2016 Reading Challenge

I'm doing the Modern Mrs. Darcy 2016 Reading Challenge. The idea is to read 12 books in 12 different categories in 12 months. Here are the categories and my picks for each:

_ a book published this year

(I haven't picked this one out yet because the year is just getting started.)

_ a book you can finish in a day

Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination, by J.K. Rowling

_ a book you've been meaning to read

The Romantic Generation, by Charles Rosen

_ a book recommended to you by your local librarian or bookseller

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, by Joshua Foer

_ a book you should have read in school

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

_ a book chosen for you by your spouse, partner, sibling, child, or BFF

The Princess and the Goblin, by George MacDonald

_ a book published before you were born

The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco

_ a book that was banned at some point 

Where the Sidewalk Ends, by Shel Silverstein 

+

Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh

_ a book you previously abandoned

Spiritual Writings, by Soren Kierkegaard 

_ a book you own but have never read

Kant and the Platypus: Essays on Language and Cognition, Umberto Eco (This is also a book that intimidates me.)

_ a book that intimidates you 

Julliard: A History, Andrea Olmsted (This is also a book that I own but have never read.)

_ a book you've read at least once

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen

What books are on your reading list this year?

Snapshot of My Year in Books

When one has a blog called "A Room With Books And Music," one must discuss one's books. Here's a sampling of my favorites in 2015:

1. The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, by Charles Rosen

2. Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration, by Ed Catmul (president of Pixar)

3. Scripture and the Authority of God: How to Read the Bible Today, by N.T. Wright

4. Live Dead Joy: 365 Days of Living and Dying with Jesus, by Dick Brogden

5. The Bush Always Burns: Jesus in the Unnanounced Moments of Life, by Heath Adamson

6. A Circle of Quiet, by Madeleine L'engle

7. Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me? by Mindy Kaling (This is the first book that I ever read purely for the laughs.)

8. The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster (because sometimes you just need  to read a childhood favorite again as an adult)

9. Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro

10. The Island of the Day Before, by Umberto Eco

Bonus. Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Colouring Book + Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest and Colouring Book, by Johanna Basford. For the record, I had coloring books as an adult before it was cool to have coloring books as an adult. But, nothing I had compares with what has come out in the past few years. These 2015 acquisitions will be my 2016 escape.

What were some of your favorite books in 2015?

My Year In Geeky Books

I love to read. There are bookshelves and piles of books in every room of my house. I spend my free time in bookstores. And I carry a book in my purse everywhere I go. So when I say I love to read, I mean that I have an addiction that runs deep because deep in the core of my being, I am a geek. And I know that I am not alone. Some of you are geeks, too. So if you're a geek like me, or if your New Year's resolution is to read more, or if you're looking for more books to add to your reading list, this geeky list is for you!

For the science geek: 
Physics of the Impossible (A Scientific Exploration into the World of Phasers, Force Fields, Teleportation, and Time Travel), by Michio Kaku
Though I love to watch scientific documentaries, I don't typically read science books. In fact, this book is so different from the books I typically pick up that reading it was almost like an escape for me. Kaku's language is accessible and he has a way of stretching your imagination and changing the way you look at the "impossible."

For the Asian studies geek:
Japanland (A Year in Search of Wa), by Karin Muller
I did not expect much from this book. In fact, I only read it because my husband told me I should. But once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. This memoir is full of observations, bits of history, and old Japanese stories. It is beautiful and painful. And by the end, I was deeply moved and wanted to move to Japan.

For the art geek:
Karsh: Beyond the Camera (Selected photographs of Yousuf Karsh with introduction and commentary by David Travis)
I picked up this book at the National Portrait Gallery after I fell in love with Karsh's photograph of Aaron Copland. Karsh's ability to capture the character of his subjects is incredible, and Travis' commentary digs into the artist's psyche in an intriguing way. I will come back to this book again and again.

For the history geek:
Night, by Elie Wiesel
In this autobiography, Wiesel gives a vivid picture of the horrors of the Holocaust and human nature. Dark. Moving. Intense. Powerful. Poetic. A beautiful work.

For the biblical studies geek:
The Case For the Psalms (Why They Are Essential), by N.T. Wright
This is an intellectual and passionate look into the Psalms. I have read the Psalms over and over again throughout my life, but this book challenged me to make the Psalms a more integral part of my daily life. I don't think I will read the Psalms the same way again.

*Bonus for the biblical studies geek:
How To Read the Bible As Literature...and get more out of it, by Leland Ryken
Written by an English professor from Wheaton College, this is a book for improving your methods of hermeneutics and Bible study. In other words, this book will help you understand the Bible better.

