Time Well Spent

I have spent the last several years writing down the books that I have read. I now find it a treasure to look over my loving titles that have been there with me and have become a part of me. This seems like a wonderful little hiding place to list them once again and document officially something I am very passionate about. Looking over the titles, they become a time line of sorts; I can honestly remember my life better because of my keeping track of this. (Oh, the regret of not doing this my entire life. Especially during my four years of being a Language Arts major in college!) By looking over my list I can remember the season I savored them in; the setting of where I read them; how I felt; the circumstances I was in at the time and of course, all the wonderful lessons the pages taught me as I savored each word. You are looking at my life; a delicate part of what makes me all that I am.

2002-
January
Alphabet of Grace- Frederick Buechner
The Writing Life- Annie Dillard
Bird by Bird- Anne Lamott (audio)
Life of the Beloved- Henri Nouwen (audio)
Peace Is Every Step- Thich Nhat Hanh
Reaching Out- Henri Nouwen

February
The Alarma Chronicles- Terry Taylor
On the Road with the Archangel- Frederick Buechner
Franny and Zooey- J.D. Salinger

March
The Long Walk- Stephen King (on palm pilot)

April
Creed or Chaos- Dorothy Sayers

May
The Ragamuffin Gospel- Brennan Manning
With Open Hands- Henri Nouwen
The Art of Loving- Erich Fromm

June (the Month and Year my Beloved Grandpa Jilbert went to be with Jesus- June 12, 2002)
Beyond the Mirror- Henri Nouwen
Our Greatest Gift- Henri Nouwen
Aging: The Fulfillment of Life- Henri Nouwen
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas- by James Patterson

July
Eyes of the Heart- Frederick Buechner
The Rock that is Higher-Madeline L'Engle
Son of a Preacher Man- Jay Bakker
Living the Questions- Carolyn Arends

August
A Prayer for Owen Meany- John Irving
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success- Deepak Chopra
10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace- Wayne Dyer
Telling Yourself the Truth- William Backus and Marie Chapian

September
Creating Affluence- A-Z Steps to a Richer Life- Deepak Chopra

October
Nights in Rodante- Nicholas Sparks
The Dance of Anger- Harriet Lerner

November
A Circle of Quiet- Madeleine L'Engle
Night- Elie Wiesel
Dawn- Elie Wiesel
The Accident- Elie Wiesel
A Thousand Country Roads- Robert Waller
Church: Why Bother?- Philip Yancy
Choke- Chuck Palahniuk

December
The Hobbit- JRR Tolkien
The Two Towers- JRR Tolkien

2003
January
No Man is an Island- Thomas Merton
5 Days in Paris- Danielle Steele
New Seeds of Contemplation- Thomas Merton
The World According to Garp- John Irving
Opening the Bible- Thomas Merton
Ellen Foster- Kaye Gibbons
The Hours- Michael Cunningham

February
Picnic, Lightening- Billy Collins
The Catcher in the Rye- JD Salinger
The Inner Voice of Love- Henri Nouwen
The Return of the Prodigal Son- Henri Nouwen

March
The Moviegoer- Walker Percy
The Unbearable Lightness of Being- Mulan Kundera

April
Slowness- Mulan Kundera

May
Waiting for God- Simone Weil

June
The Magnificant Defeat- Frederick Buechner
The Mount Vernon Love Story- Mary Higgins Clark
How to be Good- Nick Hornby
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix #5- JK Rowling

July
The Hungering Dark- Frederick Buechner
Peace is Every Step- Thich Naut Hanh
The Brother's Karamozov- Fyodor Dostoevsky (one of the best books of my lifetime to have read)
Imitations of Christ- Thomas a' Kempis

August
Vittorio- Anne Rice
The Guardian- Nicholas Sparks
Interview with a Vampire- Anne Rice

Sept
Something by Henri Nouwen but alas I never got the title down on paper...

Oct
The Precious Present- Spencer Johnson
5 People you meet in Heaven- Mitch Albom
Letter to a Priest- Simone Weil
The Prophet- Kahlil Gibran
The Long Loneliness- Dorothy Day

November
Broken Music- Sting

December
The Cloister Walk- Kathleen Norris
Everyday Apocalypase- David Dark
The 100 Secrets of Happy People- David Niven

2004
January
Spiritual Direction and Meditation- Thomas Merton
Bread for the Journey- Henri Nouwen
Answered Prayers- Danielle Steele

February
Can't Stop Loving You by Janelle Somebody (can't remember)
The Life you Save May be Your Own- Paul Elie

March
40 Days of Purpose- Rick Warren
The Alchemist- Paulo Coelho
What a Difference a Year Makes- Bob Guiney
Everyday Apocolypse- David Dark

April
Peace Like a River- Lief Enger
Wouldn't Take Nothing for my Journey Now (Maya Angelou)- (Read on a plane on a trip to Las Vegas)
Mudhouse Sabbath- Lauren F. Winner

May
Writing in the Dust- Rowan Williams
The Dwelling of the Light- Rowan Williams
Dead Man Walking- Sister Helen Prejean
Warrier of the Light- Paulo Coelho

