Oy.

I'm supposed to write about a book and a song (or is it CD?) that inspires me...that describes what I stand for and aligns with my values.

Crap. This kind of thing requires thinking. A lot of thinking.

So I've thought and considered and contemplated (remind me to kill Joanie when I get to TX). Here's what I have decided:

My book choice is Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy & Fairy Tale by Frederick Buechner. I have lots of reasons for this, the most obvious of which is that it is an examination of The Bible from the literary perspective. How genious is that!! I hold a deep and loving respect for The Bible and have spent the majority of my foray into higher education focused on the study of literature. To have such a superbly written book about the tragic, comedic and fairy tale-ish aspects of The Bible is truly remarkable....and Buechner seems to do it with such ease.

The book is only about 90 pages and yet it speaks to me in a way that most things do not. Buechner breaks down the story of salvation and exhibits how it relates to humans on all levels. It is simple but profound; a study in how The Bible demonstrates the human experience in much the same way that literature does. It affirms for me that The Bible and literature are essential to MY human experience.

For my CD I would choose "Ray Sings, Basie Swings." It's a compilation of Ray Charles singing with Count Basie's jazz band. When I was trying to figure out what musical work to choose I thought of something that I could listen to over and over and over again and never get tired of it. There are lots of other CDs I could have chosen that match that description but for me music is tied to emotion. This CD covers every emotion I could think of: happy, sad, destitute, hopeful, love sick, sick of love, etc.

Dude. I'm glad that's over. I think I have brain fatigue.