Can a fella actually read 'too much'?

I remember talking with a friend a few years ago shortly after he graduated from seminary. I had asked him what books he was currently reading and he responded matter-of-factly, "I don't read anymore. I read so much in seminary that if I look at one more book that is full of esoteric theology or some diatribe against Christian modernity, I am going to puke my guts out." Anyone who has survived seminary can attest to the insane amount of reading one has to endure- books written about books written critiquing the books about books.

While I sympathize with my friend, I am still a voracious reader. I enjoy reading books about so many different subjects- even at the same time. As you will notice, I have begun two new books. One is a light-hearted read recommended by my boyfriend (he loved it) and the other recommended by a very good friend. The two couldn't be more unlike the other.

I pretty much chunked the feng shui book I wrote about earlier. It was too silly to continue reading. I felt like Harry Potter having to sit through Sibyll Trelawney's Divination class at Hogwarts. Just as he felt she was off her rocker, so do I feel about all things feng shui.

I'll let you know how both books turn out. I've been reading them for about a day now. The book, The Men from the Boys, is turning out to be quite good. The story of the book is set in Provincetown and explains the life of three best friends, Lloyd, Jeff, and Javitz. I am at the point in the story where Jeff meets young Eduardo while Jeff's lover, Lloyd is away for the summer. It is funny and charming- and since my boyfriend is a bit like Eduardo, I can see why he recommended it to me (although I don't have a lover like Jeff has). Anyways, its a charming read so far.

The Cotton Patch book is a collection of sermons preached by Clarence Jordon. Jordon is the founder of Koinonia, a Christian commune near Americus, Georgia. Began in 1942, the commune is rather amazing in itself in that it is run like a farm but provides opportunities in which it helps create and build discipleship schools, builds houses and them sells them to poor families, and providing jobs for poor and rural families on the farm, in food processing, sewing, and craft industries.

Jordon, while running the farm was also an astute theologian and greek scholar. The book is a retelling of Jesus' parables in a modern context (or as modern as Jordon was, he died in the 1969). An African-American, he extrapolated the social justice and the plight of the disenfranchized from Jesus' parables and retells them in a very inspiring way. Even though the book is relatively short, I find myself reading only a chapter at a time- as I need time to assimilate his points and meditate on his wisdom. I'll let you know how this book turns out too.

You know, I just can't imagine thinking to myself that I have read enough books. There are so many out there- and so many from different genres that I doubt I'll have enough time in my paltry life to even stratch the literary surface. But heck, I am sure gonna try!