50 books in 52 weeks: 01.09

1.30.2009

January is almost done

So I know it's been a while but I have been a little consumed with getting stuff done for the adoption but I made my self get one last post in before January left us. So, at the end of the first month I have finished completely 5 books, I will review 1 of the 2 most recent in this post. I have also started 1 massive book (related website here) and read a substantial portion of 2 other books so I am on approximately a 65 book pace, so I am feeling good right now. I feel like I need to be ahead of pace when the summer hits because for some reason my reading in the summer declines...unless I get laid off again.
So, without further ado Praying in Colors When my friend Angel told me about this book I'll be honest I though it sounded a little cult-ish but I trust Angel about pretty much everything, but especially about not getting me tangled up in cult rituals...She still hasn't failed me (but that's probably what everyone in a cult says.) Anyway I heard enough people talk about it that I finally gave it a chance, and surprise surprise it is actually really beneficial. See, I tend to drift in and out of conversations with people that are right in front of me so sometimes talking to God can be hard for me. It isn't that I don't want to, or I am disinterested. I just don't focus very well. You should see me drive and talk, not a good thing. But this really worked, It actually helps me focus. I always used to say I did better in meetings when I could doodle and this was a little bit of reinforcement to my claims. I'm not going to tell you why you should read this book from a literary viewpoint because it wasn't written for that reason. In fact it isn't all that well written, but you should read this book because A)it will only take you about 45-60 minutes and B)it adds some new energy to your prayer life. It hasn't made me a better prayer, It definitely hasn't made me more spiritual, but it has made me eager to pray each day, and it has help me to spend a focused time in prayer without being interrupted. In a perfect world I would just be able to sit down and focus and pray, but I don't need to tell you that I'm not perfect and my brain doesn't often cooperate with me. But add the doodling and I have not a crutch but an enhancement to my prayer life.

1.10.2009

How it Feels to be Adopted

My third book of the year was How it Feels to be Adopted. Now any of you who may know me fairly well probably know that I am a judge the book by it's cover kind of person...it's what I do. So as you can see I was up against a bit of a mental hurdle from the start, but I was pleasantly surprised. This book is short, simple, and an it easy it read. It is made up of 19 interviews of adopted children from age 6-18. They are pretty frank, and some of the things they said surprised me. The book is fairly old but it seems that there are quite a few common, universal threads that run through the mind of an adoptee. I won't bore you with all of my observations unless you ask me in person, but there was one thing that 5 or 6 of the children said that I thought was very enlightening to their situation. The children were asked when they think of their birth parents if ever, the reason the answer surprised me was it ran through all the age groups, all the reasons they were adopted, all socio-economic statuses, it just seems universal. And this is what they said, they answered that they really only thought about their birth mothers on their birthdays, they wondered if she remembered, or cared. They wondered if she was sad, or if she knew that they had a better life now. But this was where my mind got blown, almost every child in the book said they never, repeat NEVER thought about their birth father. I don't know what that is about, I guess it speaks to a maternal bond that men will never understand, but I don't plan on giving up any kids for adoption so hopefully I don't need to figure it out.

One Week Three Books

So I took a week off from the internet, which was harder than you'd think, and pretty eye opening, but I got the two books I was reading done. Spectacular Sins was good, not great. It was a basic look at God's sovereignty especially His sovereignty in the evil and unjust things of the world. Piper took stories from the Old and New Testament and showed how and where God was present, knowledgeable, and in control of the events. I wouldn't say I learned anything profound, but it was definitely a good reminder about something that a lot of people don't really want to think about in the first place. And on a dorky note I think the cover art is very classy and actually pretty hip. You can't tell it in the picture but the oval picture in the middle is spot varnish so the picture is glossy and the rest of the print is matte. Nice touch.

1.02.2009

182.5 books in 52 weeks

That's my current pace, but don't worry it will never hold. I finished Serve the People in 2 days and now I am going to start 2 more books to read concurrently; How it Feels to be adopted and Spectacular Sins. But first the review of Serve the People, I guess it sort of lived up to the hype that the Propaganda Bureau delivered but not in the way I expected. I went into it assuming that it would rip the party and Mao to shreds, rake them over the coals, and then tar and feather them for added insult, but not really. Don't get me wrong it wasn't complimentary, and it definitely read like a counter-revolutionary folk story, but it wasn't that bad. The sex however, more than I expected. I guess that's not all that accurate, the sexual tension was the killer, it was thick, but somewhat necessary I suppose to make the story believable. I won't ruin it by announcing any plot details because they are all crucial to the angst in the lives of Wu Dawang and Liu Lian, but I will sum my feelings this way. I felt for these people. They lived in a way I would never consider, and did things I would never do, but in the end I felt sorry for them, and not in a pathetic way but in a genuine human empathy way. They were trying to be happy in an oppressive situation, so they made up their own rules. I would judge them as bad rules, mistakes, egregious errors in judgement, but at least they were pursuing love and happiness.

1.01.2009

Without Further Ado...

So, I chose Serve the People by Yan Lianke as my first book of 2009. I will let this stirring review by the Chinese Central Propaganda Bureau tease you until I can give you a review.

...Slanders Mao Zedong, the army, and is overflowing with sex; Do not distribute, pass around, comment on, excerpt from it or report on it.

I couldn't miss this.