For the geek with a lot of heart:
Kisses From Katie (A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption), by Katie Davis
Katie left behind her family, home, college, boyfriend...and moved to Uganda. She is a foster mother to over a dozen girls and she started an organization that sponsors hundreds of children to be able to go to school. Her life and love for God is incredible. This book will challenge you to live for something greater.

For the geek who wants to change the world:
Courageous Compassion (Confronting Social Injustice God's Way), by Beth Grant
Eye-opening, convicting, and profound. Drawing on her experience with starting Project Rescue, an organization that helps bring people out of human-trafficking, Grant gives insight into a very real darkness in the world and what needs to happen. The wisdom she shares is informative, practical, and Spirit-filled. She delves far deeper than quick fixes and helps the reader think long and thoroughly.

For the literature geek:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling
I know, I know. After mentioning numerous Christian books, this is probably not the path you were expecting me to take. But before you cry, "Anathema!" and declare that I have turned from God and gone over to the dark side, keep reading. My all time favorite books are C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, but the Harry Potter books are now a close second. The Christian themes in The Deathly Hallows are unmistakeable. These themes can be seen in the movies, but they are much more pronounced and blatant in the books. In fact, two Bible passages - Matthew 6:21 and 1 Corinthians 15:26 - are quoted and have an important place in this book. Rowling has been recorded saying, "I think those two particular quotations he finds on the tombstones at Godric's Hallow, they sum up - they almost epitomize the whole series." The only thing is, to get to The Deathly Hallows, the last in the series, you have to read the six books that come before it in order for it to make sense. But if you are willing to take the time, Rowling's gripping storytelling makes it well worth it.

A Simple, Quiet Space: Epilogue

Ever since my amazing journey at the monastery (you can read about it here, here, and here), life looks very much like it did before. I still teach and practice piano. While school is out, I'm working on projects and slowly organizing the house we moved into last year. I still spend more time than I like each week organizing all the pills I take for lupus (up to 16 a day). I still lug around a ginormous bag filled with too many books everywhere I go and watch TV with my husband in the evenings.

Same old, same old. But not quite. My days are nuanced in ways they weren't before. And one small change in particular went a long way.

The day I returned from the monastery, I traded my iPhone for an alarm clock. Well, not entirely. I still have an iPhone. But instead of using my phone as my wake-up alarm, I use a tiny alarm clock to wake myself up in the mornings. It cost $5 and is so small it doesn't even have a radio. And where is my phone? Charging in the living room. It's not allowed in my bedroom at night. This one small change led to thousands more. My phone (e-mail, text messages, FaceBook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram...) is no longer the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see before I sleep. On my night stand, I have a Bible, The Book of Common Prayer, and a devotional. In the mornings, when I feel lupus the strongest and my body is too stiff to get up, these are the things I grab first. Though my first thoughts range from "Where's my iPhone?" to "I need to brush my teeth," and to "My body hurts and I have too much to do today,"...my first action is to surrender all of these things to God and pursue what matters most. Each morning, my mind races in a million different directions. And each morning, I will my mind to turn to God.

It hasn't been easy. I am breaking habits that are deeply imbedded into my being and starting new habits that the enemy of my soul doesn't want me to have. At first, everything else on my mind felt so urgent and loud (almost yelling). The high-pitched beep beep beep of the alarm clock made me and my husband grumpy. It felt awkward turning to God when my mind was so hazy and I hadn't brushed my teeth yet. But I chose to stubbornly pursue what matters most. Each morning, all the "other stuff" in my mind yells a little softer than it did the day before. My husband and I are getting used to the morning beeps. And I've come to accept that God loves me so much that He will take me just as I am--morning breath and all.

I don't feel like I'm moving mountains in my new morning routine. (Maybe I am and I just don't know it yet.) I haven't had any moments that were full of intense emotion and prophetic words from God. But I'm less frantic now. My day is filled with a calm I didn't have before. Things that would have caused me anxiety don't have that power over me anymore. I loved my work before, but now I enjoy it even more and have a stronger sense of purpose when I do it. My husband and I argue less and talk more about meaningful things. (And now that I just typed this, we're probably going to have an argument about something ridiculous tonight. Just kidding. I hope I'm just kidding.) I feel safer letting God search the little crevices of my heart and fill me with dreams so big they scare me. And instead of feeling shame because I'm not where I thought I would be by this time in my life, I see the significance of what I'm accomplishing now and feel like I'm on the verge of something wonderful.

So this is my life. One small, five-dollar change. I have all summer to make it stick before I go back to working three jobs in the fall. And who knows what kind of stories are waiting for me ahead...

