What I'm Reading...

The month of June has been a raging success, from a book-reading perspective. So far, I've finished seven books this month - and I'm working on a couple more, which will most likely be complete by month's end.

This is all very good news, because I had gotten behind in the months of April and May... I blame it on baby ;) If I miss my goal of reading 75 books this year, let's just say... it will have been for the happiest, and most fulfilling of reasons. But still - until he/she arrives in November, I'm pressing forward towards my goal with equal parts glee and determination!

- - -

I've already had so much fun this year, pushing myself to read not only more books - but also more variety. It's been a satisfying way to stretch myself academically, as I had hoped it would be. The public library system has been taken full advantage of, and I try to have multiple books on hold at any given time. With the constant influx of new material (new Christmas presents, basically), it keeps me motivated to capture those lost moments.

Am I sitting in a drive-through, waiting for food that will keep baby's insatiable hunger satisfied? Read. Do I really need to check Twitter right now? No. Read. Lunch-breaks? Those too. Sitting in a doctor's office? Yep.

You get the picture. One page, one chapter at a time... pressing towards 75.

- - -

Currently, these are the books on my nightstand:

Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner (Novel/Old)
Finding Spiritual Whitespace: Awakening Your Soul to Rest, by Bonnie Gray (Devotional Study)
The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis (Nonfiction/Theological)
Bible (Currently reading through Nahum and Habakkuk)

And these are the books that most recently sojourned from the nightstand, back to the bookshelves (or if I'm being completely honest, back to the book-piles haphazardly lying around our house, no matter how often I clean):

The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise, by Julia Stuart (Novel/New)
We Are All Welcome Here, by Elizabeth Berg (Novel/Historical Fiction)
Scary Close, by Donald Miller (Nonfiction/Memoir)
Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, by Jan Karon (Novel/New)
This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, by Ann Patchett (Nonfiction/Short Stories)
Rending the Curtain, by Tammy Priest (Devotional Study/Theological)

I thoroughly enjoyed every single one of those - which I've found to be rare, when reading so many books back-to-back or simultaneously. It feels like June has been a month of travel, new things, and inspiration - yet I've spent the majority of it around Nashville, while Tim has been away. I'm aware that I've said this before... but this is one of the reasons I love reading. For those rare but real times in life when things get a bit more steady and still on the surface, you can still have a mind awake!

Recommending books is and always will be challenging, because taste is such a subjective idea... but the past six months have already provided me with some great resources for sharing. And at this point, regardless of whether or not I reach that magic number of 75 or not, I'll feel like this year has been a success! (Although, let me be clear, I'm still giving it everything I've got!)

My prayer is that this process of endeavoring will not only continue to enrich my mind in a vague sense, but also specifically increase my repertoire, vocabulary, ability to stay focused and manage time well, and my capacity to engage life with refined conviction and understanding of certain subjects and perspectives. In summary... that all this reading would make me a better relator, communicator, and one who is better-postured to serve Christ with my specific skill-set, interests, and talents.

All that being said...

Read any good books lately?