Currently Reading

I am a book nerd. I love to read. Love, love, love to read! Over the past few years, I've really discovered what genres I like to read and I tend to buy any and every good book I can get my hands on. I am known for reading nonfiction, memoirs, and youth fiction. Yes, youth fiction. I missed out on a lot of good books in my middle school/high school years, so I've recently fallen completely in love with books like Tuck Everlasting, Nightjohn, and The Giver.

Books are expensive and, lately, my collection has been at a standstill. Like most book-lovers, I buy more than I can read - especially if I can get books at a great price. Ed McCay in Greensboro, NC is one of my favorite bookstores. I bought six or seven books there when I visited in March and only spent about $35-40. Garage sales are great places to find good books - I bought a whole collection of Shakespearean plays for 25 cents each. Now, I will probably never read all of those (though I do love to read "A Midsummer Night's Dream"!) but they do look good on my shelf!

Anyway, this summer, I was on a mission to read. I read a lot last semester because I was in a children's literature course. I did love the books I was reading, but found that I didn't have time for any outside reading. So, it seemed like a summer full of free time would be a perfect time to catch up on books I've bought but hadn't read yet.

Wrong.

I think I read two books in May and then.... NOTHING. Nothing in June OR July! Part of the problem was that I wanted to read a specific book, but couldn't get my hands on a copy. I'd try to start another book and then realize that, no, I wanted to read the other book. Being the cheapskate that I am, I refused to buy it full-price. But, the library didn't have a copy, either. I tried to borrow a copy from my pastor, but he didn't have the book. I was stumped.

And then, one day, as I was browsing a consignment store, there it was! Respectable Sins: The Sins We Tolerate by Jerry Bridges... AND the discussion guide! I bought both books (which were in BRAND new condition) for less than $5, for a total savings of about $30. That made me super happy. I am already in love with the book... the topic is so heavy and something I have been needing to hear.

So, I just started reading it and THEN.... Then, I watched an episode of Oprah. One of her guests, a Rhodes Scholar named Wes Moore was telling his story of his fatherless childhood in Brooklyn and how he rose up from a crime- and drug-infested neighborhood to being a White House Fellow and studying at Oxford University. What's so interesting is that there is another Wes Moore from Baltimore who is around the same age and grew up in a similar family, similar neighborhood and is incarcerated for life for the murder of a police seargeant. How is it that these two men have the same exact name and incredibly similar childhoods but have drastically different lives? I'm going to find out because I bought Moore's book (The Rhodes Scholar) The Other Wes Moore for my birthday.

I've gone from reading zero. Zilch. Nada. Nothing. To reading two books. While I'm at the start of a busy semester. Welcome to my life.

I guess I should stop typing and go read!!