2009 reading of walk2work (goal and actual)

As you might quickly surmise from this thread, I work in Christian ministry, but I am not a prosletyser. That is - do not fear that I will try to convert you from whatever you are (or aren't). And I am pretty good about keeping my religion-speak limited to the religion/theology groups. I just needed a place to keep myself honest about the reading I am doing this year (both professionally and for pleasure).

Until I graduated college, most of my reading was non-fiction. But since college, and especially over the last 5-6 years, I have grown to love reading fiction. I like short stories and novels, especially fantasy and some sci-fi. I am also a member of a local library-affiliated book club, so you will see some of those books listed, too.

In scripture, the number 40 is symbollic of "a lot." I think even 50 books in a year is probably too much, but I'd at least like a goal. I'm planning here to list 40 books that I aim to read during 2009, and then document the ones I have managed to get through. Or if I try and fail on a book, then to at least whine about why I couldn't get through it.

1. Outliers by Malcom Gladwell
2. Bel Canto by Ann Pachett
3. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
4. The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
5. How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26. Biblical Exegesis by Hayes & Holladay (reread)
27. Preaching as Local Theology and Folk Art
28. Preaching; by Fred Craddock
29. The Witness of Preaching (reread)
30. Hear and Be Wise
31. Purposes of Preaching
32. The Preaching Event
33. Envisioning the Word
34. Hearing the Sermon
35. The Homiletical Plot
36. Story Weaving (loan)
37. Telling the Truth (loan)
38. The Senses of Preaching (loan)
39. Contemporary Biblical Interpretation for Preaching (loan)
40. Interpreting Difficult Texts (loan)

The first book I've read in 2009 is Outliers.

Wonderfully interesting book, a quick read. Reminds me a bit of Teach Like Your Hair's on Fire, although the point and purpose were different.

Makes me contemplate what I am currently doing, that I should be a bit more intent on putting in my 10k hours of concentrated, intentional effort.

2. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett.

I read this book for my monthly book club. It is outside my normal genre, and I am pretty confident that I would not have finished it, were it not for the book club. I would not have stuck with it long enough to get interested.

First of all, the book asks a pretty significant suspension of disbelief for me. I guess I am too accustomed to movie plots where the police act quickly and decisively against hostage-holders. The idea that a government would allow a hostage situation to last for "many months" seems hardly credible to me, unless the government were subtly on the hostage-holders' side. Patchett makes clear that this is not the case. The hostage-holders are insistently anti-government.

But I did appreciate the glimpse into an upper-class passion. Opera, like classical music and fine art, is mostly an upper-class passion and pursuit that people spend years being taught to appreciate. Patchett offers a glimpse into this world of fine culture. Clearly, the sitation is fantastical, but it gives one an opportunity to explore a side of class culture that is otherwise rarely transparent to we of uninitiated middle- and working-class.

Hi, walk2work!
I keep seeing that book Outliers. I am going to have to find a copy of that. Happy reading! :)
--BJ

3. Recreating the Church by Richard L. Hamm

My denominational region used this book as a springboard for discussion at a recent gathering. Other books on this topic were assigned in seminary, but this one was published fairly recently. I wasn't going to read it, because I didn't attend the gathering. I assumed that Hamm was re-covering well-trod ground. But our regional conversation is continuing, so I wanted to get a bit up-to-speed on the material.

I was pleasantly surprised. Hamm explores the connection between the WWII and Baby Boomer generations of leadership and the current institutional irrelevancy of the mainline Protestant denominations. This was new to me, and a useful treatment from the perspective of someone who has spent a lot of time in all the major expressions of church organization.

But if we Baby Boomers (I am actually on the cusp between Baby Boomer and GenX) are supposed to lead the church into relevancy for this postmodern context, I'm afraid that I need help to understand the postmodern culture from a professional perspective. Unfortunately, this vast topic was outside the scope of this short volume. Maybe I will find that in the emerging church literature? Or it may be that we are so newly into postmodernism that there is no clear analysis, and my generation (as a GenXer) will be the vanguards.

