Who can I tag?

I’ve been tagged by Matthew to answer these 4 questions:

A. Total number of books you’ve owned in your life.
B. What book did you purchase most recently?
C. What are you reading now?
D. List 5 books which mean a lot to you.


A. Total books you’ve owned. Well I’ve never counted. We probably have about a 1,000 in the house now. The library is a wonderful thing for those who don’t want to buy or store books.

B. Most recent purchase would be Built to Last by Jim Collins. I’d already enjoyed Good to Great so much that I’d written a newsletter about it. In fact, I received an email from Collins who extended his best wishes in the endeavor – he prefers "Jim" to "James." One reason for the impact of Good to Great was timing. I read several other works about the same time and it seemed to me that there was a great deal of agreement in the messages.

C. I just finished a book I borrowed from my daughter-in-law. The Child Queen by Nancy McKenzie tells the Arthurian tale from Guinevere’s point of view. If it hadn’t been for the sanctity of books I probably wouldn’t have finished it. But I did finish it so now I’m working on Built to Last.

D. The Pentateuch.
1. The Bible in various translations. I grew up on the venerable King James Version (more accurately the Authorized Version). I didn’t realize that it had affected my English until I was penalized for using British spellings in my American papers. When working with the Greek I learned that maintaining a standard tense is not a sacred commandment. The Gospel writers often switch from historic to present tense to indicate the impact of what they were describing. I’ve picked up on this and find it very difficult to maintain a continuity of tense in my own writing. And while my observations were slanted toward sound bites (portions of verses), I’ve observed that it is the stories themselves that most impact my own decison making. For instance I try to wait on God’s timing because I don’t want to force things the way Sarah did. I try to return good for evil because it turned out so well for David.

2. How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling by Frank Bettger. This book entered my life when I sold door to door for the Southwestern Company. It is a great study of people and what makes them tick.

3. No Good in Art by Miriam Cohen. This is usually the first book I read to first graders. I love the gentle way the new art teacher encourages and the support given by the other kids in the class.

4. The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino. This is another positive thinking book. Mandino suggests that the apostle Paul wasn’t doing well as an evangelist until he learned people skills from the ten scrolls. Again a marvelous study of people and what makes them tick.

5. Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl. I read this one when I was in the 5th grade (or thereabouts). I probably would have given up before finishing it except for the librarian’s comment when I checked the book out. She said something like: "Oh this is too old for you, don’t you want to get a different book?"