Minamide Musings: Ted Cruz

What I've Read 2025

The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, by Lisa See
The Bat-Poet, by Randall Jarrell (children's book)
Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent, by Judi Dench
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, by J. D. Vance
The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (children's book)
The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World, by Christine Rosen
Sapir: Ideas for a Thriving Jewish Future Volume Seventeen Spring 2025 The Issue on Activism
Sapir: Ideas for a Thriving Jewish Future Volume Eighteen Summer 2025 The Issue on Chosenness
Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred and Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder, by Evelyn Waugh
A River Runs Through It, by Norman Maclean
How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question, by Michael Schur

What I've Read: 2019

A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles
The Screwtape Letters, by C. S. Lewis (re-read)
The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein
The 10 Big Lies About America: Combating Destructive Distortions About Our Nation, by Michael Medved
The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses, by C.S. Lewis
Classic Christian Thinkers: An Introduction, by Kenneth Richard Samples
Republican Like Me: How I Left the Liberal Bubble and Learned to Love the Right, by Ken Stern
Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis (third reading)
Let There be Laughter, by Michael Krasney
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, by Anthony Bourdain

What I've Read: 2016

My Life in France, by Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme
Excuse Me, Professor: Challenging the Myths of Progressivism, by Lawrence W. Reed (editor)
Bright Light: Untold Stories of the Top Secret War in Vietnam, by Stephen Perry
The Closing of the Liberal Mind: How Groupthink and Intolerance Define the Left, by Kim R. Holmes
Gift From the Sea, by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
We Were the Mulvaneys, by Joyce Carol Oates
The Sabbath, by Abraham Joshua Heschel
Up a Road Slowly, by Irene Hunt
Messianic Judaism: A Modern Movement with an Ancient Past, by David H. Stern
A Jew Today, by Elie Wiesel
For the Sender, by Alex Woodard
...And Church Happened, by Walt Hoffman
Remembering Who We Are: A Treasury of Conservative Commencement Addresses, Edited by Zev Chafets
God's Appointed Times: A Practical Guide for Understanding and Celebrating the Biblical Holidays, by Barney Kasdan

What I've Read: 2015

This is My God, by Herman Wouk (second reading)
Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know About the Jewish Religion, Its People, and Its History, by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
Happiness is a Serious Problem, by Dennis Prager
Behind Enemy Lines: The True Story of a French Jewish Spy in Nazi Germany, by Marthe Cohn
On Liberty, by John Stuart Mill
The Silencing: How the Left is Killing Free Speech, by Kirsten Powers
A History of Christianity, by Paul Johnson
Jewish Wisdom: Ethical, Spiritual, and Historical Lessons from the Great Works and Thinkers, by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

What I've Read: 2014

Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life, by Eric Metaxas
Why I Turned Right: Leading Baby Boom Conservatives Chronicle Their Political Journeys, Edited by Mary Eberstadt
Right Turns: From Liberal Activist to Conservative Champion in 35 Unconventional Lessons, by Michael Medved
1776, by David McCullough
Why the Jews: The Reason for Antisemitism, by Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin
A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book Two), by George R. R. Martin
Jewish Humor: What the Best Jewish Jokes Say About the Jews, by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin
Think a Second Time, by Dennis Prager
Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt
Street Corner Conservative, by William F. Gavin
What I Saw at the Revolution: A Political Life in the Reagan Era, by Peggy Noonan
A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book One), by George R. R. Martin
A Capitalist Manifesto: Understanding the Market Economy and Defending Liberty, by Gary Wolfram
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion, by Jonathan Haidt
Confessions of a Hero Worshipper, by Stephen J. Dubner

