Top Ten Books

I love books. I've always loved books. I own books. Lots of books. And I love libraries. I have worked in three different libraries. I love to visit libraries. I have collected my own library through the years. Yep, too many books. WAY too many books. Recently I have gotten rid of books. I've let go of so many books that it makes me cry. But I still have too many books.

Books have impacted my life - probably more than anything else. So many books have affected my worldview and my view of myself. In the spirit of the latest internet trend, I will try to pick ten of them that have caused the greatest or most long-lasting changes in me.

Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

My daughter brought me a copy of this book after Brennan Manning spoke at her college chapel service. I think she thought I might need to read it - maybe because she knew how I tended to feel guilty about all kinds of things. She was right. This book provided a breakthrough for me - the beginning of recovery from legalism. What a gift!

Grace Awakening - Charles Swindoll

...and...

What's So Amazing about Grace? - Philip Yancey

When George Verwer came to town 15 years ago, he was pushing both of these books so I got them and read them back to back. Consequently I often get them mixed up - not able to remember which lines are from which book - but they were both incredibly liberating. Grace - what an amazing thing!

Blue Like Jazz - by Donald Miller

This book helped me begin to sort out the difference between spirituality and religion - a rather important distinction at a most significant time in my spiritual journey.

Prodigal God - Timothy Keller

A phenomenal book about the heart of God that gives me hope that I don't have to stay stuck in the elder brother attitude.

Velvet Elvis - Rob Bell

Bell opened up the Jewish world for me. The world where Jesus walked and talked. He made it come alive for me in new and more understandable ways. Many of the things Jesus said make so much more sense after reading this book.

Disciplines of a Beautiful Woman - Anne Ortlund

A very practical book that I came across as a young wife and mom. I learned so much from Anne and have incorporated many of her tips for managing my life. In my own personal notebook and file systems, I still use ideas I learned from her.

Speak Up with Confidence - Carol Kent

Carol Kent became a mentor to me at a crucial time in my life - through this book, but especially through her "Speak Up with Confidence" seminars. They greatly affected the direction of my life and career.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey

Covey's first three habits have changed my paradigms in so many, many ways. By reading this book and referring to it often, I began to get free from obstacles that tend to bog me down. His principles are so important in personal relationships as well as individual growth.

Boundaries - Henry Cloud and John Townsend

Perhaps the greatest medicine I've ever received for my emotional health and well-being. I hate to think where I would be today if I had not been introduced to this book. These guys make so much sense about the tendency some of us have to care for everybody else's business to the neglect of our own. Best taken in the context of a safe place - meaning some kind of support group that knows how to apply both truth and love.

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I know that by tomorrow (or as soon as I hit "publish") I will think of others that I really should have included on this list. There are so many more. So many amazing books that I have read. So many that have affected me in profound ways. But these are a few that changed me greatly. They each deserve to be reviewed more in depth - so maybe I'll start a feature for that purpose. Or maybe I need to do a post on my favorite authors...

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What books and/or authors have impacted you? I'd love to hear about them in the comments below.

Margaret Brownley: best-selling author

The opportunity to meet interesting people is often cited as one of the benefits of traveling. We are discovering this to be true.

Coming back from my morning walk this weekend, I noticed some posters on the side of a motor home camped in the park - posters that seemed to indicate that an author might live in this rig. Sure enough; there she was - sitting under her awning. When I said hello, she graciously invited me to sit and visit. We talked a little - sharing tidbits of information to introduce ourselves - before I resumed my walk.

Her name is Margaret Brownley and she writes westerns that are set in the 1800's. She has written over 30 books - including some New York Times best-sellers. We had a nice chat and I learned some things about writing. As I continued on my walk, I started thinking about the writing project that I'm working on. I thought it would be fun to ask her some of the questions from the project so I impulsively grabbed a notepad and headed back to her campsite to see if she might have time for me to pick her brain and learn a bit more from her. She graciously agreed and granted me a little impromptu interview right there on the spot.

