January Reading Journal
I'm in a reading phase.
I was recently introduced to the podcast, "What Should I Read Next?" by Anne Bogel. Anne and her guests have given me all sorts of motivation to read great books! I have an ever-lengthening list of books I'd like to read, scoop up all the e-book flash sales I find, and have joined a book club for the first time ever. I've done book studies on a single novel, but never committed to doing multiple in a row. I'm a little scared, because I really enjoy having freedom in my reading life, but I'm also really excited about discussing good books with good friends.
Last year I did a big year-end post of the books I had read, but I thought I might shoot for monthly posts that list books and my opinions, etc. A reading journal, if you will.
I have some reading goals for this year:
1. To read more books than I read last year. (Which will mean reading 27 books in 2019. Shouldn't be too difficult.)
2. To not finish every book that I begin.
That second goal may seem counter-intuitive to some of you. I know it is to me.
BUT. If I do not finish a book, it haunts me. I feel actual guilt if I don't finish. Chalk it up to my Enneagram type--the Loyalist--or to the fact that I love to check boxes off a list or to my fear of failure. I. Finish. Books. Hello, my name is Kristen, and I am a recovering completionist.
Sometimes starting a book feels like too large of a commitment. I am doomed to finish it no matter my feelings, so I become paralyzed. Anne Bogel interviews hundreds of readers a year, and she says that the most telling attribute of someone who honestly loves their reading life is that they don't finish every book they begin! What freeing news!
I don't think completionism is entirely a fault. Most of the books that I do not enjoy in the beginning, almost always make glad that I read them by the time they're over. That's the catch for me. I can usually appreciate something about a book because I stuck in it and trudged on through. I think also that the books I naturally lean towards are books about spirituality, and thus reading is not undertaken for pure enjoyment, but for growth. Finishing books is another outlet for growth. Some of the time. The rest of the time, it was just me, feeling highly accomplished for finishing a book I didn't love or that was confusing or that was too long. (Did I think I was better than you for sticking it out with a book I didn't like? Yes. I did. You can go ahead and think poorly of me for that. It is poor behavior.)
I haven't abandoned any books yet this year. But it is on my to-do list!
Now, onto what I've been reading. . .
I started this book in December, but didn't finish it until January. It fed all my refresh-needs that the post-Christmas season brings, and between this and the Marie Kondo Netflix series, my house is getting tidied and de-cluttered bit by bit. I liked that this book instructs us on the order in which to decorate a room, moreso than any specific style.
This is the first Walter Wangerin I have read, and it was beautiful. If you are into Christian mysticism, stories of saints, humility, or the expansive mercy of God, I would recommend it to you. It's not a book I would hand out broadly, it must be savored. I ended it in tears and felt compelled to paint a rendering of Saint Julian, which I promptly did. Here is a low quality photo of it.
Next up was I'll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos. I've never read a book of hers that I didn't like. Fast fiction with such warm characters that you want to be friends with. The relationships are fairly predictable from the beginning, but no less lovely for it. She even threw some major plot twists in this one.
I heard the author of this on Anne Bogel's podcast and was really interested in this story. It is based on true events that happened to the author's Jewish grandfather, his parents, and siblings during WWII. Honestly, this book was a little disappointing, and it was probably one that I could have walked away from. My investment in the characters was pretty low, which is odd in a Holocaust novel. But with all the major events being true, I wanted to see where they ended up. It was still neat to see all of her research, and I'm always eager to learn more history.
This one, though, this one goes on the favorites list. This is my second book by Barbara Brown Taylor, and I absolutely loved it. Before preaching one day, she was prompted to answer the question, "What is saving your life right now?" Each chapter of this book lists her answer to that question, and so often my answers would echo her. The pulse of this book is embodiment and what it means to act out our faith. If I were to answer that question recently, I think I would say, "The work of our hands." Creativity and incarnation hold all manner of holiness.
