I love books. To the dismay of anyone who has ever helped me move, I have a huge collection. I could realistically open a book store in my living room.

I’ve tried borrowing books from the library to save money and space. During grad school, I picked up the habit of highlighting, making notes in margins and dog earing pages. Libraries frown upon those behaviors.

Part of the problem is that I impulsively buy books. Every time I’m in Chattanooga, I make a special trip to McKay’s Used Books and generally spend $50 or $60 on a huge box of books. Unlike clothes or shoes, how do you turn down a book? Books feed your brain.

My impulsive buying creates a backlog. I easily have 300 or more books in my apartment that are waiting to be read.

Last night, I found myself at Sam’s Club and thumbing through Sean Hannity’s new book, Conservative Victory. Normally, I wouldn’t have picked it up, but Red State reviewed it favorably. At only 200 pages and $8, I couldn’t resist.

As I walked to my car, the realization hit me that I had just bought another book that I don’t have time to read. I still had my two previous book impulses in the car. Even though April is a busy month, I decided to challenge myself to work on the reading backlog. If I commit it in a blog post, I’m more likely to follow through since I fear that someone will call me out. Hence, my April reading list is below.

The first seven books are half-way read. Some of them are part of reading lists, such as NeW’s Book Club or Read to Lead. I highly recommend both lists.

1. Why Women Should Rule the World, Dee Dee Myers
Part of my feminist reading list (created by me based on reviews from feminist blogs). It’s much better than I thought. The first chapter was bad. Actually, it was terrible, but the book has improved. As long as Myers doesn’t explain gender politics solely through her own experiences in the White House, she’s interesting.
Update: Completed 4/2/10

2. Marketing in the Groundswell, Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff
Finished last night, 4/1/10!

3. Letters to an American Lady, CS Lewis
I’m reading a few letters every night as part of my devotions.
Completed: 4/24/10

4. The Mermaid Chair, Sue Monk Kidd
I’m a sucker for Southern literature and recently watched The Secret Life of Bees, which I also need to read.
Update: Completed 4/7/10

5. Primal, Mark Batterson
Yes, this was written by my pastor, and I got a free copy. It got misplaced after I started my new job and needs to be finished.
Update: Completed 4/24/10

6. Last Night in Paradise, Katie Roiphe
Feminist reading list book, and written in 1999 about how AIDS inspired a new sexual morality. Viewed from a post-9/11 world, Last Night in Paradise comes across as self-indulgent and presumptive. I believe that books from the 90s will be viewed as a second Decadence Era, such as literature from the 1920s and 1930s.
Update: Completed 4/2/10

7. Elizabeth & Mary, Jane Dunn
Reading biographies of monarchs, particularly Tudors, is a hobby. I’ve read at least 10 biographies on Elizabeth I. Until now, I’ve read very little on Mary, Queen of Scots.

8. Sign Me Up! A Marketer’s Guide To Email Newsletters that Build Relationships and Boost Sales, Blumberg & Miller
Reading it for work, but I also enjoy reading marketing books.

9. Conservative Victory, Sean Hannity
See above. Again, $8.
Completed: 4/12/10

10. The Truth About Email Marketing, Simms Jenkins
Also reading this for work.

11. Unhooked, Laura Sessions Stepp
This book seems to make feminists angry, so I must read it. It’s also on the NeW list.

12. Liberal Fascism, Jonah Goldberg
Recently, I listened to a podcast with Goldberg about his book and was fascinated. Since I spend so much time writing about feminism as the gender version of Marxism, this should be intriguing.

13. Writing to Change the World, Mary Pipher
It’s from the left, but any book on writing is helpful. Tactics are neutral, which is why I recommend reading Rules for Radicals by Alinsky.

14. Courage and Consequence, Karl Rove
I bought this simply to piss liberals off. Rove is a controversial figure, so I look forward to reading it.

15. Game Change,  Heilemann & Halperin
Everyone in DC but me has likely read this book by now.

16. Unleashing the Idea Virus, Seth Godin
I haven’t read anything by the ultimate marketing guru in a while.

17. Liberty and Tyranny, Mark Levin
I think my conservative street cred is questionable since I haven’t read this. I also mooched it from the parents the last time I was in Chattanooga, so I need to read it before they realize it’s gone…or they read this post. Liberty and Tyranny was also added to Blackwell’s Read to Lead recently.

18. Meltdown, Tom Woods
Recommended by my libertarian friends. The Obama Administration is driving me towards becoming a fiscal libertarian.