What I've Read: 2013

The Nine Questions People Ask About Judaism, by Dennis Prager & Joseph Telushkin
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini
Choosing My Religion: A Memoir of a Family Beyond Belief, by Stephen J. Dubner
Inside, Outside, by Herman Wouk
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, by Peggy Noonan
The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption, by Clay A. Johnson
The Screwtape Letters, by C. S. Lewis (with "Screwtape Proposes a Toast")
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism, by Timothy Keller
Yiddishe Mamas: The Truth About the Jewish Mother, by Marnie Winston-Maccauley
Vice & Virtue in Everyday Life: Introductory Readings in Ethics, by Christina Hoff Sommers and Fred Sommers
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, by Stieg Larsson
The Reader, by Bernhard Schlink
Night, by Elie Wiesel
The Girl Who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larrson
Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor E. Frankel
Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
This is my God: The Jewish Way of Life, by Herman Wouk
Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins
Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books, by Aaron Lansky
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, by Stieg Larsson
Who Stole Feminism? How Women Have Betrayed Women, by Christina Hoff Sommers

What I've Read: 2012

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins
Righteous Indignation, by Andrew Breitbart
There is No Alternative: Why Margaret Thatcher Matters, by Claire Berlinski
A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson
Civilization: The West and the Rest, by Niall Ferguson
The Brief Against Obama: The Rise, Fall, & Epic Fail of the Hope and Change Presidency, by Hugh Hewitt
Still the Best Hope: Why the World Needs American Values, by Dennis Prager
The Social Animal, by David Brooks
The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
God & Man at Yale, by William F. Buckley, Jr.

What I've Read: 2007-2011 (best I can recall)

Save the World on Your Own Time, by Stanley Fish
In the Basement of the Ivory Tower: Confessions of an Accidental Academic, by Professor X
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise, by Ruth Reichl
The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, by Ben Mezrich
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See
Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously, by Julie Powell
Shanghai Girls, by Lisa See
Alice, Let's Eat, by Calvin Trillin
The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver
Prodigal Summer, by Barbara Kingsolver
A Room with a View, by E.M. Forster
Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World, by Vicki Myron
The Mermaid Chair, by Sue Monk Kidd
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, by Rebecca Wells (re-read)
Atonement, by Ian McEwan
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage, by Madeleine L'Engle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling
The Painted Veil, by W. Somerset Maugham

What I've Read: 2001-2006 (Best I Can Remember)

Ladder of Years, by Anne Tyler
The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd
Blue Shoe, by Anne Lamott
Evensong, by Gail Godwin
Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier
Winner of the National Book Award, by Jincy Willett
Blessings, by Anna Quindlen
Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, by J.K. Rowling
Little Altars Everywhere, by Rebecca Wells
Holes, by Louis Sachar
Skipping Christmas, by John Grisham
Scarlett Feather, by Maeve Binchy
The Stone Diaries, by Carol Shields (note: I honestly do not remember reading this book. This is why I try to keep a record of my reading)
Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert
What's So Amazing About Grace? by Phillip Yancey
The Bonesetter's Daughter, by Amy Tan
Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis
No More Words: A Journal of My Mother, by Reeve Lindbergh
Nearer, My God: An Autobiography of Faith, by William F. Buckley, Jr.
A Christmas Memory, One Christmas, The Thanksgiving Visitor (3 Short Stories), by Truman Capote
Crooked Little Heart, by Anne Lamott
Far From the Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy
The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger
The African Queen, by C. S. Forester
Hornblower & the Hotspur, by C. S. Forester
Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
Lieutenant Hornblower, by C. S. Forester
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, by C. S. Forester
Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt

What I've Read: 1996-2001 (Best I Can Recall)

Winter Solstice, by Rosamunde Pilcher
The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco
The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth George Speare
Jewell,by Bret Lott
Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Anne Burns
Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom
The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
The Testament, by John Grisham
The Scarlet Pimpernel, by Baronness Emmuska Orzca
Pay it Forward, by Catherine Ryan Hyde
Bleak House, by Charles Dickens
Lost in Translation, by Nicole Mones (friend of my brother-in-law)
Hawaii, by James Michener
Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks
One True Thing, by Anna Quindlen
The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood, by Rebecca Wells
Circle of Friends, by Maeve Binchy
The Accidental Tourist, by Anne Tyler
Breathing Lessons, by Anne Tyler
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
Left Behind, by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye
Snow Falling on Cedars, by David Guterson
Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton
The Horse Whisperer, by Nicholas Evans
Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo
Drums of Autumn, by Diana Gabaldon
Rage for Fame: The Ascent of Clare Boothe Luce, by Sylvia Jukes MorrisJ
Still Life, by Mary Jenson (my friend)
Personal History, by Katharine Graham
Messages From my Father, by Calvin Trillin
84 Charing Cross Road, by Helen Hanff
Outrage, by Vincent Bugliosi
Coming Home, by Rosamunde Pilcher
Emma, by Jane Austen
The Nowhere City, by Alison Lurie
Foreign Affairs, by Alison Lurie
Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager (series), by Diana Gabaldon

