When I returned from Israel in December of 2004, I brought back a new goal. That goal was to read 50 books every year. Last year was the first time I attempted it, and I came up short - I only read 44 books.
This year is a different story though. I am currently on my fiftieth book, They Call Me Coach, John Wooden's autobiography.
I realize this post is somewhat self-congratulatory, but I wanted to post it to maybe encourage you to read more or diversify your reading more, or to set (reachable) goals. My love for reading was fostered by parents that rejected our culture's disgusting addiction to TV, limited "Nintendo time," and encouraged self-education.
Here's the list, so far:
1. How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
2. Loving God With All Your Mind: Thinking as a Christian in a Postmodern World by Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
3. The Third Option by Vince Flynn
4. Becoming Conversant With the Emerging Church: Understanding a Movement and Its Implications by D.A. Carson
5. Good Christians Good Husbands? Leaving a Legacy in Marriage & Ministry by Doreen Moore
6. The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini
7. Memories of a Catholic Girlhood by Mary McCarthy
8. Theology of the Reformers by Timothy George
9. Is The Reformation Over? by Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom
10. California: A History by Kevin Starr
11. Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
12. Humility: True Greatness by C. J. Mahaney
13. Hard Questions, Real Answers by William Lane Craig
14. Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader by James Luceno
15. Separation of Power by Vince Flynn
16. Executive Power by Vince Flynn
17. Breaking the Da Vinci Code by Darrell L. Bock
18. Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
19. The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius
20. Ordained of the Lord: ? by ?
21. The Swarm War by Troy Denning
22. Intended for Pleasure by Ed Wheat
23. Evangelicalism Divided by Iain Murray
24. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
25. Memorial Day by Vince Flynn
26. Legacy of the Force: Betrayal by Aaron Allston
27. Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias
28. A Time to Kill by John Grisham
29. Thr3e by Ted Dekker
30. Six Days of War by Michael B. Oren
31. The Firm by John Grisham
32. Consent to Kill by Vince Flynn
33. Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen
34. Atonement by Ian McEwan
35. The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
36. Bleachers by John Grisham
37. The Partner by John Grisham
38. Outbound Flight by Timothy Zahn
39. God at Work by Gene Edward Veith, Jr.
40. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
41. Undaunted Courage by Stephen E. Ambrose
42. Blame It On The Brain? by Edward T. Welch
43. The Stranger by Albert Camus
44. Darth Bane: Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn
45. Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis
46. Teaching To Change Lives by Howard Hendricks
47. Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur
48. Bloodlines by Karen Traviss
49. Act of Treason by Vince Flynn
Non-Fiction - 28
Fiction - 21
You'll notice there are several series or similarities in my list.
1. Star Wars books - I've been a Star Wars junkie since 1995 (thanks Mike!)
2. John Grisham novels - Started reading them in the summer and like them.
3. Vince Flynn novels - Good counterterrorism.
4. History books - I can't put them down.
5. Theology and (for lack of a better term) Christian living books - "working out my salvation with fear and trembling."
One of my goals for 2007 is to read The Book of Mormon and the Quran.
12 comments:
did a favorite emerge?
I can't decide, but my favorites were probably The Kite Runner and Undaunted Courage.
Hey Kiddo,
Thanks for the nice kudos to your parents. I was wondering though, in what way did your parents(your dad) encourage you in self-education? Remember you always were a curious kid, and have grown into a man with many interests, thus fostering your love of reading. Can't wait to see Amy and you in nine more days!! Love, Mom
The Book of Mormon is the best. Great pictures.
A.J.,
There are certain TV addictions that are good, like Raider football (although this year it's so ugly, even the networks won't show the games here), Cal football, A's games (as much as there on TV here) and your mother's favorite, the Lakers (since almost ALL of their games are on TV). By the way, the Ironside bio was written by English.
Dad
Is there a way to edit a comment? I can't believe I put "there" instead of "they're" when talking about the A's on TV. All of my fellow Communication majors would have been disappointed!
Dad
Ah, good ole reading. And your welcome, it has been an amazing journey through the land of star wars. Wow that sounded corny. I counted 14 books on your list i have read. The rest I will need to borrow. Especially the 12 Caesars. Good stuff. And i am going to read Ambrose's stuff and Shaara's as well.
~Parker
Mike, can we come up with a number for how many Star Wars novels we've actually read? I'm thinking it's closing in on 100!
Dad, I don't think you can adjust your comments, so we will forever mock and deride you for your speling errors!
You misspelled "spelling" on purpose right? to further the shame and derision the former "Man" feels?
~Mike
Ah, young people these day! Always quick to point out the shortcomings of those in authority! You'll get yours someday. By the way, Mike, I'm still the MAN!
Your uncle
Hey, I read at least 50 books a week! Do Red Fish Blue Fish, or Hop on Pop count? :) hope you are doing well out there, can't wait to catch a glimpse of you when you are here in just a few short weeks!!
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