Friday, June 15, 2007

Friday Five: Books, Books, Books

1. Fiction what kind, detective novels, historical stuff, thrillers, romance????
I love all kinds of fiction, but especially detective novels, intrigue (a la DaVinci Code and Robin Cook novels), humor and fantasy (i.e. Harry Potter).

2. When you get a really good book do you read it all in one chunk or savour it slowly?
It depends on my mood, the book itself, and what setting I'm in. I read the DaVinci Code while I was visiting a friend - she was at work all day and I was just hanging out in her apartment, so I finished it that afternoon! Harry Potter books take longer, and now that I've read all of them at least once, I tend to go slower, savoring and soaking in the details.

3. Is there a book you keep returning to and why?
There are several that I go back to over and over again - The Red Tent by Anita Diamant is a personal favorite that helps me feel powerful as a women, connected spiritually and reminds me that there are always more complexities and sides to a story than we are aware of. I also go back to Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh on a regular basis. It's got short essays on a variety of topics for meditations, but different than your typical Christian bible passage devotional.

4. Apart from the Bible which non-fiction book has influenced you the most?
It's too hard to just pick one!! I just graduated from seminary so my shelves are packed with non-fiction books that have all influenced me to some extent. To choose a few that have been particularly powerful: Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh has been a favorite since my undergrad days and I need to go reread it again; The Abuse of Power by James Poling takes a theological and sociological look at violence, particularly sexual and domestic violence perpetrated by males. What made this book so powerful for me was the way he explicitly brings in the theology piece AND that he works with male offenders and does an excellent portrayal of their point of view which is something I had never seen or heard before. And no theology student can get out of seminary without having some kind of major theological work influencing them and for me I think it was reading John Wesley's sermons. I didn't grow up Methodist, and joined the UM church because of logistics and the people at one particular congregation; now that I've learned about the development and theology of the denomination, there are just a lot of great things about it that really make sense and feel right to me. God knew what she was doing when she led me this direction!!

5. Describe a perfect place to read. ( could be anywhere!!!)
When I'm at home, I like to sit in my arm chair, next to the living room window, with the lamp over my left shoulder when it gets dark. It's comfy and big enough for me to sit with my legs under me or stretchd out on the ottoman in front, or hang them over the arms on the sides. I also really enjoy reading outdoors, where I can soak in the sunshine (need that Vitamin D) and feel the breeze on my skin.

So, what are your answers??

3 comments:

Teri said...

ooh, I love furniture where you can sit/lounge in different ways! Putting my legs over the arms of a chair is one of my favorite positions. Sometimes I lay on my couch and put a leg (or both) over the back. It's one of my fave reading positions.

good play!

Sr. Heather said...

Mmmmmmmm... as much fun as it is to talk about books, I'm enjoying the answers to #5 the best. Great play!

Sally said...

Oh some good stuff here- my wish list grows again!