These days, I'm reading two books at once. I've always had a real aversion to this. Erin does it, only it's usually three or four books at a time. I'm far too linear, and have always been afraid that I would confuse the contents of one book with another - merging a murder mystery with a how-to book...not good. But I have about 15 books stacked up, waiting on the "to read" shelf and so I've been forced to double up, since four of them are books I must read for a project. I'm interested in them, but I'm trying to balance out each of the two books I'm reading at once. For instance, I've been reading a book called "A Crime So Monstrous: Face to Face With Modern Day Slavery" by Benjamin Skinner, and along with it "Prayer: Does it Really Matter?" by Philip Yancey. This seems to be a balanced combination, although I find myself wondering if praying about the fact that there are 27 million slaves worldwide - a large percentage of them children -is nothing more than an exercise in futility. Yet, as Yancey says in this book, "What is the point of prayer if not to express our heart's desire, especially when it matches we know to be God's will on earth? Who knows what will happen when we pray what we know God desires?" So as I read about slavery in Haiti, Africa, Eastern Europe, India, and yes, the United States, I feel as if I should do something....prayer may seem futile, but it IS something. The fusion of these two books seems to be the right chemistry to take me out of my small little world.
I finished the book about slavery several nights ago, and am pages away from finishing Philip Yancey's book. I highly recommend both of these books. So what's in queue? Not sure yet. I'm still looking for the right chemistry between two books on my "to read" shelf. Stay tuned.
1 comment:
I've managed to avoid the two book dilemma. Right now, I've adopted the strategy of ready a somewhat difficult and in depth book that can only be read between the hours after my morning coffee and 5 p.m. (otherwise I'm forced to re-read portions of what I'd previously read). I'm on pace to finish the book before the end of April, which is in line with a 4-month time table. I'm not really proud of this approach, but it eliminates the complications of trying to find the right combinations of books to read simultaneously. Might I suggest the following combinations: (a) a book on Islam and "How to Win Friends and Influence People", (b) a book on global poverty and a book on making the most of your personal investments, (c) Al Franken's Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them and a biography of George Bush, or (d) any book by Creflo Dollar and my personal favorite Elmer Gantry. Good Luck!!
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