so i think this week will be one of two left that you have to blog until finals…

“church zero” by jones – a book written for pastors about how to hit the reset button in the way that church is currently done – and that to hit the button, you have to go back to the way church was done in the past – ironically, the author comes to us from the future b/c he’s spent the past years in europe – where he thinks the US church is headed – there’s Bible in there – there’s also Star Wars – and Voltron – which i’d forgotten as a kid – done a good job of forgetting as a kid until the reminder:) anyway, for a pastor book, it reads well for the rest of us

“losers in space” – book i got from hearing about it at a conference – the language makes it high school – well, that and the fact that the protagonist destroys the antagonist – slowly, after getting to the guy’s father first – so probably not a good lesson for ya’ll to learn yet about revenge:) anyway, now that i think about it, the pink elephant that was actually called a horton probably also made it too mature for you – i was ready to give it up myself after 50 pages but i plowed ahead through the space terms and finished the other 400 pages – even though i never did figure out why one kid had to die for being stranded on a space repair – meanwhile the aunt was blown apart from the ship and survived – i’ll have to reread the book more closely when it’s a high school BOB next year (which i would hate:)

“hills, hawgs, and ho chin minh” by kardong – running book – collection of essays – like and then not like his first book 10 years before – still about aging – still about racing – less about running fast though – more about the odd experiences one can run through – my favorite essay was on shriving tuesday – which is also mardi gras day – i have a new holiday to celebrate:)

maf

okay, first up – i did finish – thanks to mr. couch, i have proof:)

http://photos.al.com/birmingham-news/2013/02/mercedes_marathon_66.html

next, my major task was finishing a 600 page book on…

“antartica” by puccim – for a continent, it’s pretty unexplored – definitely so until the last 100 years – very detailed account of the battle for the continent – even though no one really knew why it was important for the longest – good example as well of how things done in the name of science aren’t typically always done in the name of science:)

“running on air” by coates – book about breathing – and running – i tried it today, and of course, that was why i ran superfast:) the interesting part i think was that coates has been a runner and a coach for 30-plus years – so he has the wisdom to speak of things that made the book good – and would make the books ya’ll read from experts in whatever you enjoy good as well

“just call me jock” by semple and kelley (younger) – library book from 1981 – came from florida – was actually AUTOGRAPHED – which was amazing b/c semple passed away years and years ago – great book about how the boston marathon director used to run things back in the day when several hundred runners ran the thing – next year, there will be 25,000 plus – and i’ll be there too:)

hope your journaling is great – moreover, that your reading is good

maf

so mercedes week – my yearly quest to run two loops around downtown sort of fast…

last week’s reading was good – well, one book was…

“my beloved world” by sotomayor – i showed you this book – we will write – maybe this week – i forget what i leave behind for the sub – on the book for journals at some point – but great biography – good picture of new york – of puerto rico – of princeton – of growing up and learning what you want to do in life – of trying again – of being gifted and finding out what that means – very encouraging read

“driving mr. yogi” – for the baseball season, for the last 13 years, yogi berra, one of the most famous baseball players ever, has been driven around in spring training by one of the yankees’ best living pitchers – ron guidry – good story – quick read – about how you care and develop relationships with people significantly older than you – they are important too

i know, i know, two books – you’d think i’m slacking or something – in my defense, i have a really long biography on a continent i’m reading right now – the history of ice is quite brilliant, believe it or not – that or it’s amazing what people will fight over

mafeld

i am soooooooooo brain dead now – the title should explain how far i went – and i have a handy chart to explain how stupid i get when i run – so no promises on this blog…

“every riven thing” by wiman – we read a poem by him in early january – the book was a collection of his work – probably the first book of poetry i’ve read in my adult life – and i really enjoyed it – he’s not too obscure for me

“bigger than the game” by weinreb – book about how sports changed in the mid ’80s – superstars began to rule – story of bo jackson, len bias, the boz – what was sad was that even though the book is relatively knew, some of it was dated (Joe Pa was treated like a great guy, jim mcmahon before his brain damage became noticeable and public)

“without reservations” by marriott jr. – we will blog on some of his thoughts – 80-plus year old and former head of the hotel chain with his last name – just amazing that someone can lead a company for so many years and stay humble about it

“the most important thing happening” by steele – as i told you, “the monsters win” 🙂 really did enjoy this book – surprisingly because i’d sworn off Christian fiction – and this one was very different than the genre it’s placed in – basically, a collection of stories about story – the word play was great – but the monsters won so that was sort of a bummer…

“calico joe” by grisham – the good part was i read it in a day – the bad part was that it was pretty simple – the worse part is that the cubs are still losers – thanks mr. grisham for the reminder…

i hope your week to come is great – GO SCHOLARS!!!

maf, the guy who knows the kid that’s king of the dinosaurs – that would be fred:)