Books

George Peabody Library at Johns Hopkins University.  Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

I love books.  I grew up with parents who love books and put a high value on reading.  We were read to, and we were encouraged to read ourselves.  Even when we were old enough to be reading, Mom would still read to us.  Granted 8 years old was a little young for The Lord Of The Rings series (it was years before I could go back to that!), but that was the only one I can remember that was a "Miss" rather than a "Hit".   There was Peter Pan, and The Wizard of Oz, Treasure Island and Tom Sawyer, Christopher Robin, both the stories and the poems, A Wrinkle In Time, Narnia, The Jungle Book and the Just-So Stories, all the E. Nesbitt books, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and the Arthur Ransome sailing books.

I learned that books are friends.  Books can be an escape and a refuge in the tumultuous pre-teen and teen years.  Good books, like good friends, can and should be revisited to renew one's acquaintance ~ even though many of you disagree with me on that point!  When I was in college, one of the reasons I looked forward to breaks was because I could read whatever I wanted instead of whatever the professor wanted.

I am a very eclectic reader.  I still read what is referred to as "Children's books" and I read some of the Russian writers.  I read silly stuff like the Thursday Next books by Jasper Fforde (if you like English lit and appreciate sarcasm you might get a kick out of those).  I read Amish fiction but I'm choosy about which authors in that genre (Beverly Lewis and Julie Woodsmall are about the only ones I like).  I like good mysteries; Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey being one of my all-time favorite sleuths.  I like older stuff like Jane Eyre (she gets an annual visit).  I like newer stuff like Chris Fabry, Elizabeth Musser and Lisa Wingate.

And I have gone back to Tolkein and read him almost every year.

A couple of years ago I discovered a three-book series written by Stephen Arterburn and Nancy Rue.  They are known collectively as The Sullivan Crisp novels.  These have become some of my favorite books.  I was not as crazy about the first one but the second one in the series, Healing Waters, is one of my all-time favorite books now.  I suppose one of the reasons I like it so much is because it speaks against the prosperity of body and wallet ministry that is so prevalent in our culture.  It is not a "heavy" book; it is a good story that has a solid theology.  If you are looking for a good read to go with your coffee on these cooler fall days, I would highly recommend it.  You might even find it in your library.  Be warned: you may have trouble putting it down and getting back to housework once you start it!

Here is the link to the book and the author's website.