I like to read books on all kinds of subjects, and usually have at least three or four going at a time. Depending on my mood, I'll indulge in fiction, nonfiction, biographies, etc., sometimes all in the same day. I think that might be a little unusual, but it works for me. So this summer I've gone through a hefty stack and I have my favorites. Since I get most of my recommendations from friends and blogs that I visit, maybe some of my reading would be of interest to you, too. Goodreads is a great idea, but I just can't remember to update my page. I'm glad my friends are better at it than I am, because some of my reading comes from their ratings. I've linked my favorites to Amazon, in case you decide you just have to have one of them.
Starting at the bottom and moving up-
*Behind the Beautiful Forevers - This narrative nonfiction is the story of a makeshift settlement near luxury hotels in Mumbai. The author spent three years gathering her information from families who survive by sorting the garbage wealthy travelers leave behind. I enjoy learning about other cultures and I really know little about India, so that's why I picked this one. It was heartbreakingly sad and reminded me of how grateful I am for my comfortable life.
* Homemade Pantry- You can go here to read about this book. It's the first selection for my cookbook project. And if you don't want to check out the link, just know I loved it!
* A Whole New Mind - This is my favorite nonfiction book of the summer. From the back cover:
" Lawyers. Accountants. Software engineers. That's what Mom and Dad encouraged us to become. They were wrong. Gone is the age of "left-brain" dominance. The future belongs to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind: designers, inventors, teachers, storytellers - creative and empathetic "right- brain" thinkers whose abilities mark the fault line between who gets ahead and who doesn't."
This left-brain dominate girl, found this book fascinating reading. I loved the suggestions at the end of each chapter, giving ideas on how to strengthen the right side of your brain. Because even though you might not be born this way, you can train yourself to use the right side of the brain more often. I think this would be great reading for every parent and teacher. My husband is seriously right-brain dominate and all our children lean that way as well. It will probably be good for them that they took after their dad in this area!
*Open Heart, Open Home- A classic book on Christian hospitality. Sprinkled liberally with scripture, this was one of the "spiritual books" I read this summer. I like to keep one of those going at all times. The author says, "Hospitality doesn't try to impress, but to serve." That's the main idea that I took away from this book. I enjoyed it.
*Cold Tangerines - Here's my favorite "spiritual book". This was a new author to me and I loved her! "A collection of stories about God, and about life, and about the thousands of daily ways in which an awareness of God changes and infuses everything." That's what this book is all about. I found myself smiling and nodding my head in agreement as I read it. I really didn't want it to end. Loved it!
* The House at Rose Creek - This was my pick for favorite fiction. Does it matter that the author is a family friend and used to babysit my children? Nope! I would've loved it anyway. But how fun it's been to share in the excitement of this debut novel. It's sweet and tender, yet speaks to the importance of faith and relationships. It's really a great book. We read this for our book club meeting and had the author come and discuss it with us. It was a lovely evening. You can get to know Jenny a little better here.
* Living Your Covenants Every Day- I picked this book up when I recognized the author as one of the instructors I most enjoyed, when I last attended Education Week at BYU. She was a motivating speaker and I've adopted her "30 Day Challenges" for myself over the past year. One of these days I'm going to post about those. I was excited to see many of her thoughts from Education Week included in this book. It's a good reminder of the importance of living our covenants daily and she gives lots of ideas on practical ways to do that.
*Wonderstruck- This was a really great "spiritual book" too. Maybe it ties with Cold Tangerines as one of my favorites. I enjoy authors who invite the reader to awaken to the wonders of God in their lives. I've read many books that speak to this subject and each time I do, it helps me to improve a little on this discipline.
*Life is So Good- I like to throw a biography in my reading rotation on a regular basis. There is so much we can learn from reading about other people's lives. This one was wonderful. I had read it a couple of years ago, but since it was a book club selection for our group, I reread it, and loved it even more the second time around. George Dawson tells his story of learning to read at 98, and reflects upon his life and the lessons he learned along the way. I've marked my book up, underlining what I've called "Georgisms" or nuggets of wisdom from George. A most inspiring and feel good book! Read it. You'll love it.
* All Quiet on the Western Front- While thrifting with my sister Cindy one day, she came across this book and asked me if I had read it. I said no, and she tossed it in my shopping basket, saying, "It's good. You need to read it." Okay. It was only fifty cents. I probably should've had some idea of what I was getting myself into, but I was clueless. If you don't want a spoiler- stop now. This was the most depressing book I think I've ever read. It was good, but utterly depressing. When I finished it late one evening, I sent Cindy a text and said, "Next time you want to suggest a book for me to read, could you find one a little less depressing? Maybe one where every character doesn't die!" It's a war book. What did I think was going to happen? She was right though, I did need to read it. And she never said it was an uplifting book...
I have a few more, but this post is long, so we'll finish this up next time.
*Open Heart, Open Home- A classic book on Christian hospitality. Sprinkled liberally with scripture, this was one of the "spiritual books" I read this summer. I like to keep one of those going at all times. The author says, "Hospitality doesn't try to impress, but to serve." That's the main idea that I took away from this book. I enjoyed it.
*Cold Tangerines - Here's my favorite "spiritual book". This was a new author to me and I loved her! "A collection of stories about God, and about life, and about the thousands of daily ways in which an awareness of God changes and infuses everything." That's what this book is all about. I found myself smiling and nodding my head in agreement as I read it. I really didn't want it to end. Loved it!
* The House at Rose Creek - This was my pick for favorite fiction. Does it matter that the author is a family friend and used to babysit my children? Nope! I would've loved it anyway. But how fun it's been to share in the excitement of this debut novel. It's sweet and tender, yet speaks to the importance of faith and relationships. It's really a great book. We read this for our book club meeting and had the author come and discuss it with us. It was a lovely evening. You can get to know Jenny a little better here.
*Wonderstruck- This was a really great "spiritual book" too. Maybe it ties with Cold Tangerines as one of my favorites. I enjoy authors who invite the reader to awaken to the wonders of God in their lives. I've read many books that speak to this subject and each time I do, it helps me to improve a little on this discipline.
*Life is So Good- I like to throw a biography in my reading rotation on a regular basis. There is so much we can learn from reading about other people's lives. This one was wonderful. I had read it a couple of years ago, but since it was a book club selection for our group, I reread it, and loved it even more the second time around. George Dawson tells his story of learning to read at 98, and reflects upon his life and the lessons he learned along the way. I've marked my book up, underlining what I've called "Georgisms" or nuggets of wisdom from George. A most inspiring and feel good book! Read it. You'll love it.
* All Quiet on the Western Front- While thrifting with my sister Cindy one day, she came across this book and asked me if I had read it. I said no, and she tossed it in my shopping basket, saying, "It's good. You need to read it." Okay. It was only fifty cents. I probably should've had some idea of what I was getting myself into, but I was clueless. If you don't want a spoiler- stop now. This was the most depressing book I think I've ever read. It was good, but utterly depressing. When I finished it late one evening, I sent Cindy a text and said, "Next time you want to suggest a book for me to read, could you find one a little less depressing? Maybe one where every character doesn't die!" It's a war book. What did I think was going to happen? She was right though, I did need to read it. And she never said it was an uplifting book...
I have a few more, but this post is long, so we'll finish this up next time.
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