Kayan : Book 6/26 : Daring to live on the edge by Loren Cunningham

About a month ago, God started nudging me to learn to be more generous. Having been stingy all my life, I started small: a dinner treat here, a dinner treat there. (Note: dinner generosity always gets returned. Try it! On me if you're not sure where to start.) One day I paid for a friend's coffee, which led to a nice sunny discussion on our history with generosity. Friend has been generous all his life; but with a new house, he's had to hold back. You know, growing up stuff.

Then one day, without knowing anything about my little challenge, my friend V gave me this book on daring to live on the edge financially: to place trust in God to provide for all of our needs if we choose to depend on Him financially. It all sounds idealistic, but I wholeheartedly believe that trusting God with money is a sure-fire way to grow in faith.

On Easter Sunday, I heard someone say "without suffering, there is no resurrection." You can translate that to "no pain, no gain". I feel right now is my time of testing in the area of money. But the gain, instead of monetary, will be confidence, dependence, and love for God.

swingbeat: 22/26: Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman

It was only after I finished the book that I found out that he is a lecturer at MIT :). I kinda can see that though :).

This short book is really a series of short descriptoins of worlds. It's about the possible worlds that Einstein would have had before he came up with his theory of relativity. For example, what if time flows backwards on some world? What if time slowed down the farther up you are? What type of worlds/societies would come out of it? The societies he describes come out of anecdotal stories, not just descriptions of the worlds. Sometimes he'd describe a situation that some character is feeling, or some society, and let the reader figure out what the "time-rule" was for this world, before revealing it.

This was a good book because it was a quick read. Each short chapter is self-encapuslating, so you can put it down and pick it up later. It won't change your life, but I recommend it ;)

From the editor:

It's official! I have to read a book a week to make 26 in 52!

- K

Rich (10/26): Life of Pi by Yann Martel

A boy, a tiger, a rowboat. That's all you need to know about this book. That's all I knew before I read this book, and that's all I'm going to tell you about this book. In fact, you could have gleaned this much from the front cover and more from the back cover. But, rather than tell you the story, I'll leave you to imagine the circumstances of this unlikely trio.

It took me about two weeks to read. The first week was two or three chapters at a time -- each chapter lasting two or three pages. These nibbles were not convincing, yet two weeks later, I was done. The nibbles became mouthfuls, culminating in an animalistic feasting by the end. Yet, with fresh blood on my lips, I scour the for more. For more. Always more.

Bridget: 21/26: 700 Sundays by Billy Crystal

Summary: 192 pp. Non-fiction.

Funny but poignant portrayal of life in the Crystal family. The title of the book is making reference to the fact that Sunday was the only day that the family could be together (because his father worked two jobs) and to the fact that his father died young.

It was interesting to read about the link the Crystals had with the Jazz scene. They knew people like Billie Holliday and Louis Armstrong and even had their own record label.

Good book. Also became a play. Recommended.

Bridget: 20/26: Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner

Wh0a! People have read a lot of books since the last time I checked this site! I will have to add a few of them to my reading list :)

I actually read this a little while ago but didn't post it at the time.

Summary: 384pp. Fiction - trashy romance novel.

If you like really unrealistic fiction where things always fall into place for the protagonist of the story you may enjoy this book. I was excited to read this book because she is the author of "Good in Bed" and "In Her Shoes"; both books I had heard good things about. This book was a bit too far-fetched for me. The main character of the story moves into a perfect neighborhood with perfect families only to discover that there is something sinister lurking beneath those perfect facades. She of course foils the caper and has the men in the story desperate for her no matter how much she resists them. I actually imagined unhappy housewives who were desperate to leave their husbands and kids, really loving this book.

Not recommended.