Putting Shantaram on the Shelf

shantaram.jpgThere is something enormously satisfying about placing a book on a bookshelf. A book you’ve read. A book you’ve enjoyed.

When you remove the bookmark for the final time, close the book, and find a place for it amongst other books you’ve read, there’s a sense of accomplishment.

There’s also a sense of sadness that the story in which you’ve immersed yourself has come to an end. What happens now? Where did the characters go? What did they do after that? That’s especially the case when the book is based on fact. If the book is pure fiction then there isn’t necessarily a life after the book. The characters have lived within that story and now the story has ended. If the book is based on real people then there are unresolved issues. What now?

I finished reading Shantaram today. While it’s a fictional novel, the characters and situations are based on real people and circumstances. Most of the book is based in India, which is what drew me to the story originally. It’s a raw book and at 932 pages it’s a long book.

I don’t make nearly enough time for reading so I’ve been working my way through this epic for a long time. It’s a great story but not for the feint hearted. If you want to let your mind wander into a strange and exotic world, consider grabbing a copy of the book, and get ready for an amazing ride.



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Holiday Reading

book.jpgOne of the things I got to do while I was on holiday for the last couple of weeks was to read. I love the opportunity to take large chunks of time to sit down with a coffee and a good book.

Amazing how refreshing it can be.

I really need to make time to do that on a more regular basis. I can’t just go off on holiday every week or so but I can set aside time for a mini holiday inside a book.

As well as my Bible, newspapers and a new cycling magazine, I read Mad Church Disease by Anne Jackson and got a long way through Shantaram, a novel that’s about the size of a three story building.

I’ll be saying more about both books in the coming days.

I’m hoping that our children will develop a healthy reading habit. I think it’s one of those things that makes life a little bit more worth living.

Unfortunately, while I was a quite advanced reader from a young age, the habit of curling up in a corner with a good book was never really encouraged in our home when I was growing up. It wasn’t discouraged but it wasn’t really something that my parents did and so I never ‘caught’ the habit. All these years later I’m still trying to overcome that and place more importance on reading.

What was the ‘reading culture’ like in your home when you were young? Has that carried on with you? Are you a voracious reader or do you have to make an effort? What advice would you give for someone wanting to develop a healthy reading habit?



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Life is slow …

… but internet speeds at Rottnest are slower.

To be fair, it’s really the Optus wireless broadband that’s slow here. Everything takes forever to load so I won’t be updating this blog until I can get faster internet access.

We’ve been at Rotto for a few days so far.

I’ve read Mad Church Disease by Anne Jackson and large chunks of the impressively large book Shantaram. I’ll tell you more about them later.

Next month is officially winter but the weather has been amazing. I’ve been in shorts and t-shirt the whole time, apart from when I’ve been swimming in the crystal clear water of the sandy white beaches.

I love relaxing at Rottnest so I’d better just publish this post so that I can get back to reading, swimming, laying about, spending time with family and all those other things that make Rotto the best place to be.



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Closing the book on 2007

Have you wrapped up your reading for 2007?

What was your favourite book for the year?

Mine would have to be Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture by Michael Frost.

We live in a time when more followers of Jesus are living outside the church than ever before. People who are still very keen to follow Christ are giving up on going to church. Frost asks why this is happening and looks at new ways of creating authentic communities of faith.

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Frost about the book and we looked at just what is meant by the term post-Christian culture. We also talked about Mike’s use of the term exiles. Are we really exiled in a foreign culture? How do we thrive in a post-Christian culture while staying faithful to Jesus? How much should we engage with the current culture? How much do we stand up against the existing culture?

My interview was broadcast on 98.5 Sonshine FM. You can listen to the interview by clicking the play button on the audio player below.

Also this year I interviewed Alan Hirsch about his current book, The Forgotten Ways. I still haven’t finished reading it and so I’m looking forward to some more good reading over the next little while. It may well be next year’s favourite read.

So I guess that 2008 will start with reading the rest of The Forgotten Ways and then getting stuck into a range of other bits and pieces.

One of the books I’m hoping to read is Shantaram a novel by Gregory David Roberts. It’s set in India and is about the size of a house. While I’m not normally one to tackle such large books, I’ve read too many good reviews to ignore it. I’ve read reports from several people who booked tickets to visit India simply due to the picture painted through the book.

I’m also looking forward to getting stuck into Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli. The book was sent to me by Tony Sheng as explained in my post You’ve Got Mail.

So what have your favourite books been in 2007? What books are on the reading list for 2008? Are there any books you think I should add to my 2008 reading list?



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