It turns out that Margaret got her start while writing for church newsletters and eventually branched out to romance novels. While writing for Harlequin, her agent was impressed by the humor in Margaret's notes and suggested that she write a humorous historical piece. That suggestion led her to writing historical westerns with themes of love and laughter - which has become her niche.

Margaret is fascinated with the old west and particularly with the stories of women who came into their own during that era. She believes that many movies do women a disservice in their limited protrayals of our gender. Despite that stereotype, she has been amazed to discover how many of the homesteaders were women - as well as newspaper editors and other careers - therefore she wants to celebrate them in her stories. Recently she has been writing stories that feature women detectives - or rather "operatives" who worked for the Pinkerton Agency.

Every author's writing process is different and Margaret labels hers as "organic" - in that she doesn't know where she is going with her story and admits that method can be nerve-wracking at times. She does often send a paragraph to her publisher summarizing the basics of the story, but doesn't have the details worked out yet when she begins writing.

When asked about her schedule and writing routines, she responded that she is an early riser - which seems to be a common writerly trait. She is often at her computer by 4 a.m. - dedicating mornings to composing her WIP and afternoons to the work of the writing business or perhaps other projects - like the novella she is currently working on.

I asked about her research methods at which point she mentioned the need to check out any dates she might use in a story - because "some reader will be sure to check"- as well as other details of the period. I didn't ask about her weaknesses, but she volunteered a couple - admitting that she is terrible at time lines and once had a character who got to be 150 years old because she had failed to kill him off earlier in the series - so that is an area that she knows to seek critique from others. And because she lives in southern California, it is not natural for her to think of including weather in her story settings - so she has to work at being intentional about that as well.

On Sunday afternoon I read GUNPOWDER TEA - which is her latest book and the last in the "Brides of Last Chance Ranch" series. Set in the Arizona territory sometime before statehood, it is the story of one of the Pinkerton girls who has worked extremely hard to prove herself in a man's world. On the way to her assignment at Last Chance Ranch, her train is robbed - most likely by the gang whose leader she has been sent to apprehend. Her undercover task is to answer an ad to become the heiress of the Ranch while at the same time finding the criminal, but first she has to earn the trust of the suddenly indisposed "boss lady" by serving as her emergency care-giver.

Although I don't often read fiction, I relished the historical setting and the twists and turns of the mystery. And even though I am not fond of the desert I did enjoy the geographical setting as well - possibly because I can appreciate the rigors of life in such a place and time. We recently traveled across desert areas of Arizona and California so I have a newfound admiration for the grit and spunk required to live there.
This prolific author is currently working on the Undercover Ladies series. The first book, Petticoat Detective comes out in December. She will also have a story in the June anthology Four Brides and a Kiss and her Nutcracker Bride story will be out in October.

Margaret has generously offered to give a copy of GUNPOWDER TEA to one of my readers. To qualify for the drawing, leave a comment below telling me something that you think you would have enjoyed about living in the Old West.

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Late update:
Oops; maybe I should remind you to leave that comment below before midnight tomorrow, Thursday, May 15.

Dreamwalker: a book review

Dreamwalker
Written by Gerald Sims
Available at Amazon

Reviewed by Kaye
...
Before reading Dreamwalker, I had read very little fantasy; therefore the genre has been unfamiliar territory for me. A foreign land. I don't understand the customs nor comprehend the language. However, author Gerald Sims invited me in and brought me along to his world of dreamwalkers. A world where words are personified and become an integral part of the weaponry in strategic battles. A world where a madman may be wiser than the elite. A world of dreamwalkers and sensors and guardmasters and cravenmen and unicorns and dragons and rebellious royal offspring.

As I ventured into this world, I was captivated by the personification of words. I love words and believe they matter - probably more than we realize. Because of my fascination with them, I was delighted to see words given such an important role in this fantasy world and to see them personified in such a manner as to illustrate the great power that they carry.

I began to appreciate the way things were explained in this fantasy world - things that we don't seem to be able to understand here in our rational realm. Things like the function of dreams and the transitions between sleep and wakefulness. Who knows how these things work anyway? But how cool to imagine some of what might be.

