A body without a soul

"A home without books is like a body without a soul."  

- Marcus Tullius Cicero

I LOVE books.  Sometimes I go to thrift stores and wander through the shelves and shelves for way longer than I should, looking for a good read.  For a cheap date, my husband and I will go to Barnes and Noble, pick out some interesting looking books, get a yummy treat from the Starbucks inside, and sit, and read...and read...and tell each other about the awesome things we're reading.

Books are wisdom.  They are thoughts and experiences, stories and perspectives I've never considered before.  I love the feel of a book in my hands.  I even like the smell of a book store.  I'm a book nerd.

I have a list of books that I love (surprise...another list!)  Some I love purely because they entertained me.  Most I love because they inspired me or changed my view of the world or made me rethink how I'm living my life.  Here is my list in part...

My Grandfather's Blessings by Rachel Naomi Remen
The God Who Weeps by Terryl and Fiona Givens
Expecting Adam by Martha Beck
David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
The Scarlet Pimpernell by Emma Orczy
10 Great Souls I Want to Meet in Heaven by Michael Wilcox
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck
Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Siddartha by Hermann Hess
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
This I Believe and This I Believe II
The China Study by T. Colin Campbell
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Cradle to Cradle by Michael Braungart and William McDonough
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (lots of swearing, fyi)
Kitchen Table Wisdom by Rachel Naomi Remen
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Breaking Night by Liz Murray
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
These is My Words by Nancy Turner
Weakness is Not Sin by Wendy Ulrich
You CAN Buy Happiness by Courtney Carver
Eve and the Choice Made in Eden by Beverly Campbell
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Whoa, sorry that's kind of a LOT.  There's more too.  I just didn't list them all...

So, beyond my mom, sisters, and few close friends, I don't know who is reading this blog.  But if you are, and you love books, and you want to recommend some of your favorites, I am ALWAYS looking for a good book.   Please leave a comment!