CoL 2009

This will be the second time I've attempted the challenge. Last year I think I hit somewhere in the mid 40's. I'm once again shooting for 50. However, given that I'm not an extremely fast reader sometimes, and a lot of the books I read are pretty thick, I'm setting a low end goal of at least 25.

Last year when I did this, I kept both a list I plan to read, and books read list in the first post, not realizing that editing it wouldn't bump my thread to the top. This year, there will be a list of planned reads here, but each book will get its own post as its finished. I'm currently reading the Three Pillars of Zen but the copy I have is borrowed from a friend, and I might be returning it tomorrow, in which case Pillars will be put on hold until I can get my own copy.

Same as before, I read a lot of spiirtual/religious/philosophical stuff with an occasional fantasy book thrown in, so be ready for that.

PLANNED READS:

the Awakening of Intelligence
I AM THAT
Be As You Are: the Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi
Integral Spirituality: A Startling New Role for Religion in the Modern and Postmodern World
Integral Psychology
God is For Everyone
Understanding Sikhism
Its Up to You: the Practice of Self-Reflection on the Buddhist Path
the Great Transformation
the Cloister Walk
Academ's Fury
Wizard's First Rule
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
2012: the Return of Quetzalcoatl

ETA: DAMN YOU TOUCHSTONES!

1. the Creative Encounter

2. The Tales of Beedle the Bard

I imagine any Harry Potter fan will eat this book up and love it, and anyone else will be bored, unless you like fairy tales. Its a pretty short read at 107 pages, I got through the whole thing in an hour and a half. The five stories were, to me at least, quite fun reads, although the last one is the same as presented in Deathly Hallows. However, I found the ~half dozen pages of commentary at the end of it quite amusing, especially in light of what we know occurs in the last book of the HP series.

Hi, Child of Light!
I have not read the HP books, but I was planning to borrow The Tales of Beedle the Bard to read first. I do happen to like fairy tales, though. Do you think that I should wait on it?
--BJ

You might get more out of it with previous exposure to the series, but the book stands reasonably well on its own, and there are no real "spoilers" to the books. The stories particularly reminded me of the Grimm Tales if you've ever read any of those in their original form.

3. the Three Pillars of Zen

Roshi Kaplaeu's book is considered a classic in American Zen circles, and its well deserving of that honor. The book contains everything a practitioner would need, including introductory lectures on zen practice, information on the koan Mu, excerpts and complete works of zen masters, the ten ox herding pictures, and information on the physical aspects of zazen. I found it to be an enriching, if on rare occasions slow read. I really only had trouble with it in the section detailing the enlightenment experiences of ten practitioners from east and west. Its probably just my temperament, but I've never found such material very engaging. Overall however, this should be number one on the reading list of anyone interested in actually practicing zazen, and not simply reading about it.

4. Encounters with Merton

5 Integral Psychology

Hello Deus and good luck on your challenge. I enjoyed The Tales of Beedle the Bard too. I am an HP fan and bought it just to have. It is a very easy read.

6 the Cloister Walk

7 Buddha for Beginners

This is the kind of book I'd hand to a teen who was interested in Buddhism, but I can still see an older person, even a more advanced student or practitioner of the Buddha's dharma enjoying. Doctor Asma takes 150 pages to introduce the basics of philosophic Buddhism and, other than some minor spelling mistakes I couldn't really find anything wrong with it. Although I'm o expert on Buddhism. The book is illustrated with comics and drawings, many of which help to explain concepts, some just add a nice bit of humor. Overall, I wish I'd found this book seven years ago when I started studying the Dhama.

8 the Screwtape Letters

Written from the point of view of a senior devil to a cousin in the field working with a "patient," this book is an excellent work of fiction as well as a discussion of Christian life through a negative lens. Although I had to read the book for class, I found it quite enjoyable. Lewis has a talent for fantasy, even here, as well as the ability to discuss the Christian life in a way that captures the reader's imagination.

