favorite book.
February 28, 2008
I’m a total booknerd. Unashamedly. Spread the word. Mail me more.
The list of books I’ve read in my lifetime could easily fill this post and maybe the next 52 as well, but I won’t do that. I will say this, though. Since I’ve been in Colombia, I’ve started keeping a list. Just out of curiosity to see how many I plow through in the next 2 years. I’m making pretty good progress. But this post isn’t about what I’m reading now or what ridiculous numbers I can accumulate. It’s about my favorite book. Annie and Shannon inspired me.
The first time I read Dove by Robin Lee Graham, I was in college. It was a Camp Lake Stephens staff favorite and I wanted to be in the know. What I didn’t expect was for it to affect me the way it did. I’ve always been a dreamer. Always wanted to travel. To see the world. And I’ve never really been afraid of doing it alone. I’m independent like that, wanting the story to be mine for the retelling.
But could I ever do it? Just pick up and leave? Stay gone for years at a time? I know what you’re thinking, “You ARE doing it! You’ve done it before.” And you’re right. I guess I have, but I’ve never picked up and left everything like Mr. Graham did and I wasn’t 16 when I left. He was. He left to sail around the world alone and didn’t come home for 5 years. His story is unbelievable. The story of the things he saw, the cultures that he danced through, the kittens that kept him company, the storms that he faced, and the relationships he forged. With the bride he met. With the Savior he met.
Seriously, it’s my favorite book ever. It changed the way I view my life in Christ and the way that I dream. It could change yours, too. Or maybe a book already has. What’s your favorite? Join in. Share. Check Shannon out for details. I’m waiting on recommendations.
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February 28th, 2008 at 5:20 pm
My favorite book changes every time I read a new one. There are a few that have cut deeply though: The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning (because you loved it, I figured it’d be good), Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela (and boy was it long), A Grief Observed and Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis. Books by musicians inspire me because I understand the burning they have deep down inside: One Train Later by Andy Summers, Cash by…Johnny Cash, Searching for the Sound by Phil Lesh, and Clapton by…Eric Clapton are ones I’ve read recently. U2 by U2 is on my to do list…along with a million other books.
February 28th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Good point, Stephen! So, were you planning on packing some of those up and mailing them, or what? Cash is on my list. It’ll have to go under the stack on my nightstand, but I should be ready for it by the time it gets here. 🙂
February 28th, 2008 at 11:17 pm
Here are my all time faves, and you should read them if you haven’t already! The Other Boleyn Girl…. Water for Elephants…. To Kill a Mockingbird. My sweet grandmother once told me that the sign of a good book is that you still think about it long after you put it down. Well, these books are my DOVE ….. which I will read :)!
February 29th, 2008 at 3:54 am
Hey Emily, I did love that Dove book!
And I have to agree with Katie that this year’s best read is Water for Elephants. It’s outstanding. You would also enjoy Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It’s actually a nonfiction delight about Savannah’s eccentrics. And right now I’m reading I, Elizabeth about Queen Elizabeth the first. Never something I thought I would read but boy am I every flipping pages. I need more of your must-read sugguestions since we usually are reading the same things at the same time!
PS..I’ve loving your blog big time. Thanks for sharing your life and thoughts with us…Finally!
February 29th, 2008 at 5:22 am
Emily–I have heard so many great things about this book. My parents are sailors and I have gone out with them quite a few times. Maybe on my next sail I’ll pick up this book and bring it with me. Thanks for tagging back to me on your post 🙂 I’m happy to have a new blog friend!
February 29th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
I would have to say Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, but I believe you have already read this one. I highly recommend the Mark of the Lion trilogy, by the same author. What we do in our day to day life my not seem extraordinary to us. But there are things that we do that have great impact on those around us. Our actions, our words, our lives often have a ripple effect in ways we never see or imagine.
The individual titles are: A Voice in the Wind, An Echo in the Darkness, As Sure as the Dawn.
March 1st, 2008 at 6:05 am
Emily,
I love your blog! And your love of reading!
Thanks for the kind link- but please find a hero who isn’t crazy and unstable. : ) j/k. That is a really sweet thing to say and it made my day.
Love,
Annie
March 2nd, 2008 at 3:31 am
Emily
I love your blog! I just found it.
Favorite book is tough, but I just finished “Eiger Dreams” by Jon Krauker and it was awesome. It is a collection of short stories that he wrote for Outside magazine when he was getting his start as a professional writer.
Cheers,
Jimmy
March 3rd, 2008 at 5:35 am
Strangely enough, I’ve read Water For Elephants too. I had some credit at BooksAMillion and saw it on the best seller shelf at the front. Thought, “Why not, ” and got it.
It wasn’t a bad book at all. Quite good story telling.
Have you read Pillars Of The Earth? I remember getting it from my dad and reading it in high school. Was one of the better books I’ve ever read.
March 3rd, 2008 at 11:19 pm
I am going to pick up Dove and Water for Elephants tomorrow. They both sound intriguing. I was reading a Gilbert Morris series The Wakefield Dynasty which takes you through the history of Christianity (fiction) with different generations of the family. It is out of print and I am searching for the last three and so I am currently reading eat pray love by Elizabeth Gilbert recommended by Anna Corn Pol. I do love ALL the Francine Rivers books. It’s hard to pick a favorite – have read all and all are good.