Reading Lately – May and June Edition

Did you know that there is a limit to the number of holds you can put on books at the library? Well, at ours there is, and I reached my limit a few weeks ago.  I know I’ve mentioned this before, but my reading life has changed drastically since I started placing books on hold and picking them up as they become available.

This also means that I often have more books than I have time to read.  Like right now.  Several are due and I haven’t even opened some of them yet!  And those 14 day loaners are really cramping my style.  Whoever is waiting for the ones I have is just going to wait a little longer, because I’m renewing these as many times as possible.

In no particular order, here are the books I read in May and June.

Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace and Learning the Hard Way, Shauna Niequist.  This one was a tear-jerker for me, but also very healing.  As I read Shauna’s stories, several past hurts re-surfaced.  Bradley was out of the country while I was reading this one, so many of my evenings were spent sobbing myself to sleep.  I tell you this because it was helpful.  Often it takes the stories of another to help me understand the stories of my own life.  I highly recommend this one.

Cold Tangerines: celebrating the extraordinary nature of everyday life, Shauna Niequist.  Also an excellent book.  I have read these books backwards in time of publication.  It doesn’t matter, really, but it was the perfect order for me.  Ending this journey of her life with delight and joy was the perfect way for me to finish out a season of challenge in my own life.  Shauna’s next book, Present Over Perfect, releases next month and I can’t wait to read it.

Help, Thanks, Wow The Three Essential Prayers, Anne Lamott.  I only read this one because it came up in a search for another book by this author.  Since that one wasn’t available, I decided to read her book on prayer.  While I would not recommend turning to Anne Lamott for theology, this little book on prayer was good.  Keeping with my rather simplistic theme in life right now, categorizing prayers to the Lord this way was helpful.

The Kitchen House, Kathleen Grissom.  Historical Fiction is my favorite genre, and this book was beautiful.  It was sad, heartbreaking, and eye-opening.  Definitely a book that is not easy to read, but at the same time you don’t want to put down.  If you enjoyed reading The Help, then you will like this one.

Glory Over Everything, Beyond the Kitchen House, Kathleen Grissom.  Sequel to The Kitchen House, and the story just kept going and became more intriguing all the time.  There was redemption and love and forgiveness and change.  Excellent book.

Eligible, Curtis Sittenfeld.  I picked this one up at the recommendation of Modern Mrs. Darcy.  It’s on her summer reading guide.  Confession:  Although I know the story of Pride and Prejudice, I have never read it.  I know.  Horrible.  But, I thought a modern re-telling might prompt me to read Jane Austen’s original.  This is an interesting book, a light read, and when it says a modern re-telling, it is definitely modern.  So modern, in fact, that I’m pretty sure Jane Austen would be red-faced from embarrassment in every chapter.  I put it down several times, but ended up finishing it because I wanted to see what happened in the end.  Be prepared for language, etc. if you decide to read this one.  I can’t say that I would really recommend it based on the amount of sexual content.  It is eye-opening, though, in that most of the world probably lives out their sexuality contrary to God’s design.

Letters to my Daughters, The Art of Being a Wife, Barbara Rainey.  This book was given to me when we participated in The Big Fake Wedding back in March.  I haven’t read a marriage book in awhile, so it was refreshing/challenging/convicting to read through these ‘letters’ written from Mother to Daughter.  The cover art is just as beautiful as the art on the inside, and I gleaned a lot of helpful nuggets of wisdom from this one.

My July and August book list is shaping up nicely, and I look forward to sharing some wonderful books with you at the end of the summer.  Also, be on the lookout for a giveaway or two.  Because, it’s summer, there are some great books that I’d love to get into your hands, and, I’m thankful for you, my readers, who continue to come back to this space.