Friday, June 18, 2010

Oh, That Could Explain It

As I was putting things away yesterday, I opened one of the book bins (yes, we take containers of books with us when we travel -- some for me, some for John, some for the children) and realized I probably hadn't looked at the contents since we arrived in Arizona.  I also realized where some of my reading time went.  Just before we left, the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan came in at the library where I'd placed it on hold, much to my surprise since just a few days before I'd been #20-something on the waiting list.  Since I'd been waiting for that book for a while and was curious about it due to a friend's recommendation, that became my reading for most of the trip down to Arizona.  I read the whole thing and then put it aside to return to later for further thought.  Then I forgot about it, ha.  I felt a bit silly and wanted to post to correct my error.


For the curious, and for my own future reference, I'll list here the books I took with me for my own use during the trip, aside from my Bible. 
As usual, I was overly ambitious and didn't even touch some of them. Really, I didn't expect to read them all but took variety so I'd be sure to have something to read no matter my mood. 
  • The Christian Counselor's Manual by Jay Adams (the one I read around 70 pages of)
  • Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand (which I'd already finished -- I brought it because I've been writing down quotes of interest from it, but I didn't do even a bit of that on the trip!)
  • The Children of the New Forest by  Frederick Marryat (pre-reading for the children -- I've looked it over a bit but not read the whole thing -- didn't touch it on the trip)
  • Crazy Love by Francis Chan (read the whole thing on the trip down)
  • Black Beauty by Anna Sewell (another preread and I am also just enjoying finally reading this in entirety myself -- I'm a good deal of the way through it but I didn't read on the trip)
  • Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators by David Chilton (Didn't touch this either - at least I didn't forget I had it along. :)  I'm eager to dig in to it as well -- have read a little)
  • Competent to Counsel by Jay Adams (I've read some of the beginning of this and also multiple parts throughout, either referenced from another of his books or just looked at as relevant -- I only read some parts of this referenced in TCCM on the trip)
  • The Christian Counselor's Casebook by Jay Adams (I got this right before we left and am eager to go through it, but decided I need to really digest TCCM and possibly CTC first to make better use of it)
  • A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family by Mary Ostyn (I got this right before I left as well, and was looking forward to it but got so caught up in the counseling materials that I forgot about it also!  Is that a sign you have too many books?)

Yep, I took 9 books and only touched 3.  Yep, I regularly cart around a bunch of stuff with me that I don't even need.  I guess you could call it a bizarre kind of insurance.  Or you could just call it weird and laugh at me.  :-P  

I was a little irritated with myself for forgetting about books, but otherwise, although I would have liked to have read more (which would probably always be the case), I am pleased that I read what I did, and that it was more than I thought in my last post. There are some pretty good reasons why I didn't get more reading done, six of the best being my family members. :) 

So that's how one bibliophile travels.  How about you?


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3 comments:

  1. I'm looking forward to reading some of *your* thoughts after reading Crazy Love! :)

    I had to chuckle at your post, I must confess. I brought six books the weekend we came and stayed at your house!! :D Sounds like we have a similar disease. I only read from two of them. . .but hey! You never know what mood you'll be in, right?!

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  2. Definitely one of the best parts of trips is the free reading time. At home I can always find many other things to do, but when you're stuck in a car or a plane, there is no laundry nagging at you!

    Like you, I always take far more reading material for all of us than is necessary. I do that with clothes, shoes, pretty much everything. Something tells me that with five children, you've probably mastered that part of packing.

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  3. I think you are doing a fine job of blogging.

    To your question, I can't read in the car (nausea in less than 10 minutes, pregnant or not). I am pretty worn out at the end of the day on vacation, too. Naptime would work at the times my kids both nap and at the same time, but usually I get asked to play my husband's newest game of strategy (another reason why I just cherish those moments before bed for prayer and pondering, rather than a book). And of course, the guilt of reading a book when my Bible hasn't received attention, or the housework that always beckons, etc.

    All that said, I'm glad you are reading so I can hear what you think! I did read my first Ayn Rand this year (Anthem--the short one :)), the third book in an Amish fiction trilogy that was just blah, and Kiri Kiri, one of the books my mother in law was selling at my garage sale (Newberry winner, but just "meh").

    I think my favorite reading will continue to be the newspaper and online news stories; I like to relate it all together and how it affects our lives.

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