary? How must He feel now when He sees the fruit of His sacrifice multiplying throughout the earth? 

Holding my life up next to Brother Laurence, Hudson Taylor and Jesus Christ I asked myself this question… What is my one thing? What would I live and die for? I actually think I have an inkling as to my answer… prayer… knowing and interacting with God... connecting people to Him all over the world… 

Now my challenge is: how seriously do I take it…

A Little Light Reading

I absolutely love to read.  There is something magical about opening a book, locating the first word and (with luck) falling immediately into a world that captivates and enthrals.  Not every tale grabs me so, I'm definitely describing my ideal.  Sadly I tend to only experience such immediate and complete immersion in a story about once a year; but with every crisp new spine, every un-touched page there is the potential for something like...

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."

or

"Mr & Mrs Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."

or even

"When Mr Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would soon be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton..."

Each of these books has enraptured me at different points in my life.  I feel gratitude to their authors whenever I glance their spines on our bookshelf.  The Lord of the Rings was my companion after late nights on the streets of Ibiza.  The conclusion of Harry Potter's saga was read aloud on my living room sofa through an outpouring of tears.  The tail of Roland Deschain and the Dark Tower (probably still one of the richest pieces of writing I've delved into) found it's conclusion/continuation on our Honeymoon.

Memories of these books lead me to others, more first lines that took me to unexpected places...

"My suffering left me sad and gloomy."

"I'd never given much thought to how I would die..."

And the timeless...

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

Each book is filled with people I've learned from... others I've loathed... heros, villains, victims and bystanders who's lives have become as familiar as my neighbours.  Many have taken up residence in the culdasac of my imagination.  As I began to compile the stack of books pictured above for the holiday Steve and I are embarking on today, I started hoping that hidden within their pages may be one or two new additions to my most loved list.  Many of these titles I've been hoping to read for some time and with five days of nothing ahead of me I look forward to exploring them...

BBC Top 100 Books

I received a note on facebook this week and I have to admit I felt rather smug...  Apparently the BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books on the BBC big read top 100 book list.  Below is their list of books and I've read all the ones with Xs next to them...

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - X Love!
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien - X Love!
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling - X Love!
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - X
6 The Bible - X Love!
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell 
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens 
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy 
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien - X
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger 
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger - X Superb
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll - X
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame 
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens 
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis - X
34 Emma - Jane Austen - X
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen - X
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis - X
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - X
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne - X
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown - X
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery 
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy 
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding - X
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel - X Love!
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen - X
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zifon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon - X
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt 
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold - X
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy 
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding - X Hasn't every woman in Britain?
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno - Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro 
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White - X
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom - X
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton - X
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery - X
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams 
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas 
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factoy - Roald Dahl - X
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

From this list it's pretty obvious that I love Jan Austin and don't love Dickens and have a potentially respectful 25 out of their 100 top books so though I can stick out my toungue at Mr BBC's assumption I now have a great reading list to work through in the coming year.  How many of these have you read?

Reasons to Rest

I have been inspired and challenged by Phil Togwell and Jude Smith's aim to read a book a week each year. I absolutely love reading fiction and I'm growingly getting better at reading/listening to Christian literature.  Their challenge speaks to me... I yearn to read a book a week.  I won't make it.  I don't have enough time, the books on my too read pile are big fatties and I'm already one and half books behind... I could slip in a few shorties maybe next weekend to try and catch up, but if I'm too religious about it I may not savour what I'm reading.  My current book for example is an enjoyable beast.  It doesn't fit comfortably in my bag but I'm loving it and I'm glad the story won't end any time soon.  Reading lost a bit of it's luster last year so I was overjoyed when I found new drive for it in December.  There's something about sitting and having to focus on just one thing that really relaxes me.  I'm such a multi-tasker, I'm often doing at least two things at once and I'm totally guilty of having constant sources of stimulation and back ground noise around me.  Maybe if I took on this challenge it would force me to be quite for a little time every day... bliss... xc

Favourite Books of 2008

So the musing and listing begins... as the end of the year approaches I'm reflecting on the joys, adventures and highlights of 2008.  To kick off here are some of my favourite books of this year.  They weren't necessarily released this year, merely I only discovered and dove into them in the last twelve months.  So in no particular order...

