Don Miller's New Book

A Million Miles In A Thousand Years by Donald Miller

Book Review: Gone-Away Lake

Gone-Away Lake
Author: Elizabeth Enright
Date of publication (year): 1957
Publisher: Sandpiper
ISBN: 0152022724
Number of Pages: 272
Where it can be purchased: Amazon
Illustrated? yes, beautifully detailed illustrations by Beth and Joe Krush
Genre of the book: Fiction
Rate your book: Highly Recommended
Appropriate Age group for this book: Amazon says 3rd to 6th grade. I discovered this book when I was 9 or 10, and I read it every year or two until I was about 20. I read it last week and I still love it.
Book Summary: (from Amazon)

Grade 3-6-Elizabeth Enright's 1957 Newbery Honor book (Harcourt, pap. 1990) will
continue to entertain and enlighten today's children in this audiobook format
just as the print version has for generations. A brief opening train ride (one
of the only somewhat dated segments in the book) introduces listeners to Portia
and Foster, siblings on their way to spend a summer in the country with their
cousin Julian and his parents. But from that point on, the magic of discovering
a small summer community, derelict for decades as its lake slowly dried, is just
as enchanting today as it was nearly 50 years ago. Even Foster's play at robots
and space stations contributes a contemporary feel to the story's details. The
story is beautifully written with fairly sophisticated language... The unfolding
tale of the once-upon-a-time summer colony at the turn of the 20th century is
wonderful...This story of a summer of discovery and adventure would be an
outstanding choice for elementary school youngsters with a good reading and
vocabulary skills. (sections of review relating to audio version deleted)

Opinion of the Book:
This was one of my favorite books when I was a kid. It still is. As a kid, I loved the idea of finding an almost abandoned Edwardian era village. As a parent, I appreciate the way the different generations of people interact with no angst or barrier or criticism. The people are real, the kids are intelligent and well-behaved (but not ridiculously so), and though the book is not full of hair-raising adventures, it is a cozy happy read that just makes me want to step into the story. I am happy to report that my seven year old is listening to this book on CD and loving it.
Gone-Away Lake is followed by Return to Gone-Away, which is just as much fun. Extremely conservative parents will be concerned by one scene in Return to Gone-Away when the girls read a fortune-telling magazine, but hang on, conservative parents, because the girls find out its advice is rather inaccurate.

Elizabeth Enright wrote several other children's books, and after re-reading these two, I think I'll seek out the others at our library. Stay tuned for more reviews.

The audio CDs are available on itunes.

January Book Reviews

Take This Bread, by Sara Miles. Not for the ultra-conservative, this book is written in a style similar to Ann Lamott's. It's a thought-provoking biography of a left-wing lesbian's conversion to Christianity. I told my husband that this lady got saved and immediately wanted to do what Jesus did, while some of us are just sitting around talking about what Paul said.

Things Seen and Unseen, by Nora Gallagher. I found this glimpse of a year in an Episcopal church interesting.

Please Pass the Guilt, by Rex Stout. Intriguing and enjoyable---I expect nothing else from Nero Wolfe.

The Young Mrs. Savage, by D. E. Stevenson. A widow takes a seaside vacation with her four children in post-war Scotland. These books always leave me craving scones and hearty breakfasts.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, by Winnifred Watson. This is another book I can't recommend to my conservative friends, but I found it rather funny. A very proper middle-aged spinster in the twenties finds a new life as a social secretary to an actress.

Blind Spots in the Bible, by Adrian Plass. As always, Adrian Plass is encouraging, comforting, humorous, and thought-provoking.

Frederica, by Georgette Heyer. My favorite escape reading. Headache? Read Heyer. Stressed? Read Heyer. Grieving? Read Heyer. Overwhelmed? Read Heyer. I think I read every Heyer I own in 2008, some of them twice.

Advent Reading

In the fall I started reading The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Winter, by Phyllis Tickle. This book lays out an ancient pattern of prayer in an easy format. It has been beneficial to me, and I plan to read the Spring and Summer books too.

