Friday, January 9, 2015

Home, A Hearth and a Stack of Books

 Brrr, it is constantly very cold outside. All day the temps hang around zero. At night they dip even lower.  You have it heard it all, over and over, about stoked stoves and drawn up chairs and the drafts in this old stone house. So I won't repeat myself.
    But yesterday I had a costumer confess that the only reason they left their fire and the stack of books there was because they were out of milk and lettuce. She was longing to return as soon as possible.  I got a glimpse though of that comfortable hearth....the stack of books. That got to me.  I WANT a stack of books.
     You are all going to help me with this one. Please. I am out of ideas. I need book titles.


    And names of good authors. I'll read biographies or novels, happily. Have hearth, need books. In the comments, please, quickly. I'll go to the library first thing, and interlibrary order them if that is what it takes. That's another subject and don't get me started. Libraries with no books fit for human consumption. Rows and rows of them. Am I picky?




10 comments:

  1. I haven't gotten very far into it, but this seems like a good book! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0544272994/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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  2. Go onto your apps and read the free samples of scores of books. Then when you've found one you like go to the library and get it for real. I read " the hardest peace". It as too sad and intense for my time of life. But you might like it.

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  3. I don't know your style but I like old authors like Gene Stratton Porter, Harold Bell Wright, etc. I know the library loan system has some of them. Rosie is gone now, but she has a lot of old books too.
    -Liz

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  4. My favorites are Phillip Gulley, Jan Karon, and Jamie Langston Turner. All write novels but are real enough to relate to and they all grasp people and their oddities wonderfully. All light enough with no hidden agendas...

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  5. What kinds of books does my mother in law want? Let me try a few genres and maybe you'll like something. Here are a few favorites from the past several years:

    1. The War for Mansoul, Ethel Barrett. A wonderful retelling of Bunyan's "The Holy War". Kinda life-changing for me.

    2. No Compromise: The Life Story of Keith Green. I know Keith Green's music a bit much for you--it is for me too, sometimes. But the story of his life and passion to honor his Savior is wonderfully challenging. It's well-written and fast-paced, and provides a glimpse into an important part of recent church history.

    3. Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson. A fascinating biography of a brilliant and tragic man. I've thought a lot about what Jobs did wrong, and how he treated people, since reading this book. There's language in here, when it quotes Jobs, and it's not a Christian book, but a profound contrast for us to consider. Deeply fascinating.

    4. The Help, Kathryn Stockett. I read this for a literature class at University. It tells the story of three black maids in the South USA during the 60s. Humorous, thought-provoking, and fun to read. Not a Christian book.

    5. King Jesus Claims His Church, Finny Kuruvilla. Thought-provoking study on what the church is, from an Anabaptist-informed perspective....written by a Boston doctor, the son of Indian missionaries. Met him in PA. Don't know if I agree with everything he says, but I'm not done yet either. Not the easiest read, but well-written.

    6. David and Goliath, Malcom Gladwell. Basic premise of this book: Disadvantages can actually provide unique opportunities. Not exactly an original thought, but Gladwell's writing is deeply engaging, and always makes you think. I really enjoyed this book. He even gives a shout-out to Mennonites in one of the chapters.

    7. The Kingdom that Turned the World Upside Down, David Bercot. This has been a favorite book for many years, and one of Bercot's best. It's a theology book, but easy to read.

    8. From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya, Ruth Tucker. A meaty history of Christian missions, that tells a fascinating story, warts and all. It's not hard to read, but very long. I don't think Tucker had some hidden feminist agenda, but some friends felt that it showed too many missionary warts. For some reason, I wasn't surprised to read of the humaness of missionaries.

    9. Hudson Taylor: The Growth of a Soul/The Growth of a Work of God, Dr and Mrs Howard Taylor. More hagiography than biography, still a wonderful read. Right up there with God's Smuggler and The Hiding Place.

    10. Prayer, Tim Keller. Actually, I just started this book--my new year resolution read. It seems very good though.

    One other book I'd really like to read this year is "God's Forever Family".

    Let me know what you read! Dru

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  6. A few more that come to mind, but you may have read before: Safely Home, Randy Alcorn; The Cross and the Switchblade, David Wilkerson; Bruchko, Bruce Olson; The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster; The Heavenly Man (think you might especially enjoy that one), Brother Yu.

    -Dru

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  7. Yet another reason I wish we lived closer - it would be delightful to invite you to chose a stack of books from my library....and maybe choose a pile from yours! Some of my recent favorite biographies: Kisses from Katie, Land of the Blue Burqas, Love Lifted Me (CLP's version - the family comes to our church). And I agree with Dru's choices, as well! ~Joelle

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  8. Definitely, Jan Karon!!!

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  9. Elisabeth Eliot, Joni Eareckson Tada, Amy Carmichael, Jan Karon. A must-read is "Gray Matter" by David Levy, MD. A neurosurgeon learns the power of prayer and forgiveness.

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  10. Radical by David Platt, The Locket by Richard Paul Evans, If you like his style he writes many, many books. Amy mentioned The Hardest Peace by Kara Tippetts, I just read this book. Hard to read but some good lessons about life in it. -Ruth Ewer

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