Moments and Mishaps in My Life after College: A Year in Books

The are ways to measure a year. You can measure it in days, in projects accomplished, in weight gained or lost, in children's growth in inches, in the ring of a tree, or you can measure it by the books you have read. I can say with confidence that after a year in Australia, I am more literate than I was before I came. SG and I have spent hours at the library, as well as plenty of time reading at home. Alan Paton and Harper Lee are much more engaging than nights on the town, and cheaper, too. Not only am I a cheapskate, I'm a nerd. Be that as it may.

What follows is a list of what I read this year with a mini review that should help you decide whether you'd like it or not. And don't you dare feel like this is exceptional or that you're under-read. I have no children or husbands or even rose bushes, and this was a year with lavish free time for reading.

A Tale of Two Cities - Dickens

Absolutely deserving of its "classic" status. The last few pages are a gripping insight into humanity. It's not for the faint of heart, but the literary ascent is worth it.

Student Ministry and the Supremacy of Christ - Ross

What started out as an assignment for a youth and family ministry course turned into a startling revelation of what God meant working with youth to look like. Read it if you have kids, work with kids, or just want to know more about the whole "youth ministry thing".

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

This is the book you pack for the beach this summer. It's a great light, witty historical fiction set during WW???????? It's the volume you pick up when you just want a good story to read.

Short story from volume 3 by W. Somerset Maugham

What You Need to Know about Project Management - O'Connell

Don't even get me started on this book. I think it should be required reading for anyone who has ever led a team, begun a project, or even thought about working in an office environment. And by "begun a project", I mean anything - baking a cake, redecorating your kid's bedroom, getting in shape, improving your driver distance, whatever. It's the most down to earth, accessible thing I've read on projects that could benefit CEOs or young moms.

What's So Amazing About Grace - Yancey

Yipes. This book needs to come with a highlighter and a box of tissues. Yancey takes on the world and attempts to show us the way Jesus means for things to be. It will make you look differently at yourself, your family, and the world around you. It will challenge you to see God the way He is, not the way the world would have Him.

The Promise - Chaim Potok

Be forewarned, it was written somewhere during the 70s or 80s, so it has that weird literary flavor from that period. That said, the wandering through is worth the insight into Jewish culture as well as a fantastic plot twist ending.

Cry, the Beloved Country - Alan Paton

I borrowed this from a set of host parents we had. What Paton has done here is written a heartrending story that gives us insight into South African apartheid and the human soul. Read it.

A Grief Observed - CS Lewis

This is no light reading; for that, see book #3, above. Lewis looks grief in the face, having gone through it himself. He writes about it without turning it to cold science or giving pat answers. He allows the ache to reverberate along the empty hallways of the heart and leads us to a place where grief and hope are not mutually exclusive.

The Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller

Short. Depressing. Insightful.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon

I love Haddon's particular style of writing. He writes masterfully from an often unheard point of view. The book does have quite a bit of language, and I don't know if the story's quality is worth wading through it. You can judge that for yourself.

A Wrinkle in Time - Madeline L'Engle

By the end of this list, it will be no secret that I love children's literature. I will confess that I hadn't read any L'Engle before this, though she is championed as a master of almost Lewis's caliber. The plot was well woven, with only a few moments of awkwardly worked dialogue.

Little Women - Louisa May Alcott

So much better than the movie! Alcott writes an excellent description of life during and after the Civil War. It's a values book, so set your kids loose on this one, as well as yourself. It's ageless.

The Soul and the Afterlife - Bill Thomas

A well intentioned autobiography meets philosophical treatise, this mini volume was written by an Aussie local. Don't look to it for coherent arguments on the purpose of the cosmos. It's more of a hopeful, though misdirected, pondering about the existence of lost loved ones. [I recommend A Grief Observed instead]

Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

This book is dark. And weird. And slightly hard to follow. It's a jungle adventure meets psycho thriller. It's interesting, but it's not in my top 5.

Hudson Taylor and Maria: a match made in heaven - John Pollock

READ THIS BOOK. It's a well-written, accessible biography on the lives of Hudson and Maria Taylor. Their story is absolutely beautiful and filled with hair raising adventure and sparkling faithfulness to the gospel.

