Current Reading List

I realized I've got stacks of books scattered all over my apartment, all of them with bookmarks in various places, and various sticky tabs sticking out from some pages, indicators of quotes to write down or profound thoughts. I just love books. I have this horrible fear that some day they will stop printing books and everything will be electronic. Maybe that explains my subconscious desire to buy books nearly every time I'm in a book store or at the local public library book sale. I like to touch and feel and underline and reread - and I supposed I could do that with an electronic version of a book, but it just doesn't compare.

I subscribe to a weekly e-mail from Cardus and they recently had an article entitled "The Wake for Printed Books." One particular section stood out regarding books andtheir potential demise:

And I'm a lover of books, too, unaccustomed to making a body/soul distinction where the printed word is concerned. The book is the object and its contents, inseparable in my mind. I dwell in a house lined with shelves, most of them bowed by the weight of their printed content. Beautiful books and ugly ones. Read and unread. Objects of comfort, outrage, derision, admiration. Some pristine and others scarred. Some bound in leather, some in paper (at least one in shagreen). Prized and cheap side by side. Tangible things, each with a history. I can tell you where they came from, where they've been. The ones I sought out and the ones I discovered unexpectedly. The ones kept under glass in dark bookstores and, all too often, the ones overnighted from the clean, well-lit warehouses of Amazon. All of that will disappear when the book's body does.

Perhaps nothing can stop the change. Perhaps nothing should. As at the wake for the dead friend, that's not the point. Sure, he was sick. Sure, we all saw it coming. In a way, we're even relieved that his suffering is finally over. But don't expect us not to miss him. And don't expect us not to pity you for never having the chance to know him. Those of us who did will never forget.

So to honor my love for books and to stem the tide of those who love the electronic versions, I encourage you to go to the local library and pick up these bodies of books, some of my favorites and also some current reads:

Current reads:
King Raven Series, by Stephen Lawhead (the Welsh version of Robin Hood, very good read)

Citation - In A Class by Himself, by Phil Georgeff

Lord of the Rings Series, by J.R.R. Tolkien (Tolkien is a literary genius - his books are so good I nearly want to cry while reading them)

The Hole in Our Gospel, by Richard Stearns (convicting and inspiring in light of upcoming travels to Africa)

Favorites:
A Severe Mercy, by Sheldon Vanauken (hands down, my all-time favorite book)

Shoeless Joe, by W.P. Kinsella (this book is just plain magical)

"The Beast in the Jungle," by Henry James (my favorite short story, language is a little dense but profound story nonetheless)

So enjoy some good books this summer. Enjoy the feel and smell of the pages. Savor the printed word.

"A room without books is like a body without a soul." - Cicero