Oprah has hers, I’ll have mine

That is a reading list, not a television talk show, but I might be working on the latter. As for the former, some people play blog-tag to get others to lists their favorite books. I have never been tagged and I would be hard pressed to catalog my favorites.

Instead of listing my favorites, I am going to list the books that I will try to complete reading by the end of the summer. During school, it is very difficult to read the books that I want to read because I am reading so many that I have to read. I’m not saying that I do not enjoy reading the books that my professors assign because I usually do enjoy the reading. However, the school books are often not on my “to read immediately” list. So I’m going to make a list like Oprah and invite everyone to read along. Here are the books that I want to read this summer:

• Chris Rose’s 1 Dead in Attic.—This is a collection of editorials by Times-Picayune columnist Chris Rose which provides a glimpse into the day-to-day life of individuals in post-Katrina New Orleans. I have already read it (it’s a good, quick read) and offers a behind the “official” news account of what happened in the weeks and months after the storm.
• Richard D. White, Jr.’s Kingfish: The reign of Huey P. Long—I like to read about Louisiana politics and it has been a while since I have read any in this genre. My dad said I would like the book and that White is a very good writer. I look forward to reading this book.
• Donald Miller’s Through Painted Deserts—I read Blue Like Jazz and Searching for God Knows What last fall in between the Katrina and the re-beginning of our semester. I thought both were insightful, though not perfect. I think I will enjoy learning more of Miller’s perspective on traditional Christianity and how to relate the faith to post-modern individuals.
• John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart—A friend once told me something to the effect that “this book would help you be a man” or that “your not a real man until you read this book.” I read a couple of his books and thought they were alright, but not great.
• R.G. Lee’s Payday Someday: And other sermons by Robert Greene Lee—I’ve had this book a while and wanted to read it. I hope I get the time.
• John Piper’s The Pleasures of God and Let the Nations Be Glad—I had to read these books for my Spiritual Formation classes in seminary, but was rushed to read the chapters between required reading for Baptist History, Church History, and Old Testament, not to mention translating Hebrew. Now, with a little more time on my hands and a little more theology under my belt, maybe I can actually be able to understand what Piper is attempting to convey.
• Douglas Brinkley’s The Great Deluge—My dad wants to read it and kinda’ recommended it to me. I hope we both enjoy it.
• So, what am I reading now? I’m reading Faulkner. This is cheesy because this was on the reading list that Oprah put out last summer. I always enjoyed the excerpts and short stories I read by Faulkner both in high school and college. I am now reading As I Lay Dying and then I will read The Sound and the Fury and Light in August.

C’mon, read along!