Tag Archives: reading

Best of 2024

Posted on by

“I do not want to just read books;
I want to climb inside them and live there.”
~Unknown

I’ve climbed inside some great books this year–47 to be exact. Picking my top ten won’t be easy, but here goes.

10. The Dean’s Watch, Elizabeth Goudge
I read one Goudge book every year for the sheer enjoyment of it. The English countryside in her captivating stories is a perfect escape for me in February. There’s always transformation, redemption, and beauty, but never in a formulaic way. This is a good one to climb into.

9. Water From a Deep Well, Gerald L. Sittser
I’m a church-girl, but I didn’t know much about the sweep of church history. It may sound boring, but Sittser made it come alive starting with the early Christian martyrs and moving through the desert saints, the monastic movement, the mystics, the medieval laity, the reformers, and evangelicalism. We stand on the shoulders of centuries of faithful believers.

8. David’s Crown, Malcolm Guite
Guite wrote a sonnet for every one of the 150 psalms with a creative twist. The last line of each psalm is the first line of the following psalm and this pattern is woven throughout the book. Then the last line of Psalm 150 is the first line of Psalm 1. So cool. He’s a true wordsmith.

7. The Bartender’s Tale, Ivan Doig
This is a rollicking-good story set in Montana in 1960. Doig’s characters are so well developed and the settings so masterfully described that reading his books only feeds my fantasy of living in Montana. Talking about this novel with my neighborhood bookclub made it even better. Plus, snacks were served.

6. The Re-Set, Jeremy Riddle
I listened to the audio version of this book. Riddle read his own words with such passion and conviction, I was brought to tears more than once. He had some hard things to say about the state of worship in the modern church, but always with a heart of love. I’ve given this book to every worship leader I know.

5. The Storied Life, Jared C. Wilson
Jared Wilson is “Author-in -Residence” at Midwestern Seminary which means his job is to write stuff. After publishing 26 books, he wrote a book on how to write books. I don’t know if I have a book in me, but I’ll definitely use his wise words to propel me into 2025 with fresh inspiration.

4. The Last Battle, C. S. Lewis
I read “The Chronicles of Narnia” to PB this year. The last page of the last book gives me goosebumps every time. Narnia is a treasure.

3. Kristin Lavransdatter, Sigrid Unset
I wanted to read a book set in another country, so I picked a 1,124 page novel about a Norwegian woman in the 1300’s. I’ve never read medieval literature, or Scandinavian history or a book that’s more than 2″ thick. I new experience for me—and I liked it.

2. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
PB and I immersed ourselves in Dickens this Christmas. We watched the 2009 animated film with Jim Carrey as Scrooge. We read “A Christmas Carol” together. We took the free course from Hillsdale College, which consisted of six delightful lectures by a literature professor. Then we watched “The Man Who Invented Christmas”—the story of the journey that led Dickens to write his Christmas masterpiece. God bless us everyone.

1. Trusting God in the Darkness, Christopher Ash
This was the book that impacted me the most this year, which I read while studying the book of Job. Themes of suffering, loneliness and despair were gently dealt with in Ash’s book. Every single page has sentences underlined or notes written in the margin. It’s too good to say any more about it. When you’re ready to wade into deep waters, get a copy and read it slow.

Honorable Mention: volumes 1 and 2 of the Harvard Classics.

Here are two other “Best of” lists:

Movies/TV shows

  • Jonathan and Jesus, Prime documentary
  • Mr. Bates vs. The Post Office, PBS
  • Yesterday, Netflix movie
  • Music by John Williams, Disney + documentary
  • Young Woman and the Sea, Disney+ movie

Podcasts

  • Bible Project, Sermon on the Mount series
  • Church of the City New York, Jon Tyson
  • Living on the Edge, Chip Ingram
  • What It’s Like To Be, Dan Heath
  • The Cause, Rob Pirie

Climb into a good book in 2025!

Further Up and Further In

Posted on by

Back when we were homeschooling, my favorite part of the day was the afternoon read-aloud time. I loved picking out great stories and doing all the “voices” of the characters. The kids would sprawl out on the living room carpet and color or draw or build Lego creations while I read. “One more chapter, pleeeease” was music to my ears.

I missed afternoon read-aloud time when the kids grew up and left the nest. So I decided to read to PB. My dear husband is always a good sport when it comes to my ideas, God bless him. As it turns out, he loved it as much as the kids did. And I still get to do “voices.”

