Good books: Shane Claiborne

I've been listening to Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution (thanks to a free download from the publisher). I keep wondering if I'd be as captivated if I were just reading the words on the page. Anyway, it's a compelling book, one that now and then makes me want to put all my stuff out on the curb, give away my house, and go live among the poor. (When I'm not reading it, I tend to feel more materialistic and selfish--though I have been shopping less than usual since I started reading.) I appreciate the fact that Claiborne doesn't present his story in order to make the rest of us feel guilty; he just tells it with a sense of joy and makes me feel that I'm missing something by not living as he does.
As others have suggested, Claiborne might move more people to action if he were to suggest more simple micro-actions that would let us make small but meaningful changes in our lives. But surely we can figure those out with a little imagination. And I wouldn't want to take away from the exuberance of his approach.
I think I first hear about Claiborne from my friend and former student Rachel. She has made a series of daring choices--she's now teaching at the Denver Street School. I admire that. I wonder what I might have done in my early twenties if I'd heard Shane Claiborne. I wonder how much I'm trapped now by my own habits and possessions. And yes, I can hear the irony as I type. And yes, I know I wouldn't even be hearing the book if I hadn't spring for an iPod. But...here's to Shane Claiborne, and to Rachel.