A few years ago, a girl I had just begun dating had to get me a gift for my birthday. I suppose she didn’t have to; I should say she wanted to. But what I really wanted – a long, thick gold necklace that I could wear proudly around town – was out of the question. We had only been dating two weeks. You can’t get someone a gift like that after two weeks. It would just be weird.

She ended up settling on a book titled Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller. It was a book she considered one of her favorites. It was book I had never heard of, and wasn’t sure I wanted to read. She was right of course – she knew me well even back then – and today that girl is my wife, and all of Donald Miller’s books have a special place on my bookshelf.

I consider myself a fan of Donald Miller, and although none of his other books have matched the success of Blue Like Jazz, each of them have their qualities I admire and learn from.  He has a canny ability to express his thoughts in a way that makes people think, sometimes cry, but most importantly laugh. In his latest project, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Miller grabs all his wit and humor that has earned him success and runs with it in a new direction. Rather than simply writing down his thoughts on life and religion, Miller brings the reader along on his personal, often painful, journey to a greater understanding of life and the story within it. From his new passion for cycling, his hiking trip along the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and the kindling – and de-kindling – of a new relationship, it’s his own personal story, about the desire we all have to create our own story, and the need to get off our backsides and start living it.

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years might just be Miller’s best book yet. Not because it has his best writing – it doesn’t – and not because it has his most profound thoughts – it doesn’t – but because it forces the reader to look inward and examine their own story rather than looking outward in agreement. Where Blue Like Jazz allowed me to sit on my couch and nod my head in agreement at how I felt the Christian world should be, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years forced me to look inward and reexamine my own life and what I can do to make sure it’s a story worth living. It’s as if William Wallace himself wrote a book about a comment he made to a French Princess a long, long time ago: Every man dies…not every man really lives (insert your own bad Scottish accent). Every time I hear that phrase in Braveheart I get fired up. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years has the same effect, kind of, but you get my point.

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As a side note, thanks to Thomas Nelson Books for sending me an advanced copy to read and review. They also sent me an extra copy which I’ve decided to randomly give away to one lucky son (or daughter) of a gun. There are two ways to enter to win, leave a comment about your favorite Donald Miller book and why, or post this review on Twitter. Either way gets your name in the “drawing”, doing it both ways means your extra special, but you still only get one chance to win. I’ll email/tweet the winner a week from today. Good luck!

I remember reading my first book, flipping through the pages of the story as I hid away in the corner of my room. I read that book every day, all day, stopping only to eat or take a quick trip to the bathroom. At night, when it was lights out, I would quickly reach under my bed to grab a flashlight so I could read a few more lines. I wouldn’t dare fall asleep without filling my eyes to the brim with this magical story. And it was a bit like magic to me. The characters were my magicians; the events of the story were my tricks. It all took place in the pages, my stage. When I finished the last few lines, I remember closing the book and sliding down the bed to rest my head on the pillow. And then I cried. I couldn’t understand how it could end the way it did.

My second book was much the same. More hiding, more late nights by flash light, and when I was done, more tears. When I dried my eyes for the second time in as many stories, I made a pledge to myself. Never, will I ever, get a dog. What was the point? Why get a dog if it would just be attacked by some wild animal and die, or worse, get rabies, in which case I’d have to get a gun and shoot it myself? Growing up without a dog seemed like the better plan.

I might have read other stories before those first two, but I can’t remember. I probably read a few of those pop-up books, or those books that start with A is for Apple, but I distinctly remember reading Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows and thinking that, literally, all dogs go to heaven, usually much sooner than their owners would like. I also thought I had fallen in love with stories. This thought, unlike the dog thought, turned out to be true.

I love stories, I always have. When I was done sobbing like the little boy I was, I made my way over to a small box of books we had in the corner of our living room and grabbed my next magic show. I quickly dived into another story and I haven’t stopped since, minus a period in high school after my English teacher made my class read The Great Gatsby. She said it was one of the greatest stories of all time and I figured if that was the case it was better to just stop while I was ahead. Luckily, I’ve since decided other wise.

My love affair with books has led me through a lot of pages, to a lot of magic shows. I’ve read big books and small books, thin books and thick books. In elementary school, I attempted to read The Yearling, which, if you don’t know, is big…too big. I stopped halfway through. The majority of the books I read, however, I did finish. I’ve finished fiction books and non-fiction books, scary stories by Stephen King and some not so scary stories by Stephen King. Lately, I’ve become a big fan of biographies. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s because I’ve grown up, and as a kid grows out of magic, I myself have grown out of fiction. Perhaps I know that in biographies, the stories, the magic, is real. No, that’s not true. It can’t be. I quite vividly remember reading 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and although I knew the story was fiction, the magic was quite real. So real, in fact, I would find myself tucked underneath my covers with a flashlight, just for old times sake.

