It's great reading weather here: another cool, gray, rainy day in southeast Texas. I'm impatiently waiting for my next delivery from amazon.com because I just finished my last "new" book. I've always been one of those people who reads several books at once. Recently I found that I tend to have one history, one novel, one "comedy" book, and one book that fits into the "religion" category. Here's what will be on my bedstand when the next shipment arrives (hopefully today!):
- Power, Faith and Fantasy: America in the Middle East 1776 to the Present by Michael B. Oren. It will be interesting to trace the history of America's involvement in this area which is now so important to us.
- You Suck: A Love Story by Christopher Moore. This is the sequel to his comic vampire novel Bloodsucking Fiends. No, this is not my "religion" book!
- Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America by James Webb. El Jefe loves this one so I'm reading it, too. Maybe it will explain why the PCUSA, which is Scots-Irish in origin, loves to fuss and feud.
- Bless Your Heart Tramp and Other Southern Endearments by Celia Rivenbark. This is the comedy book. I just finished Rivenbark's We're Just Like You, Only Prettier and thought it was pretty funny. I'm tempted to go back and order her newest one, too: Stop Dressing Your 6 Year Old Daughter Like a Skank. Funnier if you're from the South.
And no, the religion book isn't another Paul Borden opus or anything from the emergent/missional church moment. I need a break from all that. ~Drumroll, please~ it's--
- The View From the Monastery by Brother Benet Tvedten. The monastery Brother Benet is writing about is the Blue Cloud Abbey that was described by Kathleen Norris in Dakota and The Cloister Walk.
