What I’m Reading 6/23/09

Last night I finished reading Mark Levin’s book, Liberty and Tyranny.  For the most part, it was excellent…I’ll try to give the full review in the next day or two, but I don’t have the book with me and wanted to make a few detailed comments on it.  It probably won’t be tonight, because I think we are having dinner with friends, but perhaps I can get to it tomorrow sometime.  Anyway, I enjoyed it, and if you have not read it, I think you should. 

I’m almost done with Sahara, and I’m also enjoying that immensely.  I think the next fiction book I read is probably going to be another Clive Cussler novel, because this one has been a lot of fun.  I’ve got Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett sitting at home, which I’ve pondered reading next, but it’s quite lengthy and I don’t feel it’s quite as “escapist” as the Cussler novels.  For my next non-fiction book, I’m thinking of tackling something a bit more weighty, so I want to balance that with something that’s a lot of fun.  I had a stack of non-fiction out last night, trying to decide what I should move on to now that I’m done with the Levin book.  I eventually brought Time on the Cross to work with me today, along with The Prize.  The first is an economic look at the institution of slavery in America.  I started reading it last year, and was really enjoying it, when a friend lent me Son of the Morning Star.  That was a book I had been wanting to read, and since I was borrowing it, I put aside the other stuff I was reading at the time to work on that.  But now I think I am ready to pick up Time on the Cross again.  It’s not a long book, and while it does involve economics, it’s not difficult to read.  It also contained a lot of information that most people either didn’t know or were misinformed about, and I found it to be a very educational read.

The Prize, on the other hand, is a MUCH weightier book, one that I am considering adding as a third book to my stack of “stuff I am reading.”  It’s all about the history of oil, and I heard it recommended last year by some guy from Real Clear Markets as the definitive book on the oil industry.  It’s not light reading material, however.  It is almost 800 pages, with pretty small font, and a LOT of information.   It’s not difficult persay, it’s just a massive amount of information about a subject that I am not real familiar with, which is why I want to read it this year.  And with the price of oil fluctuating  so wildly, I think it would be helpful to have a bit of knowledge about the industry…especially in seeing through all the bluster put forth by politicians who have only a limited knowledge of the oil industry themselves.

And I’ve been keeping up with daily Scripture reading as well.  I’ve been rereading the Gospels and the Book of Acts.  I just recently read of a Scripture reading plan that recommended reading the Gospels in addition to other daily reading, to keep the mind Christ-focused.  I thought this was a good suggestion, so I’ve incorporated it into my own daily reading.

So now you know what I’m reading.  Exciting, isn’t it?  I’m interested in knowing what other people are reading as well…so if you have any good book recommendations, or are in the process of reading a book, let me know about it.