I have heard a lot about that book lately. Looks like a good one. :)
--BJ

9 Jack: a Life of C.S. Lewis

10 the Great Transformation: the Beginning of Our Religious Traditions

Armstrong is one of my favorite religious writers, and this book demonstrates why. She is able to take complex history and simplify it without dumbing it down. I only really had two problems with the book. She includes the Greeks who, while a great civilization, were more philosophers than religious prophets. The second is that instead of having one continuous narrative for each civilization she deals with, they're all interwoven, which makes their development a bit hard to track from one appearance to the next.

11 Welcome to the Jungle

This is the hardback compilation of a comic written by Jim Butcher, and it shows. Both Bob and Harry demonstrate their trademark dark wit, Harry does a fair amount of magical ass kicking, and the artwork isn't half bad either. That said I'm not sure I'd give this to someone who's just gotten into the series. A good chunk of Harry's backstory is hinted at or given away during the course of the story, backstory which you don't learn about in the books until after the first book or two. Still, if you're into Dresden, shucking out the ~$20 for the hardback compilation like I did should be a no brainer.

12 Mere Christianity

If I hadn't found my current teacher, I'd probably be Christian because of this book and CS Lewis. I might disagree with some of his social views, but I found myself drawn into his explanation of the actual teachings.

Sounds like a great book!
--BJ

My grandmother loved Mere Christianity and read it over and over. I tried to read it a few years ago and didn't make it through. I may have to give it another try!

I'd say definitely try again. He's got some quite dated ideas of how society should work, especially when it comes to the place of women and sexuality, but he's able to explain theological ideas and basic Christianity in a way no modern evangelist could even come close to.

13 Coraline

Gaiman is a God among authors. Go out and find a copy of this before seeing the movie. Its a short read at 162 pages and I can guarantee you that unless Neil Gaiman was brought on as some kind of advisor its loads better than the movie.

#20 - Interesting...Maybe his "dated ideas" about women are what put me off. I honestly don't remember.

#21 - Have you seen the movie? Just wondering if it is any good. I almost always try to read the book before seeing the movie. I haven't read or seen Coraline yet, but I agree with your assessment of Gaiman. He hasn't disappointed me yet. I am waiting impatiently for my turn at The Graveyard Book, which I requested from the public library...

haven't seen the movie yet. I always read the book first if I can. Which is probably why I dislike so many movies I see that are based on books.

>21 Neil Gaiman helped write the screenplay for the movie version of Coraline. He was also very involved in the Stardust movie.

It's always reassuring to know the author is involved, isn't it? I'm a big fan of John Irving and he is normally very involved in transitioning his books into movies as well but there was one that he didn't want anything to do with (Owen Meany into Simon Birch) and that made me nervous before seeing the movie.

14 a Christian America

I read this for a class, and I would not recommend you read it unless you're an academic interested in the history of the church in America. Handy is a church historian, and quite possibly the driest most boring writer I've ever encountered. This is one of those books that might have been interesting had it been written by anyone else.

15 the Wise Heart

This is the first book by Kornfield that I've read. I enjoyed it although I think it could have been shorter for reasons others probably like it. He uses examples of people he's worked with to explain points, and I honestly didn't really like that aspect of it. Not to be negative or anything, but I don't particularly care about other's experiences, I care about the teachings.

16 the Last Continent

I've heard Pratchett's name bandied about here and among my friends IRL a lot, but never really got around to reading any of the Discworld books, not sure why. A couple weeks ago I was hanging out at a friend's house and found this lying around. After reading the first ~10 pages I knew I was hooked. Not sure why it took this long to read, but I'm addicted, I can honestly say I've found a new favorite author. Next up: Small Gods. LONG LIVE TERRY PRATCHETT!

17 the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

I grew up reading the Chronicles, and it was a joy to have a chance to come back to them. In the intervening years I've been exposed to multiple versions from plays to movies (most recently the Disney retelling) but they all pale in comparison to the actual book. Lewis truly was a master story teller. The Chronicles are one of those series that, no matter what religious beliefs you hold, every child should have some exposure to.