A Simple, Quiet Space: Day Three

[This is the conclusion to my last couple of posts. What follows are journal excerpts from my third day on a spiritual retreat at a monastery. You can learn more and read my journal excerpts from the first two days here and here.] 

Today's Agenda:
   1. Pray and reflect.
   2. Book of Common Prayer devotions before breakfast and lunch.
   3. Read the Bible (Isaiah 43).
   4. Look over Anything.
   5. Spend time outside.

8:21 am.
I feel the world pulling me again to rush. When I woke up this morning, the first thing I did was to shower and prepare for the day, I did not turn to God first. That was a mistake. But I turn to Him now and I still have several hours before we leave this place.

9:17 am.
Like manna, no matter how much I pour myself in God's presence and God pours in me, the next day I must do it all again.

9:46 am.
Yesterday, I feared that I would forget. I will. I will forget again and again. I will keep forgetting because that is what we do on this side of Heaven. There is no shame in that. One day I will stop forgetting because the sight of His face won't let me forget. Until then, I need to keep returning to the simple, quiet places so I can remember again.

11:07 am.
I am thankful for this place. A sacred place full of quiet and full of lessons. A place where it is easy to find the presence of God. A place that gently forces you to experience God's goodness. A place that makes you better because it makes God bigger. A place that makes you homesick for Heaven.

12:30 pm.
During lunch we met a man who just arrived here this morning. He asked us questions about what we do here, how this place works, whether we ever talked to the monks. His wife passed away last fall and he came here for whatever this place can offer him. His journey here is just beginning. My heart is so broken for him. God, please work miracles in his life while he is here. Let him find healing, comfort, peace, direction. Touch the places in his heart that are hurting, that are searching for answers. Let him leave this place full of strength and joy. Do for him what only You can do. Thank You for bringing him here. And thank You for making him part of my journey here. Amen.

12:45 pm.
Lord, I am ready for the world now. Please go with me. Amen.

A Simple, Quiet Space: Day Two

[This is a continuation from my last post. What follows are journal excerpts from my second day on a spiritual retreat at a monastery. You can learn more and read my journal excerpts from day one here.]

Today's Agenda:
   1. Ask God dangerous questions.
   2. Book of Common Prayer Daily Devotions (breakfast, lunch, dinner, end of day).
   3. Read the Bible.
   4. Read Anything.

7:26 am.
Simplify. This word has been stuck in my head for many weeks (months?). This morning, I felt led to do it. I simplified my agenda - both from what I expected of myself to accomplish here before I came and from what I scribbled in a tiny notepad last night. But I won't get as much done...on paper. Maybe God will be able to accomplish much more in me. This practical call to simplify goes beyond my time here. This morning, even before breakfast, I wrote another note in my tiny notebook. I will give God the 2 days after I return home in which I will read nothing except His Word. I will not completely return yet because God will not be finished speaking to me when I leave this place. I am walking into the mystery. I am becoming the person God made me to be.

8:08 am.
The drive for productivity is not equivalent to obedience to God moment by moment. With lupus, there are so many times when my body doesn't allow me to get things done (I feel unproductive), so when I am feeling well (or at least better than not well) I try to compensate by being extremely productive. I daily judge myself based on my productivity. How productive am I being today? This is not the path God wants for me (us) to take. I should daily judge myself based on my obedience to God. Have I taken the time to hear God's voice and have I completely walked in obedience to Him? It isn't that God doesn't want me to be productive. He does. But His call is for obedience. And when I am completely obedient to Him, then I am the most productive for His Kingdom.

8:58 am.
There is a freedom in solitude and simplicity. Here, I can be free from the chains of want, of noise, of wastefulness, of comparison, of busy-ness. I can focus on God untethered here. How can I take this freedom with me when I reenter society?

9:10 am.
...and complaining. This place is free of complaining. I am content here. Content and thankful.

9:49 am.
Anything...

...God, is there anything You want me to give up or anything You want me to start doing?...

...God, I will do anything. I will...[This is one of those places where the words are between me and God and NOT me, God, and the internet]
...I will stop giving You snippets of my day and start spending extravagant time with You.

10:51 am.
I am realizing that in this place, God isn't trying to tell me to "do something." He is completely changing me. When I return home, I won't just be someone with a task from God. I will be a different person.

11:16 am.
Anything...Live for God's glory:
   - Blog for God's glory.
   - Pray for my husband for God's glory.
   - Play piano for God's glory.
   - Teach for God's glory.
   - Clean for God's glory?
   - Love people (and show them love) for God's glory.

[This prayer and commitment to do anything got very real. Very painful. Very difficult. A lot of tears. A lot of words that will stay in my journal.]

