I want to recommend a few things.

I just want to do this every once in a while. My dear friend, Gherkin, always sends a Christmas letter with her book and movie choices for the last year and I love reading it. Usually there are several items we agree on, sometimes I have to search out her choices, but usually they are worth the hunting.

So, without further blogging, comes my list for December and January.

The Shack by William Young. If you haven’t read it, why not? It is all over the Walmart, even though I initially ordered it from Amazon. I actually finished it at 5:30 a.m. in Mintouk State Park in Missouri on a camping trip last summer. (Yes, I went camping, and yes, I hated it) The book is great, and that is all I will say about it.

My Beautiful Idol by Pete Gall. I waited until I heard back from the author before I decided to add this to my list. When Pete responded to my e-mail I knew he was normal and not just another Christian author trying to find readers. His book was in the wrong section of the local Christian bookstore, and so it kind of stuck out like a sore thumb. It is a semi-biographical book that was in the “youth ministry” section. (Way to read the description bookstore people). Anyway, this book had me in the opening chapter, when God reminds Pete of his call to ministry. (see my blog “Getting Past It” to understand why this hits home.) And Pete continues to share, and he is so amazingly honest that I found it refreshing and really quite Jesus-like. I believe Pete is not going to be the next Donald Miller, and that is a good thing. He is his own person, and needs to keep writing that way. Go to www.petegall.com for info on his next book, due in April.

Ghost Town…with Ricky Gervais and Tea Leoni. Loved this movie. It is about redemption, and it is funny. Gervais’ character, Dr. Pincus, is a sad man who finds love, and he plays it perfectly. When he is sitting on his bed getting scolded by Greg Kinnear’s character, expect to be saddened by his life. We rented this the same time as Apaloosa, a western, which blew chunks.

And finally, I love “My Name is Earl”. We watched this the first year, and sadly stopped when Survivor came in against it. Kim (not the junior senator’s wife) bought the first three seasons for me at Christmas and it just gets better. Two episodes in particular have been great. The Camden episode of Cops and the episode where Earl, Randy, Joy, and Crabman all tell their versions of a story about stolen silverware are two of the funniest. Jason Lee, Ethan Supple, and Jaime Pressley deserve Emmy’s. Honorable mention to Big Bang Theory, The Office, and Scrubs.

I am
not the Junior Senator from Illinois