ONE WORD 365 // Weeks 8 & 9, Book 9

Confession: I sped read this book. It was 500 pages long and it was due back to the library today -- I had to get through it.

The Iron Lady: Margaret Thatcher, From Grocer's Daughter To Prime Minister

By John Campbell

New York: Penguin, 2011

I saw the movie The Iron Lady in January and loved it. A bit sadder than I expected but still quite good. I was 3 when Lady Thatcher became Prime Minister, and though while growing up I remember hearing her name on the news, I never really paid much attention to her story, her politics, her place on the world stage. After reading this book and seeing its movie adaptation, I kind of wish that I had been old enough to understand and to care. She was quite the character.

I like politics and international relations. In this day and age, we should each to some degree care about what happens on the world stage. Globalization has made the world so much smaller. And I left this book with a little sadness and/or remorse that I hadn't know more about her while she was Prime Minister.

A few thoughts from reading the book....

The book was very detailed -- from what I could tell through speed reading. The author included a lot of material. He was not all praise, and he was not all condemnation. He seemed fair-handed in his assessment of Lady Thatcher's time in office.

I found myself reading more closely the parts that included her husband Denis, her daughter Carol and the Queen. I read the sections with Denis or Carol because I had seen the movie, in which both were present. The love story/relationship between Margaret and Denis was a large part of the movie so reading more about the real life story was interesting. The movie included her daughter Carol in a role that her daughter probably would not have in real life. In real life Margaret's daughter is quite scathing about her relationship with her mother. And the section discussing the interaction and relationship between Lady Thatcher and the Queen was very interesting (I thought). It wasn't covered in the movie but how it was covered in the book was fascinating.

The movie showed how quickly Lady Thatcher lost her position as Prime Minister. I don't really remember that from growing up (guess I didn't care so much at 14), so when I saw the movie version, I was curious to find out if it happened that fast. Apparently, it did. The book was very descriptive of those three weeks (it happened fast!).

I really enjoyed the book. I loved getting some depth to what the movie portrayed in a couple hours' worth of time. The movie hit most of the high points, though it didn't touch on Lady Thatcher's relationship with America so much (especially with President Reagan) or her fights with the European community or her jet-setting as a world figure. I think the movie did what it set out to do -- show who Margaret Thatcher was and how she might be dealing with dementia now -- and the book more than filled in any blanks.

It was long but I'm glad I (sped) read it.

ONE WORD 365 // Week 7, Book 8

My third book in one week! From my favorite author....

Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis
By Lauren Winner
San Francisco: HarperOne, 2012

I will re-read this book very soon. I kind of devoured it the first time through and I think I need to go through and slowly take it in and digest it.

I just love her writing and storytelling. And her vulnerability is both refreshing and challenging at the same time.

I will be writing more about this book as I read it again. For now I recommend it to anyone in a middle ground, who feel stuck in between the beginning and the end.

ONE WORD 365 // Week 7, Books 6 & 7

Thanks to my friend Beth, I raced through Catching Fire and Mockingjay, the last two books in The Hunger Games series, via the shared book feature on my Kindle app.

 

Catching Fire and Mockingjay
By Suzanne Collins
New York: Scholastic Post, 2009 and 2010

Now I'm officially caught up on all things Hunger Games. And my life feels about the same.

I liked Book 1 and can't wait to see how it comes out in the movie. Book 2 was my favorite. Suzanne Collins built on Book 1 really well in my opinion and gave it enough twists and turns to keep things interesting.

Book 3 was my least favorite. I felt like she rushed to the ending. Like she realized, "Oh shoot! I only have 50 pages left! I need to wrap this up." I was just unsatisfied with how it sped along to wrap things up. And I didn't like that Peeta didn't play as large of a role.

All that said, I still bought Book 1 for my nephews and they raced through them in a couple days. I'll get the two books for them as well because I think it's a fun read overall.

ONE WORD 365 // Week 3, Book 3

Let's catch up here...

While You Were Micro-Sleeping: Fresh Insights on the Changing Face of North American Missions
By Steve Moore
Stone Mountain, GA: The Mission Exchange, 2009

This book was required reading for the team at Global Initiative, the missions organization that I will be joining this year.

Each chapter is a transcript from video blogs (vlogs) that The Mission Exchange hosted starting in 2008, called Learning @ the Speed of Life. The point of the blogs (and the book) is to remind people that to stop learning, even for a short time, brings the risk of irrelevance.

I read the book with my upcoming work with the Global Initiative team and audience in mind.

The book read quickly; the chapters were not long. And since the subject matter was interesting, it didn't take much effort to read. And it will be easy to flip back and re-read particular chapters for reminders.

The one that stuck with me the most after the first reading was chapter 3, "Where's Your Green Line?" A "green line" is "the line of activity or behavior that if someone crosses it [you] perceive them to be 'out of bounds' as it relates to [your] conviction about being a good steward of creation" (11).

Ever since seminary and moving back from L.A. I have become more of a "tree hugger." I did some focused study on creation care and our job (as humanity and as Christians) to care for the earth in grad school. I started recycling as much as possible, using less energy in the house and became a strict vegetarian, all in an effort to make my "carbon footprint" smaller. I seek to consume less and reuse more. I cook and bake more from scratch; I shop local and organic as often as possible. I use the Better World Shopper when making my purchases.

