Serving Bread

In the past couple of summers, I had a list of books that I wanted to read but I never got around to doing them. By publishing my booklist, perhaps it will give me some level of accountability to get through my readings. My goal is to have the following books read by August 23 (the first day of classes at CSUN):

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling: This is number five in the series. I know that I’m a few behind (considering that the last installment comes out this summer). I don’t mind being “behind”, as long as I read the book before the movie comes out.
• The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell: I pretty much know his thesis, but I’m curious to read about how products and ideas go from obscurity to being a “must-have.”
• Faithful Witness (The Life of William Carey) by Timothy George: This book is required reading for my Distance Learning class through Fuller Seminary. But I’m particularly excited to get my hands on this one. I try to read at least one Christian biography a year. Those types of books have done far more to shape my life with God than most other genres of Christian books.
• The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama: This is a book that has been on my nightstand for months. I got it as a 30th birthday present (thank you Ruth) and have still not gotten around to reading it. I am not on the Obama bandwagon, but I am curious to read his ideas and get a sense of why he is so popular.
• Strangers to the City by Michael Casey: I’m not sure if I’ll finish this one by the end of the summer. This is next on my “Sabbath Reading” list.
• The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge: I hope I get through this book. This book is next on my “Leadership Reading” list.

There is not as much fiction in this list as I would like. This is a general problem that I have—where I tend to not read as much as fiction. Perhaps after Harry Potter I might get excited to pick up another fiction. If anyone is interested in picking up one of these books to read with me, we could have an online virtual book-club and/or meet up in real life. In late August, I’ll let you know how I did.