Good Books
A quick update on what I've been reading:
A few weeks ago I finished Kim by Rudyard Kipling. It was set in India and dealt with a young Irish-Indian boy's recruitment into the British Secret Service and his deep friendship with a Tibetan monk. Very well written (hey, Kipling won the Nobel prize for literature--the first author writing in English to do so) and the story definitely pulls you in. I also learned--via Wikipedia--that Kipling is famous for writing The Jungle Book and for an inspirational, "be a real man"-themed poem called "If" which had a big influence on Ayn Rand and upon generations of Brits as well.
I also recently finished Blue like Jazz by Donald Miller, a young Portland-based author. This book is a very thoughtful, funny and honest take on "Christian Spirituality" and being part of a church. His writing style is interesting and rather innovative. He writes very informally--as if he's talking to you directly--and my experience is that it works well and creates a sense of connection with the reader. Miller seems like a great guy and I could relate to a lot of what he was saying. I appreciated his honest critiques and conclusions about how to love others and serve in the church without feeling being a Christian is a rule-based endeavor. I highly recommend the book and I'm going to read it again. (We borrowed our copy from Gabi N. and Agi is reading it now).
Finally, I just started "On Wings of Eagles" by Ken Follet about how American hostages were busted out of an Iranian jail in the late 70's by Ross Perot's corporation, EDS. I love the international politics, insight into how executives run their big corporation and make decisions and the exciting nature of the story.
I think I've found the best approach for getting variety and quality in what I'm reading: go with a "classic", then a thought-provoking, "philosophical" or "spiritual" book, and then a non-fiction book such as as a biography or real-life story. This has been working nicely for me.