A blogging return on a peculiarly disagreeable book

I have caught my housemate in possession of a book. A disagreeable book. One might say, a ridiculous book.

The book is called "Get Married: What Women Can Do To Make It Happen".

I am incensed!

Now, I haven't read this book, but, aside from the title, the cover did nothing to draw me in any further. On opening the book I felt no greater desire to read it when faced with foliage page detail and floaty italic fonts. No, I think it is fair to say that this is not my idea of a good read.

Do you think there will be 10 easy to follow steps? Do 1. followed by 2. followed by 3. etc and by number 10. you will find yourself happily married (do the 2.4 children follow in the sequel?). What makes the author think that the steps that led up to her marriage will be the same as for everyone else? And what if you follow her simple self help steps only to find yourself married 10 years down the line wondering who on earth you are and how you managed to find yourself here? Is not being yourself surely a better way at approaching life than persuing marriage by any means?

The reviews on Amazon do nothing to allay my fears:
"She passed on truth to me that positioned my heart in such a way to truly receive the Lord's fullest blessings."
"In this book, Candice Watters gives us pratical tips and stories from her own life about how to finally reach the altar."

More worryingly though was another similar looking book that I followed a link to on Amazon (and is more popular...) "Getting Serious About Getting Married". About which reviewers said:
"But this book has reminded me of both my Godly responsibilty to be a wife and also the fact that being single is not part of Gods plan for the majority and so no matter how busy and successful we are, nothing else is going to slot into the perfect place made for a husband accept [sic] a husband! "
"This book is sent by God for "such a time as this"."

Oh please. Spare us.

God outside the box

I have started to read 'God outside the box' by Richard Harries this week. A friend of mine picked it up for £1 in a charity shop and has lent it to me to read. It is an interesting study into the reasons why spiritual people object to Christianity and goes through each objection systematically. This morning I have been reading the chapter on Eternal Punishment. I am finding Harries' arguments compelling, and his opinions about what he considers it means to be sent to hell. He considers that 'If, coming into the presence of perfect goodness and sublime beauty we turn in on ourselves with a mixture of self-pity and resentment, that is hell' (p22). I am agreed with him that I cannot believe that God deliberately sentences people to unending fire, but I wonder about the weight of his statement about the nature of hell being a state of mind. He says that we are free to choose and that this kind of hell is logically possible. However, I am struggling to combine this argument with the possibility and likelihood of all people choosing to be self-pitious and resentful and wonder what the saving power of Jesus has that would save us from this self-centredness?

All Quiet On The Western Front

Another update on my reading list. I have added All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque to it since I realised it had been missed off the first edition. I have now read the book and so can remove it again. An absolutely remarkable book, and refreshing to read about the First World War from the point of view of the Germans after studying so much history from a British perspective.

I remember quite well an assembly that our head teacher gave to us once about the First World War in which he got the whole year to stand up and then class by class got us to sit down again until there were only a few left standing at the front. His point was that the soldiers in the trenches were not decimated as is so often said, decimated means ten percent of. The soldiers in the trenches were killed in much greater percentages than 10 in 100. Reading All Quiet On The Western Front brought that home to me once again.

I have also been reading up about Rwanda today and searching for blogs of other people working out there. I came across an interesting blog at www.ianwk.blogspot.com through www.rwanda-aid.org. I think I will start to brush up on my French before I go to Dundee to start my training with Signpost International too, despite working in France for Spring Harvest Holidays for 2 summers my French language skills are no further on than when I stopped studying it at year 9!

On another book note, I have also read C.S. Lewis' A Grief Observed so now my reading list stands thus, all of which I have started:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer - Life Together
Alister McGrath - Theology The Basics
Bill Hybels - Too Busy Not To Pray
Nick Spencer - Asylum and Immigration - A Christian Perspective
Alistair Redfern - Being Anglican

Join Me

I have now finished Join Me - a very enjoyable read. Considered buying his next book, Yes Man, when shopping in Windermere last week but managed to resist.
My reading list now stands as before and I'm wondering where to go from here? I might be feeling pro-active this week in which case I think I'll go for Bonhoeffer. I might not though.

Doing what's right

OK so I relented and chose to start Danny Wallace first. Well, I know my weaknesses and limitations I suppose...

Joy sent me a link to a very enjoyable game today too, so I've been wasting a little time on that this morning! It is very difficult, but I'm enjoying the mouse choir... If you want to join me in the internet game madness try it out here:

http://jayisgames.com/archives/2006/10/sound_factory.php

If I was clever and all that I would be able to include a link without the long address, but I'm not and can't be bothered to work out how right now.

Other plans for today include watching the creation debate and then perhaps I will come back to you as promised with my thoughts... that's if I don't get too distracted by singing mice and Danny Wallace... anything is possible!

Book addiction, lacking reading addiction.

Hooray! I have finally finished reading Jodi Picoult's Vanishing Acts. I have been meaning to read it for absolutely ages, seeing as I bought it in about June, lent it to Sarah who spilt juice on it and knowing that I am picky about the state of my books (I like my shelf to look like a bookshop not a library, books are so much neater when they look unread even if they have been) bought me another copy whilst we were at New Wine. So I have been in possesion of it since the end of July. I feel so much happier now that it is read!
Still which of the partly started books to I tackle next?

Here is the list:
Dietrich Bonhoeffer - Life Together
Alister McGrath - Theology The Basics
Bill Hybels - Too Busy Not To Pray
Nick Spencer - Asylum and Immigration - A Christian Perspective
Alistair Redfern - Being Anglican (lets face it, it's not going to be this one)

Or ones that I have not started yet:
C S Lewis - A Grief Observed
Danny Wallace - Join Me

Notice how the majority of my unfinished books are thoroughly edifying ... and like wading through soup. I suspect I will attack the new books first - A Grief Observed is so short I can probably manage to finish it at some point in the near future, and let's face it, Danny Wallace is far more appealing. I just know I'll have gone out to buy another Jodi Picoult before I know what's hit me.