Sunday, October 22, 2017

Day 24 - 30 Days of Me

Clocking down toward the thirty days of me journal challenge I am doing on my blog.  Today is #24 and the prompt is : 3 books on your shelf

Lots of books have come onto the bookshelf and gone away.  A few are in storage - old textbooks, my personal copy of EDGAR (grantwriting reference) and a small amount of self-help books that didn't help me. 
But most books (hardback or paper) went to goodwill because my eyes are not what they once were.  This prompt on day 24 might be easy for most but for me, it sort of prompted flashbacks of eye surgeries, not being able to drive, massive migraines, etc.
Anyway, I do read now on occasion with a tablet.  Although I miss the actual process of turning pages, I have to make the font super big so I download books from Amazon.  However, in addition to my large print Bible, I do have a dozen or so real old-fashioned books so here's three I grabbed for purposes of this blog post:
1.  Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl - Amazing story by the author who was entrenched in life at Nazi death camps.  He describes how we can endure suffering if we can balance it with the conviction toward purpose and meaning in life.  It truly changed my way of thinking and has helped with my struggles personally.  Not only does this solidify the unjustness of racism, it also gives inspiration to find out how you can make a difference for the greater good and enjoy the happiness that comes from that instead of material things.  A must read....trust me!
2.  Killer Angels by Michael Shaara - This is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel about Civil War times.  It sort of recreates the Battle of Gettysburg and depicts the key players as regular guys just living in the time they were born in.  I am about 50% finished reading this one.  The print is so tiny I had to put it away and it's on my e-read wish list.  In school, I didn't much enjoy history but at slightly past 50, I really do like learning about American heritage and family history too.
3. Patience With God: Faith for People Who Don't Like Religion by Frank Schaeffer - This book I purchased used but haven't read at all yet.  I found a recommendation for this one a couple of years ago when I was seeking fresh approaches to 'religion' and honestly I was desperate to dig up some compassion and tolerance for religious idiots.  I still haven't found much.  There's so much difference between having faith in God and propping up on "church" when it's convenient.  I do know enough to know that it's not my place to pass judgment on people....Perhaps I will add this book to my winter vacation reading list. 

No comments:

Blog Archive