Books, Books and more Books **ETA**

More answers to some of the questions that I received a few weeks ago:

Kat at Sunshine and Lemonade asked:
What books are you reading right now? What book have you read that you really wish they would make into a movie (that would be good - and not a horrible Hollywood version of your fav)?

Right now I am reading: Finding the Hero in Your Husband by Dr. Julianna Slattery, Parenting the Heart of Your Child by Diane Moore, and Stumptown Kid by Carol Gorman & Ron J. Findley.

The first two are 'self-help' style books, which I am not usually a fan of. However, I am enjoying both of these and have been able to glean good information that I can apply to my life from both.

Stumptown Kid is a book that Ben read this summer. It is set in the 1950's and is about a white boy who befriends a black man who had played ball in the Negro League. Ben really enjoyed this book when he read it this summer and wanted me to read it then but I never did. When my parents came to visit last weekend my dad was asking if I had anything for him to read. Ben jumped in and said that he had a good book and then disappeared to his room and came back with this one. My dad read it that evening and the next morning and then he and Ben had a discussion about it that I enjoyed listening to. So last week I picked it up one evening and am half way through it now.

Three books at one time and I am not doing very well at finishing any of them! I also have two books on hold at the public library. One is Wicked (which I am 11th in line for right now), the other is My Enemy's Cradle. Interestingly enough, I just found out that the later book was written by Sara Young, who is the same person who wrote the Clementine children's books under the pen name Sara Pennypacker.

As far as what books I would like to see made into a movie. I really cannot think of one. I am very excited to see the Tale of Desperaux. The boys and I love that book and will quite likely splurge to see the movie in the theatre when it opens in two weeks!

Meleea, Jennifer A., and Lula! all agreed that they wanted to hear my thoughts on The Shack:

So this one is hard for me to write. Mostly because I hate controversy and this book is a huge bestseller right now and has been highly acclaimed as Christian fiction.

And I did not like this book at all.

I started reading The Shack this summer, but could not get through it, so I set it aside. I wasn't to excited to pick it back up again because it is not an easy read. The writing is not grabbing and it requires quite a bit of concentration to follow the story. When I read fiction I want it to grab me. Draw me in and take me away. That is why I read fiction, as an escape. This book was definitely not an escape.

I picked this book up again early this fall because I was invited to join in a book club that was reading it. I finished it this time because I wanted to be able to participate in the book club conversation, not because I liked the book.

My determination is that while the Shack is a piece of fictional writing it is not being taken as that. This book has been widely accepted as eye opening into the persons of the Trinity however, it does not line up with the Biblical portrayal of the Trinity. That and the fact that so many people are claiming this as "life changing fiction". I do not believe that fiction can truly be life changing, it is fiction after all and the definition of fiction is "something feigned, invented or imagined; a made up story." So my struggle with this book comes when people say something like "this book changed my life, it opened my eyes to the ...............(insert whatever insight this book brought)", and I have heard this. In the above mentioned book club conversation I heard this: "The Shack has changed my life in the way that it allowed me to see that God could be whomever I wanted Him to be, including a woman if that was the way that God fit into my life". It was then that I realized that this lady was searching and when you are searching you often are looking for what sounds good although it may not necessarily be truth. This insight sounded good to her because it fit into the role that she wants God to play in her life. It reminds me of what I call the Church of Oprah, that god is in us as whatever we want he or she to be, and is only one of the ways into heaven. However, this is completely untrue as told to us in the ultimate authority, The Bible, in John 14:6 "Jesus said to him "I am the way the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through me."

So my take on The Shack boils down to this:

Read it with caution and take it as a piece of fiction (a made up story). If you find it to be "life changing" feel free to e-mail me and we'll discuss that.

And sorry, but I cannot loan you my copy as I returned it to Costco after I read it because I thought it was crap!

** ETA** I would never be one to tell someone not to read something. Probably because I am a bit of a rebel (just a little bit though!) and if someone told me NOT to do or read something, you can be pretty sure that i'd go right on ahead and do it anyway! Read it, form your own opinion, because this is MY opinion and opinions are what make the world go round!

And finally, since we're on the subject of books, my mom tagged me for this meme last week. I have never played along with any of her tags, but I happen to have four books here on my desk right now, so I'll play along.

These are the rules: Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56. Write the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that.

The closest book of the five is Stumptown Kid. Page 56, fifth sentence and the following sentences read:

" I said I didn't say nothin'," I repeated.
"I think you called me a name, Stumptown," Lobo said.
He came out and stood there on the line between home and first base, his hands on his hips.
"He called you a creep, Lobo," said one of Lobo's friends. He sneered, probably thinking about what Lobo was going to do to me now. Will was watching from behind. He looked scared.


Now I want to know what you are reading or have read lately............