For the Advent Season I am adding several books to my devotional time:
Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas (collection of readings by a wide variety of inspirational authors)

A Handful of Light, by Michael Mitton (this year's Advent devotional from the Bible Reading Fellowship)

Sacred Space: The Prayerbook 2009 (the print version of an Irish online prayer guide: sacredspace.ie )

And as usual, I'm reading the book of Psalms.

Ten O'Clock Scholar offers suggestions for Family Advent Reading, as well as an Advent Mr. Linky, here.

the prayer of Jabez

I read the book The Prayer of Jabez in 2000 and I prayed and meditated on the prayer, looking forward to the Lord leading me to new territories. Only a few days into my new prayer focus, I was talked into teaching a children's Sunday School class for a month each quarter. Now, I love leading women's Bible studies, and I love my own children, but teaching other people's kids is not something I find enjoyable. In fact it puts me in a panic. So that was not a very pleasant new territory.

I began meditating on the Prayer again a few months ago, and suddenly found my father's financial details dumped into my lap. I can manage our family finances...usually...but my father's are rather complicated and I found myself telling my friend that I was through with the Prayer of Jabez if it's only going to lead to uncomfortable new territories!

My friend encouraged me not to give up. And I thought about new territories and pioneers and God's unfathomable wisdom, and I realized that the expanding of one's boundaries is always going to be a stretching experience.

Here are my thoughts on the prayer today (interspersed with the prayer itself):

I Chronicles 4:10
If only You would bless me
Lord, keep me in the center of Your will, where I can expect Your guidance and blessing.
Extend my border
Lord, I'm not sure I'm ready for "extending"; please enable me to care for my current territory.
Let Your hand be with me
Keep me aware of Your presence.
So that I will not cause any pain
Keep me kind and gentle and pleasant
with the children
with my husband
with my Dad.

Book: Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog)

In The Heart of the Family, Adrian Plass mentioned P.G. Wodehouse and Jerome K. Jerome as two of his favorite authors. I think Wodehouse is delightful, but Jerome was a new name to me. I checked out his Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog) this week. The book was written in the 1880s and it has aged well. Humorous in a dry British style, it describes a boating vacation taken by three friends and their dog. Sprinkled through the story are descriptions of the historical sites they float past, and recollections of the friends' earlier boating journeys. My only complaint was that the book was not long enough.

Summary at Wikipedia (but I don't agree that the historical bits distract from the plot; I thought they were fun!)

The Rabbi's Heartbeat

The Rabbi's Heartbeat, by Brennan Manning

This book has been a source of encouragement and comfort to me for the last two months. As I've had to make some decisions for my dad, my role as a daughter has changed; this has been stressful, to say the least. The Rabbi's Heartbeat continually reminded me that God is my Father and I am His beloved child. This familiar truth has been a beam of light on dark days.

Brennan Manning has a simple honest style that is welcome during a stressful time. Filled with Biblical truths, it is far from shallow, yet it was very accessible when I was feeling burdened and discouraged.

Devotional Books for Lent

Small Surrenders, by Emilie Griffin
Seeking His Mind, by M. Basil Pennington

I added these books to my devotional routine during Lent. This was the first year I had celebrated Lent in any way (I also gave up buying books). Both books gave me an introduction to the idea of Lent, and I found them interesting. Both books are written from a Catholic perspective, which is something different from the rest of my home library. Neither of these books will be a yearly tradition for me, but they were helpful for my first Lent season.

Small Surrenders quoted more literature than scripture; I enjoyed the quotations but I expected more scripture given the subject matter. Seeking His Mind discussed the life of Jesus. I think someone with a more Catholic background than mine would have enjoyed these books more than I did, but again, they were both useful introductory books.

two poets

A month or two ago, I read Donald Miller's review of Collected Poems by Stanley Kunitz (at Donald Miller's blog) and consequently checked out the book from the library. I read the first few poems and a few more chosen randomly. I read the last few poems. I tried random pages again. And then I gave up. I found the poems inaccessible, and I decided that not only would I never ever be able to write poetry myself, I was unlikely to even understand it.

