Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Five Books on my Shelf

Isn't it fun to walk into someone's home and scope out the books they have on their shelves? It's a fun way to have a quick study on that person's interior world. So this morning, I'm going to scope out the books on my shelf that would tell you something about me.

Turning Point by Jimmy Carter - It's a signed copy that I've never read, but I thought it would be cool to have a book signed by a United States President. He came to my university in 1992 to promote his book, and I got to meet him and get my photo taken with him.

The Official Preppy Handbook Edited by Lisa Birnbach - For some reason, I was obsessed with all things preppy in 8th grade. I even applied to a couple of prep schoools. My friend, Carol, and I picked out preppy nicknames for each other. She was Buffy, and I was Mitsy.

Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss - This was a college graduation gift from my fairy godmother. It contains encouraging words such as these at the beginning of the book:

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes,
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.

And these wise words at the end:

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.

The Complete Works of William Shakespeare - I find the plays of William Shakespeare to be captivating. Much better to see one than to read one, though each play is a brilliantly crafted work of poetry. I'm particularly fond of his comedies (Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night's Dream), and acting in Shakespeare is an actor's (at least this actor's) dream and pleasure.

The Message trasnslated by Eugene Peterson - The Bible in contemporary language. Peterson's translation is so beautiful, and has breathed new life into my Bible reading experiences. Compare the same passage of Scripture below (Ephesians 3:14-19)--the first is from the King James Version and the second is from The Message translation.

King James Version:
For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.


The Message:
My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

See what I mean? Both translations are beautiful, but The Message speaks to my heart.

8 comments:

J said...

I haven't yet seen any of Shakespeare's comedies...only the tragedies.

Your books do speak to who you are...I've been debating seriously reducing the number of books in my house (again)...it's a hard decision to make.

josey said...

i used to have a God's Word Bible and i loved the easy-to-read translation, especially in Psalms and Isaiah. hehe. lately ive been using my Quest Study Bible along with a book called The Quiet Time Companion.

your books describe you well--traditional, classy, whimsical and curious, intelligent and sincere and loves the Lord! so...how close am i? hehe!

ohhhh and i LOVE midsummer night's dream as well! i saw it at a local opera house theatre back home in indiana. fantabulous :D i did a few plays there myself. good times!

great post :):) would make a great meme to tag along...thanks for sharing!

Autumn's Mom said...

I love the collection you shared. This is the second time I've heard about The Message, i think that is speaking to me ;). Cherry added a new book to my little collection called Eat, Pray, Love and I LOVE IT. Sometime I'll have to share what other books lurk in my home.

Laura said...

I love The Message!!

Sharon said...

that is fun, I think though that I might confuse some people with what is stacked on our shelves now between MY HUSBAND and myself. I always look at the books on people's shelves to gain insight - sometimes it works, sometimes not.

Saucy said...

First of all, Starshine dahhling, thank you for visiting me at my blog. Is that you on your banner? You could be a wedding dress model, or a girl who dances in fountains. Just lovely.

If you came to my house to see my books, you would be completely dumbfounded. I will post about them sometime just to keep you guessing. Until then, stay all redhead and cute like you seem to be.

xxoxoo
Saucy

Mrs. G. said...

Oh my, and you have good taste in books too. Is there no end to your charm?

Deb said...

Thanks for your comment...love your blog so I thought I'd leave a comment as well.

I also believe that the books people hold on to say a lot about that person's character. I have every book I own displayed on shelves throughout my home and I feel someone can get a great sense of who I am by just wandering around and checking out my books.

I love Shakespeare as well and have 3 different collections of Shakepeare's works...primarily becuase I took a Shakepeare course in my undergrad. But they are very enjoyable and classic.

A small sample of others I have:

Where The Wild Things Are
Collections of Edgar Allen Poe
The Glass Castle
The Kite Runner
Persepolis
Dictionary
I love dictionaries! I have French, Spanish and of course English.