The CS Lewis stint continues...

6) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, CS Lewis
7) Till We Have Faces, CS Lewis

I really, truly, love the writing of CS Lewis. I think this is the 10th time I've read "Till We Have Faces", and I must admit that it is my favorite book, and I give it as a gift to anyone that doesn't already have it when I have occasion to give a gift to them (like a b'day) - I don't just randomly make a present of it to people I see on the streets or anything. But it really speaks deeply to me, I'm not sure why. I think (and I know I am in good company with this line of thinking, as Lewis and Tolkien thought this as well) that myth is a meta form of truth. It isn't the opposite of fact, it is a greater umbrella of truth. Some things are so true they can only be told in the form of myths, because myths speak to us beyond our intellect and ability to reason...

5) Prince Caspian, CS Lewis

5) Prince Caspian, CS Lewis

I think I'll probably just finish the last few of the Chronicles, just for fun.

Another book I picked up recently is Beth Moore's "Praying God's Word" daily devotional. I loved her actual book by the same title, it really is more a topical volume noting scripture having to do with how to overcome different issues, such as depression, anxiety, pride, fear, anger, etc. I love it (so much that I gave away my first copy and bought myself a new one).

I seem to not be able to get out of the bookstore with spending, oh, a hundred dollars or so. I also picked up a copy of "Blue Like Jazz", Donald Miller's most popular book, to give as a gift, as well as The Intellectual's Devotional, which is (contrary to the way it sounds) not a religious book, but more like a "daily snippets of arcane knowledge", much like if you had a page of wikipedia sent to you daily. I've learned about french sculptors, uncelebrated holidays, and a comet so far.

So far for 2007

1) The Horse and His Boy, CS Lewis
2) MySecret, Frank Warren
3) The Secret Lives of Men and Women, Frank Warren
4) The Little Prince, Saint-Exupery

And, to give you a taste of what will be making the list shortly:
5) Prince Caspian, CS Lewis (in progress)
6) Banksy, Wall and Piece (in progress)
7) Fast Food Nation (in progress)

The Last Hurrah

85) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis
86) Prince Caspian, C.S. Lewis
87) Brundibar, Tony Kushner
(hilariously illustrated by Maurice Sendak)
88) [the title of this book and its author I prefer to keep private,
but trust me, I read it]
89) Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton
90) The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis
91) Caddie Woodlawn, Carol Ryrie Brink
92) The Silver Chair, C.S. Lewis
93) The Horse and His Boy, C.S. Lewis
94) The Magician's Nephew, C.S. Lewis
95) The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis
96) The Man who Was Thursday, G.K. Chesterton

Ah. So close.

Actually, it's all the fault of the Dushanbe airport. You see, the plan was to be back home at 5pm on December 31 -- plenty of time to read whatever was necessary to reach 100 from my extensive stack of children's literature. Delayed flights in Central Asia foiled my seemingly flawless scheme.

I could mention that I've probably read several small books here and there throughout the year which I neglected to write down AND that there are at least 4 books I'm halfway through right now . . . so . . . technically . . . if I wanted to make myself feel better . . .I could just say I made it to 100. But really, 96 is nothing to sneeze at. Plus, it leaves me something to top next year.

To quote Lewis in The Last Battle: farther up and farther in. Here's to 2007!

73's not so bad

The year in review - I managed to read 73 of my goal of 100. Not too shabby, but not great, considering I read about 60 last year. Also, I really should only put down 72 as finished, because I didn't finish "Celtic Fairy Tales", which I put down below when I started it. I read parts of so many books though, that I'm going to go ahead and count it as finished. I'm only cheating on myself here anyways.

For the coming year, am I going to read 100 books? Probably not. I'm not going to set a goal for books this year I don't think. Takes some of the joy out. However, I am going to keep writing reviews for books that are noteworthy, so keep this blog linked.

This year's goal - to write more. So, I may be linking to a creative writing blog that you can all enjoy. Or I may keep my writing to myself, hidden in the dark places, written in a diary with a lock on it, stuffed between my mattresses, like a preteen girl. We'll see.

It's the chronic(what?)cles of narnia

71) Holiness, Mark Rutland
72) The Magician's Nephew, CS Lewis
73) The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, CS Lewis

Golden Books - 66 - 70

I know, I know, cheating, but hey, I'm only cheating against myself and self-imposed goals. So I read 5 Golden Books.

66) Pinocchio
67) Dumbo
68) Peter Pan
69) Jungle Book
70) 101 Dalmations

Also, I forgot to mention below, but Beatrix Potter books are really all just about how you shouldn't take your clothes off. Interesting...