I was shocked when he admitted that he had never read The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis, so we started book one last January. This week, we finished book seven. Please understand that instead of “one more chapter, please” I now hear soft snores after a few pages. It’s slow going.

The characters were a real test of my various voice inflections. King Tirian got a British accent while the Dwarfs spoke with a Scottish brogue. Shift, the Ape, had a Texas drawl and Puzzle, the donkey, was given a Bronx dialect. Puddleglum had an “Eeyore-ish” sound and Rishda was gravelly and sinister. Of course, for Aslan, I tried my best to imitate Liam Neeson and I took it up a few octaves for Reepicheep.

“The Last Battle” is my favorite book in the series. I couldn’t hold back the tears at the end when Aslan came leaping down the mountain, “like a waterfall of power and beauty.” When the children said goodbye to the Shadowlands, I had to stop reading for a minute. PB didn’t quite know what to do.

As the beloved characters go further up and further in,
the reader knows what this is all about.
This is heaven, Eden restored, the Golden Gates opened.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” said Lucy. “Have you noticed one can’t feel afraid, even if one wants to? Try it. “By Jove, neither one can,” said Eustace after he had tried.

“The further up and the further in you go, the bigger everything gets. The inside is larger than the outside.”

The Chronicles end with this magnificent paragraph—

And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.

Some of the finest words ever written.
Pass the tissues.

In case you’re wondering what’s up next for PB:

Books of 2023

Posted on by

I took a different approach in my reading life this year. Instead of setting a goal to read a certain number of books (I read 37 – of course I kept track), I created some categories in hopes of becoming a more well-rounded reader. I think it worked. I feel rounder.

1 book by Elizabeth Goudge — Genetian Hill by E. Goudge
I read a Goudge book every February. Her writing is full of English cottages and rose gardens and lovely language. I seem to need that in February. During the year, I look for copies at used book sales and shops. The musty smell and worn pages enhance the overall experience.

1 book by Eugene Peterson — Leap Over a Wall by E. Peterson
This book on the life of David and his relationships with various people was a great companion while I read through the Biblical record of David in 1&2 Samuel. Peterson communicates deep theology without being stuffy.

1 book on the Fruit of the Spirit: Joy — Aggressively Happy by Joy Marie Clarkson
Clarkson is delightful, funny and tells good stories. She’s also a realist: “Cultivating happiness takes grit, determination and a good sense of humor. It’s a lot of work.” One other book in this category: Choose Joy by Kay Warren.

1 book on prayer — Praying Like Monks, Living Like Fools by Tyler Staton
Staton is the director of the 24/7 Prayer Movement in the USA. He can write about the topic because the man is a pray-er. I needed his passionate words to give my prayer life a jolt.

1 old Christian classic — The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan (written in 1678) and Hinds’ Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard (written in 1955). I’ve read them both before, but I was given beautiful gift copies, so I read them again. And I’ll read them in the future. Classics.

1 English classic — Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I haven’t read this iconic story until now. I picked it up because it was short (only 100 pages) and it fit my category. It’s kind of creepy and kind of cool and now I know what references to “Jekyll and Hyde” really mean.

1 book of poetry — The Word in the Wilderness by Malcolm Guite
Poetry is hard. Malcolm is here to help. This book contains a poem a day for the season of Lent and Easter. I read the poem each day, then read Guite’s explanation of the poem, then read the poem again and said, “Ahhhhhh. I get it now.” Poetry is wonderful.

1 book on nature — The Heart of John Muir’s World by Millie Stanley
Muir was the “Father of National Parks” and grew up in the mid 1800’s a few miles from where I live. He wrote, “Oh! that glorious Wisconsin wilderness!” I need to be reminded to open my eyes and take in all the natural glory right in my own backyard.

1 biography/memoir — All My Knotted Up Life: A Memoir by Beth Moore
Over the years I’ve done several Beth Moore Bible studies. Sometimes I love her, and sometimes I roll my eyes a little bit. Shame on me. You never know what a person has gone through in life. Her transparency and conversational style had me gobbling up this book in two days. Then I listened to her read the audio version. I also read the memoir Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield.

1 Jane Austen book — Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
I’ve read “Pride and Prejudice” several times, but now I’m making my way through her other books, one by one. Three down, three to go.

