How I Spent My Winter Break, Part I

I am currently back at Cornell, but in order to pretend I was actually somewhat productive when I was home, the following is a compilation of things that got done while I was on winter break.  Originally, I was going to just make a list of everything I read and did, but then I thought, what’s the fun in doing that without my engrossing commentary?  Part one will feature the books I read while part two focuses on my exploits in the kitchen and elsewhere.

I caught up on reading and finished/read:

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher – I was giving my mind a break with some young adult fiction.  I’d just spent the past two weeks reading about process economics and chemical equilibrium, okay?

Up: A Mother and Daughter’s Peakbagging Adventure by Patricia Ellis Herr – The book highlights some of the things Herr learned while climbing New Hampshire’s 4000 foot peaks with her daughter.  The White Mountains aren’t too far away from where I live.  Now there’s an idea. . . .

Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke – Picked this up for 50 cents or a dollar at the library book sale.  When I say I’ll read anything, that includes the stranger genre of science fiction.

Knowing God by J. I. Packer – I got this for my birthday a couple years ago.  It went to college with me and I figured since I hauled it all the way there, I should read it.  And since I was reading it when I left for break, I figured I should just haul it all the way home to finish.  Also, it was recommended by my parents.

How Music Works: The Science and Psychology of Beautiful Sounds, from Beethoven to the Beatles and Beyond by John Powell – Not a bad book, but a lot of it is basic information if you have musical experience or have hung around musicians long enough for some of their knowledge to rub off on you.

The Ledge: An Adventure Story of Friendship and Survival on Mount Rainier by Jim Davidson and Kevin Vaughn – I've been working my way through the library’s collection of books about people who have climbed mountains, and I picked this up because I hadn't read anything about Mount Rainier yet.

The Greatest Among You: A Student’s Guide to Servant Leadership by Randy Sims – I got this book at Worldview Academy, a summer Christian leadership camp.  The author is one of the speakers at Worldview and tells some of the best stories I've heard while also managing to teach you about leadership at the same time.

Chosen By God by R. C. Sproul – Predestination: a topic that has long been a subject of contention, and the subject of this book.

Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley – The book came before the movie, and I liked it better for a couple of reasons.  One, I didn't get all the characters mixed up, and two, it could go into more detail about the battle and history of the flagraisers because it didn't have to be finished in three hours.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien – This was a reread, in honor of The Hobbit movie coming out this past December.

(I keep track of when I finish books and since I started college I've managed to read three or four books a month. I was wondering how I read about a book a week when I realized I counted my writing seminar books. That explains it.)