So Many Books; So little Time

Running on Empty

Running on Empty: Contemplative Spirituality for Overachievers

by Fil Anderson

c. 2004

If you’ve ever heard someone caution that you shouldn’t get so busy doing the Lord’s work that you don’t have time for the Lord, this book may be what you need. If you find that you need to do more for the Lord all the time rather than sitting and listening to the Lord, you need to stop what you’re doing and read this book.

Fil Anderson felt like the only way he could make God happy was by doing more and more and more for the Lord. He had a ministry with teens telling them how much Jesus loved them but when Brennan Manning asked him about his close relationship with Jesus, he came up wanting. He felt from his childhood up that being in church and working for God was what he HAD to do to appease God.

With the help of a retreat and Brennan Manning as a mentor, and a lot of time spent in the Word, Fil came to the realization that spending time on one verse of scripture was wonderful, listening during prayer time was fulfilling, and a weekend of silence was refreshing. In his book, he shares all the things he thought he needed to do and the wreck they made of him. Then in the second part of his book, he shares some tips on how to stop trying to appease a God who loves you and work with God to achieve God’s desired results.

No study guide with this one but each 18-22 page chapter ends with 4-5 questions for reflection. A must read for all those Christians who are killing themselves “doing” for the Lord rather than “being” with the Lord.

The Long Way to a New Land

The Long Way to a New Land

by Joan Sandin

c. 1981

Here is the story of a family who can not make it in Sweden but has relatives in America who invite them to come over. So, they sell what little they have for just enough to buy tickets, pack the most necessary things, make trunks to travel with and leave Sweden for the United States.

This is a very early chapter book with very few words on each page and good illustrations. The story is told in brilliant detail but not with a lot of big words. This would be a good jumping off place for family history to be delved into. The mother packs quilts, china, and each child may bring one toy. The father brings the Bible. Some families may still have the trunks used to travel and others may have quilts and dishes that came over from “the old country.” Even if the child doesn’t live with these items, they may be able to be visited giving the child a sense of heritage.

Other lessons that could come would be to discover as much about the country of origin or for a large group of children, this could be a jumping off point to examine the differences between Sweden and the United States and for them to try to find a place in the United States that most matches Sweden then find where most Swedes went when they settled in the United States. A study of Ellis Island, immigration laws, and settlement areas could come out of just what is mentioned in the story of this one family moving from Sweden to America.

This is a great book to introduce history and geography to young children.

No Horizon Is So Far

No Horizon is So Far: Two Women and Their Extraordinary Journey Across Antarctica

by Liv Arnesen and Ann Bancroft with Cheryl Dahle

c. 2003

Liv Arnesen had skied to the South Pole solo because she couldn’t find anyone to go with her. Ann Bancroft had led three other women to the South Pole but ran out of money before being able to lead them across the continent. After paying off her debts, she wrote to Liv in Norway and asked her to consider crossing the continent with her. After meeting, they found they had so much in common it was as if they were soul mates.

And so began the collaboration of two former teachers into, not only the crossing of the Antarctic continent at its widest point, but also the writing of educational curriculum for children of all ages in English and Norwegian.

Along with Cheryl Dahle, they tell their story. The story of meeting, of getting everything together as well as of the crossing of the continent. They share the ups and downs and the frustrations of fighting with government facilities in Antarctica as well as private enterprises along the way. They found sponsorships, became a family with the employees of the company Ann created and completed the goals they set for themselves. 

Ann’s lifestyle is discussed but no more than Liv’s is. This is a book about two women crossing a continent and not a political statement meant to sway readers. In fact, this book would be just as important if it were about two men crossing Antarctica. This is about the human spirit and the spirit of discovery and exploration and determination not about politics or ideals. This is a journey.

This is a very readable book and is a quick read–I finished it in less than 24 hours. There is much to be encouraged about and to cheer in this book. There is much to consider as well as far as exploration is concerned.

Wonderful color pictures add to the feeling of being there through the cold and the ice and the wind that sometimes was their friend and sometimes was not. A really cool book.

Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie

Keep the Lights Burning, Abbie

by Peter and Connie Roop

c. 1985

Peter and Connie Roop write biographies for children and do a wonderful job of it. This book is no exception. In easy to understand language that makes you feel Abbie’s fear and determination, the Roops take the reader on a journey to Matinicus Rock off the coast of Maine.