1 book on writing — Write Tight by William Brohaugh
I’m a sucker for books on the craft of writing. I’ve read so many they all are starting to sound the same. Basically, “sit down and write.” All right already.

1 Montana historical novel — The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
My great grandparents homesteaded in Montana in the late 1800s and I’ve dreamed of living in Big Sky country ever since I was a little girl. I’ve read this title before, but PB and I listened to the audio book on our way to Montana in June. Pure delight! I also read Dancing at the Rascal Fair by the same author.

1 book on the church — Positively Irritating: Embracing a Post Christian World to Form a More Faithful and Innovative Church by Jon Ritner
This was my #1 book of 2023. It shook me up (in a good way) and caused me to think hard about church and culture in new, scary, and exciting ways. Ritner asserts that the church needs to pivot from being a “restaurant” (expecting people to come in and be served) to becoming a “food truck” (taking the gospel out to where people are). I can’t stop thinking about it.

Honorable Mention:
The Sound of Life’s Unspeakable Beauty by Martin Schleske
Secrets Of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge
On Getting Out of Bed by Alan Noble
David Rise by Mark Buchanan

May God bless your reading of books in 2024!
 

January Lit List

Posted on by

I remember my mother saying that February wasn’t good for anything except reading a book. I’ve adopted that same philosophy, but expanded it to include January and March. Gloomy winter days and cold dark nights are especially conducive to knocking titles off my To Be Read list and moving them to my Books Read notebook.

I’ve been listing books since 2004. There are enough pages in my notebook to keep recording titles until 2059. I’ll be 100 years old. I like to plan ahead.

IMG_2934.JPG

2017 has gotten off to a brisk start. Here’s what has been on the bookshelf in January:

  • The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gains — their love story and their rise to fame. They have somehow stayed humble and appreciative. Inspiring.
  • Nathan Coulter by Wendell Berry — the first of Berry’s “Port Williams” series of stories. Wendell didn’t know it would turn into a series when he wrote this. I’m glad he kept going.
  • Watch For the Light: Readings for Advent — this compilation of readings continued into January. It was nice to extend Christmas through Epiphany.
  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte — somehow I made it through sixteen years of education without reading this book. I listened to the free audio version by LibriVox, complete with Elizabeth Klett’s English accent.
  • The Art of Slow Writing by Louise De Salvo — I’m a slow writer. Now I know it’s an art.
  • The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows — purely for fun. So delightful. I wanna go to Guernsey.
  • Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry — my heart just swelled typing this title. Oh Wendell. I wish you could come over for dinner and talk about Troy and Mattie and Burley. And, of course, Jayber.

img_2928

Happy winter reading!

Lover of Books

Posted on by

“Rereading books,

we said with immense agreement,

was the mark of the real lover of books.”

I came across this quote while I was rereading “A Severe Mercy” (by Sheldon Vanauken), which makes me a real lover of books, evidently.

heart

For the past thirteen years, I have kept a list of all the books that I have read. In 2013, I read twelve books. That was the year I got my iphone. In 2015, I read 55 books. That was the year I got over my iphone.

This quote got me wondering. Of the hundreds of titles on my list, how many had been worthy of a second read? Surprisingly, there was a handful.

  1. “Gift From the Sea” by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
  2. “When the Soul Listens” by Jan Johnson
  3. “Forgotten God” by Francis Chan
  4. “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren
  5. “The Screwtape Letters” by C. S. Lewis
  6. “A River Runs Through It” by Norman Maclean
  7. “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen
  8. “Peace Like a River” by Lief Enger
  9. “Severe Mercy” by Sheldon Vanauken
  10. “The Holy Bible” by God

I really don’t like to watch movies I’ve already seen.

I don’t care to listen to the same album over and over.

But sometimes a book comes ’round again,

and I just have to open the pages.

img_1409

 

Two Books

Posted on by

In June, I wrote about my son-in-law’s Christmas gift to me — reading four books together in 2016. The first two books were a resounding success so we each made another pick.

img_2376

My second choice was “A River Runs Through It” by Norman Maclean. It’s a story about a fly-fishing, Presbyterian minister and his two sons. If you’ve seen the movie, you will picture Brad Pitt standing in the river, casting his line, on every page. But that’s ok. Because the writing is so captivating, even Brad Pitt takes a back seat.