What I've Read: 1987-1995 (Best I Can Recall)

Persuasion, by Jane Austen
Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank
The Shipping News, by E. Annie Proulx
Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle
Haiku for Hanae, by James Melville
Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke, by Philip Jose Farmer
Tarzan of the Lost Empire, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
The Client, by John Grisham
Sleeping Tiger, by Rosamunde Pilcher
Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Tarzan and the Ant Men, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Tarzan and the Golden Lion, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Tarzan the Terrible, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro
Tarzan the Untamed, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Little Preacher, by Elizabeth Prentiss
The Ginger Tree, by Oswald Wynd
The Jungle Tales of Tarzan, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Jewels of Opar, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Age of Innocence, by Edith Wharton
The Son of Tarzan, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Confident Children and How They Grow, by Richard L. Strauss (former pastor of EFCC in Escondido)
Days of Glory, Nights of Sorrow (not sure if this title is correct), by Marilee Pierce
The Beasts of Tarzan, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Return of Tarzan, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Tarzan, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Stepping Heavenward, by Elizabeth Prentiss
The Reluctant Ronin, by James Melville
The Ninth Netsuke, by James Melville
A Grief Observed, by C. S. Lewis
Congo, by Michael Crichton
Rising Sun, by Michael Crichton
Jane Eyre, by Charolotte Bronte
Flowers with Rain (short tories), by Rosamunde Pilcher
Blue Bedroom and other Stories, by Rosamunde Pilcher
Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton
The Firm, by John Grisham
September, by Rosamunde Pilcher
The Manchurian Candidate, by Richard Condon
Parenting isn't for Cowards, by James Dobson
Anne of Windy Poplars, by L.M. Montgomery
Anne of the Island, by L.M. Montgomery
The Prince of Tides, by Pat Conroy
The Water is Wide, by Pat Conroy
Shell Seekers, by Rosamunde Pilcher
Writer to Writer, by Bodie Thoene
Zion Covenant (Books 1-6?), by Bodie Thoene
Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann David Wyss
This Present Darkness, by Frank Peretti
Here be Dragons, by Sharon Kay Penman
A Chance to Die, by Elisabeth Elliot
Creative Counterpart, by Linda Dillow
Exodus, by Leon Uris
The Choice, by Harold Myra
The Liberty of Obedience, by Elisabeth Elliot
Cardinal of the Kremlin, by Tom Clancy
Patriot Games, by Tom Clancy
The Hunt for Red October, by Tom Clancy
The Hurried Child, by David Elkind
The Shepherd's Castle, by George MacDonald
The Zion Chronicles (Books 1-5), by Bodie Thoene
Meeting God at Every Turn, by Catharine Marshall
Julie, by Catharine Marshall
Christy, by Catherine Marshall
Common Sense Christian Living, by Edith Schaeffer
For the Children's Sake, by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay
True Spirituality, by Francis Schaeffer
Magnificent Marriage, by Gordon MacDonald
Bright Legacy: Portraits of 10 Outstanding Christian Women, compiled by Elisabeth Elliot
If Those Who Reach Could Touch, by Gail and Gordon MacDonald
High Call, High Privilege, by Gail MacDonald

Minamide Musings

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Ted Cruz Turns Table on Reporter

My Other Blog (2008-2013)

Featured Post

A Few Thoughts on Elie Wiesel's "A Jew Today"

Archive

Thursday, May 21, 2015

Ted Cruz Turns Table on Reporter

Subscribe To