Last month, Donald Miller recommended Billy Collins' book Sailing Alone Around the Room. My husband read the samples of Collins' work on Donald Miller's site, and enjoyed them so much that he ordered the book. We have both found the book delightful, and we will seek out more of Billy Collins' work.

Billy Collins writes poetry on a wide selection of subjects, from the amusing to the thought-provoking to the truly unusual. Each poem is immediately enjoyable, but can be lingered over and savored as well.

Here's an example: Billy Collins' poem Introduction to Poetry

(Note: A few mature themes -- a parent might want to do a little pre-reading before just handing this to a teenager.)

Book Review: A Walk with Jane Austen

A Walk with Jane Austen, by Lori Smith, is the story of the author's journey to England where she visited many sites associated with Jane Austen. The book blends her descriptions of Jane's environment with thoughts on Jane's life, as well as Lori's own life. At the beginning of the book, Lori spends a week getting acquainted with a handsome young man at Oxford, and throughout the book she wonders what the future holds for the two of them.

I found the book to be an unusual way to learn more details about the life of Jane Austen. I enjoyed the author's comparisons of her own life to Jane's and to Jane's heroines. When she mentioned being a bit of a Marianne one day when she'd rather be an Elinor, I could sympathize.
I wouldn't put this book in the can't put it down category, nor would I put it in the deep spiritual insight category (although it did have its thought-provoking moments), but I found it a pleasant companion for an evening bath. It will be a valuable tool someday when we visit England; Austen sites will be on our must-see list.

Lori Smith also hosts the blog Jane Austen Quote of the Day, with a quote from an Austen book almost daily, and occasionally a quote about Jane herself.

recording shining hours

I just finished reading A Legacy of Love: Things I Learned from My Mother, by Ruth Graham. It is, of course, written about her mother, Ruth Bell Graham, wife to Billy Graham. It is a small book, filled with insights about this admirable woman. I was particularly challenged by Mrs. Graham's thoughts on journalling. She advised her daughter to record the shining hours of her life. I thought about my own haphazard journalling and blogging, and I realized that too often I just use it as a chance to vent. Now venting is certainly valuable -- I can't keep everything bottled up inside -- but a journal preserves the events of my life, and do I really want my life to sound like one big whine?

The author also talked about finding shining hours within the dark times of life, because those dark hours make you reach out for the Light of the World.

I've always admired Ruth Bell Graham, and this book gave me a more complete picture of her. Her daughter said that Ruth was always reading several books at once, because, in her words, "One does not finish all of the pickles before opening the olives."

Book Review: The End of Religion

I hesitate to even attempt a book review with a cold fogging my brain, but here goes:

The End of Religion, by Bruxy Cavey

I read this last fall, and found it thought-provoking, comforting, and challenging. (Perhaps I use those words to describe all my favorite non-fiction books.) The book challenges its readers to follow Jesus -- to study Him and follow His example -- instead of just following fellow Christians or trying to fit in at church.

I was especially impressed by the author's discussion of Jesus' changing the water into wine. I had never noticed that Jesus used the water pitchers that were set aside for ritual cleansing! As if He were asking us to put aside our rules and lists of dos and don'ts, and just enjoy life with Jesus.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has been hurt by the church or fellow Christians, to those who feel their spiritual life could use a little more passion, and to those who just want to know Jesus better.

Book Review: Flirting with Monasticism

As a stay at home mom who really does stay at home most days, I do try to broaden my horizons through reading. This book definitely did that for me!

Flirting with Monasticism, by Karen E. Sloan, is the story of a young woman (a presbyterian minister) who is attracted to a man who is in the process of becoming a Dominican friar.

