Where are the words…

Here’s my 2007 reading list.  I was really hoping to get to 50 this year.  Obviously, I didn’t even get close.  But I also spent 4 months out of the country without access to books that I was interested in reading.  So I figure, if I’d had those 4 months, I would have reached 50.  We’ll set that as a preliminary goal for next year, though I may reevaluate that goal next fall (read: I’ll be out of school and in the middle of nowhere, so I may want a much higher goal!).  In any event, I’m pretty pleased with my list this year.  As I’m such a creature of habit, there are some definite patterns.  Nearly 1/3 of them had something to do with Judaism.  Exactly 1/7 were Christian chick-lit (hey, we all have guilty pleasures!).  There was a late surge of books about fundmentalist mormonism which will most definitely carry into next year.  I read multiple books by C.S. Lewis, Lauren Winner, Chaim Potok, Rob Bell, and Kristin Billerbeck; interestingly enough, I love Winner, Potok, and Billerbeck, whereas I can’t stand Lewis and Bell.  I also chose not to list my school books this year, partially because the list was much more unimpressive than previous years and partially because I never got around to listing them before I sold them back.

1. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
2. Grand Canyon Brides: Four Harvey Girls Work to Tame the Old West Along the Rails by Dianne Christner, Nancy J. Farrier, Darlene Mindrup, and Pamela Kaye Tracy
3. Other People’s Trades by Primo Levi
4. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
5. Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner (twice)
6. Real Sex by Lauren Winner (unfinished)
7. Sex God by Rob Bell
8. The Promise by Chaim Potok
9. Captivating by John and Stasi Eldridge
10. Olive’s Ocean by Kevin Henkes
11. Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner (reread)
12. Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard (unfinished)
13. I Am the Grand Canyon: The Story of the Havasupai People by Stephen Hirst
14. Over the Edge: Death in the Grand Canyon by Thomas M. Myers and Michael P. Ghiglieri
15. The Sacred Journey: A Memoir of the Early Days by Frederick Buechner
16. The Gates of November by Chaim Potok
17. Davita’s Harp by Chaim Potok
18. Old Men at Midnight by Chaim Potok
19. Wanderings: The History of the Jews by Chaim Potok (unfinished)
20. Nickel and Dimed : On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrennreich
21. To Own A Dragon: Reflections on Growing Up Without a Father by Donald Miller and John MacMurray
22. Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical by Shane Claiborne
23. Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace…One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
24. Calm, Cool, and Adjusted by Kristin Billerbeck
25. She’s All That by Kristin Billerbeck
26. A Girl’s Best Friend by Kristin Billerbeck
27. Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell (unfinished)
28. Escape by Carolyn Jessop and Laura Palmer
29. Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott (unfinished)
30. What A Girl Wants by Kristin Billerbeck
31. Predators, Prey, and Other Kinfolk: Growing Up in Polygamy by Dorothy Allred Solomon (unfinished)
32. Under the Overpass: A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America by Mike Yankoski
33. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer (unfinished)
34. I Am American (An So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert
35. The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible by A.J. Jacobs