I also enjoy shopping for books. Now, when it comes to shopping in general, I like to consider myself more of a purchaser: I know what I want and I go get it, no need to snoop around. With books, however, it’s different. I actually like to snoop, I like to take my time and look at everything, even if I leave with nothing. I guess it’s a like a woman in a shoe store, except I don’t end up in front of a mirror with a look of indecision on my face. And just as I imagine any shoe store would please a woman, any bookstore would do the trick for me. I’m a frequent shopper at places like Barnes and Noble and Borders, but I’m not vain in my shopping taste. I don’t mind visiting a second-hand store; in fact I quite like the smell of an old, used book. The thing I’ve discovered about bookstores is that they’re a bit like zoos. They are all the same, but I’d like to see them all.

There is one bookstore that I wish I could see again. It sits in Los Angeles on the Sunset Strip and although I’ve only been there once, I know it’s my favorite. I had heard rumors that it was good, that it filled you like a warm bowl of chicken soup, and when I finally stepped inside I knew…sometimes, rumors are true. The floor was old, wooden, and sore from many years of use. I could hear its shrieks of pain as I walked along, my nose in the air, my eyes fixed on the thousands of stories above. The high bookcases matched the floorboards and were lined in no particular order. The books were stuffed inside the cases like a row of dominoes right before its creator adds the finishing touch with a flick of a finger. I don’t know if it was heaven, but I hope it was close.

I spent nearly two hours in this store and would have loved to make it three, but unfortunately I had to get back on the road and keep heading east. It was meant to be a quick stop, one I convinced myself I could make short, because the sun was about to hit the Pacific and I still had a long ways to go. I should’ve known. The problem was there were too many books to look at, too many stories to peruse through. And maybe that’s what I love so much about books. No matter how I feel, or what I want, there is always a book, a story for every moment. Feeling down? Get a book. Feel like laughing? Get a book. Want to learn to play piano? Get a book. And so it goes, on and on and on with no end in sight.

Continuing with the theme of “you should check this out” that I have been riding lately (see I’m in Love With Pandora, Heath is My Hero, Where the Hell is Matt Now, and more…) I found something today that, yes, you should definitely check out.

That is…if you like to write…and if you have a Mac.

If that means you, check out an application called Scrivener. It is the perfect tool for outlining novels, screenplays, random writings, etc. You can actually write your entire book in the program and then export it out into a .pdf or .doc.

The price is reasonable at $39.95 ($34.95 if you’re a student), and it comes with a 30 day trial period so you can see if it’s for you before you spend the money. I plan on using it for the next 30 days and hope it will push my rear end into gear and make me start writing again. I don’t see myself getting rid of it after that.

My first impression is that it rocks. I’ll let you know if I was wrong.

No related posts.

I’ve always been a fairly big fan of Chuck Palahniuk. In fact, if I had to give credit to any author for my reading habits, it might just be him. At a time when I didn’t read at all, nor had the desire to, I saw a book titled Choke at an airport bookstore and decided to buy it so I would have something to keep me company during my travels. The book was so good I decided to buy the rest of his books and read them all, one after another. I haven’t stopped reading – completely – since.

Each of his books were interesting to me because they were edgy and different. But as Palahniuk continues to write, his books get more disturbing and a bit disgusting; his stories become worse because of it. Every book has a been a steady downward decline into disturbing areas in which I’m not so sure I want to go. Especially after deciding to put Christ number one in my life. When one of his latest books, Rant, was published I had some serious doubts as to whether I should even read it, but I decided to and I do admit: it wasn’t that bad. I escaped unscathed. But now I have to draw the line. I have to get off the bandwagon before it falls off the edge. His latest book I can’t read, not even if I wanted to. It’s called Snuff, and it’s about 600 guys who are standing in line to have sex on film with an adult film star as she tries to break the record for…well, you get the point. It’s too disturbing, even for me.

When I saw the book at the bookstore yesterday I do have to admit, a part of me wanted to read it. Not because of it’s content of course, but because of who wrote it. His writing is actually really good; it’s definitely different – in more ways than one – than any other author I’ve read. Plus, I’ve read all his other books so a part of me wanted to read this one as well…but I knew I couldn’t. Yeah, the content was too much, but even more I reflected on the First Commandment, the “no other god’s before me” one…and I realized that “gods” doesn’t always mean a spiritual entity.

I think putting my desire to read a certain book above my desire to follow the Lord is a form of worshiping another god. I suppose it’s the same with movies, or excessive drinking, sex, etc. What am I a slave to? What do I worship? God or other stuff – desirable stuff? What’s more important? It actually made a lot of sense to me. So I put the book down. And I know I won’t pick it up again, there’s no interest.

