2011 Book List part III

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. This is the second book by Hillenbrand; her first was the best seller Seabiscuit which I haven’t read (nor have I seen the movie) but plan to because she is such an amazingly interesting writer. Horse stories don’t particularly interest me, nor do World War II stories. The book is about Louis Zamperini, an “incorrigible delinquent . . a teenager who channeled his defiance into running, a brother who cared enough to save him, and his life as an airman on a doomed flight.” If you haven’t heard anything about Laura Hillenbrand, you should read her story about suffering from debilitating chronic fatigue syndrome while writing these books. Unbroken is a book probably everybody should read, if you can take it. (By the way Random House accepted her first book the first time she submitted it. Unlike the author of The Help who had to submit her book 62 times.)

I also read The Help by Kathryn Stockett. But by now everyone has at least seen the movie. I thought it was a pretty good book, aside from some scenes I’m sure some stupid editor suggested she stick in—and she was desperate to publish. I read this for a book club, and the woman who led the discussion, complete with her southern drawl from Alabama, said the book was a very accurate description of how she grew up.

Finding God Beyond Harvard by Kelly Monroe Kullberg, the editor of Finding God at Harvard. Kullberg wrote this book a number of years after she started the now-famous (in some circles) Veritas Forums throughout the country. She never set out to do such a thing, the forums just evolved through her activities while at Harvard. I like this book better than Finding God—perhaps because I never finished those essays, but also because it is her autobiography, not just a compilation of essays, good though they may be. Kullberg is a bit too conservative for my taste, though that didn’t come through too much, and I was amazed at how godless those Harvard folks are ;). I found her a very compelling individual and thought the story of her failed romance heartbreaking. What are some people thinking? The University of Tennessee is one of the schools that adopted the Veritas Forums, and we have had some quite interesting forums.

Peak Performance Principles for High Achievers by John R. Noe. I picked up this book in the throw-away bin outside McKays used book store. It’s one of the positive thinking kinda books with an endorsement from Og Mandino author of The Greatest Salesman in the World. It was short, and I pick up so many free books in the throw-away bin I thought I ought to at least read one. Noe uses his experiences in mountain climbing and running to build his advice for high achievers. I’d say if you are needing a little help setting goals and getting inspired, this would be a good read: “You don’t conquer fears by saying little clichés to yourself. You act. You take the first step toward your most immediate goal. In doing so, you make the crucial move from the position of fear into the arena of conflict.” Not a fantastically new idea, and in fact, that idea of acting without waiting for the perfect plan of attack, is one of the things I relearned in 2011. All in all he does a good job of re-inspiring you in whatever quest you have set before yourself.

Book List part II

Book List part II

When Helping Hurts: How to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor and yourself by Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert. I probably read this book in 2010, but who knows. I think I taught it in SS in 2011 plus I got to hear a seminar by one of the authors, Steve Corbett—an interesting and genuine guy. So basically I read it again. This is a definite recommend.

I found so much of this very very valuable that I will mostly just recommend it to you. I will mention the beauty of the asset based approach vs the needs based approach to solving poverty. Instead of going to a person or community and asking what is needed, you ask what are the assets here that can be developed. Really a key difference in empowering people or enabling. “What is right with you? What gifts has God given you that you can use to improve your life and that of your neighbors?” Also the authors take great pains to explain why Jesus came to earth, which gets quite confused in many conservative Christian’s minds. (Keep this asset approach in mind as you make New Year's resolutions.)

The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? The Answer That Changed My Life and Might Just Change the World by Richard Stearns. I can’t find my copy of the book, so I’ll just paste the blurb from Amazon. I will say reading Stern’s autobiography intertwined with the mission of World Vision was fascinating. Definitively recommend it. (This book has a similar philosophy to When Helping Hurts.) I wish I had the book to paste in some of my favorite quotes. When I find it, I will come back and edit! And now, from Amazon:

Stearns, the CEO of World Vision, says Christians have a huge hole in their lives, an emptiness that comes from ignoring the plight of the poor. He details his own quest to fill this hole by leaving Lenox Inc., where he was CEO, to run a not-for-profit that helps feed, clothe, and educate children worldwide. Unlike many evangelical Christians, Stearns believes poverty is explained by something more than choices, and lifting cultures from the systemic causes of poverty requires a multi-pronged approach. This accessible book will make it into the hands of evangelical Christians who may not pick up one of the many ABA books on issues of hunger, access to clean water, malaria and AIDS. Readers of Rick Warren, Jim Wallis and N.T. Wright will find Stearns synthesizing thoughts from them as well as from economists and missionaries. This is a passionate and motivating magnum opus from the leader of one of the most recognized aid organizations in the world. The book is a surprisingly no-holds-barred prophetic voice in the wilderness crying out to rich Americans, "Repent and help your world neighbors."

The Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. This is such an interesting book!! Definitely recommend it. Of course the part about athletes and January birthdays was particularly interesting to me because Russ and Mary have January birthdays and both got beaucoup scholarship offers. The gift and the drive have to be there—still the birthday is an interesting factor. But really the whole thing about where, when, and how people grow up, who becomes successful and who doesn’t is really really interesting. From Bill Gates to the Beatles and the 10,000 hours of practice, to the frightening crashes of Korean Air, it’s a fascinating book.

(Yes, I am aware that very very and really really are not good stylistic choices. And that the overuse of words like interesting and fascinating eventually have a net negative effect. USUALLY. (And that usually all caps is a no no).

Mountains Beyond Mountains and Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder. Since everyone who had any interest has already read Mountains Beyond Mountains, the book about Paul Farmer’s amazing life and mission, I will just say that Strength in What Remains (a beautiful title, and you realize how fitting it is at the end of the book) is the amazing journey of a young man from Burundi who miraculously survives the massacres and makes it to the underbelly of New York City; he miraculously survives that eye-opening experience as well. A must read! ;)

Reviewing all these great books, makes me want to read them all over again!

Book List Part III coming soon.


pics: Mantua in October

2011 Book List, part one

2011 Book List

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl who Played with Fire, and the Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson. I ordered all three of these books on Amazon at once—why? Because I had heard so much about them, and I thought the name of the first book was very cool. I read the first one and didn’t like it much, and didn’t plan on reading the others. Then, found myself with nothing to read (my stacks and stacks of books must have been covered with clothes) and so I started the second one--also, a good friend had read the books, and she seemed to think they were pretty good--plus I had spent all that money buying them! Turns out the second and third were pretty good. Still I would not recommend these books. Cool titles though. I have not seen the movie.

The Comforts of a Muddy Saturday by Alexander McCall Smith. I got this in a garage sale for $1 and (again) I have friends who read these, so I gave it a shot. Some interesting writing, some interesting plot. But not enough to earn a recommendation from me.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Picked this up also at a garage sale. Saw it right after hearing an interview with, I think, Bill Clinton, who said he had read it several times and was currently rereading it. So I started it and realized I had read it years and years ago, but went ahead and read it again. An interesting tale about faith, listening, and the soul of the world. I would recommend it. Here are a few quotes.

All things are the manifestation of one thing only.

They were men who had dedicated their entire lives to the purification of metals in their laboratories; they believed that, if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the Soul of the World

I learned that the world has a soul, and that whoever understands that soul can also understand the language of things. I learned that many alchemists realized their Personal Legends, and wound up discovering the Soul of the World, the Philosopher’s Stone, and the Elixir of Life.

But, above all, I learned that these things are all so simple that they could be written on the surface of an emerald.

If I have to fight, it will be just as good a day to die as any other.

Because people become fascinated with pictures and words, and wind up forgetting the Language of the World.

The Soul of the World can hear the screams of battle. No one fails to suffer the consequences of everything under the sun.

Listening for the Heartbeat of God: A Celtic Spirituality by J. Philip Newell. I bought this book from Amazon—no, I don’t get all my books at garage sales. The title of the book is worth the price—so beautiful. (It was inspired by the picture of John laying his head against Jesus at the Last Supper.) This book is about, sort of, the conflict of philosophies between Pelagius and Augustine. (Augustine won the day obviously.) Pelagius was more of a spiritualist, whatever that is, believed that all God’s creations were worthy of our love. Even believed in teaching women how to read scripture—a shocking and sinful act!  Here’s a quote from Pelagius:

You will realize that doctrines are inventions of the human mind, as it tries to penetrate the mystery of God. You will realize that Scripture itself is the work of human minds, recording the example and teaching of Jesus. Thus it is not what you believe that matters; it is how you respond with your heart and your actions. It is not believing in Christ that matters; it is becoming like him.