Maclean’s phrases are picturesque: “The storm came on a wild horse and rode over us.” “Then the air disappeared from view.” “We were so dry that we could feel in our ears that we were trying to swallow.”

Some more of my favorite excerpts:

“You can love completely without complete understanding.”

“My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him, all good things — trout as well as eternal salvation — come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy.”

“As for my father, I never knew whether he believed God was a mathematician but he certainly believed God could count and that only by picking up God’s rhythms were we able to regain power and beauty.”

“It was here that I started this story, although, of course, at the time I did not know that stories of life are often more like rivers than books.”

My son-in-law, Dan, admitted it was tough at first to wade through all the fly-fishing lingo, but when he finished the book, he sent me this text: “Wow. That book deserves another read-through. Man, that last paragraph. The best ending words I have ever read.”

That’s saying something.

Dan’s second choice was “A Severe Mercy” by Sheldon Vanauken. I’m just a couple chapters in so the jury is still out. Dan and I will talk it over at Thanksgiving.

Wednesday Words: The Closer

Posted on by

I am reading “The Closer” to PB. It is the story of Mariano Rivera, the New York Yankee pitcher who is MLB’s all time saves and ERA leader. For those not familiar with baseball lingo, that means he is the greatest relief pitcher of all time. If you’re still in the dark, Rivera was the guy who came out to the mound in the ninth inning to get the last three outs in a close game. His role was to finish off the game and keep the lead, hence the name, “The Closer”.

This book has given PB and I some things to think about:

1. Rivera was poor kid from Panama, who played baseball on the beach with a glove made out of an old milk carton. His humble start in life kept him appreciative every step of the way.

2. I don’t hate the Yankees anymore. Although the book tells about their many World Series victories, he talks as much about the many play-off games they lost. The insider look at the clubhouse and the dynamics between the players revealed that most of them were very close friends and not money-hungry narcissists. I said most.

3. When Mariano signed with the Yankees, he didn’t speak any English and didn’t realize his signature meant he would be getting on a plane and flying to America. He was terrified of flying and always held his Bible on his lap when in the air.

4. All throughout the book, he gave God the glory for everything that took place. His faith was strong, but not flashy.

5. When asked to give some advise to a young pitcher who was struggling with his mental approach to closing, he said,

“The job is hard enough without overcomplicating it. You don’t want a lot of noise playing in your head. You don’t want doubts. You just have to think about making every single pitch the best pitch it can be. Don’t worry about getting beat. It is going to happen. It happens to everybody, but the best thing you can do for yourself is have a short memory. You can’t take what happened yesterday out to the mound today.”

PB and I think that’s good advise for life.

Lord, help me not overcomplicate things. Drown out the noise that plays in this world that fills me with doubts. Help me to just do the best I possibly can with what You’ve given me. Some days I’ll feel like a loser. That happens to everybody. Give me the grace to let it go and move on so I don’t take yesterday’s failures out to the mound today. Amen.

 

IMG_1461

 

Four Books

Posted on by

books2

For Christmas last year, my son-in-law, Dan, gave me a truly creative gift. He offered to read four books with me over the course of the coming year. One of my favorite things to talk about with Dan is books. He was an English Lit. major and has an appreciation for good writing, so I corner him whenever they visit and pick his brain about all things books and reading.

I chose the first book. In January we read “Peace Like A River” by Leif Enger. It’s a great story with fascinating characters, but it was Enger’s writing style that drew me in on page one. I haven’t had the best of luck with fiction, so I felt like I hit a gold mine with this book.

If you are ever standing in the fiction section of a book store and come across “Peace Like A River”, read the second to last chapter. It will take you about eight minutes. I’ve perused Enger’s words many times and they always move me. Better yet, buy the book, take it home and read the whole thing.

Dan’s first pick was “David and Goliath” by Malcolm Gladwell, which we are reading together now. I thought it was appropriate to use my “Mark the Bookmark” bookmark in honor of Goliath.

IMG_1411

Gladwell’s book looks at “underdogs, misfits and the art of battling giants.” In the introduction, he points out the many ways Goliath was disadvantaged in the show-down with David. Most Sunday school versions of the Old Testament story make Goliath out to be the easy champion and David’s unlikely victory the surprise ending.

Now I’m rethinking all that.