Perhaps it sounds weird, but I think it’s true. The whole, “Thou shall have no other gods before me” doesn’t necessarily mean “gods” in the typical sense of the word. I think we can put many things before God….we often do, even when we know we shouldn’t. Is that not the same thing? Maybe not…but to me it felt that way yesterday. So, I guess that means the line has been drawn. I’m done with Chuck Palahniuk.

I have developed the habit of sharing my thoughts on all the books that I read. It serves two purposes. One, I am able to share with whoever looks at this site some books to read, or to avoid. And secondly, it allows me to spend more time with a book and reflect on them a little more than I would if I just read it and set it down.

Unfortunately, I haven’t really had the chance to share what my favorite books are, mainly because I read them before I started doing this. So, instead of going back and individually posting an entry for every book I decided to compile a list of my favorites in one post.

Here they are:

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Quick Synopsis: One of the 20th century’s enduring works, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a widely beloved and acclaimed novel known throughout the world, and the ultimate achievement in a Nobel Prize–winning career.

The novel tells the story of the rise and fall of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendía family. It is a rich and brilliant chronicle of life and death, and the tragicomedy of humankind. In the noble, ridiculous, beautiful, and tawdry story of the Buendía family, one sees all of humanity, just as in the history, myths, growth, and decay of Macondo, one sees all of Latin America.

Quick Thoughts: Easily my favorite book of all time. it can be hard to read and is admittedly not for everybody…but the writing and events that take place in the book are what fiction was made for.

Atonement

Synopsis: Set in 1935 England, this “New York Times” bestseller is enthralling in its depiction of childhood, love and war, England and class, making it a profound–and profoundly moving–exploration of shame and forgiveness, of atonement and the difficulty of absolution.

Quick Thoughts: If you’ve seen the movie that came out this year, you know what the story is about. It’s less about love than it is about the results of your actions. In my opinion, the style in which Ian McEwan writes fits this story perfectly.

Blue Like Jazz

Synopsis: Donald Miller’s fresh and original voice may change the way Christians view the “status quo” faith and build a bridge to seekers who believe that organized religion doesn’t meet their spiritual needs.

Quick Thoughts: I’ve written about this book before. (Blue Like Jazz) I like to call it my instruction manual, besides the Bible of course, on how I want to live my Christian life and share my walk with others.

Mere Christianity

Synopsis: A forceful and accessible discussion of Christian belief that has become one of the most popular introductions to Christianity and one of the most popular of Lewis’s books.

Quick Thoughts: Another book on Christianity. If you’ve ever wondered about the world and why Christians believe what they do, this book would be of interest to you. It’s philosophical in it’s writing and C.S. Lewis goes fairly “deep” but it is worth the read.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Synopsis: Oscar is a 300-pound-plus “lovesick ghetto nerd” with zero game (except for Dungeons & Dragons) who cranks out pages of fantasy fiction with the hopes of becoming a Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien. The book is also the story of a multi-generational family curse that courses through the book, leaving troubles and tragedy in its wake.

Quick Thoughts: I read this one recently and fell in love with the characters. The books has tremendous power and immediately jumped into my top five.

Into the Wild

Synopsis: In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. He had given $25,000 in savings to a charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet and invented a life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter. Jon Krakauer brings Chris McCandless’s uncompromising pilgrimage out of the shadows and illuminates it with meaning in this mesmerizing and heartbreaking tour de force.

Quick Thoughts: This is an amazing true story and written in a journalistic style, basically it’s a large magazine article. Exciting, and heartbreaking.

Also, before I finish, I should mention the Harry Potter books. I’ve read them and enjoyed them all, some more than once.

This has nothing to do with a woodchuck…or wood for that matter. It has to do with a book, or more so with the author of said book: Chuck Palahniuk.

For those who don’t know, Chuck Palahniuk wrote Fight Club and specializes in writing off the wall stuff that most would consider “twisted,” but he’s also very good. His style of writing is very clever and different. He’s one of my favorite authors and I’ve read most of his stuff, but the last time I read one of his books was two or more years ago. I’ve changed quite a bit in the last couple years, I now read more of the Bible than I do of Palahniuk, and that’s the reason for this post. This weekend I had sort of a moral dilemma.

I was walking around Barnes and Noble when I realized Chuck Palahniuk has a new book out called Rant. When I saw it I picked it up and immediately thought, “Ooh…I have to get this!” But then I paused for a second and thought, “Should I?”

