I am still keeping up with my 50 books a year goal. Last year I made it to 59.

1. Fast Food Nation: The Darker Side Of The All American Meal - Schlossen, Eric
2. Oliver Twist - Dickens, Charles
3. A Christmas Carol - Dickens, Charles
4. The Problem Of Pain - Lewis, C.S.
5. Wonders Among Us: Celebrating 75 Years of the Detroit Zoo - Detroit Zoological Society
6. The Spiritual Exercises Of St. Ignatius - St. Ignatius
7. Thesis 1973 - Wilhite, Jack
8. The Politics Of Jesus - Yoder, John Howard
9. When Women Were Priests: Women’s Leadership In The Early Church & The Scandal of their Subordination in the Rise of Christianity - Torjesen, Karen Jo
10. The Mad Farmer Poems - Berry, Wendell
11. The Silent Language - Hall, Edward T.
12. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals - Pollan, Michael
13. The Raven and the Monkey’s Paw: Classics of Horror and Suspense from the Modern Library - Poe, Edgar Allen
14. Dark Night Of The Soul - St. John Of The Cross
15. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto - Pollan, Michael
16. The Everlasting Man - Chesterton, G. K.
17. Naked - Sedaris, David
18. Cannery Row - Steinbeck, John
19. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Albom, Mitch
20. The Red Pony - Steinbeck, John
21. The Metamorphosis - Kafka, Franz
22. Dress You Family In Corduroy And Denim - Sedaris, David
23. The Picture of Dorian Gray - Wilde, Oscar
24. Women, Earth, and Creator Spirit - Johnson, Elizabeth A.
25. Is Religion Killing Us? Violence in the Bible and the Quran - Nelson-Pallmeyer, Jack
26. Slapstick - Vonnegut, Kurt
27. The Violence Of Love - Romero, Oscar A.
28. The Short Reign of Pippin IV: A Fabrication - Steinbeck, John
29. The Humor Of Jesus - Cormier, Henri
30. Jesus And The Nonviolent Revolution -Trocme, Andre
31. The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real - Williams, Margery
32. Beauty and the Beast - Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve
33. Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency - Adams, Douglas
34. Heart of Darkness - Conrad, Joseph
35. Therese - Day, Dorothy
36. White Fang - London, Jack
37. The Poisonwood Bible - Kingsolver, Barbara
38. The Call of the Wild - London, Jack
39. The Adventures Of Tom Thumb - Muller, Gerda
40. Letters To An American Lady - Lewis, C. S.
41. The Bear - Heymann, Daniele
42. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down: A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures - Fadiman, Anne
43. Paddle To The Sea - Holling, Holling Clancy
44. The Three Coats Of Benny Bunny - Asheron, Sara
45. Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home - Whedon, Joss
46. The Cat Who Went to Heaven - Coatsworth, Elizabeth
47. The Mouse On The Motorcycle - Cleary, Beverly
48. Liberation Theology: Human Hope Confronts Christian History and American Power - Ruether, Rosemary
49. Buffy The Vampire Slayer: No Future For You - Whedon, Joss
50. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin - Franklin, Benjamin
51. Maps - Farah, Nuruddin
52. Sterling Biographies: Rosa Parks: Courageous Citizen - Ashby, Ruth
53. Vestments - Reimringer, John
54. Letters From A Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father’s Questions about Christianity - Boyd, Gregory A.
55. Runaway Ralph - Cleary, Beverly
56. Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Wolves At The Gate - Whedon, Joss
57. Socks - Cleary, Beverly
58. Persepolis: The Story Of A Childhood - Satrapi, Marjane
59. Persepolis 2: The Story Of A Return - Satrapi, Marjane

Apparently I still have a tumblr account. Thanks Destroy Nate Allen for making me remember that. Jesus, keep us safe from the cops indeed.

Why are doughnuts so hard to resist?