I know, radical stuff. More quotes from the book:

Augustine believed that from conception and birth we lack the image of God until it is restored in the sacrament of baptism, and that conception involves us in the sinfulness of nature, sexual intercourse being associated with lustful desire. The perspective conveyed by Pelagius, on the other hand, is that to look into the face of a newborn is to look at the image of God; he maintained that creation is essentially good and that the sexual dimension of procreation is God-given. The emphasis that would increasingly be developed in the Celtic tradition was that in the birth of a child God is giving birth to his image on earth.

The church becomes liberator rather than custodian of salvation.

This is a wonderful book for meditation, and only 100 pages.

I will continue my book list tomorrow.

Decorating Trends

So, I was out an about getting things for birthdays and such and decided to check out what decorating trends were happening. I find one of the best ways to see what colors are hot is to check out upholstery fabric, other ways include looking in magazines, home stores, hgtv etc.

I was curious to see if teal and aqua still had the country by storm, and yes, indeed they do--which is fine by me, because I think aqua is about the perfect color. Also the compatible tangerines and oranges are still hot. Variations of lime green have been around for a long time and still are. Grey is outpacing browns. Pink and purple variations are trying to sneak in, but I have a hard time appreciating purple as anything but an accent color. So basically not a lot of new things. Red was the only real surprise, which seems to be making a stand. But of course red goes good with grey, so makes sense I guess.  White cabinets are in and of course mosaic backsplashes are a must. Gold finishes are so yesterday! Chrome and silver are cool. Stainless appliances still rule. Modern lines are in, but usually paired with a bit more traditional stuff. And curtains with large grommets instead of tabs--a definite must have.

A year or so ago when I was on an hgtv jag (I go in stages--watch it for two weeks, then totally forget about it for a couple months, then back to it again. I usually go back to it when I am cleaning the kitchen and am totally sick of ALL the news channels.) At any rate, at one point a year or so ago, I never saw a single design created on hgtv whether bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, or living room, that did not have aqua walls! They have moved away from the all aqua walls, so maybe it is in decline. But not a very steep one. I imagine in another twenty or so years they will be painting over all those "Early 21st Century" aqua walls.

By the way, Target still has the best cotton comforters. (Sheets and comforters are on clearance at Target, btw.) Why am I always looking at comforters? I don't know. The one on my bed I got from a garage sale for $10--it is 100% cotton from Pottery Barn.

If I missed some obvious trends, please tell me. I'm planning on repainting our bonus room--maybe a tan or brown, though olive green is cool. Ideas? The trim board in the room is a medium dark brown.

Event Boundary: through the doorway

Have you ever entered a room to get or do something and not been able to remember why you are there? Well researches at Notre Dame (not entirely reliable, I know!) have discovered why that is:

Entering or exiting through a doorway serves as an ‘event boundary’ in the mind, which separates episodes of activity and files them away. Recalling the decision or activity that was made in a different room is difficult because it has been compartmentalized.


An event boundary! Makes perfect sense.


Take for example the $1 wire candle holder. I received this candle holder (or possibly bought it myself) as a gift. They were at the dollar store some 10 years ago. I recently ran across it with a candle melted into the wire and thought, "I will just toss it out! It's not worth fussing over. I have a dozen candle holders, and I never use this one--cute though it may be." But then, a little idea crept into my mind that I could heat the whole thing briefly in a pan of water and detach the holder from the candle. Even as I thought this, I knew it was a bad idea. But, I heated up a pan of water, placed the $1 candle holder in it, and headed back upstairs to quickly finish something I had been doing and then hurry back down--knowing as I went, that I would never remember to come back down to retrieve it before it boiled over. Sure enough, some time later, I heard a sizzling noise and flew downstairs to find wax and water all over my somewhat-new glass-top stove. An hour later, I had it mostly cleaned up.


Doorways can be treacherous. Dozens of these events occur every day, granted, not all of them so disastrous.


PS: I just went in search of said candle holder to take a picture so you could see how lovely it is but how it may not be totally worth an hour clean-up. But I could not find it. And I almost forgot that I was in mid post!