Monthly Archives: January 2010

For you Shack fans

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From the Christian Post:

The publishing world sees very few books reach blockbuster status, but William Paul Young’s The Shack has now exceeded even that. The book, originally self-published by Young and two friends, has now sold more than 10 million copies and has been translated into over thirty languages. It is now one of the best-selling paperback books of all time, and its readers are enthusiastic.

Follow the link to read the rest of the article. To date, it’s the best I’ve seen regarding the church’s (unfortunate) fondness for  Young’s book.

Committed to reasoning

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From Elizabeth Gilbert’s Committed (A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage):

This entire book — every single page of it — has been an effort to search through the complex history of Western marriage until I could find some small place of comfort in there for myself. Such comfort is not necessarily always an easy thing to find.

And search she does.

I like this book. I don’t agree with everything she says, but like Eat, Pray, Love, her previous book, I take in the meat and spit out the bones. Fortunately, not much spitting here.

Here is what I enjoyed about Committed:

1. It’s a fast, interesting read on the history of marriage. I know a lot more about the history of marriage after reading Committed. I’m a big fan marriage, so that’s well done.

2. Seeing how other cultures view marriage. Gilbert is a good storyteller. And when one travels the world, one tends to pick up good stories. I’m still wondering what happened to that young monk in Cambodia.

3. More Felipe. If you enjoyed the story line of Elizabeth falling for Felipe in Eat, Pray, Love, you get to see what happens next to them in Committed. Hint: it has to do with homeland security.

4. A new thought regarding marriage. Gilbert calls marriage a revolutionary act. Never heard that one before. Read the book to find out what she’s talking about. Then come back here and we can talk about it.

and finally. . .

5.  I like to laugh. See page 75, middle of the first paragraph. (They are going to SAVE marriage?!? What a hoot.)

Committed Elizabeth Gilbert

By the way: when my Edmund spotted the book in the store, he wanted to know if it was about Lord of the Rings.

I have no idea why.

Insert witty title here

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I haven’t participated in the “Nightstand” Mr. Linky at 5 Minutes for Books in quite awhile. Why? Honestly I have no idea. Probably something called Life. So I jump back into the fun with what I currently have in my reading pile (you know, that book stack tower that never seems to end due to library and bookstore trips, friends lending books, and books given as presents. Fun, fun.)

Without further delay: My Pile of Books

Miss Read: Village School by Dora Jessie Saint. I opened to Page One this morning. Too early to comment other than to say, I’ve heard lots of good things about Miss Read. No pressure, Miss Read, no pressure.

Problogger (Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income) by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett. Stop laughing. As a  mere amateur blogger, I read this to learn more about the how-to’s of a well-kept blog.

Black by Ted Dekker. I don’t know if I will ever get into this book properly, as I’ve tried with the first chapter and, well. . . .  we will see.

The Tipping Point (How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference) by Malcolm Gladwell. Thoroughly enjoying it. This was a Christmas present to Doc, and he didn’t think I would like it, but I knew I would – that’s one of the reasons I gave it to my husband. Sneaky, huh? This book is worthy of it’s own little post, and I’m not done reading, so you have to wait for more commentary here.

Lastly, I’m still poking my nose in Committed (A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage) by Elizabeth Gilbert, my current blogging inspiration, which also happens to be a whopping 55% off at Amazon. This won’t do, people! How the heck is Liz supposed to stay in New Jersey if her freshly-printed latest is too inexpensive. Don’t these publishers and retailers know the woman has to pay New Jersey property taxes, car insurance, blah, blah, etc., etc. Sheesh.

~Yo, Monica! Didn’t you borrow Committed from the library?

Um.

~That’s what I thought. Perhaps you should mention that you didn’t buy it either, you Library Rat.

Hey!  That’s it for me this month.

Happy Reading!

What's On Your Nightstand?