Tall bookshelves decorate one full wall in my living room. While I'd prefer to organize via spine color (so pretty!), that just doesn't seem all that practical when you're trying to hunt a particular one down, neck craned and eyes darting through 12 shelves-worth of titles.
Instead, I've tried to bring some organization so that I can easily hunt down a title; fiction are on the top left shelf, then non-fiction, with prayer topics grouped together, then marriage/relationship books, commentaries, etc. Near the bottom shelf, I have a little stack of books on my "to read" list.
I don't go through this list very quickly; often I supplement it with books I pick up from the library. But I thought I'd share the titles that have made this list of mine, sitting ever-so-patiently on the bottom shelf, waiting to be read:
- Miracles by C.S. Lewis
I got this at a half-price bookstore a couple years ago for the mere fact that it was by C.S. Lewis. I was talking with some friends when someone said that this is a classic and, in their opinion, the best nonfiction book by Lewis to read. So, I added it to the list!
- Five Simple Ways to Grow a Great Family by Carol Kuykendall
Before you jump to conclusions (ahem), no, I'm not pregnant. However, I do hope that Michael and I will be able to start a little family of our own in the next couple of years, so in preparation for when that day does come, I want to start thinking intentionally about choices I want to make for my family and as a mother. This book is intended to help you do just that and consider how to integrate into your family the five qualities that the author claims matter most in childrearing: love, fun, loyalty, growth and faith.
- Cloister Talks by Jon M. Sweeney
"Learning from my friends the monks" is the tagline of this book and looks at some of the practices from the lives of monks (stillness, solitude, simplicity). It'll be interesting to read this in light of my recent read of the fictional book Chasing Francis.
- Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy
I find it hard to believe that you need a whole book (283 pages!) for tips on learning to live on less when you've got gobs of blogs that talk about it everyday. But, it seems very down-to-earth and more about taking a maco- approach to your spending (changing your mindset about "convenience food" for example as well as chapters about utilities, "the cost of working," etc).
- His Needs, Her Needs by Willard F. Harley, Jr.
This is another marriage book, with the purpose of teaching couples how to sustain that "in love" feeling by discovering activities, hobbies, actions that will keep you and your spouse connecting on an emotional level. Supposedly the methods of this book are "guaranteed."
- Learning of God by Amy Carmichael
A missionary during the late 1800s and early 1900s, Carmichael is called "one of the great spiritual writers of the century, possessing a breadth of vision that transcended barriers of churchmanship and of culture." A dear friend gave me this book about a year ago (yikes!) when I made my big move to the uncharted waters of Michigan!
- Experiencing the Holy Spirit by Andrew Murray
This is another gift from that same friend! This one focuses specifically on the Holy Spirit, something I have only started to learn more about over the past year or two and that I'm eager to continue to understand.
- He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not by Trish Ryan
This is a memoir, and memoirs are one of my favorite reading indulgences. I think if I could only read one genre, this is what it would be. Trish writes about how as a successful 30-something, she found herself still searching for the perfect man. So she decided to try all the self-help advice out there, which didn't seem to help at all. Finally, "she hesitantly decided to give God a try. ... He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not is Ryan's story of how her search for the right guy turned into the search for the right God."
- Crazy Love by Francis Chan
I heard about this book a long time ago and I've heard lots of people give great to praise and I still have not gotten around to reading it. But I intend to, sooner or later! This book is all about the way God loves and how he wants us to love others--God's "crazy love."
- Easy Green Living by Renee Loux
I suppose this isn't really a book you read, so much as you use as a reference manual. Yet and still, I'd like to take the time to scan through it's almost 400 pages and get some ideas for ways to build and create a greener, more environmentally-friendly home and lifestyle.
What's on your reading list? Have you read any of these, or do any of them sound interesting to you?
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