Partially-Read Books

When it comes to non-fiction books, I have found that I am a good starter but not the best finisher. School is one thing...I'll read books that I'm required to read but other books (for pleasure) are more hit and miss. What this means is that I carry, from place to place, various books that I have started but not finished. I am completely serious when I say that some books have been with me since college days, gone to Germany and back again, and now to Mexico.

Part of my own quirkiness is that I'll buy books because I've heard it's good or because it sounds topically interesting but then it becomes wildly popular and I lose interest. So in some weird inner protest to not join the bandwagon that sweeps that nation, I never read or finish the book. Completely silly, I know.

Anyhow, I have officially declared the rest of 2012 to be the year to finish all these partially-read books that have yet to be completed. Many of them, I started so long ago that I have to start completely over because I haven't the slightly clue on what was originally read. And I will say that of the books I have completed, I'd recommend most of them...they end up being very good which makes me wonder why I was such a delinquent in the first place. Oh well...moving on.

Here is the list:

1. "Too Small to Ignore: why the least of these matter" by Dr. Wess Stafford (Completed this. Started this prior to leaving Mexico, about 5 months ago)
2. "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan (Completed this. One of my unnecessary bandwagon "protests" from several years ago.)
3. "The Making of Marriage" by Timothy and Kathy Keller (Completed this. I started this not that long ago but didn't make much headway. But then I became determined NOT to have another lingering book...so I finished it. It was good.)
4. "The Magnificent Obsession" by Anne Graham Lotz (Completed this. This was the only book that I would say is just "okay".)
5. "An Arrow Pointing to Heaven" by James Bryan Smith (Completed this. I started this several years back. This is a book on Rich Mullins' life...well worth reading.)
6. "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller (Reading it and will likely finish it tonight. A good book. I bought this book twice and it still took me 7-8 years to read it.)
7. "Radical" by David Platt (I bought this right before it became popular...owed it about 2 years, perhaps?)
8. "Persuasion" by Jane Austin (LOVE this movie but have had the most ridiculous time reading the book. Partly because whenever I read some of it, I want to see the movie which then satisfies all desire to hear the story.)
9. "That Hideous Strength" by C.S. Lewis (This is the 3rd in the space trilogy. This series is so not the Chronicles of Narnia.)
10. **I missed a book!  "The Inner Voice of Love" by Henri Nouwen (This book is a devotional type book meaning I only read 1-2 chapters at a time, which is why it's taking me awhile. But I'll get there.)

Listing it out doesn't make it seem so bad. I'm almost two-thirds done. The only book that I'm not forcing myself to finish by the end of the year is "Les Miserable" by Victor Hugo. This book is one I took to Germany 8 years ago, brought it home to Washington, and now it adorns my shelf in Mexico. It is my desire to finish this book...so...maybe it should be on this list.

Perhaps my reading goal for 2013 should be to read all the books on my bookshelf that I have purchased but NEVER read. There are an unfortunate amount of those as well. I'll let you know down the road if that happens.

What are you reading these days?