Two goals

I have made it my goal to update my photoblog daily (and the others at least monthly - but I have said that before). It is my way of pretending I am using my degree.

I have also made it my goal to read at least three books a month since graduation. I haven't precisely succeeded so far but I have read

Dec 16 - Porn Nation by Michael Leahy
An interesting read where one man discusses how he progressed from porn to sexual addiction and the havoc that played on his life.

Dec 24 - An Acceptable Time by Madeline L'Engle
It was a good bit of fiction. L'Engle has interesting ways of playing with time and seems to have an awkward relationship with the idea of the noble savage because on the one hand she refutes it, then tries to create the one exception to it with the People of the Wind. A general trend I have seen in her fiction is that she seems torn between ideas that don't seem (at least to me) to fully play out together, but they are still great stories.

Jan 5 - The Four Loves by CS Lewis
Of course I loved it. As the title suggests it is a look at the different ways we love, where those loves come from and how they affect us. It raised good questions and answered unspoken anxieties. I like Lewis so it is no surprise that I liked it.

Jan 22 - Confessions of the Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire
I LOVED IT SO MUCH! Oh malanta, I personally think he is a genius in the way he crafts a shockingly convincing and realistic back story to one of the most well known and re-fitted fairy tales. It was phenomenal, set in Holland among painters during tulip mania. I really can't stop geeking out about it, I plan to re-read it soon. Although maybe I should just watch the movie '-P

Feb 4 - The Voice of Matthew by Laura Winner
Winner translates/paraphrases the gospel of Matthew (the gospel written for Jews) from her perspective as a Messianic Jew as part of the voice project (which recognizes that the bible is filled with books written by different people and is trying to translate the books in a way that allows that individuality to remain). It was good to just sit and let the story of Jesus soak in with new language and thinking about nuances I hadn't previously.

Feb 8 - His Needs, Her Needs by Willard Harely Jr.
This is the book Chris and I were given for premarital counseling. I gulped it down in part because I didn't like it at all in the beginning. I am still not sure that I like it, but I think it will be a good place to begin discussions and it surely brings up some of the awkward and/or unpleasant things that Chris and I might not have gotten around to talking about on our own (which is kind of the point of premarital counseling).

Right now I am reading "Batman and Philosophy" and Francis Chan's "Crazy Love" and I am loving them both ....