Communicating for a Change by Andrew Stanley

I haven't done a lot of speaking this year as I didn't think I was very good at it and wanted to take a break to consider how I could improve and why I should speak.  This book was lent to me by the ever excellent (and one of the most consistently challenging speakers I've heard) Eloise Armstrong.  It definitely makes some great points and I'm gonna try out some of it's structure ideas in the new year :)

Sex God by Rob Bell

I read this and Velvet Elvis over the summer and enjoyed both. This in particular though was a surprisingly rounded look at our sexuality and what God's got to do with it.  It's a book I finished and immediately though... "Hmm, I'd like to read that again." 

The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis

Though I first read parts of the Chronicles of Narnia as a child I only dived into it's last installment this year. I absolutely loved it. I was moved to tears.  Read it.

Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Top of my totally enjoyable junk reading this year was Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series.  It was a surprisingly enjoyable even with all the slightly annoying angst and I did enjoy her take on Vampires (the Cullen brand of veggie vamps are a metaphor for abstinence). If you love romance, adventure and good teen fiction take a look.  If you hate Dawson's Creak, moaners and low brow entertainment look elsewhere.  Team Edward! 

The Last Battle

I just finished reading The Last Battle, the seventh and final installment of C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. As I read through the last section of the book I was overwhelmed by the depth of emotion that stirred within me and moved me to tears. I won't say too much because if you haven't read it I would encourage you too. It has instantly become one of my favourite books and the image of the real Narnia and the real England will stay with me... xc

Velvet Elvis: or How to Confuse Carla in Three Easy Chapters

My head is a bit mashed. With the wonder of audio books I'm actually managing to get through some pretty great Christian books at a respectable speed. There's something much easier and about listening and absorbing stuff about God than there is about sitting down to read anything but my Bible. I think it's totally psychosomatic, I was never a lover of text books and I think I've made an unhelpful association with boring school work and non-fiction books...

Stories of interest...

Down time brought the beautiful opportunity to take more than 15 minutes in a day to read (oh the luxury) and a few much needed visits to the old cinema. Purely for fun I thought I'd run through the narratives that have inspired or bored me in the last few weeks...

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time

What an amazing book. I am truly blown away by its subtlety, intelligence and depth. Wow. I thoroughly recommend this one to absolutely anyone. Very easy to read and totally engaging as you experience life, family, fear and adventure through the eyes of an emotionally detached teenager. xc

Gutted!

Never has an email made me scream so hard for so long! Today Pete Ward broke some terrible news to me in a rather flippent manner... Robert Jordan author of the epic Wheel of Time series died. Very sad, my thoughts are with his family though my vocal disstress was for a slightly more selfish reason...

The Life of Pi

I've been reading the most engaging book this week, "The Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. The story of a young indian boy who is at once a Hindu, Muslim and Christian and his adventures on the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal Tiger. Discribed as a story that will "...make you believe in God" it's full of magic realisim, adventure and faith. Even if that faith does seem a little conflicted...

Allegories and accusations

I have always found the witch hunt of J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series a little bewildering. Well maybe witch hunt is a strong phrase. I can totally understand why parents would choose not to read them to their children, especially as the story progresses with maturity in proportion to the age of it's heros. I would not give a 12 year old Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as a little light bedtime reading. I found it traumatic and I'm 26 next week...

For One More Day

Last night I finished reading For One More Day by Mitch Albom. He has a very engaging narative style and it reminded me quite strongly of his other book The Five People You Meet in Heaven, similar theme but distinct enough that my deja vu was mild...

It is finished!!!

We've done it! Last night Stephen and I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows aloud to each other, though Steve had to do most of the reading, tears were sliding down my cheeks for the last two hours, stealing my breath. It was absolutely fantastic! She truly surpassed herself... !!!PLOT SPOILER WARNING!!!