Summer reading (and a book giveaway)

Amanda at Serenity Now is having one of her fun Dishing It parties today, and her topic is a great one: summer reading.

Oh, how I love to read. Left to my own devices, I'd spend hours on end with my nose in a book. There aren't enough hours, though, so I'm picky about where I park my nose. For me, a book needs to be at least one of three "E's":

• Entertaining
• Educational
• Edifying

And if a book is more than one of these, it's a real winner.

We went to the beach last week, and I read two (count 'em! Two!) novels. My son Preston has been hounding me to read some of his favorite authors, so I gave in and read Michael Crichton's A Case of Need. Preston seemed happy to say "I told you you'd like him" when I asked what Crichton book I should read next. As it turned out, Next was the Crichton novel Preston recommended I read next! These novels were both entertaining and certainly thought-provoking if not educational. I give them 1 1/2 E's.

Next up for me is Longing for God: Seven Paths of Christian Devotion by Richard J. Foster and Gayle D. Beebe.

You've read Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster, haven't you? If not, click here and order it. Believe me, you'll be glad you did.

About Longing for God John Ortberg says, "This is a feast for the mind and the soul. This is the best and richest of Christian thinking and soul-making made accessible to everybody. It would be very hard to read this without having your heart grow." Sounds good, doesn't it? This is going to be at least a 2 E book.

And as for the giveaway, there's one more book that's been in my hands this summer:

Stuff Christians Like by Jonathan Acuff. If you like tongue-in-cheek writing, you'll like Jon's book. Be warned: Jon's an equal-opportunity offender, so you'll have to bring your sense of humor with you when you read his book. But underneath Jon's sarcasm beats a heart aflame with a white-hot love for God.

I am proud to say that Jon Acuff is the oldest son of two of my dearest friends in the world, Mark and Libby Acuff. When Jon was visiting his parents recently I bought a few copies of his book: one for me, a couple for gifts, and one for you. That's right: I got Jon Acuff to autograph a copy of Stuff Christians Like for me to give away. Leave a comment on this post to enter. I'll use a random number generator to select a winner from among the commenters on Sunday, July 18.

**Note: You don't have to be a blogger to comment. My blog is set up to accept comments from anyone, including people who prefer not set up a Blogger account or even remain anonymous. Just click on "Comments" or "Post a Comment" below and you'll be directed to a form. If you do choose to comment as "Anonymous," though, be sure to leave some kind of name or contact information in the form--that way I can get in touch with you if you're the winner!**

Happy reading!