Thursday, June 12, 2008

Summer Book Club

O.K., so it's not the most creative and interesting blog title ever, but I'm still in p.j.'s and I have to leave for work in 25 minutes. LOL

This summer Mark Lee is orchestrating a summer book club which should be a lot of fun. I had pretty much fallen out of the habit of reading whole books, and Mark pretty much inspired me to start reading again. It's not that I didn't want to, but I had no real direction. At any rate (I've noticed I use that phrase a lot), I get "credit" for the last two books I've read if I post them in a blog.

The last book I have read (or should I say am reading as I have about a chapter less and will be finished at work tonight) is the C.S. Lewis book The Pilgrim's Regress. The first few chapters and parts of the book can be tricky to follow, but I love it just the same. The other major challenge is that there are Latin phrases woven through parts of the story, and not speaking Latin, it didn't make for easy reading.* There are numerous times when the path that the main character takes sounded so familiar to me that I had to laugh out loud. The main character, John, who is a figment of the narrator's dream, is searching, and what he finds is a pretty good summary of a lot of the thinking that is out there. It is still relevant. :) I am particularly enjoying the end of the book where John's quest is finally being explained. I don't want to give away any of the ending, as I really do recommend the book. :)

The book I read just prior was The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. For those who are expecting a theological treatis on heaven, you will be disappointed. On the other hand, it is a The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a great fictional work with a great message. I laughed and cried as I read it and was moved. I highly recommend reading Mr. Albom's book. It's not difficult to read at all and I pretty much finished it in 2 halves of an afternoon... so that adds up to about an afternoon's read. LOL

If you want to get in little more reading, check out Mark Lee's summer book reading club on his blog here:

http://marklee.typepad.com/this_guy_falls_down/2008/06/summer-readin-2.html

Here are some of the books on my "to read" list:

Push My Life Into a Duffle Bag by John Roger Schofield (bass player for The Myriad),
I just received this one in the mail! :)

Scientific Facts in the Bible: 100 Reasons to bElieve the Bible is Supernatural in Origin (it was inexpensive, it interested me and it looks like it will be a quick read)

Three by Ted Dekker

God's Debris by Scott Adams

Emergence

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

The Case for Faith by Lee Strobel

I'd like to find a few easier to read fiction books to toss in there as well. I several of the books already, so mainly I want to read some things I've had for a while but haven't read first. I have not read the entire Chronicles of Narnia series, so I would love to do that. I have lots to keep me going. :)

Love, Peace, and summer reading fun! :)

--Melanie

* I found this website and it will be helpful for anyone choosing to read, "The Pilgrim's Regress." :) http://www.solcon.nl/arendsmilde/cslewis/reflections/e-regressquotes.htm

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