June
Your Erroneious Zones- Wayne Dyer
Dress Your Family in Courduroy and Denim- David Sedaris
We Were the Mulvaney's- Joyce Carol Oates
Penguins and Goldren Calves- Madeleine L'Engle

July (all titles this month were read on an amazing trip to Alaska with my dear friend Lynn)
Bird Girl and the Man who Followed the Sun- Velma Wallis
Two Old Women- Velma Wallis
Me Talk Pretty One Day- David Sedaris

August
Looking for Alaska- Peter Jenkins

September
Anna Karenina- Leo Tolstoy (a book that I am incredibly glad that I've read)
Bleachers- John Grisham

October
The Da Vinci Code- Dan Brown
The Monk who Sold his Ferrari- Robin Sharma

November
Holidays on Ice- David Sedaris
Wilco- Learning How to Die- Greg Kot
Benjamin Franklin- Walter Isaacson (one of the most enjoyable books and interesting that I have ever read)

December
The Christmas Tree- Julie Harwood
Clowning in Rome- Henri Nouwen
Lullaby- Chuck Palahniuk
A Grief Observed- CS Lewis

2005
January
Blue Like Jazz- Don Miller
Seven Story Mountain- Thomas Merton
Messy Spirituality- Mike Yaconelli
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek- Annie Dillard
Mother Teresa: In my Own Words 1910-1997
Searching for God Knows What- Don Miller
Hey Nostradamus!- Douglas Coupland

February
A Series of Unfortunate Events- Lemony Snickett's
Blink- Malcom Gladwell
Little Children- Tom Perrota
Winter's Tale- Mark Helprin
His Excellency- Joseph Ellis

March
Walking on Water- Madeleine L'Engle
Heaven Loves Mercury- Brad Watson
The Spiritual Journey of U2- Steve Stockman
The Gospel According to America- David Dark
Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith- Anne Lamott
Subversive Spirituality- Eugene Peterson

April
The Cat's Pajama's- Ray Bradbury
New Way to be Human- Charlie Peacock
The Rock Cries Out- Steve Stockman

May
Miss Wyoming- Douglas Coupland

June
The Sacred Way- Tony Jones (one of THE best spiritual books I know of)

July
A Long Way Home- Nick Hornby
The Places that Scare You- Pema Chodron

August
The Restless Heart- Ron Rohheiser

September
The Jesus Prayer by ??- Wonderful little treasure too! Lord Jesus Chrst have Mercy on Me!
Bright Evening Star- Madeline L'Engle
Turning my Mourning into Dancing- Henri Nouwen (Read after the death of my Beloved Grandpa Slade who died on September 5, 2005.)
Walking a Literacy Labyrinth- Nancy Malone

October/November
Through Painted Deserts- Don Miller
Goldie- A Lotus Grows in the Mud- Goldie Hawn
The Tao of Pooh- Benjamin Hoff
Being the Person God Made You to Be- Joyce Meyer

December
The Shipping News- Annie Proulx
Your Best Life Now- Joel Osteen
Teacher Man- Frank McCourt
The Sacred Journey- Frederick Buechner
Now and Then- Frederick Buechner
Telling Secrets- Frederick Buechner
Eleven Minutes- Paulo Coelho

2006
January
The Sparrow- Mary Doria Russell (one of the best books I have ever read)
girl meets God- Lauren Winner
Charming Billy- Alice McDermott
Ragman- Walter Wangerin Jr.

February
3 Weeks with my Brother- Nicholas and Micah Sparks
The Trouble with Poetry- Billy Collins
The Holy Longing- Ronald Rohheiser

March
Gilead- Marianne Robinson
Children of God- Mary Doria Russell
Book of the Dunn Cow- Walter Wangerin Jr.
Henry and June- Anais Nin
Doll's House- Henrik Ibsen

April
Book of Sorrows- Walter Wangerin Jr.

May
Befriending the Stranger- Jean Vanier
A Thread of Grace- Mary Doria Russell (one of the most important books I have ever read)
To Own a Dragon- Don Miller
Are Woman Human?- Dorothy Sayers
How to Expand Love- Dali Lama

June/July
Coraline- Neil Gaiman
The Golden Compass- Philip Pullman
The Subtle Knife- Philip Pullman
The Everyman- Philip Roth
Til we Have Faces- CS Lewis
Time Tactics of Very Successful People- B. Eugene Griessman
The Body Artist- Don DeLillo
A Generous Orthodoxy- Brain McLaren
The Little Prince- Antoine de Saint Exupery
John Wesley for the 21st Century- John O. Gooch
Encounters with Thomas Merton- Henri Nouwen
Letters to Malcolm- Chiefly on Prayer- CS Lewis
Teachings on Love- Thich Naht Hanh

August/September/October
If on a Winters Night a Traveler- Italo Calvino
The Shattered Lantern- Ronald Rahoheissner
One Hundred Years of Solitude- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Orthodoxy- GK Chesterton
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime- Mark haddon
A Spot of Bother- Mark haddon
Marley and Me- Josh Grogan

November/December
Reading Like a Writer- Francine Prose
Memories of My Melancholy Whores- Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Firmin'- Sam Savage
Dynamics of Faith- Paul Tillich
The Pursuit of God-A.W. Tozer
The Lord's Prayer- N.T. Wright

And there you have it...til the next book ends...