If you’ve read one of his books you know that the others are going to be just as good, but also just as twisted, which led me to ask myself whether or not I should get it. If I bought this book and read it…would that be sort of an act against God? Keep in mind one of this guy’s best books is about a sex addict who purposely chokes himself in restaurants so other people will save him and then help him through life. Needless to say I wondered out loud and discussed it with Stephanie for quite a while.

Most people will say if I wondered about it, then it’s obviously a sign from God that says loudly and in neon lights: “Don’t read it!” You’re probably right, and I thought that as well. But then I thought, it isn’t like I enjoy what he writes about, I just really like his style of writing…literally every book is crazy awesome. But then I thought, why does that matter? And then I thought, reading this book will not make me stumble in my walk with Christ. And so I bought it. I thought about a hundred different things as well, and I’m pretty sure I just told myself what I needed to tell myself to convince myself that it would be a-ok to buy the book.

What do you think? Should I have bought the book? Am I terrible for wanting to read it?

I haven’t read it yet, I’m sure I will when I’m done with the book I’m reading now, but I just thought I’d share one example of me trying to control my life instead of letting God do all the work. I’m terrible.

P.S. Happy Halloween

Ben Stein, the guy who said, “Bueller…Bueller,” has a new book out called The Real Stars. The Book is a collection of essays arguing that the real stars in the world are not the Hollywood types like Paris Hilton or Brad Pitt, but the men and women who wear the military uniform and fight to keep America a free country. According to Barnes and Noble, one of the essays circulated on the internet a while ago and became one of the most widely circulated pieces in internet history. Here’s a small portion of the essay:

“How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today’s world, if by a “star” we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model? Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails. They can be interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer.

A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit, Iraq. He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets. Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world. A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad. He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him. A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station. He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded. He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad.”

I think the ironic thing is that everyone who reads this book, or hears Ben Stein speak on the subject, will agree (except this idiot), but nothing will change…

Here’s a video of Ben Stein talking about his book: Ben Stein: The Real Stars

In case you’re worried about reading below, I will let you know right now…I’m not going to give away any secrets about the 7th Harry Potter book. I don’t even know what happens because I haven’t read it yet.

Harry Potter Rules

I think I’m in love with Harry Potter…the books, not the boy in the movies. A friend of mine handed me the fourth book when it came out in 2000 and told me I would like it. To be honest, I laughed a little at first. I’m sure I said something like, “isn’t it a kid’s book?” I’m still pretty sure it is, and if so I have to say I like kid’s books. I read the fourth one all the way through in a couple days and then immediately went and borrowed the first three and read them. Ever since then I’ve been a fan. I don’t dress up in a wizard costumes and carry a wand around like other people I have seen, but I do read the books as soon as they come out and I also see the movies as soon as they are released. I’m not the only crazy fan. You know the new Potter book sold 8.3 million copies in the first 24 hours. It almost made as much as the Iphone, and the Iphone cost almost 400 dollars more!!

I’ve heard a lot of ramblings about Harry Potter being evil. Many Christians speak out about it and claim it’s the devil’s work. They even post websites like Avoid Harry Potter where they try to show you why it’s a bad book. Evidently every body who reads it will join a cult and become witches. Hmm…weird. This bothers me. I’m 100 percent sure many of these people have never read the books, and if they did I’m almost 100 percent sure they would change their mind. The only evil in Harry Potter books is the evil wizards that Harry Potter is fighting against. When you read the books you don’t make some evil wizard your hero…the hero in the books is a boy wizard who is fighting for good.

This is interesting: Chicago Tribune Story

If anything, as a Christian, I think you can use the books for good. If you have kids, let them read the books and use them to teach Christian morals and values…they’re in there! (Harry Potter fights with evil temptations, etc.) There is a new resource guide published by the Church of England that suggests youth leaders should use the popular Harry Potter series of books and films as a launch pad for exploring Christian themes within church youth groups or Sunday schools.

Here is the article: Harry Potter and Christianity

One thing that makes me wonder is the fact that many people who are against Harry Potter are so because of the presence of magical characters (witches, wizards, ghosts, goblins, and so on.) Ummm….Lord of the Rings had the same thing, and nobody really spoke out about that. In fact, the author JRR Tolkien is a very outspoken Christian. There is a famous quote by him, “God is the lord of angels and of men….and of elves.”

Nobody speaks out against Lord of the Rings. So, why is Lord of the Rings ok, but Harry Potter isn’t? Probably because it’s better.

I really reccomend the books to anybody who wants to read them. I know I’ll be sharing the books with my kids someday.

If you’re intersted in getting the books and you don’t have any yet, I’d buy this: Harry Potter Box Set

I think that’s enough bickering for today. By the way, the new Harry Potter movie is cool. Slower than the other ones, darker than the other ones…but a good transition into what’s to come. I’d reccomend it.