Books that Changed my Life...or at least the way I think.

I'll admit it. I love reading. I love curling up on the futon with a novel. I love the smell of a brand new book. I can recall being told numerous times as a child, "Don't read at the table!" It's even one of the things that excited me most about living on campus for the summer - A library crammed with books, and I could read for fun! So in tribute to one of my favorite pastimes, I give you,

"Books that Changed my Life...or at least the way I think."

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I first read this book in grade 11. I instantly feel in love with the writing style, the characters, and the little town of Maycombe, Alabama. I think what resonated with me the most was the realism of it. Those who are victims of injustice don't always receive their recompense. Innocence lost can never be regained.

A couple years ago, I was in the stage production of To Kill a Mockingbird. And all the feelings that I felt when I read the novel became all more real and acute on stage. I saw Tom Robinson on the stand. I contributed to the unraveling of Scout's world. I walked the streets of Maycombe. I watched Boo Radley make right some of what had been wrong.

It remains, to this day, my favorite novel.

Eyes Wide Open: Looking for God in Popular Culture by William Romanowski

Ohmygoodness. I love this book. It was a required reading for my Media and Society class in college. As with most required texts, I cracked the cover with some trepidation. I was fearing seven hours of dry textbook reading. But no! So much better. It is the best book I have ever read on Christianity and Media. He finds a great balance between "All media is 'worldly' and 'wrong'", and "Christians should even bother engaging with media." And he analyzes current media to prove his points.

If you have any interest in the relationship between faith and broader culture, read Eyes Wide Open.

18 Days

Taylor and I have been married now for 18 days. Eighteen! I realize this isn't a milestone day. At least not more of a milestone than day 16 or 17 or even day 19 will be. Nonetheless, the past eighteen days have been more lovely than I could have ever hoped for. And blog-worthy.

I love being married. I realize full well that I have lucked out in the husband department. He's amazing. It's strange to think that we began our adventure together two and half years ago. In some ways I feel like I have known and loved Taylor for my whole life. It even seems as though some of the stresses in our relationship has disappeared since we got married. No more wedding worries. No more strange holding pattern of being almost married, but not.

I love coming through the apartment door and seeing him sitting at the desk. I love coming home for lunch and finding that he has made me a sandwich. I love saying goodnight to him and knowing I'm going to wake up to him. I even love how he steals my pillow when I get out of bed in the morning. Being married, at least for me, means having a soft place to land.

We agreed long before we got married that we wanted our marriage to be a partnership. We both consider ourselves to be "egalitarians." It's simply a fancy word to mean that we believe we're equals. Taylor doesn't have to "bring home the bacon", and I don't have to be waiting at the door in an apron with supper ready. Ironically, we seem to be living out exactly what we believe at this point. I work full-time and Taylor spends his days job hunting and taking care of things in the apartment. He's a "Househusband", as he calls it.

Married life is good. Very good. :)

New Adventures. New Blog.

I have taken the plunge again. Bloggersville, here I am. I'll admit that starting a new blog has been on my mind for quite a while. I've toyed with the idea since I let my last blog die out nearly two years ago.  

I started my first blog when I was 16 years old. I was in grade 11. Living in a little yellow bedroom on the east side of my parents' house. Consumed with crushes. Working a part time job. Wandering toward the future.

That was five years ago. I'm now 21 years old. A college graduate. Newly married. Living in a little one-bedroom apartment on the north side of a of yellow brick apartment building. Working a full time job. Wandering toward the future.

So, a new blog seemed in order.

I wish I had all sorts of exciting tales to write in this post, but it's a fairly quiet evening. My husband is playing a video game. I'm enjoying listening to the massive music collection that I inherited when I said "I do." (Literally, MASSIVE, I could listen to iTunes for 21.2 days straight and never hear a repeat song.) I baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies. Taylor and I took a Sunday afternoon nap together. It really is a wonderful life. 

It's a strange time in my life. I graduated in April. Four year of blood, sweat, and tears to earn that little piece of paper. I was convinced that I would have no desire to read a book, write a paper, or prepare a presentation again. I find myself hungering for more learning again. I want to read. I want to have a topic to research. I'm thinking what course I might take with my "one free audit a semester" privileges. 

I suppose you never stop wanting something more. It's really the epitome of the human condition. Of course, no one ever said that wanting something more was always a bad thing.