Abbie’s mother is very sick and needs medicine and the food is running out. So, her father has no choice but to take his boat across the bay to town. And since Abbie’s brother is away at school and her mother is so sick, Abbie is left in charge. He expects to be able to buy food, medicine and lamp oil and come right back but just in case, he tells Abbie she must keep the lights burning in the two light houses. Abbie has helped her father but she has never done it alone.

While her father is gone, a storm comes up that lasts four weeks. During that time Abbie must climb the light houses, trim the wicks, light the lamps, and help her three sisters care for their mother. She is nearly swept away when waves reach into the light house keeper’s home and she runs out to save her three chickens. It’s a good thing she went when she did for the chicken house was swept away and all they had to eat from then on was the eggs the hens layed.

When the storm finally stopped, Abbie’s father came home with food, oil and medicine as well as corn for the chickens and a big hug for Abbie. He had watched for the lights every night so he knew his family was safe even though he couldn’t reach them.

This is a very heartwarming book about how a girl can when she has to.

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

by Zachary Kent

c. 1988

This is a great biography of one of the most famous presidents of our time. It is very well balanced and shows his bad points as well as his good ones. It explains without bias what Theodore Roosevelt believed, why his party was called the Bull Moose Party, and why he lost two presidential elections in a row.

Theodore Roosevelt is probably best remembered for naming the Teddy Bear and this is also explained in this book. His military service is covered from both his side and the side of the opposition to him leaving Washington to go to war. Both his marriages are handled in a very private but honest way. Quotes and pictures of the president line the book and add to the book. Also included are pictures of his family and friends as well as political enemies. Lots of information to be gleaned in just a few short chapters.

All the books in the Encyclopedia of Presidents series are good but this is one of the best.

Swimming to Antarctica

Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer

by Lynne Cox

c. 2004

This is more a tale of endurance and reaching goals than a story of one swim to Antarctica. Lynne begins this book by telling of not wanting to get out of the water with the rest of her team in Massachusetts and goes on to tell of how she came to switch from pool swimming to open-water swimming. From there she began to set goals. She swam the Catalina Channel with her team but knew she could swim it faster–even set the record for the swim.

From the Catalina Channel, she became a channel swimmer and at 14 and 15 she broke the record for fastest swim across the English Channel (someone broke her record so she broke his) and then went on to coach another woman to break her record. She speaks of swimming the Nile right after the Yom Kippur War and falling in love. She speaks of coaches who pushed her to be better and work harder.

And then she discovers within herself the desire to swim to make a difference in the world. And so she goes on an eleven year quest to swim the Bering Strait from the United States to the Soviet Union. She wrote letters, went to the Soviet Embassy in San Francisco, had her phone tapped, was followed by the FBI and finally as she was just days from swimming to the US-USSR border, was granted permission to swim the Strait in 38* water. While doing the border-breaking swim, she was also doing cold water survival research with doctors who were accompanying her.

She talks about other swims she made, some in depth and some in passing and finally finishes with swimming the “First Antarctic Mile” or one mile to the Antarctic coast. She speaks at that point of the physical toll the cold water has taken on her body and what she feels she has accomplished by her swims.

This is an encouraging book. It shows what it means to set and reach a goal. Lynne and her brother and sisters were given a talent and she used it to make a difference. In making a difference, she felt that she brought people together to a common cause even if that cause was just to cheer her across a body of water. A great adventure story for someone who wants to know how to use an adventurous spirit to change the way people think.

The Bicycle Man

The Bicycle Man

by Allen Say

c. 1982

This is a great story of a little boy in first grade in Japan. He begins to tell us about his school and their annual field day with fun events and parents and others there to watch and then to participate themselves in adult events. There is laughter and falls and prizes all wrapped up in boxes to be opened. There is lunch to be shared that is brought from home.

And then, two American soldiers appear over the top of the fence around the school. These children have heard of the soldiers who are occupying their island since the war ended not so long ago but they have never seen them. And these two are so very different from the children and their families. One is a tall black man and the other is a redheaded white man. The boy is overwhelmed by the perfectly creased uniforms and the polished shoes. Other children are amazed at the color of the soldier’s skins and hair.