I relished the "little-known facts" - tidbits about human nature - and about other species as well.
"Pull up a chair and engage in polite conversation. Stoke the fireplace and browse some long-forgotten tome plucked from a dusty shelf. But above all, deny anything was wrong. Deny that his dream had anything to say."
...
"Don't you know that apathy is the highest form of arrogance? For years your apathetic little heart sat inside its haughty little self and said, 'I see nothing out there worthy of my effort or devotion.' " I thoroughly enjoyed the thinly-veiled allusions to the religious world and the arrogance that comes with lofty position...
"One man remained - the priest. Not just any priest. He was the High Priest of the Luminescence from Clastair. He wore a mitred hat with tassels at the forehead and temples. The elevation of his nose bespoke his self-adoration. The favorite line of the Clastairian priesthood was: We are replicas of the High One, and as such are worthy of the highest salute." There was also humor. Little bits of humor peeking out from their hiding places - particularly when introducing Duffenwittle and the whole question of madness. Oh, the word plays.
"Define madness? I'd rather design a container for the universal solvent!" In this world where words have such power, so do beliefs - again much as they do in my "real" world.
"Truth is the only offensive weapon against deception, but there is also a defensive weapon called disbelief."
...
"Disbelieve. You must disbelieve."
"Something turned over in his mind. A lie fell away. He had believed in his enemies' power, and therefore they had power. He had given it to them." What a good read.

Having known this writer for more than 40 years I was already aware that he was a brilliant and creative man. I have listened to his sermons and enjoyed plays that he wrote. I have witnessed demonstrations of his inventions and played word games with him. Oh, yes, brilliant he was. But still I am impressed with the way he created an entire world and fabricated concepts and rules and words and languages to bring that world to life. Amazing. Simply amazing.

Buy Dreamwalker at Amazon in paperback or for your Kindle.

 

Rob Bell and a new American Christianity - a book review

I have previously read several books by Rob Bell and have now read a book about him by James K. Wellman, Jr. - entitled rob Bell and a new American Christianity.  Before being asked to write about Bell, Wellman had little knowledge of him, but has done a commendable job researching and pulling together an overview of Bell's life and ministry, but particularly of his spiritual journey.  However, this book chronicles not only Rob Bell's story, but also at least one slice of history of American Christendom.

Wellman tackles several of the labels that others have attempted to hang on Bell (i.e. subversive, celebrity, radical, heretic) and investigates each one - and in fact, wrote entire chapters around some of them.  The result of his work strikes me as a fair and helpful summary of Rob Bell's theology and his ministry methods.  I appreciate the balance between questions like "Did Bell go too far?" (p. 94) and "Did Bell go far enough?" (p. 109)

Through the years I have watched the nooma videos, I have read Bell's books, I have visited Mars Hill, I have stood in a little huddle with him as he prayed for my daughter and son-in-law who were heading off to India.  Yes, I have generally appreciated Rob Bell's teaching all the while realizing that he is just a man, an imperfect person - so I don't automatically believe or agree with everything he says.

This biography provided me with a time line of Bell's journey that in several ways has paralleled my own.  As I continue to wrestle with my own study of theology, it was helpful to read again Bell's interpretation of the story of salvation.  He asks the question, "Does it begin with the fall?" and points out that our focus will be different depending on whether we start in the first or the third chapter of Genesis. 

I appreciate Bell's lofty view of God and I tend to agree with his assessment that "the God we construct is always too small."  Bell believes the gospel "is always and forever revealing itself in actions of charity whether inside or outside the church" but that it "can be distorted by dogma and obscured by those who seek to own it."  (p. 154)

I have learned some things from Rob Bell.  For example, I have been inspired to study carefully and to think responsibly.  His illumination of the Jewish culture in Jesus' time has encouraged me to dig into what a passage really meant within the original context.  I have also been challenged to believe the best about God but especially to go beyond belief and take action, to participate in the life of Jesus - in the word becoming flesh.  Since reading this book, I have been reminded of those lessons - and my sense of mission has been stirred and renewed.

