I'm thankful for the gift of reading. I'm thankful for the insights I gain from reading the works of various authors. I'm quite thankful for the books I read this year (well, most of them haha).
My 2010 Book List and Thoughts*
I enjoyed this book quite a bit because it truly paints Christianity as something to believe in. Not that the Bible doesn't paint that even more. But this book is written in the form of a story of a college student who is feels his church is lacking something. He's tired of the feel good messages and wants a Christianity that is real and meets the needs of real people. Through the conversation of a professor God reveals Christ and Christianity to his as something worth believing. This book also gives a great visual to use when sharing Christ with others - it's a simple drawing but it's great!
Thinking Out Loud on Paper - The Student Daybook as a Tool to Foster Learning
I read this book because 1. I love daybooks! and 2. I love Dr. Hartman (one the author and one of my professors from GWU)! This was a great book and I highly recommend it to anyone who desires to be a teacher :)
The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Clairborne
This book sat on my bookshelf for several years before I finally picked it up and read the whole thing (I read about a quarter of it and then put it down and read something else and forgot to pick it back up). But I heard Shane Claiborne speak at Urbana '09 last December and I knew I wanted to read it immediately! It was a challenging read because Claiborne offers some hard insights about the Christian life and what it means to truly be the hands and feet of Jesus. One of my favorites of 2010 and I recommend it to everyone! My desire after reading this is to be an ordinary radical :)
The Brief, Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
I enjoyed the style this book was written in and how the author paints a picture for the reader (I after I read Image Grammar the semester prior to reading this I caught that haha) but I don't recommend this book because the content is graphic and the language is quite foul. So yay for style but nay to everything else.
Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
This was the biggest disappointment ever. Despite the controversy surrounding The DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons I loved those books, and so when another one was coming out featuring the same character I was pretty excited. This book kept me on the edge of seat thinking, "Gosh, I can't imagine what's going to happen next, " only to let me down with the most anticlimactic ending ever. I don't recommend, though others do.
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
A few years ago I got on a huge Sparks kick after reading A Walk to Remember and The Notebook and pretty much every book of his that I could get my hands on. But then I read Message in a Bottle and Dear John and swore off of his books due how depressed I felt after reading them and some of the content (which is often in many of his books). But my mom read this one and said it was definitely worth reading. And I'll admit it made me enjoy reading Sparks again. It was definitely a sappy and sad book, but then again what do expect from Sparks. If you want something super light that will probably make you cry, then I'd read it. But I will say this did not inspire me to read anything else by Sparks or see the movie - I'm a little over Miley Cyrus.
Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
I read the first one of the Twilight series simply to see what the hype was about and I only finished the series to see what happened...I thought it all ended very very strangely. I know some people love these books but I must state for the record that I cannot stand Bella and Edward and the type of relationship they portray.
How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez
This wasn't quite what I expected and I have enjoyed other books by Alvarez much more. But after student teaching in ESL this book was really insightful. I wish I would have read it before student teaching and I think any ESL teacher or any teacher for that manner should definitely read this book. It will open your eyes to the immigrant experience so much and help increase your understanding of what so many must go through.
Who Do I Lean On? by Neta Jackson
This part of my second favorite series, my first being the Yada Yada Prayer Group which this series - the House of Hope - is a spin-off of. I loved this book! I read it in less than 24 hours and I always know a book is incredible when I am sad for it to finish, and that's how this one and all of others have made me feel. It encouraged me and anyone looking for a great Christian fiction series this is my all-time recommendation (thought I would start with the Yada Yada Prayer Group series first).
Simple Spirituality by Christopher L. Heuertz
Besides the Bible and The Irresistible Revolution the most powerful and convicting book I read this year. Heuertz talks about the simple spirituality of Jesus and the call of His followers to reach out to a broken a world. Definitely a book I am considering rereading in 2011 because I think there is still so much that I need to absorb from it (and it's a relatively short book).
Teaching in a Distant Classroom by Michael H. Romanowski and Teri McCarthy
I heard about this book when I was at Urbana '09 last December. Actually the authors did a seminar which I almost attended, but instead I decided to attend ESL as Missions instead. But I picked up this book because well, hopefully in a month I'll be teaching in a distant classroom. This book was geared if professors teaching at international universities, but it was very insightful for using teaching and ESL as tool for missions.
The Long Loneliness by Dorothy Day
Dorothy Day is one of my new role models after I read this book. Her autobiography details how the love of Christ can dramatically transform a life and how His love for us compels each and every one of us to be His hands and feet and serve the broken.
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
Before I even read page 1 I knew this was going to make me cry. It's a true story and well I already knew how it ended, but oh my goodness such an amazing story of how we must flight injustices and stand firm on our beliefs no matter the costs. In the mist of this tragic story there is hope. The hope that we all are capable of doing extraordinary things. The hope that evil will not prevail, but good will win in the end. My favorite line from the book, "Once the goat was a bad memory in our past, that would the be real revolution we would have to fight: forgiving each other for what we had all let come to pass." It's graphic (but the Dominician dictator Trujillo was violent so what can you expect from a based on the time he exploited his people) and sad (but again Mirabel sisters die in real life and it's a fictional account of their lives so again what can expect), but it's a great read!
Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup
Though the movie is quite graphic, I absolutely love it. So when I ran across this book discounted at the Marshalls in Myrtle Beach, I decided I wanted to read it. And let's just say that the book and the movie are nothing alike (but then again when are they). The only thing similar is the game show and how he knew the answers based on different life experiences. And I thought the movie was graphic, the book takes it to a whole new level. I definitely had to skip some parts because of their graphic nature - thankfully much was changed for the movie. I don't recommend this book (though I do recommend the movie but be prepared) due to the graphic content. Though I will say I love this book and the movie because they serve as a very real reminder of what happens when people are forced to live in extreme poverty.
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
To be honest I have no idea what inspired me to read this book. It's quite long and well, Tolstoy isn't known for being a light read. But you must get past that because this book is incredible. I love the contrast Tolstoy creates between Anna and Levin - as Anna lives for herself alone and Levin searches for meaning in life and ultimately find fulfillment in the true source - God! Beautifully written and easily one the best books I've ever read. Another I hope to reread.
Bread Givers by Anzia Yezierska
I never related to a character and at the same not related to a character as much as Sara Smolinsky.
It Happened in Glacier National Park/Yellowstone National Park
I picked these up when I visited both of these parks this summer. They were fun reads while driving through the parks and made the sightseeing even more fun (though both of these parks are breathtaking regardless - hence why they're national parks). My favorite part of each of these was in the back they had random facts about each park and when my grandparents, brother, cousins, and I drove through Yellowstone every so often we would have "Random Yellowstone Facts with Caitlin. The part of the ride where Caitlin comes out and shares some random Yellowstone facts."
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Somehow I managed to get out of high school without reading this book (good job LPHS). So I decided it was time I read this book...and I loved it!! I love seeing the world through Holden Caulfield's eyes. "What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like," this line from the book describes exactly how I feel about it.
Funding Your Ministry by Scott Morton
I won't lie; I was not excited about getting this book in the mail from World Witness. Reading about support raising was not something I was looking forward to. However, once I started it God used it to open my eyes to the Biblical importance of fundraising and finances. It was challenging but an important read. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is raising support for their ministry.
Atonement Child by Francine Rivers
Redeeming Love and The Mark of the Lion Series are some of favorite books. But this Rivers book left me desiring a lot more. I enjoyed it because it clearly painted the picture of redemption as it blooms in the mist of tragedy and how just because something was intended for evil does not mean God cannot and will not use it for His glory. I also loved the reminder how valuable each life is to God regardless of conception and how God has a purpose for each life. But I didn't like this book because at times I felt it made light a very deep and serious situation. I felt it was very cheesy at times and given the subject of this book I didn't feel like that was appropriate - especially considering how a woman in the main character's situation would be feeling. I would have liked less details in certain parts and more at the end. I would have ended this story further in the characters lives.
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
See My Thoughts Here
Father Fiction by Donald Miller
Regardless of your relationship with your father, I think there is benefit for all in reading this book. I think it helps the reader see how God loves us and is the perfect father. But it also challenges us to live for Him without allowing excuses of things we couldn't control keep us living extraordinary lives. It was a book filled with healing for me and I thank Miller for honesty in these pages.
The Edge of Tidal Pools by Michele Phoenix
I stumbled upon this book when looking up stuff about missionary kids - the school I going to teach at serves a lot missionary kids and their families. This story offers the powerful reminder that ministry cannot ever come at the expense of others - especially children. But it also serves as the reminder that only God is good and we cannot thrust upon Him the sinful characteristics of others based on the pain they have caused us. He is perfect, they just like us are imperfect. He alone is good.
The Lineage of Grace Series by Francine Rivers
It was neat to see the author's perspective on the lives of the 5 women named in Matthew's genealogy of Christ. I loved how the author portrayed some of these women, but others left me with something to be desired. However, in the introduction and after each story the author reminded us that this was a fictional account based on her viewpoint of it, she provided a short Bible study so the reader could gain true insight on each woman based on the true source -the Bible - not merely on the author's perceptive.
The Best
See My Thoughts Here
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
About every three years I read this story and I just love it! I love how Scrooge is redeemed in the story and reminded that the true meaning of Christmas should be held in hearts and exhibited through our actions all yearlong.
Well, those were my reads in 2010. I'm thankful for what God taught me in reading each of them (even the lessons like maybe jumping on the bandwagon isn't always worth the ride).
I look forward to reading more great books in 2011. I have my list set based on what I currently own (I'm trying to read the books that have been sitting on my shelf waiting for me to read before I purchase any new ones). But I would love to hear what books you read in 2010 and they blessed your lives :)
*I am in no way, shape, or form a book reviewer. These are merely my thoughts and opinions based on my likes, my preferences, and well me.
You know, last time I posted on what I was reading it was the same day Keith posted what he was reading. I'm just a big copy cat.
ReplyDeleteI hated Catcher in the Rye! I tried to do the same thing this summer (read the books on the shelf rather than buy new) and it didn't work for me. Best of luck to you! Instead I have a stack of ten new books on the floor I can't wait to devour.
By the way, wear your Badgers shirt on the 1st because the Badgers are playing in the Rose Bowl!!!
<>< Katie
Wow, you read a lot of books! But you forgot one....the Bible ;) haha
ReplyDeleteI was interested particularly by your view on Twilight. I have never read or watched any of it but I know tonnes of girls who love it and you might be the first one who has said they didn't really like it. I like your reasoning for it :)