Reading For The Year

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Some love to read. Others, not so much. I happen to fall into the first category. I always have to be reading something whether it is a self-help book, a mystery, a classic, or even children's literature! So here's a look at what I have read and what I hope to read this year...

{Read}

Women of the Word is a re-read for me. I went through it several years ago and loved what it had to say about studying God's Word. At the beginning of the year, I re-read the book. Here is my review of the methods this book describes for digging into God's Word.

  

I found a new favorite author, Charles Martin, through the recommendation of friends on Facebook. He is a Christian author whose stories are heart-wrenching and compelling. So far I have read two of them, When Crickets Cry and Wrapped in Rain. I love how these novels explore how broken we are and how God meets us in our need.

For several years now, I have picked a Word of the Year (Read more about this concept here.) It seems that every time I pick a word, I find that word to be challenging. This year my word is REST. I am so struggling to find downtime in my busy schedule and to be at peace with all that is going on around me. So I just finished The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan, and I have to say it was incredibly eye-opening. I have never thought of the Sabbath as the way it is explained in the book. I also was surprised to learn that the Sabbath is dealt with differently in the Ten Commandments in Exodus and in Deuteronomy.

Now here is where the variety in my reading comes in...I recently have begun to read Newbery books. My favorite by far? Moon Over Manifest is one of the best one I have read, and I HIGHLY recommend it! However, I read When You Reach Me last month and enjoyed it. It has elements of mystery and time travel. While I wouldn't say it's my favorite, I did read it in two days so that tells me that it was good enough that I couldn't put it down!

Speaking of books filled with mystery, I found my new favorite sleuth, Flavia de Luce. This is a whole series of books by Canadian author, Alan Bradley. I am currently reading the first title, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I love Flavia's spunk and intelligence, and Bradley's way with words. Also, I am a highly sensitive person when it comes to violence, gore, and creepiness, but I have found that at least the first book is relatively tame. Flavia is only eleven which may curtail these books from being dark, but the detailed way they are written makes them for adults. Here are the all the books in order:

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag

A Red Herring Without Mustard

I am Half-Sick of Shadows

Speaking from Among the Bones

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches

As a Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust

Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd

and there is one Flavia short story, The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse.

The Shoebox Bible- This is Alan Bradley's (the author of the Flavia de Luce mysteries) memoir.

{To Read}

Any voracious reader will have a never-ending list of books waiting to be opened. Here are some of the books I hope to dive into this year.

Never Unfriended: The Secret to Finding and Keeping Lasting Friendships- Ok, I have to admit...this has happened to me more than once in my life, and I am not talking about just getting unfriended on Facebook. I am talking real life and incredibly devastating! So when I saw that Lisa-Jo Baker was coming out with a book on the subject (It will be out on April 4th), I pre-ordered it. Can't wait to hear what she has to say!

Whispers of Rest: 40 Days of God's Love to Revitalize Your Soul- Remember how I said that my Word of the Year for 2017 is REST? Well, when I saw that Bonnie Gray was coming out with a new book (I LOVED her first one, Finding Spiritual Whitespace.), I knew that I would have to get this one! For the past several years, I have been on a journey to learn how much I am loved by God and to gain a sense of peace from that knowledge. Bonnie's book offers insight in that area. It releases May 2nd. 

Years ago, I read Henry Cloud's books, Boundaries and Changes that Heal. I appreciate his wisdom when it comes to relationships. This year it is my goal to read The Power of the Other and Necessary Endings.

The One and Only Ivan-Another Newbery winner

Hannah Swensen Mysteries by Joanne Fluke are "cozy mysteries" which are light reads which downplay violence and have a amateur detective from a small town or community. I have read the first one, Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder, and enjoyed it. These are light, fun reads.

So what are you reading? Would love to add books to my TO-READ list.