18 Jesus: a Story of Enlightenment

This is the first book I've ever read by Chopra, and I honestly wasn't overly impressed. He did a good job of weaving biblical material and historical details into the story, but it didn't really register much above popcorn fiction for me. I still plan to read the novel he wrote about the Buddha, but I really hope his non-fiction works are better.

19 Jesus and the Disinherited

20 Surprised by Joy

21 Religion in the New Age and other essays for the Spiritual Seeker

22 Good Omens

If Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman are authorial superheroes by themselves, they're Gods when brought together. If you're a fan of either, or just like a good story well told, I highly suggest this book.

I just finished this book, as well. What a great book! I loved the whole thing.
--BJ

23 Small Gods

This isn't really a laugh out loud book, but its a good read, which Pratchett does pretty reliably. He also manages to throw some interesting ideas around. I especially like his idea of how Gods get power and then run the risk of starting to die as the people who believe in them start to believe less in them, and more in the religion thats grown up around them.

Sounds like a great one! I am hoping to read some discworld books this summer. I have my chart ready to go! Have a great day! :)
--BJ

24 Turn Coat

I'm a Jim Butcher fanboy, so I'm admittedly biased, so it isn't too surprising that I loved this! I will say that he did make some slip ups, like showing us the end results of some things without giving us the event that caused them, when it was something Harry himself did, but overall it was an awesome read. I'm anxiously awaiting the next Dresden Files book. However, I do have backup and both short story collections that contain stories by Jim in my pool on bookswim, so I'm not completely out of new TDF goodness.

25 My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding

I only read the story Jim wrote, but it was enjoyable. For a novelist he manages to do an enjoyable short story, explaining enough of the world so that you aren't constantly going WTF? without going completely overboard.

26 84 Charing Cross Road

A fellow bibliophile loaned this to me, and I love it. Its a collection of letters written in the 50's and 60's between Hanff and an antiquarian book dealer in England. It was a quick read at 97 pages. I probably could have gotten through it in one sitting except I started reading it at 11:30 at night last night. I'm planning to pick up a copy of it for myself, as well as her book Q's Legacy, about her self-education after leaving college, an option thats sounding more and more appealing to me.

I read that book last Christmas, and I loved it as well. It sure made me want to go to London! Have a great day!
--BJ

DeusExLibrus wrote in #28:

I grew up reading the Chronicles, and it was a joy to have a chance to come back to them...Lewis truly was a master story teller. The Chronicles are one of those series that, no matter what religious beliefs you hold, every child should have some exposure to.

Thanks DeusExLibrus! You have inspired 7 of my 50 books to read this year. I grew up reading the Chronicles too and am ashamed to admit that until recently, I thought The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was book one!

Anyway, no more umm-ing and ahhh-ing - Narnia, here I come :)

--ag83

I've always considered it to be book one. Magician's Nephew is book one chronologically, but if its read first it ruins the reveal of Narnia in LWW.

So when do you recommend reading Magician's Nephew?
--BJ

In the box set of Narnia I have, The Magician's Nephew is book six, just before The last Battle. That way the beginning and the end are intertwined.

Thats the way my set was too. Never really understood why you'd read Magician's Nephew first if you'd never read the Chronicles before.

The order in which the books were published is not actually same order in which the stories take place, if that makes any sense. Some boxed sets put them in the order that they were published and some put them in the chronological order.

Wikipedia has a good outline of the publication order and the reading order here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronicles_of_narnia#Reading_order

I think this is why if you read Magician's Nephew first, it spoils TL,TW, aTW, but since that one comes next, it may not be too much of a problem.

27 Nine Women: Portraits from the American Radical Tradition

This should be on everyone's TBR pile. The reality of activist women during the past two centuries is so far above and beyond what any textbook describes. I found myself reading the whole book not because I had to for class, but because it was just that interesting.

