through painted deserts | donald miller.

apparently my favorite things to do while awake and sick with a cold at 4 a.m. is listen to old school boy bands and post about it on the internet. i was awake all night, but i wasn't really awake, you know? anyway, i'll have you know that i went ahead and purchased some actual over the counter medicine because i've had about enough. i know that's not very all natural of me, but when you're awake ALL NIGHT and ALL DAY and you end up reverting to your nine-year-old boy-band-obsessed self, you start feeling a little desperate.

anyway, before my little throwback to the new millennium, i finally finished listening to through painted deserts, by donald miller. i had started it on the plane ride to ct when i went for christmas. i listened more on the plane ride back, and in the car ride to and from charlotte after new year's. and i listened on nights when i couldn't sleep. but each time, i only read a chapter or two because sometimes i like leaving space in between so i can take it all in strides. but the night i was sick, i was desperate for entertainment that didn't require opening my eyes and i listened all the way through to the end.

i'm of big fan of don miller's writing style and the way he tells stories. his descriptions and observations, the words he chooses, the way he strings them together.

through painted deserts is all story, so it was easy to listen to. and it's his own voice reading it, so it sounds exactly as it should. in fact, i actually found that when i listened in the car on my drives to and from charlotte, i didn't enjoy it as much. i think it was because i couldn't sit back and close my eyes and really be inside the story, you know?

it was just so good. it really felt like i was kind of going on that adventure with him and i was a little sad when it ended. there were funny parts, and parts that made me want to hike to the bottom of the grand canyon. and parts that made me want to get up and just drive.

plus, if you've read blue like jazz (which you should), you might recognize a few people. of course, i have (multiple times) and i loved hearing a different part of their story.