I found the author's way of telling events in not-completely-chronological order to be a little distracting, but the book was a simple overview of the monastic life. It was very interesting to see that although the woman's attraction to the man did not lead to a romantic relationship, it did lead her to new spiritual habits that enriched her life.

This book made me wish I could visit a church where Dominican friars chant the office. It made me seek out other books on the same topic (Next on my list: The Cloister Walk, Monk Habits for Everyday People). It made me long to schedule regular routines of worship and service in my daily life (or perhaps to become more aware of these routines already in my life).

In summary, it is a good introductory book for Protestants who want to learn about the monastic life.

Weariness

I went to the chiropractor today. I've been there three times this week, which meant arranging for childcare and all that sort of thing. My Monday treatment made me quite miserable but by today I'm finally back to a pre-Monday level of pain. The chiropractor mentioned that I should take it easy this weekend -- not lifting, not bending over, not even unloading the dishwasher. Ha! I have a 2 year old who still sleeps in a crib. Someone has to lift her in and out after naptimes, and I don't think my 6 year old or my 3 year old can assist. And my husband is busy all day Saturday and half of Sunday. So....taking it easy is going to be a little difficult. And I don't want to lose my place in my housekeeping routine! At least I can take a long nap on Sunday while my husband watches the Superbowl. (No, I am not remotely interested in the Superbowl except for the yummy snacks my husband sometimes makes on Superbowl day.)

At lunchtime today I got a call from a dentist two states away. My father went to the dentist and couldn't fill out the forms, and couldn't interact logically with the person who was trying to help him with the forms. This incident with the forms is disturbing -- he's a retired accountant! Filling out forms is his specialty! Is this a drug interaction, or is this dementia? How am I going to convince him that he needs to make a change in his living situation? He's been annoyed by any advice I've given lately. How does one go about making one's parent's decisions for him? Do I need to fly home? That would mean more childcare to arrange, which is difficult as one of my friends is quite pregnant, one is taking chemo for breast cancer, one just got a job, and one just moved away.

All these thoughts are quite wearisome. Thank God, a new book arrived today. (And I do not say that flippantly, I say it as a prayer of gratitude.) Yet another Adrian Plass -- this one's called The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass On Tour (don't buy it at Amazon, do a search for the isbn at addall.com to find a cheaper price). This is the third in the Diary series. These are fictionalized accounts of Adrian Plass's life, and they are roll-on-the-floor hilarious as well as thought-provoking and serious. Woven into the fictional Adrian's thoughts and experiences are spiritual insights that I mull over long after reading the book. Reading Adrian Plass at naptime or bedtime makes the bed jiggle with my laughter, but I drift off to sleep in peaceful contemplation or a prayer of renewed commitment.

Oh dear, I was only going to review books on Mondays....

Monday Book Review

I've been reading fiction by Adrian Plass lately, but right now I'm reading his non-fiction book, Jesus, Safe, Tender, Extreme. Adrian Plass writes with admirable gentleness and honesty about his own struggles as well as the issues he sees in the church today. I think if Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz) were British and thirty years older, he would write a very similar book. I have found Jesus, Safe, Tender, Extreme to be both comforting and challenging.

Book Addicts Anonymous

Hello, my name is Georgetta and I am a bookaholic.

I love to buy books. I love to order books at Amazon, half.com, christianbook.com, abebooks, etc. I tried to stop buying books for one of my husband's pay periods and I was not successful. I am praying about giving up book buying for Lent; this would be rather drastic for me (I would keep my wishlist on paperbackswap though), but it would be helpful to our budget.

So, in preparation for this, I ordered a book about Lent (Small Surrenders). I didn't want to spent $3 on shipping at half.com, so I ordered from Amazon...of course buying 2 books instead of one so that I could get the free shipping at the $25 purchase. So, I spent an extra $8 to save $3.

Does anyone else want to join Book Addicts Anonymous? (Isn't BAA a great acronym?)