But what really impresses them all is the way the black man can ride a bicycle. He borrows the principal’s bicycle and does some trick riding around the school yard and makes the children laugh. His compatriot, meanwhile, runs alongside cheering him on. In the end, the soldiers win the biggest prize but you can’t help but think that perhaps, the prize they won wasn’t the biggest prize at all but that the riding went a long way to showing the children and their parents that the war was over and that they could all be friends and learn to respect each other.

There are lots of jumping off points to be had from this book. Race relations among whites, blacks and orientals following World War II in and out of the Army and the occupation would be a good one though it will most likely show that white and black American soldiers were not going to be traveling the countryside of Japan together. The little boy is so surprised by the height of the Americans that the nutritional changes and height increase in Japanese citizens can be researched as well. Cultural aspects such as the traditional bowing of respect in Japanese society should be discussed. And, of course, just the American occupation of Japan would a great research project for interested students.

Not just for smaller children. My high schoolers were asking questions when this one was over as well. Definitely a book that should be read by all.

The Rope Eater

The Rope Eater

by Ben Jones

c. 2003

This book is flat out bizarre. I originally checked it out from the public library for my husband and it’s one of the few he actually finished. He is known for reading a little, some or even most of a book and then returning it unfinished. This one he did finish. It’s also about the arctic so it fits in with my summer reading program so I sat down to read it.

There’s very little language and absolutely no women whatsoever but I still wouldn’t recommend this book to any but the most die hard and strong-stomached of readers. Actually the title has little or nothing to do with the book other than the image of what a rope eater is will stick with you and would give an impressionable person absolute nightmares. I believe it might even have been the reason my husband had a weird dream a couple of weeks ago.

What this book does do is show the depths of human depravity. This is what man will stoop to for greed, fame and when their human sensibilities have taken over their very mind as well as their soul. Brendan Kane is completely directionless and falls in first with a Civil War recruiter then desserts then gets into the New York riots then lands on an interesting looking ship on a mysterious mission with an even more mysterious crew. Through his eyes, we meet Aziz who is a three-handed man with a backstory repleat with a hideous form of greed and Mr West and Dr Architeuthis who have their own forms of greed and human depravity. Add to them the depravity that frostbite and malnutrition can add in the extreme cold and you have a story that is as compelling as it nightmarish.

Only for the hardiest of constitutions.

Faith At War

Faith at War: A Journey on the Frontlines of Islam, From Baghdad to Timbuktu

by Yaroslav Trofimov

c. 2005

Do you ever wonder where all these terrorist keep coming from? Do you wonder why the war has ended but more soldiers are dying? Do you wonder what goes on in the heads of jihadis? If so, then you need to read this book.

Yaroslav Trofimov is a journalist with an Italian passport who has lived in Israel and Italy and traveled extensively in Muslim countries following 9/11. He was embedded with soldiers and traveled on his own into war zones leaving him with the scars of ducking for cover at the sound of a car’s backfire. He spoke to common people, jihadis, imams and government officials from American supported governments and non-American supported leaders. He traveled through the desert, had one of his best friends Danny Pearl kidnapped and murdered and saw the luxury of sheiks.

This is his story of what he found when as an Arabic speaker, he talked to Muslims where they lived and where they were willing to die. He tells what they are willing to die for and why they feel that way. After reading this book, you won’t look at another photograph of an American Soldier with Muslims the same way again. You won’t look at any Muslim the same way again nor will you listen to the news the same way anymore. Americans and Muslims are vastly different from each other and this is a fabulous work that shares some of the how and whys.

This book should be mandatory reading for every government official and anyone else who seeks to understand and communicate with Muslims anywhere in the world.

Tar Beach

Tar Beach

by Faith Ringgold

c. 1991

This is a concept piece that is best understood by reading the back story at the end of the book.

Faith Ringgold grew up in Harlem. The Tar Beach is the rooftop of a building where the families would gather to eat, play cards and where our main character believes herself to fly from all over the city in order to “claim” things for her family like buildings and bridges and union cards. This book, written from a concept quilt story done by Ringgold and hanging in the Guggenheim Museum, is about a child’s desire to change the ugliness of her world. It’s about race and family loyalty and hot summer nights and daydreams of changing the world.

This is a great book to read to children and then to read again to teens along with the back story. My fifteen-year-old really enjoyed the back story to the book which we generally don’t read but did with this one. Beautiful pictures, some taken directly from the quilt story flow throughout the book as quilt borders and story enhancements.

A must read and re-read for all ages.