As You Like It - Shakespeare

I read this from a second story window sill overlooking the ocean, and I was laughing my head off. Just make sure you get an edition with notes. You'll love the escapades and comical scrapes the characters get into and the way goode olde Shakespeare ties up the loose ends.

Of a Boy - Sonya Hartnett

This book is too sad. Don't read it.

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

I started this book because my friend, Mark, loves it. It's a "classic" and full of all the glamour, internal anguish and romantic intrigue you'd expect of the roaring 20s.

Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

Thank, Hannah, for telling me about this book. Don't be fooled by it's kid book or sci-fi status. This book deals with family, politics, and identity in a powerful way. You might even cry.

Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom

Mmm. Mixed feelings about this book. It comes highly recommended, which makes me want to like it more than I do. Albom begins interviewing a former professor who is slowly dying. He acquires plenty of good advice, but there is no ultimate hope. Sad. Interesting. True to life.

The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Ohmygosh the Hunger Games. Here's the deal. They're chock full of violence. It's not graphic, but people are dying all the time. It's an interesting commentary on government (whether or not Collins intended it to be). The plot craft is excellent, and it will keep you reading. You won't want to put it down, so don't start it unless you have some spare time. Just remember, it's kind of a teen thriller - complete with eye-rolling teen romance. For a sap like me, that's not a problem, but for some I hear it's a turn off.

The Tipping Point - Malcolm Gladwell

Dear Malcolm Gladwell, will you marry me. Oh wait, you're old enough to be my dad. Nevermind. This was my first exposure to Gladwell. WOW. The man turns statistics and research into something useful and interesting. This book is about how ideas spread and what makes trends catch on or die. If you're interested in cultural epidemics, pop culture or networking, read this.

Catching Fire Hunger Games #2 - Suzanne Collins

Still chock full of twists and violence. Still a seat gripping page turner (although it's a bit tough to grip your seat and turn pages).

The Communist Manifesto - Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels

I hope the people who still think communism and socialism are a good idea will read this book. It's absolutely nuts. I apologize for the less than eloquent verdict on this book, but that was my lasting impression. It's short, but the language is a bit thick and archaic so it's slow going in some places. Long live capitalism, at least for the sake of not having to be a wife held in common for the male population. Ew.

Cannery Row - John Steinbeck

Slightly uncouth. Raw. Short. Slightly puzzling. Lovable. This is only the second Steinbeck I've read, and I preferred it a thousand to one to Of Mice and Men, which I loathed. The characters are wonderful multi-dimensional small town people with all the good intentions, complacencies, and malices that accompany small town people.

The Last Battle - CS Lewis

I love Lewis. I don't know how he can write so many volumes at a such a standard of literary excellence, but he does, and this is no exception. Beautiful imagery, intense battle, good, evil, it's got everything you want.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet - Madeleine L'Engle

Although I felt there was a disappointing mischaracterization of unicorns, this continuation of A Wrinkle in Time was a fun read. It's light, well written, and full of magic.

The Silver Chair - C.S. Lewis

This volume predates The Last Battle and is just another reason to love C.S. Lewis. An evil queen serpent monster, an underworld, spells, knights, giants, it has all the classic ingredients of a fairytale, but made modern by the presence of the Pevensie school children.

Mockingjay Hunger Games #3 - Suzanne Collins

I read this in one day. I couldn't put it down. When I finished it, I felt like I could get on with my life. Whew. Then I saw the movie and then I found out Gale is going to marry Hannah Montana. WHAT?! NOOOOO!

To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee

I love this book. I love this book. I love this book. It deserves every accolade it receives. Set in the South, it tells the story of civil rights in a way that breaks your heart and gives you hope all at once.

Outliers: The story of success - Malcolm Gladwell

So you want to be successful, and you think you know what it takes. Read this book and think again. Gladwell traces the histories of groups of successful people, answering questions along the way like why professional hockey players are born in January, why Asian people tend to excel at math, and why you're more likely to get in a fight with a guy from Alabama than a guy from Michigan.

The Pirate's Dilemma: how youth culture is reinventing capitalism by Matt Mason

Prepare to have a look at the pop culture underworld. This is less about "Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum" pirates and more about people who use media illegally. Mason considers how pirates challenge businesses to run more efficiently and effectively by their innovations and use of sharing. I don't agree with everything he says, but he makes some interesting points.

