Books, books and more books

What I read, what I am reading, what I hope to finish before the end of the year

I love getting to peek into someone’s reading world. Some of my favorite conversations have started with, “What is something great you have read recently?” And whenever someone asks me what I want for a gift my answer is always the same…books. While I could say I have always been a voracious reader, there were many years in my adulthood where I simply forgot that part of me. I forgot to feed it. And, as with most things, no food, no flourishing. My reading life wasn’t anemic it was non-existent. I found my way back little by little. First, delving into nonfiction, then consuming information at rapid pace. Retreating from the information overwhelm I spent one year reading only the Bible. Then dipped my toes back into the reading life and glory be found a lovely rhythm and mix of fiction and non-fiction that feeds my soul and my creativity.

Some selections from a weekend at the lake.

This year I was writing my own book, still in grad school and surrounded by words tied up in my vocation or studies day and night. Yet what did I reach for at the very end of the day to unwind? More books. You will see a mix of these three reading worlds colliding in my reading list this year.

A few years ago I started the habit of having a note on my phone with every book I read for the year. I know most people use goodreads and some of us use copper (me! I love copper) but for ease in the midst of a conversation, you cannot beat a good old-fashioned digital note.

What I Read (so far)

I will share highlights and the must-reads. But first, in its entirety, is what I have read (so far) in 2023:

• Small Things Like These

• We All Want impossible things

• Mark

• Matthew

• Girls They Write Songs About

• Luke

• Acts

• God and the Pandemic

• The Dictionary of Lost Words

• (10) Romans

• Storied life of AJFikry

• All My Knotted Up Life

• The History of Love

• Love and Other Words

• An Introduction to the Study of Paul

• Prayerbook (Boenhoeffer)

• What Alice Forgot

• Embracing the Journey

• The Summer Place

• (20) Crying in H mart

• Demon Copperhead

• New Testament

• Funny You Should Ask

• The Bookshop on the Corner

• Fish in a Tree

• Remembering

• The Hotel Nantucket

• The Kingdom of Prep

• Reflection on the Psalms

• (30) The Authenticity Project

• Same Time Next Summer

• Peace in the Dark

• Intro to Old Testament

• The Girl Who Reads on the Metro

• Vacationland

• One Two Three

• Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club

• Relational Revolution

• Becoming Free Indeed

• Jesus and Community

• (40) the Celtic way of Evangelism

• Meet Me at the Lake

• The Other Half of Church

• Tom Lake

• Counting the Cost

• Slow Church

• Escaping Enemy Mode

• Shark Heart

• The Deep Down Things

• The Great Gatsby

• (50) the Winemakers Wife

• Christmas at the Beach Street Bakery

• This Sacred Life

Were I able I would sit you down with a cup of tea and go through the whole list with you book by book. The conversation would continue on far more animatedly and far longer than anyone would imagine. And then, for days after, I would smile thinking of it. I would tell you that before you do anything else you simply MUST read Demon Copperhead. It will wreck you but it will be worth it.

Fiction that I LOVED:

(I read a mix of quality novels and light & breezy with a mix of a classic or two. This mix serves me best as my brain power ebbs and flows throughout the year. Yet the ones that stay with me are always the quality fiction and as such are listed below. Don’t take that to mean there is any shame in reading a light book just for fun.)

Demon Copperhead-there is a reason this one the Pulitzer. Its important and honest work. Breathtaking and Brutal. MUST READ>

Tom Lake-stunning. Complicated characters, family, place-it’s all there.

One Two Three-unique, challenging, fascinating. Small town politics vs a big corporation and counting the cost of standing up.

Girls They Write Songs About-this one was highly controversial/not at all popular with my book club. But I stand by it. What it means to be an independent woman in the 90s and wrestling with the reality of feminism lived out.

Non-Fiction that I LOVED:

(Interestingly this year some of my favorite non-fiction were not faith-based. This is unusual for me but so refreshing!)

The Kingdom of Prep-I am still amazed at how much this book mattered to me. I worked for J.Crew for 10+ years and was there for the turnover from Emily Woods family run business to Mickey Drexler’s rise. I was in line reviews when Jenna Lyons was just another member of the design team lined against the side wall. I was swept into the Drexler vortex, whisked onto his private plane and flown to Ohio because he liked my opinions. It was a wild time. And the absolute revelation it was to read the account of my lived experience (albeit ever so on the margins) was a beautiful reminder to me of the power of bearing witness.

Escaping Enemy Mode-I am big fan of Neuro Theologian (could there be a cooler job?!) Jim Wilder. This book in particular found me exactly when I needed it. If you want to understand why you fight, how you fight and what si going on with your brain as you do, this is for you.

The Deep Down Things-as unbiased as I can possibly be reading my friend’s words, this is a beautiful, honest, open invitation for anyone who has experienced church hurt. There is nothing prescreptive, no tidy ending, but there is heaps and heaps of hope.

Peace in the Dark-honorable mention for my own upcoming book. This is the first time I have read the final version of one of my books and immediately thought, “that was good.” Its a miracle and a marvel to me.

What I am Currently Reading

Here are the books that I am in the midst of reading. These will all get added to teh 2023 list. If you are a one book at a time person please just scroll on by.

• Little Women

• The Teenage Brain

• Losing Our Religion

• Stained Glass Ceilings

• Winter Street

• Wintering

What I Hope to Read through the rest of the year

Here is where I demonstrate how delusional I am. Perhaps because my semester of grad school is almost done, or perhaps because I can not resist a seasonal read, I give you my list of books I want to read in addition to the ones above.

• The Evangelical Imagination

• Comfort & Joy

• Bright Lights, Big Christmas

• Tinsel

• Clytemnestra

Tell me, what would you add? Have you read any of the same books this year and what did you think of them? What should I add to my already growing TBR for 2024?

Speaking of 2024 TBR I am seriously considering joining the War and Peace read along with Footnotes and Tangents. You can read about it HERE. Wanna join me?

May you find time to read every day. May it fill you with joy and wonder.

Peace to all my fellow bibliophiles.

Peace in the Dark releases Jan 30th. As we know pre-orders are important to the sales of books so any pre-order placed is so deeply appreciated.

You can pickup my current books Life Surrendered or Break Bread Together:

Available wherever books are sold: Amazon | Leafwood