What I've been reading

books from the third quarter

I have a stack of books that I’m still in the process of reading. Quantum Physics for Poets—fascinating, but apparently I know nothing about science. Pursuing God’s Will Together—an excellent book on discernment in leadership. Uncle Tom’s Cabin—an assigned read for a Wesleyan history class. The Prophetic Imagination—a gift to the world by Walter Brueggemann that is not a simple read. Notes from a Small Island—my newest bedtime book by Bill Bryson is laugh-out-loud funny.

Having a stack of partially-read books makes me feel like I’m not reading. Keeping this list reminds me that I am reading.¹ And I do love reading. Not finishing books is a sign that I need to check in on my life.

July

• Keeper of the Lost Cities and Keeper of the Lost Cities Exile by Shannon Messenger

I am going to write about these together because they are the first two in a lengthy series for middle schoolers. I read them on a “staycation” weekend and they were delightful. I was absorbed and wanted to keep reading to find out what was happening. If you like middle grade fantasy, you’ll probably love these.

• Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

I don’t know enough to agree or disagree with some of the ideas in here but what fascinated me is that there are very doable alternatives to the way we are doing things. We just don’t want to do them?

• Let Me Tell You What I Mean by Joan Didion

Didion is a fabulous writer and this was much less depressing than the earlier book of hers that I read. I never knew I wanted to read a long essay on Martha Stewart.

• Moby Dick by Herman Melville

At least I can say that I read it? Honestly, it reminded me a lot of Les Mis (they were written ten years ago) because it would go on lengthy tangents from the storyline. All of a sudden Melville’s narrator Ishmael is listing all the whales that he knows and why the writer of that book is a moron who has never even seen a whale. However, there was a vivid description of a man in the lookout, high over the ocean, bobbing this way and that, bending deeply from one side to the other in a storm that made me terrified and seasick to even imagine so kudos to Mr. Melville for that. I’m glad I read it; I’ll probably never read it again.

• The Third Pole by Mark Synnott

Why do we all want to go to Everest? Synnott explores this idea and investigates an earlier thwarted trip to the top of the world all at once. It was fascinating.

August

• The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

I unexpectedly really loved this book. I did have a guess at the ending but not the big family secret so it was fun to be surprised.

• The Lost World of the Prophets by John H. Walton

This book was prep for the Amos study and it was phenomenal. If you want to know something about the prophets of the Old Testament, this one is for you. It’s very easy to read as well.

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

This was a reread that I will eventually reread again (unlike Moby Dick). I remember reading the beginning sections of this book over and over as a child but I assume that when she reached adulthood and left school, I lost interest. I had read the entire book as an adult and could have told you the high notes but there were several surprises along the way. The book is full of tension and mystery and the ending is so deliciously satisfying. I love it.

• The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine Aron

I liked this book as it went along and honestly didn’t stop to analyze why.

• Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist

This was my first beach read on vacation and reminded me of my own value on delight and celebration. Niequist pays such good attention to regular, everyday life.

• Toni at Random by Dana A. Williams

I couldn’t turn down a look at Toni Morrison the editor. The book really focuses on the different works that Morrison edited, duh, but not much on her life. It was excellent and now I want to read more about her life in general.

September

• Disabling Leadership by Andrew Draper, Jody Michele, and Andrea Mae

This book is excellent. It’s about including disabled people in our churches but also in the leadership of our churches. We miss out when disabled people are not leading.

• Woven by Meredith Miller

This book is a guide to introducing your kids to a God who can be trusted instead of a God who demands to be obeyed. Miller talks about creating a sticky web for your kids’ faith and gives ideas but plenty of space for own family dynamic. She also walks through some attributes of God that are important for kids (or adults) to know.

• You Have a Calling by Karen Swallow Prior

This tiny book separates jobs from callings and broadens the idea of vocation. How do our limitations help explain our vocation? What does beauty have to do with any of it? It’s a great book and would be a great gift.

• Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Another reread. I’m rereading right now and loving it. This book is chunky and amazing. There are five plot lines all united by one Ancient Greek folk tale. There’s a lot to keep up with and it is so worth it. Cannot recommend enough.

• Gather Me by Glory Edim

This is the memoir of Edim who founded Well-Read Black Girl working through her life in stories. It’s a love poem to the books who made her who she is.

• The Story of the Wesleyan Church by Robert Black and Keith Drury

I read this for a class I was taking on, guess what, Wesleyan history. For some reason, none of this really came up in any of my church history reading and it was fun to fill in some gaps.

• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

This book should come with a content warning but it is excellent. Edim referenced it multiple times in her book Gather Me and I promptly grabbed it at the library. Angelou’s writing is like silk. One could read on and on and on without noticing time slip away. We need the stories of others to reveal the world in a way that our own stories do not.

What have you been reading?

1. I know there are apps to track our reading but I simply cannot do another app. I keep a list in a Word doc.