books

I've decided to add my ever-growing list of books that I desire to read. Some I know a bit about, some I know very little about but think they'd be interesteing for whatever reason. They are in no particular order whatsoever and are currently written on 2 pieces of scratch paper I carry in my planner. So that there is another record of them (thanks for the idea, good Friar), here they are for your perusal. Let me know if you've read any of them. Love to hear about them.

This first one came from a random blog I found by a guy teaching English in Japan with NOVA (not the org that I'm applying with though).

from Ryan in Osaka:
Tuesday night I officially finished The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson. It takes me ages to read a book and finishing one this quickly was a great milestone to complete. I think it's because I have no TV or internet at home and really have nothing else to do. This was a great book. It recounted Bill Bryson's giant road trip around the United States in the 1980s, gives tons of information about small-town America and I really recommend it (or any of his books). I hadn't planned on reading this one, rather just mailing it to a friend of a friend (long story) but happened to read the first paragraph and was hooked. It goes like so:

"I COME FROM Des Moines. Somebody had to. When you come from Des Moines you either accept the fact without question and settle down with a local girl named Bobbi and get a job at the Firestone factory and live there forever adn ever, or you spend your adolescence moaning at length about what a dump it is and how you can't wait to get out, and then you settle down with a local girl named Bobbi and get a job at the Firestone factory and live there forever and ever."

I happen to agree with Ryan. Any book that starts that way surely is good. And most of you know how much I love small town America. yea! This sounds like a keeper!

Again, remember that this is a master list and I have no idea why some of these are on the list anymore . . .

Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelen

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (fiction)

Everyday Evangelism: Linking People to Jesus by Sam Huizenga (small group ministry)

Everything Bad is Good for You by Steven Johnson

Take Big Bites by Linda Ellerbee

The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson

If I Perish by Esther Ahn Kim

Isle of Passion by Laura Restrepo

Quilts of Gee's Bend

A Beginner's Guide to Crossing Cultures by Patty Lane

The Church is in a Stew by Jerry Appleby

The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall (young adult fiction?)

The Zig Zag Way by Anita Desai (I think this is about leadership?)

Jesus in Beijing by David Aikman

Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden

The Notebook

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (I wanted to read this prior to the movie coming out by the way)

If Singleness is a Gift, What's the Return Policy

Mealtime Habits of the Messiah by Conrad Gempf

Blood Fuges by Edwardo Vega Yungus (not sure if this name is correct, can't really read my writing)

Tales from the Bed by Jenifer Estess as told to Valerie Estess

Season's Gleamings - The Art of Alumninum Christmas Trees by Simon & Lindemann (I saw this a year ago and should have bought it then for my friend Chris, still bummed that I didn't.)

Federico and the Magi's Gift by Beatriz Vidal (children's Christmas gift)

La Nochebuena South of the Border by James Rice

Move Over, Santa, Ruby's Doin' Christmas by Ruby Ann Boxcar

Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels

Empire Rising by Thomas Kelly

Armando's Treasure by Melody Carlson (youth fiction)

The Lemony Snickett series (youth fiction, recommended by Andrea Lowry)

Evangelism Explosion by D James Kennedy

Mosquito Coast by Paul Thouriux (again surely this isn't spelled correctly)

The Poured Fire on Us from the Sky

The Dark Hills Divide by Patrick Carmen