Some time ago I volunteered to do a book meme which I’m now revisiting, surprisingly I’ve only changed a few of my answers. (For the purposes of this exercise I have decided to leave the Bible out, since it answers just about every question.)
1. One book that changed your life:
Victory Over the Darkness by Neil Anderson. After reading this book I began reading others of his. Neil Anderson’s teaching on our identity in Christ changed my life.
2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
Difficult to answer, even though there are only a small number of books I’ve read more than once. The most well worn book on my bookshelf is The Enneagram by Maria Beesing, Robert Nogosek and Patrick O’Leary. The first time I read this book I was having a difficult relationship with someone. This book totally changed the way I related to them and it helped immensely. Consequently I probably went a bit overboard and tried to analysis everyone I knew thereby reading the book several times. Also the last 10% of the book gets very complicated and I was very keen to understand it so I kept re reading it. In retrospect I think the last 10% is probably not worth worrying about. The other book that comes to mind is, The Shack by William Young. After finishing it the first time, I immediately began reading it again. I was so surprised and intrigued by the premise.
3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
The first thing that came to mind was to take the longest book in my house. On investigation this proved to be Matthew Henry Concise Commentary on the Bible. Having dipped into this on a couple of occasions and found that he was so busy being concise he didn’t really say anything I decided against it. So I thought it best to take a long novel. I don’t normally read a lot of fiction but some years ago I read and enjoyed Leon Uris’ Exodus and since it has about 700 pages it should keep me going for a while.
4. One book that made you laugh:
When Two or Three are Gathered … Someone Spills the Milk by Tom Mullen. Even funnier if you are the parent of several small children.
5. One book that made you cry:
Requiem for a Wren by Neville Shute. At the start of the book you find out that the main character is going to die. Yet I was crying so much I could barely read the last pages where she does actually die. At the time I think I related to her but now I don’t think I would.
6. One book that you wish had been written:
Jesus : the first 30 years by Mary (Jesus’ mother).
7. One book that you wish had never been written:
Beyond the Labyrinth by Gillian Rubinstein which won the Australian Children’s Book of the Year for Older Readers. It is one of the most depressing books I’ve ever read. It is aimed at young teenagers and offers them no hope. I was appalled and I obviously haven’t got over yet since that was in 1989! (John Marsden’s Letters from Inside comes a close second for very similar reasons.)
8. One book you’re currently reading:
A year with Timothy Keller. This is a devotional book with a selected reading for every day of the year from one of Keller’s books. Oh dear! I started at the beginning of the year and I’m already behind!
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
Some time ago, someone recommended I read, John Stott’s Issues Facing Christians Today so I bought it but never got around to reading it. Seems a little late now as I don’t suppose the issues are still relevant.
10. Over to you, what books have impacted your life?
one would have to of read 5 books. Which i have accomplished…needs pondering.
1. One book that changed your life:
The Hiding Place and the Diary of Anne Frank.
Read them when I was young and it stopped me from being so self centred and ungrateful for where I lived no matter what political issues were popular for the day.
2. One book that you’ve read more than once:
The Ragamuffin Gospel … 🙂
Can’t get enough of knowing that someone else has understood the amazing depth of His grace and actually written about it with the eloquence that is due.
3. One book you’d want on a desert island:
Any book by Dave Barry would do… if I was there I would want somethng to make me laugh as much as possible. Maybe he has written one about desert isles … I should look and make sure I carry it with me wherever I go because you just never know when you could get stranded on a desert island … even though I live inland and never go on cruises … but maybe there is one in Lake Erie or Lake Huron … LOL
4.One book that made you laugh:
The Painted House by John Grisham.
A story spun through the eyes of a seven year old boy in the cotton fields of Arkansas… there were many funny things especially about the small town gossip and the Baptist church attitudes and rules that had you on the floor.
5 One book that made you cry:
Cry? Gosh I don’t remember one that made me cry but if you let me go back to the bible when I was just 7 …. I had a big picture bible that had all the stories in it from beginning to end easy wnough for a child to read and when I came to the part where they crucified Jesus … I remember being so amazed that they had killed this remarkable and kind man …then the tears came. I don’t think I realized at the time that my own sin had sent him to the cross. Went to the United Church … they didn’t teach kids those things … just that He loved us.
6.One book that you wish had been written:
Ditto on that Susan …. what an interesting book that would have been. Can you imagine raising God in the Flesh?
7. One book that you wish had never been written:
Calculus any calculus book … It’s not REAL math anyway LOL
8 One book you’re currently reading:
Reader’s Digest.. August Edition…with Stevie boy Harper’s mug on the front. I’m reading the article about Danger on our Roads ie. animals and debris. The author is a quadriplegic who, when he was 23 and whole in body,was driving to work one early morning in Manitoba and before he knew it had a moose lying in his car with him and the roof ripped off of his car. Egad … a story closer to my home was a 21 year old girl who was driving along with her window open as it IS summer here … a truck full of rocks drove past her and one of the rocks came off the truck and hurtled through her window smashing the side of her head. One of my friends calls me a fear mongerer LOL I prefer realistic and precautionary worry wart. LOL
9. One book you’ve been meaning to read:
A book yet to be written by my friend on worry wart rehab.
Thanks Wendy for your answers.
My computer is at the repair shop 🙁 and I’m at the library.
Hope to be back online soon.
🙂 See you soon …
enjoyed your book meme. did you realize rick that did the book meme on you was my bro in law…dear friend.
comupter fixed yet?
wrote a post about favorite memories and favorite books, at http://www.ginevra.gather.com
talk later, MomCat
Hello….Calculus is real maths! Good golly people expect everything to be practical.
Life was not meant to be practical, if it were we’d never buy engagement presents.
You commented on my blog today…does this mean your alive and online again?
Congratulations on your duaghter’s engagement and welcoming a new member into your family …
LOL Now I see why Trav is talking about engagement presents and calculus …:-)
Calculus is more like an aggravation ….. like a mosquito … I don’t understand either one’s existence here …
LOL