28 God in the Dock

29 Q's Legacy

I found this an extremely engaging read. I started reading books by and about Helene because she reminded me so much of myself in some ways, vision-impaired, weak in math and science, a bibliophile. She manages to be extremely honest and real when writing about herself, which few people manage to do. I began the book extremely interested in the aspects of her personality I mentioned. I've never been that interested in the theatre, but by the time she gets to discussing the success of her book 84 Charing Cross Road as a movie and stage production, I was so drawn into her life and world that I found myself enjoying reading about her experiences anyway.

30 a Grief Observed

31 the Graveyard Book

Gaiman strikes again. Fair warning to parents: THIS IS NOT A BOOK FOR YOUNG CHILDREN. Gaiman is dark, disturbing, and masterful. This book made me want two things: a copy of the Jungle Book, and a sequel.

So why did you want a copy of The Jungle Book? I have been wanting a copy myself.
--BJ

the Graveyard Book is a retelling/re-imagining of the Jungle Book, with the appropriate macabre Gaiman twist of course.

No kidding! I don't usually read retellings, although my kids do all the time. My younger daughter I know read this book and really liked it. I love The Jungle Book, so now I definitely have to read this one. I am reading a retelling of the story of Psyche and Cupid right now and it is terrific. It is called Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis. Have a great day!
--BJ

32 Tolkien and C.S. Lewis: The Gift of Friendship

33 Book of the Hopi

A good introduction to a fascinating Native American culture. If you've ever heard of the mythical Anasazi, the Hopi are their descendants. The book was written in the 60's or 70's, and there's some connections made in footnotes to Hindu metaphysics that seemed neither here nor there, but overall an interesting read. The only gripe I really have is that the book is biased towards the conservatives within the Hopi. I would have enjoyed hearing a more liberal perspective/interpretation as well.

34 Terrier

Ok, I admit, I'll read anything as long as its well written. Pierce technically writes for teenage girls, but as long as you enjoy a well told story, this'll be an enjoyable read. Beka and her fellow dogs and other characters were well written and believable for the most part. She does an excellent job of making bad guys that still seem human. I'm kicking myself because I didn't buy a copy of Bloodhound when I was at Powell's last week. Guess I'll just have to borrow it from a friend.

35 the Color of Magic

This book was great. Pratchett has improved in terms of writing and feel of his world since CoM, but everything that makes the Discworld hilarious is here.

36 by the Hand of Mormon: the American Scripture that Launched a New World Religion

37 Bloodhound

Bloodhound is the second book in Tamora Pierce's Beka Cooper series. This is the only series of hers I've read, but if the rest of her books are this calibre I think she's got a new fan. The books are aimed at teen girls, but anybody who enjoys a well written story should have no problem with it. Beka Cooper, is a tomboy and a cop in a medieval setting thats just seeing the beginnings of a police force. She's definitely a tomboy. We see her in a dress and made up a couple times in this book where you don't in the first. Its obvious she enjoys it, its also pretty obvious she's more at home in men's clothes or her dog uniform than a dress.

38 Practicing Peace in Times of War

An excellent book and a quick read at less than a hundred pages. Highly recommended.

39 Ghost Rescues: Working with Angels and Ghosts

I was rather unimpressed with this. I've met the author who is a friend of my teacher, and she's much more interesting in person than this book is. The cover really kind of put me off even before I started reading. There's a white mist/light in the sky, which is completely unidentifiable. The person looking at whatever this is seems to be scared with their hands up in a sort of "I surrender" type gesture. If this emanation truly was an angel(s) one would think they'd have their arms out in an open embrace, not in the air in fear.

40 Turtle Feet

This book is amazing. While I wish it had spent more time on the monastic life and significantly less on his friends exploits, it does do a good job of showing how messed up living a completely cloistered life can make people. Fair warning however, do not read this book if you're into political correctness, uber-liberal, or any such thing. Grozni doesn't sugar coat his experiences, and he runs into some pretty stupid out of touch people. A primary example being one of his teachers, Geshe Yama Tseten, who looks up the identity of an animal he claims attacked him on a mountain top in a book about sea life, and is a vitriolic xenophobe when it comes to westerners, calling them fools, and putting them on the same level as domesticated animals in intelligence.