So do I recommend the book?  To those who have been warned to stay away from Rob Bell and who are fearful of "contamination" I will not try to convince you to read it.  But if you might enjoy an outside perspective of Bell's theological journey, then yes, I would recommend it as a good read.

Runaway Truck Ramp - Book recommendation

I don't remember exactly how or when I was introduced to Shawn Smucker's blog, but I do remember getting excited when he started telling about a big adventure they were preparing for. He and his wife, Maile, and their four kids were setting out in a big blue bus that would be their home for the next four months. He shared many of the exciting tidbits of their preparation and departure on the blog as well as updates along the journey.

My fascination was amplified by the fact that we were trying to get free to head out on our very own adventure. Interestingly enough, it turned out that we did actually get to pull up stakes, vacate our own house and begin our journey during the same time frame as their trip. I was teased and prodded and encouraged and entertained and sometimes comforted by the experiences they were having. My husband and I learned a lot for our own adventure. When the brakes went out on the big bus as they were coming down the mountain, you'd better believe I was on the edge of my seat!

...

A few months later, their book was released - How to Use a Runaway Truck Ramp - and Other Tales from Our 10,000-mile Adventure. I had to have my own copy because these guys seemed like family by then. Again the timing was cool because I was able to take the book with me when we went overseas for the winter. How fun to read the chronicles of their adventure while in the midst of our own.

Both Shawn and Maile wrote from their individual perspectives and they included lots of great adventure quotes - all of which gave the book a rich and fascinating texture.

...

"Dreams, if they're any good, are always a little bit crazy."
- Ray Charles

"...if the level of 'crazy' determines the worth of a dream, we would soon discover that ours was pure gold."
- Maile Smucker

"Because no matter how exciting an adventure may sound during its conception, as soon as preparation begins in earnest, you realize why people are so in love with the idea of adventures and yet so rarely embark upon them."
- Shawn Smucker

...

"I started to lose it.
...
"What on earth have I gotten myself into? I believe I signed up for the adventure with children cuddling in the corners of their bunks reading books while I sat contentedly on the couch tapping my computer's keyboard in a writer's euphoria. I want a refund.
...
"There is something about 'doing what you always dreamed of' that candy-coats everything. Talk about rose-colored glasses... but then your youngest son elbows you in the face during a tantrum, knocking those lenses clean off your face, putting you face-to-face with reality: nothing, not even your dream coming true, is perfect.
...
"I hate McDonald's... But I love McDonald's indoor play land... For two sweet hours, my kids ran their little hearts out, climbing those bright blue and red tubes like a hoard of spider monkeys. And I sat cozy at a corner table tapping the keyboard in a writer's euphoria... at last."
- Maile Smucker

"You know... That's the thing about adventures. The stuff that happens isn't always easy. It's not always fun. But it's always worth telling."
- Maile

"...how could I have missed that? She was right, of course. Adventures are only adventures when it's possible for things to go horribly wrong."
- Shawn

"Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content with a sedentary life, that I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere."
- Isabelle Eberhardt

"Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons."
- Donald Miller

"Comfort is a funny thing. We aim for it. We strive for it. We work hard to attain it. So much of what we do in life is centered around becoming comfortable... But comfort brings new problems... In the end, comfort makes us rigid and inflexible in our thinking."
- Shawn

"There is that moment in time when you know everything is about to go horribly wrong...."
- Shawn

...

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent in the ideas of living."
- Miriam Beard

"Thankfully, there are other means with which to measure a life. Ones less arbitrary than the numbers on a bank statement."
- Shawn

...

"Don't adventures ever have an end? I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story."
- J.R.R. Tolkien

"So, carry on our story. Take an adventure."
- Shawn & Maile Smucker

...

I highly recommend this book. I am much more adventurous for having followed them along their journey. I am very excited to announce that the Kindle version is free today and tomorrow!