I surpassed my goal of reading 50 books/works in 2010. In approximate order:

1. The Napoleon of Notting Hill - Chesterton, G. K.
2. The Spire - Golding, William
3. God In The Dock - Lewis, C. S.
4. Carrie - King, Stephen
5. From The Earth To The Moon - Verne, Jules
6. The Silmarillion - Tolkien, J. R. R.
7. 700 Sundays - Crystal, Billy
8. Communion: The Female Search for Love - Hooks, Bell
9. A Brief History Of Time - Hawking, Stephen W.
10. The Myth Of A Christian Nation: How The Quest For Political Power Is Destroying The Church - Boyd, Gregory A.
11. My Friends The Wild Chimpanzees - Goodall, Jane
12. The Voice Revealed: The True Story of the Last Eyewitness: The Gospel of John - Seay, Chris
13. The Year Of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest To Follow The Bible As Literally As Possible - Jacobs, A. J.
14. Ninety-Five Theses on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences - Luther, Martin
15. The Silver Chair - Lewis, C. S.
16. The Horse and His Boy - Lewis, C. S.
17. Of Mice And Men - Steinbeck, John
18. The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches: A Practical (and Fun) Guide to Enjoying Life More by Spending Less - Yeager, Jeff
19. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH - O’Brien, Robert C.
20. 1984 - Orwell, George
21. UnChristian: What A New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity …And Why it Matters - Kinnaman, David
22. The Pearl - Steinbeck, John
23. A Wind In The Door - L’Engle, Madeleine
24. Your Jesus Is Too Safe: Outgrowing A Drive-Thru, Feel Good Savior - Wilson, Jared C.
25. Tortilla Flat - Steinbeck, John
26. A Swiftly Tilting Planet - L’Engle, Madeleine
27. The World Without Us - Weisman, Alan
28. Many Waters - L’Engle, Madeleine
29. A Survival Guide to the Stress of Organizational Change - Pritchett, Price
30. St. Francis of Assisi - Chesterton, G. K.
31. To Kill A Mockingbird - Lee, Harper
32. The Pilgrim’s Progress - Bunyan, John
33. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong - Loewen, James W.
34. 50 Relatives Worse Than Yours - Racz, Justin
35. Fuck This Book - Oser, Bodhi
36. Jurassic Park - Crichton, Michael
37. The Pilgrim’s Regress - Lewis, C. S.
38. The Scarlet Letter - Hawthorne, Nathaniel
39. Ultimate X-Men Vol. 1: The Tomorrow People - Millar, Mark
40. The Wave - Strasser, Todd
41. X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 1 - Various
42. X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 2 - Various
43. All Around The Moon - Verne, Jules
44. Hmong in Minnesota (People of Minnesota) - Vang, Chia
45. Feminist Interpretation Of The Bible - Russell M., Letty
46. X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 3 - Various
47. The Time Machine - Wells, H. G.
48. 2BR02B - Vonnegut, Kurt
49. The Big Trip Up Yonder - Vonnegut, Kurt
50. X-Men: The Complete Age of Apocalypse Epic, Book 4 - Various
51. Spirits In Bondage: A Cycle Of Lyrics - Lewis, C. S.
52. The Female Brain - Brizendine, Louann
53. The Magician’s Nephew - Lewis, C. S.
54. The Last Battle - Lewis, C. S.
55. The United States Constitution: A Graphic Adaptation - Hennessey, Johnathan
56. Time Must Have A Stop - Huxley, Aldous
57. The Cost Of Discipleship - Bonhoeffer, Dietrich

In the wonderful land of Minnesota, I am crowned King of the Meat Raffle (more on that story later). You are most likely asking, “Russell, what is a Meat Raffle?” It is exactly what it…

I played my first meat raffle and won. Two gigantic sirloins for just $1? Yes. I now can say I have a have had a 100% chance of winning meat… in raffles… for charity.

That’s right, it recently snowed here. Snow is awesome. We have it, you don’t.

What kind of lukewarm, non-beautiful precipitation does your I’m afraid to drive, walk or breathe outside during the…

In the future. When the cold fronts move in and the snow is falling. That is the moment when the missing of each other will cease… and then pick back up after I have to go home again.

I recently listened to this again and love it. Party like it’s 1983. Sure, this album has nothing to do with partying or Prince, but I am listening to Electric Six right now.