Hi walk2work! Since you enjoyed Outliers, have you read Blink by Malcolm Gladwell? It's also really good, makes you think about how you make decisions.

I haven't read Blink, but Gladwell is on my list of authors to read. I liked his style, it's different from but reminds me of Barbara Erhenreich.

Falling very much behind on the goal of reading 40 books. After reassessing what it was that I really hoped to accomplish in 2009, I can't say what I'll actually be reading. Mostly I'm still caught up in the trap of reading a book partway and then getting sidetracked, and not finishing it.

This has lead me to ask which is more critical - to finish a book or to have gained something from the time I spend reading it?

4. I finally finished Dune. I'm not sure if this should really count as 2 books, because I actually finished read the first Dune trilogy.

This was a book club pick in 2008, but I only got through the first book. He almost had me interested at the end of the first book. I wouldn't even have read that far, had it not been for book club. I had mentally put the book on the "get back to someday" list, but in my experience, that probably means never.

But I've been sick this last week, and did not want to start something new, since I had all these unfinished books. So I picked up Dune, willing to give it one more try. I was surprised to find myself sort-of getting into it.

I'm glad I finished it, but I can't say whether I will read any more of the series. On the one hand, it was work to get into it. I was really turned off by the Bene Gesserit's politico-religious manipulation, although I do recognize that as a then-timely expression of cultural critique. Probably the pervasive use of drugs, and poison as a perfectly permissible political tool, were also appropriate for the time the book was written. Or maybe I'm just a prude.

In the end, though it took all three books to get me there, I found myself interested in Herbert's world. So I may surprise myself and read further into the series.

I read the first Dune novel a number of years ago, and felt much like you describe. It seemed to be much more a cultural icon than a novel with staying power to me.

I think that the journey is more important than the destination in the 50 book challenge (or 40 book). So, you should not feel compelled to finish a book that you just hate. To me reading should be fun, so go ahead and change books. :)

I read some of the Dune books quite a while ago, and I found that the sequels did not hold my interest as much as the first book did. It was an interesting world that was created and thought-provoking, too. However, as it went along, I could not stay with it. However, it was a genre that I did not read. I am trying to read more SFF these days.

I am sorry that you have been sick. I hope you feel better soon. :)
--BJ

5. Kutath by C. J. Cherryh

I was lent the first book of this series, Kesrith by a good friend who was moving. I think that partly he just didn't feel like packing a shopping bag full of books, but mostly he finally wanted to enrich my reading life beyond what my budget could sustain.

I was hooked on this world. Cherryh did such an amazing job not only of world-building, but also of characterizing species so that they were deeply alien and yet conceivable. I bought the trilogy in paperback (having returned the books to my friend), re-read Kesrith and read the second one Shon'Jir in 2008.

I am sorry that this is the end of the trilogy, and that's saying a lot. I would like to know more of the Mri's world and their future adventures. I nearly lost heart after Shon'Jir, and realized that I needed a break. The wait was well worth it. Cherryh continues developing the three species introduced in the first book (the second book focused much more on the Mri) and brings it to a completely believable conclusion.

6. How Starbucks Saved My Life

This was a book club read for March, 2009. Once again, a book I certainly would not have read, had it not been for book club.

It was a quick read, and I appreciated that the author spent as much time reflecting on his life, as he did talking about his barista work. I wish there had been more meat to his reflections, but then again, the story is very personal, and I cannot blame him for only going so far. I'm not sure I would publicly share as much as he has done.

The one thing that challenges me, is wondering if his experience with the coffee store is at all typical for the people who work there. Without going into details, I will simply say that the expression of big-chain coffee where I briefly worked did not tolerate the kind of learning curve he portrays in the book. For example, I was put on the espresso machine on my second or third shift, not 6+ months after I started working there (as he claims).

Overall, an enjoyable book for what I expected to get out of it. I will have an opportunity to visit with my book club about this thankfully quick read. Moreover, if reading this helped me reevaluate my own big-chain coffee experience, it will have been worth the time invested.