A Trip to the Library
June 9th, 2006 | by Scott |One of my greatest thrills in life is going to the library with no expectations and finding great books to read.
Call me a nerd. I can take it.
The past few months I’ve been mired in Taylor Branch’s masterful trilogy on America in the King Years. It was startling to realize how little I had been taught about the Civil Rights Movement growing up. If you never have, then please read these books.
In between those installments, I was catching up on the more “theological” stuff on my shelf: Themes of the OT, Understanding Jewish Culture, N.T. Wright, Dallas Willard, etc.
Now, I take a break from all that. It’s time for a little lighter reading. Yesterday I went to the Library and picked up these books:
The Wal-Mart Effect : How the World’s Most Powerful Company Really Works–and How It’s Transforming the American Economy by Charles Fishman. I have a love/hate relationship with Wal-Mart. This book, so far, strikes me as a balanced assessment of the beast that is Wal-Mart.
Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids by Maia Szalavitz . I am completely ignorant about the contents of this book. It is apparently a look at the “tough-love” approach to teen boot camps and what-not. Looks promising.
An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography by Paul Rusesabagina. I am really looking forward to read this, although I disagree with the title. Rusesabagina is no ordinary man. He is a hero and everyone should read his story. It humbles me to think that people live through the emotional equivalent of Hurricane Katrina every day in Africa.
That should last me a week or so. What are you reading right now?
13 Responses to “A Trip to the Library”
By John on Jun 9, 2006 | Reply
Somehow to me those don’t even sound like light reading. So fairly deep topics there. Last few weeks I’ve been sticking to the fiction aisles and have been reading:
Beach Music by Pat Conroy
Dirty Blonde by Lisa Scottline
Lake Wobegone Days by Garrison Keillor
I would never call anyone a nerd for the love of books or libraries. Of course I grew up with both since my mom’s a librarian so I spent plenty of days in the stacks. My first job other than a paper route was in a library. Enjoy!
By matt elliott on Jun 9, 2006 | Reply
Just finished Chaim Potok’s “The Book of Lights,” which now means I’ve read all nine of his works of fiction. And since he died in 2002, I’m a little sad about having done so! It was a tough read but well worth it. Now I’m re-reading McLaren’s “The Story We Find Ourselves In” while I’m waiting on my copy of Conroy’s “The Lords of Discipline” to arrive from Amazon.
Let us know how you like “Beach Music” when you finish it, John. I bought a first edition hardcover at Goodwill (my favorite bookstore) for $2 and plan to read it sometime after “Lords”. Do either of you Conroy fans have a copy of “The Boo,” by the way?
Other books on my to-do list are:
Lee Camp’s “Mere Discipleship”
John Steinbeck’s “The Wayward Bus”
and a re-read of “The Poisonwood Bible”
By greg on Jun 9, 2006 | Reply
Wow, I did not know Rusesabagina had a book out. I’ll have to check that out asap. I read Phililp Gourevitch’s book last year, which was excellent. I’d like to read this one, too.
I have all three of Branch’s books. I have yet to read them. I started Parting The Waters a couple of years ago, but didn’t get very far. I’m a slow reader, and sometimes if I don’t make significant progress right away (i.e. find time to read) I will abandon a large book in favor of a shorter one. I guess to feel like I’m getting somewhere. Anyway, I still want to read them all.
By scott on Jun 9, 2006 | Reply
Sadly, I’ve only read Conroy’s “Lord” and “Santini.” I haven’t read much fiction lately. Maybe someday I’ll go back to him. Matt, I’m anxious to find out what you think of “Lords.” Make sure you see the movie, too.
Greg, Branch’s books are very time-consuming. But worth the read.
By Jenny Perkins on Jun 9, 2006 | Reply
Ahhhhh…the library. One of my favorite things about our new house is that it is 2 blocks away from the library. A great morning walk and outing for the boys and I, or I like to go in the evenings by myself. I’m not usually into all the “chick-lit” but I guess since it’s summer I decided to give it a try. Just checked out “Boy Meets Girl” by Meg Cabot and “Shopgirl” by Steve Martin. To balance that out I also checked out “Blue Like Jazz” from our church library.
By dave turner on Jun 9, 2006 | Reply
Just finished “The Story We Find Ourselves In”, just started “Globalization and its Discontents” by Stiglitz. After about 20 pages I’d give it a strong (but tentative) recommendation.
By Jason Bybee on Jun 9, 2006 | Reply
I’m reading Camp’s “Mere Discipleship” right now. Great so far. I love his Kingdom language & his call for us to adopt an alternate vision of life.
By scott on Jun 10, 2006 | Reply
Jenny, I liked Shopgirl. You’ll love “Jazz”
Dave, the Stiglitz book sounds fascinating. Let me know what you think.
Mere Discipleship is one of the pivotal books of my life.
By R-Liz (Ruthie) on Jun 10, 2006 | Reply
The Bible, Scott. I’m reading The Bible.
Actually, I am in a moms’ group where we’re cheering each other through a Read-the-Bible-in-a-Year thing. We do it in blog format, so it’s actually been a great way to encourage, touch base, ask some questions and give some insight, but without a bunch of hassle. Very mommy-friendly.
By matt elliott on Jun 10, 2006 | Reply
I went to the libary myself today, Scott, with my kids and picked the Rusesabagina book. I think I’ll squeeze it in before “Lords”.
By John on Jun 12, 2006 | Reply
I’ve finished “Beach Music” a couple of day ago and had some time to mull everything over. It’s a very good book, anyone who has read Conroy before will notice some of the same themes as his other books, alcoholism, child abuse, the low country, etc. But what really got me thinking was that the main character/narrator was a single father raising his daughter after his wife’s suicide. While I don’t fear my wife commiting suicide or anything like that I do wonder/worry if I could really raise our daughter on my own. Most of the time I take my child rearing clues from my wife and I am lost on how to raise a daughter.
So overall if the sign of a good book is that you’re thinking of it long after finishing it then this was good. I hope that anyone else who tries it enjoys it as much as I did.
By pat on Jun 12, 2006 | Reply
I just finished Donald Miller’s book “To Own a Dragon”. It is a very thought-provoking book about the effect of an absent father on a son. He talks about his own life without a dad and how he had to come to terms with that and how he found he could compensate for that loss. It was compelling and very helpful in my understanding the role of a masculine model for young men and also understanding the behavior of young men who have no such model. I highly recommend it.
By Scott on Jun 13, 2006 | Reply
John, I wonder how in the world I would begin to fix their hair every morning if something happened to my wife. Sorry your comment got hung up. I don’t know why.
Pat, I’ll have to check that out.