Perhaps David had the odds on his side from the very start.

Maybe being the underdog has its advantages.

“We have a definition in our heads of what an advantage is — and the definition isn’t right. And what happens as a result? It means that we make mistakes. It means that we misread battles between underdogs and giants. It means that we underestimate how much freedom there can be in what looks like a disadvantage.” Malcolm Gladwell

Once Dan recommended a book to me and I read it, but didn’t love it — until I talked it over with him and he pointed out all kinds of things I had missed. Then I realized that I did love it. Discussing “David and Goliath” should make for some interesting conversation with my son-in-law.

I’m learning that talking over a book can be as powerful as reading it.

Wednesday Words: The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry

Posted on by

books

Sometimes when I read a book, I come across words that work so well together I just have to open my college ruled spiral notebook and copy them down. Then I revisit those words from time to time and let them work on me. This collection of quotes and excerpts has grown over the years. I figure there’s no sense in letting them pile up in a stuffy closet. Hence, this series of Wednesday Words.

I have a weak spot for books about books. In “The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry” by Gabrielle Zevin, there is a quote that captures how I feel about her story:

“Every word the right one and exactly where it should be. That’s basically the highest compliment I can give.”

Here are some more gems:

“I like talking about books with people who like to talk about books. I like paper. I like how it feels, and I like the feel of a book in my back pocket. I like how a new book smells, too.”

“Bookstores attract the right kind of people….. A place ain’t a place without a bookstore.”

(For a peek at our local used bookstore, that makes our town a place, click here.)

“We read to know we’re not alone. We read because we are alone. We read and we are not alone.”

“We are not quite novels. We are not quite short stories. In the end, we are collected works.”

“You know everything you need to know about a person from the answer to the question, ‘What is your favorite book?'”

storied

A Slow Fast

Posted on by

I’ve finally discovered a way to slow down time.

Fast from something for 40 days.

My, how the days do seem to drag on.

turtle

For Lent this year, I chose to give up reading. At first it was nice to have quite a bit of extra time to do other things. But now I’m getting antsy — longing for the feel of a book in my hands. 

Here’s what I’ve been learning on this slow fast:

1. It’s good to have a chance to be alone with my thoughts. When I grab a book every time I have a few minutes (or hours) I’m continually cramming information into my brain. It all gets squished in there and I can’t differentiate between my thoughts and the notions of the five authors I’m reading. I was pleasantly surprised to find that, given a little space to breath, I do think my own thoughts.

2. There has been a feeling of empowerment with denying myself something I assumed I needed. I can look at my TBR pile of books and say, “You’re not the boss of me.” I can drive by the library and gloat, “You have no hold on me. (Or holds for me.) ” I can click out of Amazon and resist the urge to hit “Buy now with 1-Click”. I can.

3. Limiting my reading to only one book (the Bible) has made that precious time delightfully sweet. My eyes are more eager in the early morning hours to open the pages and soak in the words. I’m paying attention better, staying more engaged and falling in love with the words of life.

4. I am learning that I can do without things and it’s not really that hard. What seemed like a lofty and admirable plan on Ash Wednesday, quickly showed itself to be small potatoes. Coffee, chocolate, Facebook, spending money, reading — those things aren’t as big a deal as we think. We could live without any of it and survive.

5. Reading lots of books had become a source of pride for me. I’ve kept track of every book I’ve read over the last twelve years and adding a title to that list was puffing me up a bit. Or maybe a lot. I don’t know who I thought I was impressing, but I didn’t see it for what it was until now.

6. Now I know what it’s been like for PB all these years when he’s wanted to go to sleep and I’ve kept the light on to read. It’s so annoying. But I’m proud of my hubby – he’s read more than I have in the last month.

7. It’s been confirmed in my mind that TV is a wasteland. Outside of watching a few documentaries and basketball games, my only other go-to activity has been to go to bed. I’ve definitely gotten more sleep than usual.

8. On the scale of what qualifies as true sacrifice, giving up reading is pretty weak. It doesn’t come close to donating a kidney or falling on a grenade to save a fellow soldier. My little experiment pales in comparison with what this Lenten season is really all about. The supreme sacrifice will never be required again – my debt has been paid in full. My eternal future has been secured, not because I gave up reading for forty days, but because my Savior gave Himself up for the love of the world.

books