Stratoz's Interview, Part I: Books

Stratoz posted such great questions for his parish's candidates that I'm going to take a page out of Robin's book and answer them, too. (One at a time, friends. Because I'm not a terribly ambitious blogger. Or, because I want you to have a chance to digest all my wisdom. *snort*)

Please tell me about the last five books you read.

1. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery: I re-read this recently, and was just as charmed by it as I had been as a kid. I especially noticed this time how often Anne finds "kindred spirits" in unexpected people. It's a beautiful book, and Anne's willingness to use her imagination inspired me.
2. The Web Designer's Idea Book by Patrick McNeil: I'm putting together a website for my fledgling spiritual direction practice, and this book has been a helpful tool for creating a mental picture of what I want. (The challenge will be making that actually happen.)
3. barefoot contessa how easy is that? by Ina Garten: I understand that there are people who don't adore Ina Garten, but it doesn't make sense to me. This woman uses butter, cheese, and salt like aliens are going to obliterate the planet tomorrow, and there's no need to age gracefully. I love to eat, and this is some amazing food.
4. The Practice of Spiritual Direction by Barry & Connolly: I'm going through my old material again (slowly), reminding myself of what I know to be true, and picking up some of what I missed on the first pass. This is a wonderful practical guide.
5. Talking with Children about Loss by Maria Trozzi with Kathy Massimini: A friend lent this to me after this summer's grief class. I've been reading it in the midst of other things (clearly), so it's slow going, but it's a good book. Trozzi raises some important points about children processing differently than adults. She also spends a good amount of time on non-bereavement loss, which strikes me as important-- I think we often minimize children's feelings.

Those are my books! There have been others-- mainly Victoria Thompson's gaslight mysteries-- but those are the ones I'm still reading or thinking about.