Passing the Book Stick

Thanks Erin for passing the stick on to me. As we used to say flying the C-130 Hercules, "I've got the stick."

Erin,or Biscotti Brain blog fame, passed the responsibility over to me to answer hard questions about what I am reading. It is more than just what we read, it is about who we are. Anyhow, here are the questions and my answers:

1. You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451. Which book do you want to be?
I guess I am showing my age because I remember reading Fahrenheit 451 in Junior High School. What a great book. If you are not as old as I am here is a quick refresher. 451 degrees Fahrenheit is the temperature at which paper burns. The novel Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury who was an old neighbor of mine in Southern California, is about controlling a society by banning and then burning the books it reads (sorry for the short and inaccurate summary, but it has been a few years since I have read the book). So, which book would I like to be?

Answer: It meand that I would have had to be banned by society because of insubordinate values, so I can't think of a book that enrages more people than the Bible. Sorry if this sounds like a canned answer for many of you. Jesus lived the most radical life ever and if we are truly following his example we should be considered radicals ourselves.

2. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
This one is easy!
Answer: James Michener's novel Centennial is my favorite all time fiction work. And I'll have to say that that I have always had a weak spot in my heart for "Clay Basket". If not her it would have to be "Stands with Fist" in Dances with Wolves. I guess I like my women with strong ties to nature.

3. The last book you bought was...?

Answer: I'm in the middle of writing my PhD dissertation on The Grapes of Wrath and want to create my own maps of the Joads journey using a Geographic Information System (GIS). The last book I bought is called Past Time, Past Place: GIS for History, by Aanne Kelly Knowles. It is a collection of essays on how GIS is used in historic research.

4. The last book you read was...?

Answer: Actually two electronic books by one my favorite old pastors, Chuck Smith called What the World is Coming To and Charisma versus Charismania. It is located along with some other wonderful electronic book resources on the Calvary Chapel website here. Link. Electronic books in Word format are awesome. I download them on my Palm Pilot and read them on the Metro on the way to work or whenever I have downtime (Working on a military base means that you are always waiting for something).

5. What are you currently reading?

Answer: I am Re-reading Planting New Churches in a Postmodern World, by Ed Stetzer because it was so good. I am finishing up Past Time, Past Place: GIS for History as mentioned above. And I am in a constant state of devouring The Grapes of Wrath for research. I also am reading Proverbs (a chapter a day for about 25 years now), Psalms (5 Psalms a day), Romans, and Acts every day. I guess I like to read!

6. Five books you would take to a desert island?

Answer: Thompson Chain Reference New American Standard Bible. My Hongul Bible (Korean) because I would finally have time to learn more Korean by reading the Bible. I started when I lived in Korea and would like to continue, but no time! Grapes of Wrath. South Pacific, by James Michener (life on an island can't be all that bad), and The Treasury of David, Charles Spurgeon's commentary on the book of Psalms.

7. What three people are you passing this stick on to and why?

Answer: Sudarsun because I am so impressed with his spiritual growth in such a short amount of time. It is so incredible that a person who was raised a Hindu can have such a super relationship with Christ now.

Allison Stout because she is always wired for Jesus and is such an outstanding sister in the Lord.

Rob of the Orangejack blog because his blog covers so much ground that he must have some voracious reading habits.

Thanks Erin, this was fun. The stick is now officially passed on to Sudarsun, Allison, and Rob.