Books

It was a wonderful Christmas. The midnight service was inspiring. Christmas brunch perfect. The roads were safe for travel. The whole family (with one lone exception) had gathered from all across the USA and even the four from England had arrived. Gifts were being opened (from the oldest person to the youngest- a nearly 100 year old family tradition). I noticed a pattern (How could anyone ignore it!) Everybody on the list was giving and receiving books. I pulled out my pad and listed the titles (here re-recorded in alphabetical order).

A Rule Against Murder; Awakening; Confederates in the Attic; Coders at Work:Reflections on the Craft of Programmers; Complete Poems of Yehuda Amichai; Crimes in the City; Crocodile Tears; Der Kuntz daz Flirten; Fix-It and Forget It-Lightly; Godel,Escher, Bach:An Eternal Triangle; Godel’s Proof; Great Short Stories of Herman Melville; Have a Little Faith; How Zen Became Zen; Keep The Faith; Of Blood and Sorrow; Sayings of the Buddha; Slow Cooker Cookbook; Stones into Schools; The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis; The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes; The History of Chocolate; The Iliad; The Last Lion;The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy; The Magician:Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Feanel; The Name of This Book is Secret: The Odyssey; The Outliers; The Truth Sayers; The Workshop Book. (Obviously the other 42 new titles entered into a Kindle are not included)

What a gift. All the worlds of mystery, drama, religions, science, philosophy, cooking, poetry; math-they are all there.

I find myself surprised that I am such a reader. It was not modeled for me in the home or early years. I do not recall my father ever reading a book other than the Bible, Bible Commentaries or devotional literature. My mom was not a reader. (How could she be with 9 kids and no automatic clothes washer?) In my little 2-room grade school there was no library. Yet I was taught to read and to enjoy books and for that I am grateful. My life, my mind, my faith, my insights continue to be illuminated by books.

Of the making of books (and now of blogs) there is no end. Thank God.