A Few Books on My List for 2012

These are just a few of the books I'm considering for 2012, for various reasons.  They may or may not be on your list, and the list is by no means comprehensive. 

1.  Out Stealing Horses, Per Petterson.  This has been on my list for a couple of years; I'm reading it now.  It caught my eye when it was listed as one of the 10 best books of the year by the New York Times Book Review.

2.  Opening to God, David Benner.  I am more and more attracted to lectio divina.

3.  Major Pettigrew's Last Stand,  Helen Simonson.  Our January book club selection.  Stay tuned for more intriguing choices.

4.  Memoir:  a History, Ben Yagoda.  I discovered this book when Borders was going out of business and the shelves had thinned out.  I'm inordinately interested in the rise of the memoir as a literary genre and hope that reading this will help crystalize some opinions about this.  It also intrigues me that one of Ben Yagoda's other books is a biography of Will Rogers.  (Perhaps that one should go on my list, too?)

5.  Rin Tin Tin, Susan Orlean.  I mean, look at that face.  How can you not want to know everything about Rin Tin Tin?

6.   Accompany Them with Singing, Thomas Long.  It seems to me that the Christian funeral is one of the most essential tasks of the church.

7.  Simply Christian, N.T. Wright.  I like substantial theological books that I can also share with the people in my congregation.  I think that much of Wright's work is like this.

8.  The Prodigal God, Timothy Keller.  Just because I need to read it.

9.  Another mystery by Henning Mankell.  Not sure which one yet.  But, I'll let you know.

10.  I will be looking for a book or books of poetry by Palestinian-American poet Naomi Shihab Nye. 

11.  Also, I want to find at least one laugh-out-loud funny book this year.  Because, as Milton Berle once said, "Laughter is an instant vacation."

It is interesting that there are not more novels or memoirs on this list -- yet.  As the year progresses, I'm sure that stories will form the backbone of what I read.  I just haven't gotten the buzz yet on which stories I need to read.  Anyone?