Love in the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Don't read this book. I don't care if someone tells you it's a classic.

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict - Trenton Lee Stewart

Read this book instead. It's far superior, even if it never gains classic status. Also, it's by a guy from Arkansas. It's quirky, witty, endearing, and I loved it.

The Mysterious Benedict Society - Trenton Lee Stewart

Stewart doesn't disappoint here in his continuation of the story of Nicholas Benedict. This time, he's grown and begun his own agency of brilliant children, who he enlists to help save the world from evil.

Wonder Struck - Brian Selznick

If you saw Hugo in theaters, or read the book, this is a similar novel by the same author. I don't know how Selznick does it, but he blends the illustrations and text so effortlessly as to make it one book. I wasn't as impressed with the story line of this one, but the art is still fantastic.

Radical - David Platt

Read this book. Read this book. For heaven's sake, read this book. Platt takes on the church, American culture, and many of our preconceived ideas of the Bible.

Death Comes to Pemberly - PD James

Thanks to Stephanie who recommended PD James in one of her blog posts a while back. James is a British crime writer who worked in the justice system for many years before sitting down to write her novels. This particular one is a continuation of Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The Bingleys and Darcys have settled down and had a few children. Chaos strikes in the form of, you guessed it, Wickham and Lydia. A bit plodding in parts, but a well written period piece.

Make 'Em Laugh, Make 'Em Laugh: a history of humour - Rick Coy

Hehe. I did laugh a lot in this book. It really is a history of humour. Coy talks about what laughter is, what causes it, and the differences between genres of humor. There are jokes on every page. Most of them are clean, some of them are...not. Warning, this book has language unfit for small children.

Boys and Books - James Moloney

Love this book. It has sections on boys and reading for every age, how parents can encourage their sons to read and what teachers can do to encourage reading in the classroom. It's an easy read and worth the time. Moloney provides a huge book list at the end with books divided into categories by age and genre.

Goat Boy - Peter McFarlane

This was an author I found on one of the booklists in the previous book. McFarlane tells the story of a boy's relationship with his neighbor who has autism. They set out on an adventure with the boy's cousins and father to the Australian wilderness and wind up in some tight spaces (literally). One or two spots of colorful language.

Beasts and Monsters - Anthony Horowitz from the Legends series

Let your kids read this book! Horowitz takes ancient myths and modifies them to be read and understood by children. I loved it, and they're going to love it when they get to high school and have already encountered the characters of Oedipus Rex.

Just Do Something - Kevin DeYoung

Read this book twice. The first time I read it, I liked it, but was frustrated by the seeming lack of interest the author implies God has for our decision making. Then I read it again and heard more of what the author was saying and less of what I was trying to hear. It's short and to the point - 5 points, actually. The man loves the number five.

Artemis Fowl - Eowin (Owen) Colfer

Teen fantasy. Yep. It is. Your point? While I reserve judgment on Colfer as an author, I do like the style of this book. Aside from being a bit odd (high tech fairies and primitive trolls), the story flow is great and the word craft is, as I said, engaging. I'm not phoning the library to reserve the next one in the series, but I am intrigued by the idea of a 12 year old criminal mastermind.

Shrinking the World - John Freeman

Read this book! Part history of communication, part plea to a technology-obsessed world, Freeman takes on email as a wonderful invention whose dark side is ruining our lives. He examines the acceleration of time involved in communication, as well as the idea of the internet self. Well worth the read. If you really must, start halfway through and read to the end.

Battles and Quests - Anthony Horowitz from the Legends series

Another wander into mythology, this volume is similar to the other Horowitz title above. Be warned, they are a bit violent, though not particularly graphic. There are also a few scheming maidens who try to seduce brave knights and heroes. Again, not graphic, but present. Well written, and a good overview.

The Plot of the Pyramid - Terry Deary

Short, simple chapter book for an age range of 7-11. It's historical fiction set in Egypt around the pyramids. I found this title on a list of books for boys, so there's dead rats and smashing bad guys and all that good boy stuff.

In no particular order…

Sunshine's Top 5 (during a year Down Under)