1:16 pm.
I choose to live for things I cannot see yet.
I don't want to miss anything God has for me.

2:15 pm.
Dangerous question: God, where do You want to take my plenty and pour it out? I will do anything.

6:20 pm.
In this simple quiet place, I can hear from God and experience rest...I am not perfect here, but I am closer to God. I want to bring this with me. To have moments--no matter where I am--when I can enter this simple, quiet place where I can encounter the glory of God. A different reality. A more real reality.

7:40 pm.
The sun is starting to set, the bell for the compline just rang, and I am feeling sad that this is my last night here. My heart is not ready to go back. I don't want to lose what I have here. I'm scared I will go back and forget. God, please don't let me forget! Please don't let me go back. Please make this change stick. Please work a miracle! Please don't let me go back to my old ways. Please make me different. Completely different from the inside out. Full of Your glory. Full of Your power. Full of You. Take my fear. Take my mess. Take my inadequacies. Take all of me and turn me into something new. Something beautiful. Something that radiates your glory.
          selah.
                       Amen.

8:08 pm.
Oh, the transformation--the journey--from yesterday to today! I came empty. Now I am full to overflowing. I came wanting to quit everything. ("I quit" became my motto the last few months.) Now I feel like I'm about to embark on an adventure into the unknown. I came feeling spent. Now I feel ready to give again. This is the reward for spending extravagant time with God. When you give extravagantly to God (however meager that is), He will give extravagantly to you (How limitless that is!).

A Simple, Quiet Space: Day One

I was physically and mentally exhausted from an over-packed life that just kept going and going...So we went to a monastery. That's right. A monastery. With monks. I love going there. It's a quiet place. You don't have to take a vow of silence when you are a guest there. People often talk a bit during the meals and in the public areas. But there is a freedom from the constant noise that is impossible to escape in daily life. My husband and I each stay in our own room with a bed, chest of drawers, reading chair, and writing desk - everything you need for a spiritual retreat and nothing more. (There is a bathroom too...It's not that bare!) Bells ring throughout the monastery to signify the monks' prayer times and services (the first rings at about 3:30 a.m.) and there is a schedule for meals (prepared by the monks), but you have the freedom to follow your own schedule. I went with an agenda:  Seek God and listen to His voice. It was a simple agenda, but not an easy one. In that quiet room, there was no hiding from God, no piece of my heart that was left unchallenged. It was a journey--the kind that once you go on it, there's no going back to the way things were.

 I had a few supplies to help me:
   - a study Bible
   - a very thick journal and a lot of pens
   - a book: Anything, by Jennie Allen
   - another book: something by Kierkegaard (which didn't get read at the monastery at all)
   - The Book of Common Prayer (I am not Anglican, but sometimes I like to use this book as a tool to help me pray when I can't find the words on my own.)

What follows (in this and the next couple blog posts) are excerpts from my journal. (I filled over 15 pages in less than 3 days.) This is not a researched, theological treatise or a display of spiritual strength. These words are raw and many were written through tears and deep emotions. I left out the parts that I feel are just between me and God, but I wanted to give you an opportunity to be a part of my journey, to learn some of the lessons I learned, and ask some of the questions I asked.

DAY ONE
We just arrived here. I quickly ate lunch and felt awkward in the silence. It will take a while for my soul to slow down and find rest in the quiet...

Today's Agenda:
   - Pray the Daily Devotions from the Book of Common Prayer.
   - Read the Bible.
   - Read Anything.
   - Quiet my mind so I can hear from God.

1:05 pm.
I have no words to pray. This is embarrassing to me. I am so mentally worn out that no words come. Yet I know that God hears what I cannot say and knows what I am too numb to feel.

1:31 pm.
God, I will do anything...

3:49 pm.
...I want to let go of everything that is keeping me from God and completely live for Him. I want to know Him intimately. Not like my "glory days" back in high school or college. I want to know Him now--as a 32-year-old and everything that entails. I want a life that is marked by His presence. I want God.

4:32 pm.
Doing many things does not compensate for pursuing your One Thing.

8:04 pm.
Today, I am making a decision to surrender everything to God and committing to do ANYTHING for Him. Anything. I have absolutely no idea what "anything" is. No idea what lays ahead. God hasn't told me yet. I'm choosing to be obedient. Completely obedient with no hesitation.

8:25 pm.
What is the "anything" God wants me to do for Him? I am stepping into the unknown. I am starting to feel comfortable in the silence. Time to start asking God some dangerous questions...

----------
This is the first in a series. You can read more here, here, and here.

