Book Nerd

I'm such a book nerd. All that reading fun had to be put on hold for a few years while I was in school, but ever since I graduated, it's back to my old nose-in-the-book ways. It's one of the few new year's resolutions that I've actually kept.

In the first seven weeks of 2010 I've finished six books and started two more:

Forgiveness: Breaking the Power of the Past by Kay Arthur and David & BJ Lawson

I taught this in my Sunday School class and absolutely loved it. It pointed out something I already knew too well... that forgiveness is a difficult but great act of obedience, and if we can muster up the courage to do it, we will be blessed. It has fantastic scripture references that could change your life. Go read it now.

South of Broad by Pat Conroy

This book reminded me of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, a gift from fellow book nerd DB a few years back. South of Broad is a very well written book about a group of social outcasts who survive their senior year together in the 1960s and then reunite again 20 years later to save their friend who is dying of AIDS. The book was beautiful but contained some harsh language and subject matter that was unnecessary. It dealt with race issues, abuse, class distinctions, and a whole mess of other things.

Wuthering Heights

I'm not going to lie... I was so glad to finally finish this book because it was B-O-R-I-N-G. I'm a huge fan of the classics, but these characters grated on my very last nerve. The writing was fantastic, but I hated everybody in the book, which made for a painfully long read. But this has been on my "to read" list for about 8 years now, so I'm glad to have finally conquered it. Now it can go back to collecting dust on my book shelf.

The Chronicles of Narnia

I'm listening to the entire collection of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia books on CD. I "read" them as I work in my kitchen, which makes cooking dinner (and doing dishes) so much more delightful. So far I've finished the first three: The Magician's Nephew, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Horse and His Boy. My mom read me these books as a kid, and it's fun to go back and relive the adventure as an adult.

What I'm reading now:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Another loaner from my dear mom and resident book expert (she read something like 45 books last year), I'm only a few chapters in but am already loving this story of a few black maids in Georgia in the early 1960s and their interactions with the white families they work for. The book is written in a black southern dialect that's thick as honey and beautiful to read. I'll let you know what I think when I finish it.

So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore

Everybody knows I'm a sucker for a good Beth Moore bible study, so when this book came out I couldn't resist buying it, even if it IS the more expensive hardback edition. Since I'm a girl, I automatically deal with crazy insecurities every day (as do all my girlfriends - even my most perfect, gorgeous, well-adjusted girlfriends... they just do a good job of hiding it). Not only that, but I'm a crazy people-pleasing, approval-craving kind of girl, so this should be fun. I just picked it up today, so give me about two weeks and I'll be quoting you all sorts of scripture on the subject... watch out.

So, my friends, what are you reading? I'd love some recommendations to add to my ever-growing Amazon wish-list.

Valentines Fun

In honor of Valentine's Day, I came up with a list of some of my funniest, most embarrassing or most awkward dates.

The Money Date

On one of my first dates in high school, the heart throb of my youth group asked me out to dinner and a movie. Only he didn't bring enough cash, and in my naiveté I hadn't thought to bring money of my own, so we had to leave the movie ticket line, drive to his parents' house, and borrow money from them. You can bet that I have never gone on a date since without plenty of cash, just in case.

The Imodium Date

I had been dating a guy for only a few weeks when we went to a little sandwich shop to grab lunch. Halfway through the meal I felt horribly nauseous and had to excuse myself to the bathroom. Once there, I wanted to curl up in a ball on the floor of that nasty public restroom and die a slow death. When I finally emerged after ten LONG minutes of humiliation, my new boyfriend offered to take me home, but I had to hang my head in shame and admit that I wasn't sure I could make the drive home just yet. So we had to awkwardly stay at the restaurant while I managed to become ill several more times before I could brave the ride home and crawl into my bed. I was so surprised to hear from him again.

Someone didn't do their homework

On a recent Valentine's day, a guy surprised me with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. And then an hour later, another guy surprised me with another bouquet of flowers. Apparently guy #2 didn't do his homework to check to see if I was dating anybody.

The Caulking Date

I had to go to a $500 a plate black-tie gala as part of my job, needed a date, and didn't have any good guy friends I could bring. My sweet friend offered to set me up with one of her law school buddies, but there was one hitch: he had a golf tournament and wouldn't have time to go home and clean up before our big night out, so he would need to shower and get ready at my house. At the time I lived in an old rent house with a very old shower, so I spent half my Saturday scrubbing and caulking the shower tiles so they'd look good for the boy. He finally showed up at my house, all sweaty and dirty, I answered the door in my nicest black formal dress, and after a quick introduction I showed him to my room. While he showered, my two roommates and I just sat on our couch in the living room and giggled at the weirdness of a strange boy in my bedroom (I was NEVER in the bedroom with him). About 20 minutes later he emerged in his tuxedo, we hopped in the pumpkin carriage and headed to the ball. It was just like Cinderella, but with a caulking gun.

The Eskimo

My first boyfriend in college was was an atheist eskimo. Trust me when I tell you that it ended the moment I discovered my Alaskan friend was an atheist.

The Punch

Once on a date, my boyfriend accidentally punched me in the face. We had snuck in late to a movie, it was pitch-black, and as he whipped off his jacket, his fist hit me HARD in the eye. Of course it was a freak accident, but he felt horrible for the rest of the evening and begged me not to tell my dad. Lucky for him, the bruising was minimal.

The Spill

I dated a guy who was absolutely in love with his car. He put a car cover on it EVERY SINGLE DAY when he went to work - that thing was spotless. So you can imagine my horror (and his) when one hot summer day my rocky road ice cream cone melted ALL OVER the inside of his car. A chocolate, sticky mess everywhere.

The Mojo Killer

I was at a networking luncheon and a handsome stranger (sans wedding ring) got in the lunch line behind me. I was trying my hardest to look desirable yet cool when an old colleague came up to me, right in front of him, and said, "Oh Bethe... we're all worried that you're NEVER going to find someone. Are you EVER going to get married????" Awesome.

Probably A Bad Match

On my most recent blind date, I knew things probably weren't going well when he (1) refused to talk about church, (2) threw down a few cuss words, (3) talked about getting so drunk that he had to walk home the night before, and (4) told me he drove to Dallas three nights a week to play in various kick ball leagues. Really... kickball?? Luckily I was able to drown my disappointment in molten chocolate cake, so it wasn't a total waste.

And for the most random moment in my dating history: two Christmases ago I got asked out by one of Santa's elves. Seriously. I said no.