on summer reading...

during the school year, i don't allow myself to read books for leisure. it's a big no-no. mostly because i should be studying art history (high renaissance this semester!) or reading for some terrible gen-ed class which requires way too much reading, or tediously working on the many projects due (my address really should be changed to that of the art building). school=no reading for fun.

so, when crafting my rather large "summer to-do list," i include a book list. i have lots of unread books on my shelf...mostly due to school, which are patiently waiting as they occasionally get pulled off the shelf, flipped through, a paragraph or two read to pique my interest, and begrudgingly placed back on the shelf after a tinge of guilt has hit me for even picking up the book in the first place. back to summer. after i got back from Europe this year, i went to the library to borrow a few movies and walked past their new fiction section. The Way Through Doors by Jesse Ball jumped into my arms and became my first summer read. poor books on shelf at home.
It was a most interesting read, written in prose. a small excerpt:

"First, you go out into the world. This is not a simple matter of going outside one's door. No, that is simply going out. That's what one does when one is on the way to the store to buy a loaf of bread, some cheese, and a bottle of wine. When one goes out into the world, one is shedding preconceptions of past paths and ideas of past paths, and trying to move freely through an unsubstantiated and new geography. So, one goes out into the world, and then one wanders about."

summer reads 2, 3, and 4 are being read simultaneously. not purposefully, it just happens sometimes. Recollections of a Hamburger: Growing up German 1941-1962 by Christel Behnke Gehlert is the second book i picked up (and had to dust off) this summer. this particular book has only been in the waiting line for about a year, seeing as i bought a signed copy from the author last summer. it has been a very interesting, eye-opening read. i'm so far removed from the situation/s the author describes, but i find it lovely. not very eloquent of a writer, but i've found lots of little gems so far in her writing. The first paragraph reads as follows:

"The year was 1941. Germany was stretching itself to its limits, starting a war and killing many people. Still, this is not a story about Germany at war but rather about how my family and I coped with the enormity of events that befell us. There are lots of history books about the war, but this is my personal story about my twenty years in Germany."

i'm almost halfway through Recollections of a Hamburger. this book is much more enjoyed when i am able to sit down without distraction and read at least a chapter at a time.

the third summer read is Here's to Hindsight by Tara Leigh Cobble. this book made it's way into my arms and to the front of the line when i found it for 75% off at Anchor Room. i first heard about this book two years ago and thought, "i think i would really like that book." i saved an add for the book out of a magazine that i've stumbled upon at random intervals, so when i found the book...and for only a couple of bucks, you can imagine my excitement. and i really am enjoying it. the author's writing is beautiful, exposing and expressing herself to her readers.

"I've learned and grown up so much from the things I was taught in the blank white walls of a strict Christian academy and in the pews of an independent, fundamentalist Baptist church. But i've always challenged (and changed) many of the beliefs I grew up with. The school we attended was very small, despite the fact that it encompassed all grades. Things that were pretty much unacceptable there included shorts, pants (for women), dancing, or any mention of going to the movies. When I switched to public school, I was shocked to find out that some of the kids had cable television because, according to my former teachers at the private school, cable television was "nothing but filth." I honestly believed though that HBO stood for "Hell's Box Office" until I saw an ad for it on television when I was twelve."

the fourth book i have started to read this summer just recently came in the mail. The Valley of Vision: A collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions is a lovely little book. my friend Pierce first quoted an excerpt from it last semester. it was beautiful and poetic and i loved it. so when i ordered a few books for class online, this book somehow found its way to my house. i'm sure this particular book will take a while to get through, as each prayer requires an initial read, some thought and subsequent reads/meditation after that. No need to rush this book.

The Valley of Vision

LORD, HIGH AND HOLY, MEEK AND LOWLY,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where i live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.
Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty,
thy glory in my valley.

so, as school nears and my summer reading privileges dissipate, i am glad for the reading that i have been able to soak up thus far. Here's to Hindsight will continue to be a lunch break read, The Valley of Vision a portion of my devotional time. although a long post, i hope you found some enjoyment in it. the next i promise will be one of more 'creativity' and artistic imagery.

until you read again,
michelle