The Finalized Library

Ok, so I know many people were curious as to what books I would finally land on. This was a long and painful process and the books I ended up with are not the books I started with. All of them hold their own reasoning and each are a microcosm of my own personality. So here it is...

The Bible
by... well, various authors?

... well, I don't really think this one needs an explanation.

Greek New Testament... a gift from Bethany Baer
by... most of the same various authors?

... I bring this so as not to completely forget my Greek, but even more so for sentimental reasons. There are some objects that just seem to make you feel at ease when you hold them and this is one of those books. It was published in 1907 and has obviously been rebound a couple of times.

"The Impossible Will Take a Little While: A Citizen's Guide to Hope in a Time of Fear"
by... very different various authors

... I assume things will get hard and the contributers to this book have all spent their lives challenging systems and holding steadfast even though it may have seemed the fight had been lost. I will have much need of their words.

"Beyond Good and Evil : Prelude to a Philosophy of the Future"
by Friedrich Nietzsche

... this book is my alter ego and keeps me balanced in a strange way so as not to become a child of "late cultures and of refracted light."

"Biography as Theology: How Life Stories can Remake Today's Theology"
by James Wm McClendon Jr.

... the McClendon is the one theology book I bring with me. I have come to greatly appreciate McClendon's theology over the last year and I thank Suzii Paynter for pointing me in his and Stanley Hauwerwas' direction. Much like Plutarch this book looks at the lives of great men, but unlike Plutarch, through the lens of theology.

"Cu Dumnezeu in Subterana"
by Richard Wurmbrand

...the Wurmbrand is also a last minute addition and is mostly there to keep me connected to Romania in some way. I was going to bring a Romanian translation of the Bible, but it was starting to look like I was going to have the Bible in four or five different languages so I switched it up.

"To a God Unknown"
by John Steinbeck

... the Steinbeck isn't my favorite of his, but my favorite is "East of Eden" and my copy is HUGE. Steinbeck is by far my favorite novelist and so I take him with me.

"The War Prayer"
by Mark Twain

... this small yet profound piece of literature was instrumental in my journey out of ROTC and Carson Newman and into the life that is now leading me to service with the Peace Corps. I don't actually have it in a bound copy. I'm just printing it out on paper, folding it up and sticking it in one of my other books. I have to have it with me though.

"The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives"
by Plutarch
"The History"
by Herodotus

... the Plutarch and Herodotus were last minute additions. I was a Classics major for a while and enjoy the stories of the city states and great men of Greece. I also translated part of Herodotus from Greek into English so it holds a little bit of sentimental value.

"Morocco since 1830: a History"
by C.R. Pennell
"Islam"
by Fazlur Rahman
"Where There is No Doctor: a Village Health Care Handbook"
by David Werner

... so the last three are reference books. One for health, and the other two were books from my "Islamic Studies" courses.

THE END

Mailing Address

Ok... so sadly I was informed that posting my mailing address is not the wisest of decision. If I had taken a moment to think through it I probably should have come to that conclusion too. The Peace Corps office doesn't want to be inundated with the packages that I know all of you would send me so for the training portion of my service I will keep my address to myself only to divulge it to those of you ask for it. My email address is...

wayfarer1635@gmail.com

... so shoot me an email, KEEP IN CONTACT, and if you want to mail something just let me know.