So where is my green line? I encourage others to do the same but not in a militant way. If they want to eat meat or consume diary, I encourage them to source it locally and for goodness sake, don't eat at McDonalds, etc. I suggest that maybe they could layer clothes and turn the heat down some in winter (saves energy and money).

This chapter goes on to encourage leaders to consider where their green line is and if it can be moved to reach a younger generation of people that are concerned about the environment. I love these words:

Please understand these people have not been brainwashed by environmental "whackos." Their beliefs about creation care have been shaped by a journey of spiritual formation as an extension of biblical discipleship. They can't conceive of an authentic and growing relationship with Jesus that doesn't somehow express itself with a concern for the environment....an increasing number of them won't want to work for your organization or give to your ministry or volunteer for your projects if your green line is too far way from theirs. (12)

This is me. I never thought this would be me; but it's me. And I wonder how the Global Initiative office has responded to it. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

There is a difference between a method and a value. If moving your green line is a method to attract a new group of people to your organization instead of a value that is being expressed in your organizational culture, your lack of authenticity will be obvious and you maybe going backward instead of forward as it relates to building trust with the very people you want to attract. (12)

I hope to be pleasantly surprised at the green line at Global Initiative, but if things don't meet my green line, I hope I can help out.

LIFE IN TENNESSEE // One Word for 2012

I participated in One Word for 2011 last year. My one word was: SEE. Still processing how I did with that one.

But I am ready with my One Word for 2012: READ.

I took 2011 off from reading. After over three years in grad school with much required reading and research, I found it hard to crack many books last year. I think I've come around now and I'm ready to dive back into books. Plus, I bought a bunch of books last year that I just couldn't bring myself to read so I have to catch up.

Alongside that, I want to process my thoughts on the books I read here on the ol' Learning blog. I'm gonna dust off some books and dust off the blog and go for it.

The general goal is to do one book per week. Though once my house sells and I get ready to move, things might get hectic and I'm already prepared to be behind. Still, I shall give it my best to do one book per week and at least one blog entry per book. The blog entry might be a general review of the book or it might something more personal about what I'm reading. Depends on the book, I think. Because this is a hodgepodge list of books: some classics, some work-oriented, some pop fiction, etc.

Here are the books on my list so far. Some are new to me; some I have started and never finished so I'm going to start them over and try again. Some are real books with paper covers and pages; some are e-books on my Kindle and iBooks apps.

In no particular order....

*1) Parade of Faiths: Immigration and American Faiths by Jenna Weissman Joselit -- Week 1 DONE
*2) Just Kids by Patti Smith -- Week 14 DONE
*3) The Pacific and Other Stories by Mark Helprin -- Week 33 DONE
*4) The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin -- Week 19 DONE
*5) Night by Elie Wiesel -- Week 25 DONE
6) In Allah They Trust by Kamran Karimi
7) The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel
8) Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott -- Week 34 DONE
9) The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
*10) Erasing Hell by Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle -- Week 2 DONE
11) From the Roots Up by Joann Butrin
*12) Unchristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons -- Week 12 DONE
*13) The Wagon and Other Stories from the City by Martin Preib -- Week 10 DONE
14) Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
*15) The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- WEEK 22 DONE
16) After the Leaves Fall by Nicole Baart
*17) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins -- Week 4 DONE
*18) Bossypants by Tina Fey -- Week 11 DONE
19) Love in a Headscarf by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed
*20) While You Were Micro-Sleeping by Steve Moore -- Week 3 DONE
*21) Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis by Lauren Winner -- Week 7 DONE
22) Steering by Starlight by Martha Beck
*23) Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin -- Weeks 5 & 6 DONE
*24) The Iron Lady by John Campbell -- Weeks 8 & 9 DONE
25) The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak
26) Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
27) Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
28) World War Z by Max Brooks
29) Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
*30) Chasing Fire by Suzanne Collins -- Week 7 DONE
*31) Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins -- Week 7 DONE
32) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
*33) Parables of the Cross by Lilias Trotter -- Week 23 DONE
*34) Parables of the Christ-Life by Lilias Trotter -- Week 24 DONE
*35) A Passion for the Impossible by Miriam Huffman Rockness -- Week 27 DONE
*36) Axe to Grind by Grey West -- Week 22 DONE
*37) The Non-Profit Narrative by Dan Portnoy -- Week 13 DONE
38) 1000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp
*39) A Muslim's Mind by Edward J. Hoskins -- Week 29 DONE
*40) Gardening Eden by Michael Abbate -- Week 41 DONE
*41) Bruchko by Bruce Olson -- Week 39 DONE
42) The Next Christian by Gabe Lyons
*43) Eternity in Their Hearts by Don Richardson -- Week 42 READING NOW

And that's the start. I'll add to this list as I go along.

There will also be numerous cookbooks or food writing books consulted throughout the year including:

1) Vegan Planet by Robin Robertson
2) The Happy Herbivore by Lindsay Nixon
3) Skinny Bitch in the Kitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin
4) Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero
5) The Conscious Kitchen by Alexandra Zissu

Check out other's One Words here: One Word 365.