*****
The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible ... on Schindler's List, written by Leon Leyson
Leyson was a young Jewish boy living in Poland when the Nazis took over. Life in the ghetto was terrifying and the concentration camp was filled with unimaginable horrors, but Leyson survived due to a combination of good luck and the work of Oskar Schindler, a German Nazi who saved the lives of 1,200 Jews. A true story of heartbreak, grit, and hope.
*****
The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto, written by Mitch Albom
I loved stories about lives that are unknowingly intertwined and this novel didn't disappoint. This story of a Spanish war orphan who's smuggled to America as a young child and becomes a famous musician is a beautiful tale of tragedy and triumph, heartbreak and hope, love and loss, and of music. I realized upon finishing the book that it has a
companion album by the same title, which I've enjoyed listening to.
p. 15,
(music, speaking of itself) That's because I was born in the open air, in the breaks of ocean waves and the whistling of sandstorms, the hoots of owls and the cackles of tui birds. I travel in echoes. I ride the breeze. I was forged in nature, rugged and raw. Only man shapes my edges to make me beautiful.
p. 39, Sometimes I think the greatest talent of all is perseverance.
p. 95, But just because something is silent doesn't mean you aren't hearing it.
p. 140, Man searches for courage in drink, but it is not courage that he finds, it is fear that he loses. A drunken man may step off a cliff. That does not make him brave, just forgetful.
p. 162,
(music, speaking of itself) For centuries, musicians have sought to find me at the end of a needle or the bottom of a drink. It is an illusion. And it often ends badly.
p. 163, It is not new, this idea that a purer art awaits you in a substance. But it is naive. I existed before the first grapes were fermented. Before the first whiskey was distilled. Be it opium or absinthe, marijuana or heroin, cocaine or ecstasy or whatever will follow, you may alter your state, but you will not alter this truth: I am Music. I am here inside you. Why would I hide behind a powder or a vapor?
Do you think me so petty?
*****
Orphan Train Rider: One Boy's True Story, written by Andrea Warren
I never knew about
orphan trains until I was well into adulthood and have mixed feelings about them, but this story has about as good of an ending as possible. I love the reminder that bitterness only hurts us and we can choose to make the best of whatever circumstances come our way. The orphan trains stopped running in 1929, so there can't be very many left of the 200,000 kids that were shipped across the country to new homes.
*****
The Ragamuffin Gospel, written by Brennan Manning
We are flawed people who regularly do wrong things. And God loves us. The end. That's the gist of this book. Being honest about our shortcomings and accepting God's grace that offers us love in our brokenness, rather than continually trying (and failing) to earn that love, is what will bring peace and joy to our own lives and have a ripple effect in how we treat those around us.
p. 29, Jesus comes not for the super-spiritual but for the wobbly and the weak-kneed who know they don't have it all together, and who are not too proud to accept the handout of amazin' grace.
p. 30, Any church that will not accept that it consists of sinful men and women, and exists for them, implicitly rejects the gospel of grace.
p. 73, The trouble with our ideals is that if we live up to all of them, we become impossible to live with.
p. 74, He knows repentance is not what we do in order to earn forgiveness; it is what we do because we have been forgiven. It serves as an expression of gratitude rather than an effort to earn forgiveness.
p. 120, Quite simply, our deep gratitude to Jesus Christ is manifested neither in being chaste, honest, sober and respectable, nor in church-going, Bible-toting and Psalm-singing, but in our deep and delicate respect for each other.
p. 136, The way we are with each other is the truest test of our faith. How I treat a brother or sister from day to day, how I react to the sin-scarred wino on the street, how I respond to interruption from people I dislike, how I deal with normal people in their normal confusion on a normal day may be a better indication of my reverence for life than the anitabortion sticker on the bumper of my car.
We are not pro-life simply because we are warding off death. We are pro-life to the extent that we are men and women for others, all others; to the extent that no human flesh is a stranger to us; to the extend that we can touch the hand of another in love; to the extent that for us there are not "others."
p. 152, Compassionate love is the axis of the Christian moral revolution and the only sign ever given by Jesus by which a disciple would be recognized.
p. 159, If in our hearts we really don't believe that God loves us as we are, if we are still tainted by the lie that we can do something to make God love us more, we are rejecting the message of the cross.
p. 167, I don't think anyone reading this would have approved of throwing rocks at the poor woman in adultery, but we would have made darn sure she presented a detailed act of contrition and was firm in her purpose of amendment. Because if we let her off without saying she was sorry, wouldn't she be back into adultery before sunset?
No, the love of our God isn't dignified at all, and apparently that's the way He expects our love to be. Not only does He require that we accept His inexplicable, embarrassing kind of love, but once we've accepted it, He expects us to behave the same with with others.
p. 181, Our clumsy attempts at forgiveness often create more problems than they solve. In condescending fashion we crush and humiliate the sinner with our unbearable largesse. He may feel forgiven but utterly bereft of reassurance, consolation, and encouragement.
p. 181, The gospel of grace announces: forgiveness precedes repentance. The sinner is accepted before he pleads for mercy. It is already granted. He need only receive it. Total amnesty. Gratuitous pardon.
*****
Speaking American: How Y'all, Youse, and You Guys Talk / A Visual Guide, written and illustrated by Josh Katz
This book is a fun visual representation of the different words Americans use, as well as various pronunciations for the same words. While you can read it all in one sitting, it's also perfect for picking up when you have a few minutes to kill or need a conversation starter.
*****
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