Reading

I've been on a bit of a reading kick, which has been quite refreshing. It has been a while since I've been this motivated to read, strangely enough, considering how much I adore a creatively constructed thought. I don't think I've been this eager to read since probably high school or early college. After being bogged down in textbooks and papers for years on end, studying and memorizing for the test, my desire to read for pleasure turned weak - only appearing in short spurts, or else the book had to be insatiably interesting. Recently, I've read A Pastor's Wife, The Shack, and nearly finished with Blue Like Jazz. And that's the most impressive part - I'm actually finishing the books! There are shelves of books that I started over the years only to be bookmarked and set aside collecting dust and now sitting unpacked in my guest bedroom closet (shhhhhh, don't tell anyone - I still haven't fully unpacked yet! ooops) Which reminds me I've got a couple of novels I need to finish - The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie (divine - classic Hugh Laurie humor with a parody of a 007 Bond character - can it get any better than that?) and Pride & Prejudice by the beloved Jane Austen. What an amazing woman, that miss Austen! I love that her female characters are a combination of wit and grace...oh to be the center of one of her novels...sigh.

Anyways, back to the reading...The more I read, the more I feel like I want to write - but what about? That is always the question that smacks me in the face as I contemplate writing. Nearly each time I sit down to blog, I wonder - what could I possibly have to write about now? I wonder how writers get these ideas for their books. How does that happen, exactly? If I were to write a book, what would it be about? I don't think I'm cut out for fiction writing as I'm not a very good story-teller or at least I don't believe I'm creative enough to develop characters and plot and conflict, etc. I don't have any untold stories swimming around in twisted crevices of my brain. Well, that's not entirely true - I might not have untold stories nesting up there, but I've definitely got ideas for conversations I'd like to have with people or wish I'd had or might have in the future, but then again we all do that - right? (please tell me we all do that - or I may end up in one of those fun padded rooms with the nice jacket that lets you hug yourself...hmmmmm, that might not be so bad) And as for non-fiction - what would I have to say that hasn't already been said? But then again maybe I'm just being too practical about it all...I don't know. Still, there has to be a topic, a theme, a thesis that is the core of an essay or book. What would that be for me? What would I expound on?

But back to my reading - for real this time...If you haven't yet, I'd definitely suggest reading Blue Like Jazz. I know, I know - my first thought of reading it was - ugh - are you kidding me? Everyone and their freaking dog is or has read that book. I've heard enough about it to feel like I've already read it. Is it popular? You betcha! Then, NO, I don't want to read it - geez. But I've been on this reading kick, and then my home group watched one of Donald Miller's DVDs (not the most exciting speaker - at first he seemed almost bored with himself), but I liked what he was saying, and my sister gave me the book as a gift this past Christmas. (Oh, and this is after I'd even given this book to one of my aunts as a gift - I hadn't even read it - but I knew it was popular and people LOVED it, so I figured, "she loves to read, people love it, she'll enjoy it"). Once, I finished The Shack (that is a post all in itself - at some point - when I'm ready to delve back into that still tender ground again), I started Blue Like Jazz. It has been a very quick read because I feel like he writes the way my mind thinks - there is an over-arching order and structure to it with plenty of randomness and tangents that all come together to make the overriding point. And the humor of his seeming randomness appeals to me and my desire for authenticity - it's a very House-ian / Hugh Laurie-esque sense of humor - frank and real and unapologetic. And I don't get the sense from reading him that he's this huge revolutionary that a lot of people keep trying to tout that he is (granted he could be that way now for all I know - the book was published back in 2003) but from this book I don't take that away from what I read. Lots of people like to raise him and this book up to say, "Christianity in America is wrong - turn or burn!" They don't really say that, but they get very emphatic about how wonderful Donald Miller and his grasp of true Christian spirituality....when the book clearly depicts that he's just as self-admittedly messed up about it all as the rest of us. All of that to say, I'd suggest reading it - not because it's popular or will transform your life and relationship with God, but because it's a good read. It's interesting and kind of refreshing to peek in on the thoughts of someone else who is navigating this crazy journey of being a Christian.