41 Integral Spirituality

42 Practicing the Power of Now

Tolle has been formative to my worldview. I read both Power of Now and New Earth before Oprah did the course with him, which I didn't watch, but am considering going back and viewing, although I've heard Oprah overshadows Tolle in the class, which isn't too surprising as Tolle is a soft spoken, small ego, and Oprah can be a bit overbearing at times. Haven't read the book in a while, but this was a nice refresher, will probably reread the book in the near future.

43 Light Comes Through

44 the Omnivore's Dilemma

This is one of those books that should be on everyone's reading list. I can, however, all but guarantee that you'll never look at what you eat the same way again.

45 the Self-Esteem Trap: Raising Confident and Compassionate Kids in an Age of Self-Importance

This is one of those books that'd change the world, or at least the US, if it was widely read. While certain advances have been made as far as parenting in the last 50 years, there've been some serious back steps taken, most mistaken for progress.

46 Patience and Fortitude

If you enjoy books about books, read this. Basbanes writes in an anecdotal style about bibliophiles, and the history and future of the library and the book. He interviews a number of well known authors, including Umberto Echo, and Maurice Sendak, among other lesser known bibliophiles. If you enjoyed A Gentle Madness the prequel to this book, you'll probably enjoy this one, and vice versa.

47 Elantris

48 Naruto, volume 1

I admit, I love manga and anime. This is one of the more popular series in America, and while its good entertainment, its basically fluff. Just don't go into it expecting a depiction of historical shinobi (ninja), because this is in no way the sneak around the shadows in a black body suit and stab someone ninjas of our world. This is more like do a bunch of hand signs and flambe a person by blowing a fireball out of your mouth. Still, fun times. Its also got some amazing, though definitely teenage level humor in it. (this manga is considered shounen, IE its aimed at teenage boys).

49 One Piece, volume 1

50 Religious Literacy

51 Read or Die, volume 1

ROD stars a woman by the name of Yomiko Readman, a paper user, a person who has complete telekinetic control over books and paper of any kind. This volume details the kidnapping of Yomiko along with her favorite author, Sumiregawa Nenene, and reveals a bit of Readman's backstory. There is a TV series and anime of ROD, both of which I've seen, but this story is in neither. I still enjoyed it greatly, and will probably continue to collect the manga.

52 Walden

Walden was kind of hit and miss for me. I found some of the ideas interesting, the descriptions of animals were fun to read (although I found some of it a bit tedious). I found myself wishing I could go off and live on the banks of Walden for two years, although I'm not sure I'd do it alone.

53 Death Note, volume 1

Got this for two reasons, a friend has been bugging me to read it for ages, and it was recommended in a panel I went to @ Kumoricon called "Religion in Anime & Manga." I'm probably not going to continue collecting/reading all of the series I bought at Kumoricon, but this is definitely one I'll keep reading. The art is amazing, and it plays around with some really interesting moral/ethical ideas and religious concepts.

54 the Family

55 a Splendor of Letters

56 Understanding Sikhism

I've had two previous experiences of Sikhism, the first when a Sikh came to speak at my highschool, the second in college last year when I visited a Gurdwara (Sikh temple) on a school sponsored trip. Its an extremely interesting and misunderstood religion. Misunderstood in that people mistake is for either a blend of Hinduism and Islam, or a Hindu sect. Sikhs of course teach that it is its only completely independent religion. I agree that its a separate religious movement entirely, however, I think its also reasonable to think of it as a response to both.

This book, while interesting, felt a bit too academic to me. More like a study than an introduction, which, given the title, is probably what it was meant to be. That being said, I'm still very much interested in reading more, including the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh scripture, which is also treated as a living guru by practitioners.

57 Rurouni Kenshin, Vol. 1 (VIZBIG Edition)