books, 2008

Some people have been posting lists of the books they read in 2008, and Mom thought it might be interesting for me to post as well.

And since I'm mostly sitting around waiting for a baby to arrive these days, I'm in need of diversion. My list is surely incomplete, as I often forget that I keep a list. But here's what I have, in the order I read them, and triple-starred if they were the best:

*Iron and Silk - Mark Salzman. Novel. An English teacher in China. This has faded in my memory, but I think I enjoyed it.

*Girl from the South - Joanna Trollope. Novel. Some spot-on depictions of southern culture from a Brit. Enjoyable.

*Be Reverent (Ezekiel) - Wiersbe. Commentary/devotional. I didn't make it all the way through, as my Bible reading switched directions, but I liked what I read.

***Pushed - Jennifer Block. Journalistic research of modern maternity care. Fascinating.
***
Three Cups of Tea - Mortenson. Inspiring and interesting true story by a mountain climber turned school builder.

*L'Abri - Edith Schaeffer. Autobiographical account of the founding of L'Abri in Switzerland. Read at times like George Mueller's diary - accounts of prayers and miraculous answers.

***Fieldwork - Berlinski. Novel about missionaries and anthropologists in Thailand. Very good.

*Run
*The Patron Saint of Liars
*The Magician's Assistant
by Ann Patchett. I finished reading all of Patchett's novels this year. The Magician's Assistant was just so-so, but the rest of her books are great.

*The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian - Sherman Alexie. Interesting novel about growing up on an Indian reservation.

*An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England - Brock Clarke. Novel. Not as intriguing as the title is.

*Living Together in a World Falling Apart - Dave and Neta Jackson. AN out of print (1974) handbook on Christian community. Interesting and applicable to life in our communal house here.

*Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2003. Not my favorite. Is it really better than any of the other sprawling, cross-generational and cross-continental American novels, or is it just that it's about a hermaphrodite?

***A number of Italian mysteries by Donna Leon - my go-to books for escapist reading this year. I love the authentic Venetian culture and strong characters, plus the big ideas of religion and culture and morality that underlie the plotlines.

*Disappointment with God - Yancey. Some parts were very helpful, others not so much.

***Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes - Ken Bailey. Best Christian book of the year! Just buy it.

*The Shack - Young. Yeah, that Christian novel everybody read this year. Um. I'm divided in my thoughts about it. Didn't like the writing style, was concerned about some points of theology, but appreciated the emotion and some of the perspectives in it.

*A Poisoned Season (and sequel)- Tasha Alexander. Fun novel.

*Dreamers of the Day - Mary Doria Russell. Novel. Just so-so.

*Grace (Eventually) - Lamott. Personal spiritual essay/memoir. Not as insightful as her other work.

***Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Kingsolver. Barbara Kingsolver is such a great writer, and this is such an interesting book about eating locally and gardening. I started a garden around the time I read this.

*Free Food for Millionaires - Min Jin Lee. Novel by a 2nd generation Korean American about growing up as such in NYC. I liked it.

***Love Walked In - Marisa de los Santos. The author is a poet first, novelist second, and this book was so delightful to read. I also read the sequel, Belong to Me.

*Twilight - Stephanie Meyer. Kill me now. I just read it to see what the fuss was all about. I still don't get what the fuss is all about. Ugh.

*Spiritual Midwifery and Ina May's Guide to Childbirth - great books that gave me a lot of confidence in my body's ability to give birth naturally. I read a lot of childbirth books, but these were my favorite.

And those are the books I took note of in the back of my journal this year!