Read Me(Me)

MommyTime at Mommy's Martini presented me with a vacation challenge in the form of a meme tag. First here are the meme rules.

1. List three books you’ve always meant to read, but haven’t got around to them

2. Share the two books that changed your life

3. Recommend the one book you’ve been talking about since the very first day you’ve read it.

MommyTime would like to see me take some of the books that I've always meant to read with me on vacation. I have already checked out three books for next week; "City of Bones" by Michael Connelly, "So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish" by Douglas Adams, and "The Jester" by James Patterson and Andrew Gross. I will easily get through these books on my vacation and need to bring a few more. Thanks for the suggestion MommyTime!

Need to Read

I am an avid reader. When hear about a book that sounds interesting, I immediately go to my library's website and check the book out. The library then mails the book to me when it becomes available. It is a wonderful system that keeps me on top of all the books I want to read.

Lately I have felt challenged to read more biographies. After looking at non-fiction best seller lists from the last 15 years, I found three books that should be enriching.

1. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt - I enjoyed this movie and was delighted to see that it is a non-fiction book.
2. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer - This first hand account of a disastrous climb up Everest should be very interesting.
3. For Laci by Sharon Rocha - I remember hearing about the disappearance of Laci Peterson from my Dad's girlfriend, Gay, who worked with Sharon Rocha. I also went to school with Brent Rocha, Laci's brother. I can still recall the look of grief on Brent's face when he stood up at press conferences. My heart aches for the entire family.

Changed my life:

1. The Bible - The Bible has impacted my entire life. The Sermon on the Mount is my favorite part (Matthew chapters 5 - 7). Here are a couple of my favorite parts:

Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:25-27 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

Matthew 7:9-10 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

2. Let's count the Bible as two books, New Testament and Old Testament. My favorite Old Testament book is Proverbs. Here is a passage that I wrote down and have carried with me since 1998.

Proverbs 23:4,5 "Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
have the wisdom to show restraint.
Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
for they will surely sprout wings
and fly off to the sky like an eagle."

Recommendation:

Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz - Read it. I promise that you will love it.