19. Blink, Malcolm Gladwell
Is Gladwell the guru of pop psychology/feel-good management books or a true genius? I’m undecided.

During CPAC, I had the privilege of meeting Patricia Sullivan, a strong conservative woman running for Alan Grayson’s seat in Florida.

Yes, that Alan Grayson.

Mrs. Sullivan is exactly the type of woman that I’m always hoping will run for office. She’s a staunch conservative, a Christian and a homeschooling mother of four.

Calling herself a “defending mother,” Mrs. Sullivan said, “We need conservative women in congress who can multitask with common sense. We need watchmen to say no. Moms are good at saying no.”

If the treatment of Jim Bunning is any sign, we definitely need more men and women who can say no in Congress.

Going into 2010, it’s exciting to see a groundswell of grassroots candidates running. They’re distinctly different than the typical people who run for office. After working in DC for a number of years now, it is almost strange to encounter them. While talking with Mrs. Sullivan, I asked how fundraising was going. She replied that, “DC people always ask about fundraising, but is that the most important thing?”

I had to admit that I was taken aback. As hard as I try to stay un-Beltway, it creeps into your soul. That’s another reason why we need more candidates like Mrs. Sullivan. Even people who purposely try to avoid becoming part of the system end up doing so.

As we chatted, Mrs. Sullivan shared that she had made the decision to run only dif her entire family was on board. After discussing it, her 14-year-old son was reluctant. They decided to take additional time for consideration, and the son went on a missions trip. When he returned, he started reading a book that a friend had recommended. By that time, the family was once again sitting down to decide if an election was in their future.

Mrs. Sullivan shared that the book completely changed her son’s outlook. After praying about it, he knew that it wasn’t right for his mom to miss this opportunity if God was opening the door. She started to tear up while telling me this.

As I sat on Blogger’s Row typing, Mrs. Sullivan’s story took on a personal turn. I asked what the book was. I’ve worked with teen boys. Not many books change their lives.

“In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day,” she replied.

My jaw dropped, and I stopped talking. In shock, I looked up and said, “My pastor wrote that book!”

Surprised, she asked a few details about it. I told her that I attend National Community Church and Pastor Mark Batterson wrote that book several years ago.

The interview went from talking about her race to sharing how much this book had influenced her son. I told her a little about NCC and promised to share the story with Pastor Mark. She was excited and said something that only Believers can understand, “It wasn’t a coincidence that God brought us here to talk about the race.”

That evening, I excitedly got to church. As a hospitality co-leader, it is my job to make sure that everyone is welcome and has bulletins, chairs set up, information available and tithe collected. I serve on the team that makes sure that the service goes smoothly, and I love it. Working in the background to make sure that everything gets done has always been my major gift.

Normally, the evening flies by, and I’m running like crazy. (Church also doubles as a cardio session for me.) Normally, I don’t get a chance to talk to Pastor Mark except to wave and say hi. That Saturday, he walked up while I was discussing something with Pastor Ross, the campus pastor at Ebenezer’s. I seized the opportunity to share the afternoon’s experiences with him and saw him light up with the story that his book had helped a 14-year-old boy. He asked for the family’s information so that he could follow up.

To be perfectly clear, NCC stays apolitical. As a church that meets on Capitol Hill, you have to. I may be a staunch conservative, but I do believe that Democrats can be godly Christians. I know Democrats who are better Christians than many Republicans.*  Pastor Mark and the church leadership do an amazing job staying above the fray on political issues. NCC is a refreshing escape from the polarizing and often depressing issues we deal with each day. (I’m not sure what I would do if my church were political. I need a break from it all.) He was excited to hear that his book had helped a 14-year-old boy, not that In a Pit is influencing conservative politics (although both sides could probably benefit from reading his books).

I write this to 1) highlight an awesome candidate like Mrs. Sullivan. 2) encourage other women to run for office and 3) share how God orchestrates strange meetings. Out of the 10,000 people at CPAC, what are the odds that Mrs. Sullivan would meet someone who knew the author of the book that helped her decide to run for public office?

Take a few minutes to learn more about Patricia Sullivan. We need more people like her in Congress. Moe Lane at Red State did an interview with her during CPAC.

Also Smart Girl Nation interviewed Mrs. Sullivan last year.

*Sometimes I wonder what the New Testament would have looked like if Jesus had come to DC and not Israel. Hypocrisy and evil exist on both sides of the political aisle. Political systems are designed by humans and are therefore imperfect, but I do believe capitalism and democracy are the best systems that help the most people at once.)