As I did last year, I thought I'd do a quick run-down of all the books I read throughout 2012. I had set a goal to read 25 books this year, and by my counting, I fell a bit short, unless I'm forgetting a book or two.
According to what I wrote last year, I read 26 books in 2011. I think the reason I didn't beat that number this year was because last year 7 of those 26 were the Harry Potter books...which I was able to zip through pretty quickly. And, some of the books I did read this year were pretty long. There, that's me making an excuse for why I read fewer books this year than last.
Also this year I became more okay with not finishing a book. Historically, I've been
too much of a stickler to... what...a made-up-rule that I have to finish
every book I start? Not anymore, I say! If, after giving a book a fair
shot, it just isn't cutting it, I've found freedom to put it down and
start something else. How liberating!
I also realized I read a lot of books with subtitles this past year.
So, for my own personal record-keeping than anything else, here's a summary of the books I read (or didn't read) throughout the past year, in roughly the order I read them: I read a total of 19, started but didn't finish 5, and am in the midst of 2 as of December.
Day After Night, by Anita Diamant
I remember thinking this book was just "okay". I had read another book by Diamant that I really enjoyed, so was somewhat disappointed by this one. The premise of the book was good; it was about a handful of young Jewish women who are settling in Israel after WWII. The women had all experienced different tragedies and struggles during the war: some were concentration camp survivors, one had been a part of the partisan resistance, and one hid her Jewish identity so as to escape persecution. I think the problem with this book was that there were too many characters, and not enough space given to really delve deeply into any of them. I would have liked it better if she had written fewer characters, and explored them more fully, or made the book longer.
Same Kind of Different as Me, by Ron Hall
I really, really wanted to like this book. It's about a wealthy man in Texas who befriends a homeless man, and through their relationship learns a lot about himself and the meaning of life, pain, trusting God, and helping others.Considering what I do for a living though, I was bound to be uber-critical of this book. The book was written from both the perspective of Ron (rich white guy, wealthy art dealer in Texas) and Denver (poor black guy raised in segregate south, ends up homeless in Texas). I have to believe that Ron sincerely thought he was doing the best he could in trying to help Denver, but he seemed to miss the boat in a couple of instances. One example: at one part in the book, Ron's daughter needs to be driven to a camp in another state, and Ron asks Denver to take her. Ron talks about he was at first apprehensive about letting Denver drive off with his (Ron's) brand-new expensive truck, but when Denver came back the truck all in one piece, Ron has this moment of realization that he should never have assumed that Denver would steal the truck. That's great, but an even greater next step would be if Ron (who, I'm assuming through his position of wealth and standing in the community knows oodles of people who hire delivery truck drivers) had talked with one of his friends, asking them to hire Denver as a delivery truck driver (or something similar) considering that Denver had already proven himself reliable and responsible in that area. Maybe then Denver could have...I don't know...had money to rent an apartment and not be homeless anymore? Hmmm...just a thought. But sadly, this doesn't happen. It was things like that - and the fact that Ron started to get on my nerves a bit - that made me overall not really like the book.
Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, by John Piper and Justin Taylor (started, didn't finish)
This book is a series of essays by different authors on...wait for it...suffering and the sovereignty of God. It's the kind of book that you can pick up and read a chapter or two at a time, without necessarily having to read the entire thing straight through. I really enjoyed it, even though I didn't read all of it. What I did read was good, encouraging, and refreshing.
The Passage, by Justin Cronin
I picked this book up on a whim, and really enjoyed it. It definitely falls into the "fantasy/sci-fi" category. The premise of the story is that the U.S. government tries to create vampires to be ultimate soldiers, but their experiment back-fires and unleashes an apocalyptic nightmare where just about all humans and every living creature is destroyed. The story centers on the last remaining survivors of the human race, and their attempts to re-establish life and, eventually, defeat the vampires. I should clarify that these aren't "Twilight-I-sparkle-in-the-sun-Team-Edward-type" vampires. More like creepy-will-kill-anything-warm-blooded-vampires. Kind of an out-there book, but engrossing nonetheless.
When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor...and Yourself, by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert
Great book, and one that is on my 2013 re-read list. This book is written by two professors from Covenant College, and they expose what a lot of social ministries and churches do wrong when trying to help the poor. It's a bit academic, but I liked that aspect of it. Very convicting and challenging, and it made me re-think a lot as it relates to serving and mercy ministry.
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster, by John Krakauer
I enjoyed reading one of Krakuer's book last year, and so thought I would enjoy this one too. I was wrong. It's the author's first-hand account of climbing Mt. Everest, and the tragedy that ensues when he and his hiking team get stuck in a storm and people die. I wanted to be sympathetic, but just wasn't able to conjure up the emotions. He spends countless pages going on and on about how deadly dangerous it is to even attempt to climb Mt. Everest (you know, the whole lack of oxygen thing), but then acts shocked when people actually do die in the attempt. I feel bad that some people died, but at the same time am kind of like "what did you think was going to happen"? Apparently a thrill-seeker I am not.
The Priest: Aaron (Sons of Encouragement Series), by Francine Rivers
I received the Sons of Encouragement series for Christmas last year, which is a series of five novellas about different men in the Bible. Like Rivers' other writings, this story was an easy read, convicting, and just good.
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America, by Erik Larson
This is a true story about the making of the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, and a crazy madman serial killer stalking Chicago at the same time. While some parts of this story may have moved a little slow - maybe a touch too much about architectural details that I could have done without - overall, this was a really good read. The story reads like a crime novel, and it's almost hard to believe that it's true, all the stuff the killer did. I do like how the two seemingly separate stories - the World's Fair and the serial killer - are blended together into one.
The Scribe: Silas (Sons of Encouragement Series), by Francine Rivers
Another in the same series, and another good read.
My Antonia, by Willa Cather
This is one of those classics that I never read in high school or college, so I decided to pick it up, and enjoyed it. It's the story of an immigrant girl growing up in the plains during the 1920s (I think...maybe earlier). Lots of other people have written much more elaborate reviews of the book. All I'll say is that I liked it, and would recommend it.
Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be), by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck
The title of the book pretty much sums up what it's about. What I appreciated about this book was the two very distinct voices. The chapters alternated between DeYoung (pastor, theologian) and Kluck (member of DeYoung's church, sports writer). In his chapters, DeYoung goes into detail about how/why some prominent emergent thinkers are straying from what's biblical. He does this in a way that, while straight-forward, is also respectful and, ultimately, pointing back to what's biblical, which I appreciated, because then it's not just what Kevin thinks, but what God says.
Peony in Love, by Lisa See (started, didn't finish)
Blah to this book. I only got about a third of the way into it and had to return it. I've read and enjoyed other books by Lisa See, but this one was just too strange. It delved into the Chinese after-life...I just couldn't get into it.
Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever, by Bill O'Riley
I learned a ton of stuff I never realized about the assassination of Lincoln. The book goes into a lot of detail about John Wilkes Booth, what the political scene was like just after the Civil War, and Lincoln's relationship with his wife. Great book.
What is the Mission of the Church?: Making sense of social justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission, by Kevin DeYoung
What can I say? Apparently I like Kevin DeYoung. I picked up this book because of what I was mulling over from having read the above-mentioned book by Corbett and Fikkert. In his book, DeYoung really focuses on what churches need to be about as their primary concern...and it's the Gospel. Everything else - including caring for the poor - flows out of that. A really good read, and another one that got the wheels in my head turning. Perhaps another 2013 re-read.
More to come...
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