l u k a ' s . p i c k s

The Life of God (As Told by Himself) by Franco Ferrucci not for those who can't stomach a little humor in their daily religion. for instance, what die-hard baptist could stomach an imperfect God?? and who ever would have thought that the real reason God made man was because he was lonely and some of those apes looked pretty smart?? if taken for what it really is -- fiction -- this is a great story, and offers a lot of thought-provoking religious questions. i haven't finished reading this book yet; i'll let you know when i have.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee this is a classic for a reason. i'm not one to use the word "poignant", but if i were, i would use it to describe this book. the simple line, "stand up, your father's passing," made me cry. the fact that it is mainly told from the point of view of a young girl even makes it easy to read (as if the subject matter itself wasn't compelling enough). i was required to read this for my a. p. english class, but i finished it in one weekend. it then received my title of "all-time favorite book." :)

The Left Behind Series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins i came upon these books when my friends at first baptist had to read these for their youth group. the basic premise is simple: what about those who stay on earth after the rapture? although i'm not as interested with the second coming of Christ as i probably should be (my calculations predict it long after my death) it's a great "what if?" scenario. i got stuck in the fourth one, Soul Harvest, but that was due to lack of free reading time; it's still great. the series should be completed soon, too.

The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds some books are beautiful, and this is one of them. it takes place in an extreme pentecostal-like community (most accurately, the church of fire and brimstone and God's almighty baptizing wind), and chronicles the teenage years of a young girl named nina. when she gets pregnant, she convinces herself that it is the second immaculate conception. of course it's not, but it's interesting to watch the different members of the community as they are forced to face the issue of an illegitimate child. so wonderful. it's not even that long of a book!

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb i have read all four hundred sixty-five pages of this book three times. whenever things aren't going my way, i read all about poor dolores price. things never go her way, and she doesn't keep smiling, either. this book begins when dolores is a young girl, and follows her through her parents' divorce, miserable education experiences, weight problems, running away, therapy sessions, and much more, all with dolores's negative outlook on life. my mother didn't like this book; it depressed her too much. but it makes me realize that i don't have it so bad after all.

Skeleton Crew by Steven King steven king is one of my all-time favorite authors, and this is a great collection of his short stories. i read this for the first time over a weekend in the woods with my church, and it got hard to fall asleep at nite. the freaky ideas in his stories stick with you forever! i read this book several years ago, but i vividly remember the stories about driving less miles to a place than the crow flies, and a person on an island who eats himself, or aging through teleportation...you can't be a true steven king fan until you read this!

Rose Madder by Steven King i bought a hardback copy of this at an everything's a dollar store, obviously after it was several years old. it grabbed me as soon as i started it, tho. premise: a woman beat by her husband finally decides to run away, but he stays right behind her. the steven king touch is added when rose finds a painting in her closet which allows her to enter a whole other world. it's not long before the whole thing gets really trippy. i loved it!

The Bachman Books by Richard Bachman according to the fictional introduction of The Regulators, richard bachman died in late 1985 of cancer. however, everyone knows that richard bachman is none other than the alter ego of steven king. this collection contains the running man story that was made into a arnold schwarzenegger movie. it also contains the story "rage," about a student taking over a school. in light of the recent acts of school violence, it's interesting to read again.

Being Presbyterian in the Bible Belt by Ted V. Foote and P. Alex Thornburg Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts these books are next on my reading list. the first is being passed around members of my congregation; all are saying it's wonderful. they're considering buying a copy for everyone in the church. the second was a present from my mom for easter. i cheated and saw the movie, but just reading the back of the book i can tell it's different.

Whatever and Ever Amen by Ben Folds Five the second album produced by BFF, and to this day my favorite. everyone heard the song "brick", but few heard the gems on this album like "steven's last nite in town" and "evaporated". it's really too bad -- people don't realize the possibilities of a piano, bass, and drums combo. (someone please tell me why they're called ben folds FIVE if there's only three people in the band. please.) of course, i might be only sliiiightly partial, being a piano player myself...hehe.

Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette i don't care that this album is fifty years old. it will continue to be one of my absolute favorites. every one of the songs on this cd i know by heart and can find something to relate to within. this has been termed "angry vagina whining music," but hey - maybe those angry vaginas have something to whine about. i don't know that i need to go greatly in depth describing this album, because nearly everyone has heard it at some point.

Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie by Alanis Morissette this album really shows what spending time in india can do to you. what alanis was screaming about before in the previous album, she's now blaming on herself. nah, that's a little harsh. she just turns to be a lot more introspective, which of course is not necessarily a bad thing. although my preference is with Jagged Little Pill, i still love this album. i have a little problem with the lyrics; they seem a little repetitious. but hey, i'm not the zillionaire. (anyone who catches the reference gets a cookie.)

Unplugged by Alanis Morissette are you sensing a trend here?? no really, this is actually my favorite of the three. (yes, i realize there were earlier albums, but they're not the same.) there's something about an unplugged, live sound that just gives everything new life. granted, "you oughta know" did lose quite a bit - well, all - of its rage and didn't come off well. but everything else is awesome. there are even two new tracks. they're not my favorite, but they are a bonus :)

The Decline by NOFX i'm not punk enough to be a big nofx fan, but i love this song. for those of you who have never heard of it, it's eighteen minutes long and the only song on the cd. (which means anyone who pays more than the eight bucks i did is dumb, even the back of the cd says pay no more than eleven bucks.) it's all about anarchy and general ignorance and stupidity and victimization and those lovely things. i don't know why i love this song, but i can't stop listening to it.

It Means Everything by Save Ferris i primarily wanted this cd because i wanted to hear the old eighties song "come on eileen" redone in ska. to tell the truth, that's really all i had heard from save ferris. but how could anyone resist a band named after a line in the movie "ferris bueller's day off"? anyway, i personally like save ferris over no doubt, for the simple reason that they are not as well known :) and wow, can monique belt out a song...

Modified by Save Ferris i'm not really sure why, but this doesn't seem as good as It Means Everything. i think it all just seems a little more generic. i also haven't listened to it nearly as much as the other album. i thought maybe i was just burning out on save ferris, but i still love the other cd. oh well. i guess the best way to describe it is "just another save ferris cd." at least monique's still got it!

Greased by Less Than Jake i was never a big fan of the movie Grease, but i have worn out this tape. the only problem with it that i can find is that it's only fifteen minutes long, meaning you pay about a buck a minute for it. still, the idea of making the soundtrack from a fifties-style musical into a punk album is awesome, and LTJ did it well. my personal favorite is "blue moon", but there's not a song on the cd i don't love. everyone needs this just because it's NEAT! :)

Resident Alien by Spacehog never mind the fact that this album is fifty years old as well, or that i'm fairly sure that all the members of this band are homosexuals. this is one of those quirky albums that you can't help but think of as a big joke. ohhhh, so many people i have driven crazy by singing the chorus to "zeroes" over and over and over! i know these guys put out one more album, but they seem to have disappeared into oblivion. at least they left a memento!