A book meme

I have been derelict in my blogging duties. Several bloggers have tagged me to do memes, and I have yet to get around to them. I will try to correct that in the coming weeks.

Fringes, tagged me for a book meme that I thought was interesting, so I will start with that one.

Three books that I've always meant to read, but have not:

• Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. Every summer I tell myself that I am going to read this book, and every year the summer comes to a close without me having cracked the spine. Even though I've seen both versions of the movie, I want to read the book because there is a scene in the original movie where it's made evident that some sort of sexual game is played between Lolita and Humbert, but we are never told what that game is. I'm hoping the book will clear that up.
• Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. I would love to own both volumes of this book (The Boyfriend, are you paying attention?), and then attempt to cook everything in them. Oh, who am I kidding? If I work 4 or 5 recipes from those books into my repertoire, I'll be doing good.
• The End of the Affair by Graham Greene.I started reading this book years ago, but never finished it. Now, I can't even tell you where it is. I hear it's a really moving book. Someday maybe I'll find out for myself.

Books that changed my life:

• Search for Significance by Robert McGee. I've mentioned this book before on my blog, but I'm too lazy to go look it up. Much of my understanding of the grace of God comes from this book, and it's principles are the foundation upon which I stand. If it were not for this book, I would probably be in therapy right now.
• The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg. Robert McGee and Marcus Borg are located on opposite ends of the Christian spectrum. McGee believes that the Bible is factually accurate and should be taken literally. Borg contends that the Bible should be seen as metaphor and does not have to be factually accurate in order to teach truths about God. For instance, you don't have to believe that the earth was created in 7 days to believe that God created the earth. McGee represents an old way of thinking for me. Borg is opening up my mind to a new way of seeing God.
• Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z by Rachel Kramer Bussel. Ha! I threw that in for comic relief. And to break up all these books on religion. The Boyfriend got me this book 2 Christmases ago, and he gave me volume 2 this past Christmas. Both volumes are filled with hot, spanking stories, although there's nothing really life changing about them. Unless you consider having your bottom whacked until it's beet red life changing.

The one book I haven't stopped talking about since the day I read it:

• Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott. Anne Lamott is the kind of liberal Christian that would make my conservative, fundamentalist friends recoil in horror. That's exactly why I love her. She cusses like a sailor, sleeps with her boyfriends, is pro-choice, and supports gay rights. And yet she has an immense love for God that is genuine and undeniable. I talked up Traveling Mercies so much that one of my co-workers is now reading the book. I'm spreading the joy that is Anne Lamott (and also the joy of progressive christianity.) She also wrote a kickass book on writing called Bird by Bird that I plan to read. Someday.