My 2013 Recap in Books

I love to read. Last year, I wrote about my favorite books that I read in 2012. As I start the new year, I want to share 5 books I read in 2013 that left a mark on my life. These are books that - if you let them - will leave you a little different.

1. Listen To This, by Alex Ross

A beautiful book about music - from Mozart to Bob Dylan to Mitsuka Uchida. This book also has suggested listening for each chapter. This book will make you listen to music in a different way.

2. All In - You are one decision away from a totally different life, by Mark Batterson

This is the sequel to The Circle Maker. As The Circle Maker focuses on prayer, All In focuses on action. It is about "going all in and all out for the All in All." This book will challenge you to live a different way.

3. Dying Out Loud: No Guilt in Life. No Fear in Death. The Story of a Silk Road Nomad, by Shawn Smucker.

I can't remember the last time a book brought me to tears and inspired me so deeply. This past year was difficult for me, but this family's story helped me find meaning, encouragement, and purpose in the midst of difficult circumstances. This book will make you look at suffering and what it means to follow God in a different way.

4. Quiet - The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain.

This book is liberating for introverts and eye-opening for everyone. A must read for leaders and ministers. This book will make you look at people a different way.

5. The Musician's Way - A Guide to Practice, Performance, and Wellness, by Gerald Klickstein

Even though this book is targeted to the undergrad or graduate music student, the casual musician or professional can grow from this material. The book has three sections: Artful Practice, Fearless Performance, and Lifelong Creativity. If you are a musician (or singer), this book will make you practice and perform in a different way.

10 Of My Favorite Reads In 2012

I love to read. You will never find me without at least one book in hand or in my way-too-heavy bag.  I spent the first half of this year finishing grad school - drowning in textbooks and research.  By the time graduation came around, I was mentally fried.  And then there's all the reading I do for the classes I teach.  So what kind of books does a nerdy girl read when she's desperate for a mental break?  

The following list highlights the books I would read again and would love for the world to read.  They are in the order in which I read them this year.
 
1.  The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I actually read this at the end of 2011, but I loved the collection of short stories so much that in 2012 I read two of Doyle's novels about everybody's favorite detective on Baker Street: A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four.

2.  The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells
The time traveler transports himself to the year 802,701 and meets the Eloi people and the horrible Morlocks.  Who doesn't love a dose of 19th century science fiction? 

3.  The Circle Maker: Praying Circles around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears, by Mark Batterson
So many times while reading this book, the words struck me so deeply that I had to put the book down to pray.  This book inspires you to believe God for the impossible and to pray more.  It is the perfect read for someone who is in a "prayer rut."

4.  After You Believe: Why Christian Character Matters, by N.T. Wright 
N.T. Wright, a theologian often referred to as a modern-day C.S. Lewis, beautifully explores what it means to live a life of character. This book challenges you to reevaluate how you live your everyday life.

5.  Understanding Language: A Guide For Beginning Students of Greek & Latin, 
by Donald Fairbairn
Even though the focus of this book is the Greek and Latin languages, the first chapter - "Learning A Foreign Language: The Bad News and the Good News" - should be a must-read for anyone who wants to learn a foreign language.  I love that Fairbairn delves into the "why" of how things are in the languages.

6.  Silence, by Shusaku Endo
This is a historical novel of a Portuguese priest in 17th century Japan at the height of Christian persecution in Japan.  The story is intense and thought-provoking as it explores a plethora of questions and issues concerning God, missions, and faith.

7.  Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Austen's writing is so beautiful.  I love being transported to a time of letter writing, home libraries, social balls, beautiful houses, walks in the park, and the pianoforte.  It is a time of simpler worries, yet the conflicts are deep.  This book is both intellectually stimulating and relaxing.

8.  The Live Dead Journal: 30 Days of Prayer for Unreached Peoples, 30 Days of Challenge, Edited by Dick Brogden

I read this devotional when I was suffering intense pain the month before I was diagnosed with lupus.  It was a time when it would have been so easy to focus on myself and lose hope.  This book spurred me to live for God completely, to see outside of myself, and it prepared me for the day the doctor would call with the diagnosis.  This book changed my life.

9.  What To Listen For In Mozart, by Robert Harris
Written with the non-musician in mind, this book is very accessible.  In simple language, Harris explains components of music and form while exploring how the events of Mozart's life are reflected in his music.  He also provides questions to ask and things to look for while you're listening to the music of Mozart and Classical music in general.

10.  Bonhoeffer, by Eric Metaxas
This biography has everything: theology, spies, conspiracy, Nazis, a love story, even some poetry.  Metaxas takes a deep look into history and an amazing life, and at the same time causes you take a hard look into your own life and rethink so many things.  In the last chapter, I had to fight tears.