This was my first Ann Patchett. Again in this novel, I didn't feel super connected to the characters, but I was very interested in the story line, and I did appreciate Patchett's writing style. Now I would feel confident picking up another of her books. There seemed to be a lot of unmined potential for character development when the book ended, particularly with the protagonist, who seemed to be written with some measure of ambivalence. But maybe the loose ends are meant to leave the reader in a . . . wait for it. . . State of Wonder???
I've also been on a poetry kick, and mostly read Mary Oliver on the internet, and I pick up this old friend every few days.
I have a few more reading goals as far as specifics, and I would love some recommendations on these! This year I want to read:
1. An engrossing biography. Any suggestions? Only requirement: Must be interesting.
2. A nonfiction book on a topic other than spirituality (I have two in the running, the first is about microorganisms and the second is a real-life scandal in Silicon Valley.) What are your recommendations?
3. A book on parenting or child psychology. I will be ruthlessly picky with this one. I tend to veer away from parenting books because I already feel like a lousy parent and having a checklist of things I am failing to do only compounds my problem. The only parenting book I have really liked and used is How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish.
Any good recs? So far my options are:
The Whole Brained Child by Daniel Siegel
The Wonder of Boys by Michael Gurien
The Good Enough Parent by Bruno Bettelheim
I was recently introduced to the podcast, "What Should I Read Next?" by Anne Bogel. Anne and her guests have given me all sorts of motivation to read great books! I have an ever-lengthening list of books I'd like to read, scoop up all the e-book flash sales I find, and have joined a book club for the first time ever. I've done book studies on a single novel, but never committed to doing multiple in a row. I'm a little scared, because I really enjoy having freedom in my reading life, but I'm also really excited about discussing good books with good friends.
Last year I did a big year-end post of the books I had read, but I thought I might shoot for monthly posts that list books and my opinions, etc. A reading journal, if you will.
I have some reading goals for this year:
1. To read more books than I read last year. (Which will mean reading 27 books in 2019. Shouldn't be too difficult.)
2. To not finish every book that I begin.
That second goal may seem counter-intuitive to some of you. I know it is to me.
BUT. If I do not finish a book, it haunts me. I feel actual guilt if I don't finish. Chalk it up to my Enneagram type--the Loyalist--or to the fact that I love to check boxes off a list or to my fear of failure. I. Finish. Books. Hello, my name is Kristen, and I am a recovering completionist.
Sometimes starting a book feels like too large of a commitment. I am doomed to finish it no matter my feelings, so I become paralyzed. Anne Bogel interviews hundreds of readers a year, and she says that the most telling attribute of someone who honestly loves their reading life is that they don't finish every book they begin! What freeing news!
I don't think completionism is entirely a fault. Most of the books that I do not enjoy in the beginning, almost always make glad that I read them by the time they're over. That's the catch for me. I can usually appreciate something about a book because I stuck in it and trudged on through. I think also that the books I naturally lean towards are books about spirituality, and thus reading is not undertaken for pure enjoyment, but for growth. Finishing books is another outlet for growth. Some of the time. The rest of the time, it was just me, feeling highly accomplished for finishing a book I didn't love or that was confusing or that was too long. (Did I think I was better than you for sticking it out with a book I didn't like? Yes. I did. You can go ahead and think poorly of me for that. It is poor behavior.)
I haven't abandoned any books yet this year. But it is on my to-do list!
Now, onto what I've been reading. . .
I started this book in December, but didn't finish it until January. It fed all my refresh-needs that the post-Christmas season brings, and between this and the Marie Kondo Netflix series, my house is getting tidied and de-cluttered bit by bit. I liked that this book instructs us on the order in which to decorate a room, moreso than any specific style.
This is the first Walter Wangerin I have read, and it was beautiful. If you are into Christian mysticism, stories of saints, humility, or the expansive mercy of God, I would recommend it to you. It's not a book I would hand out broadly, it must be savored. I ended it in tears and felt compelled to paint a rendering of Saint Julian, which I promptly did. Here is a low quality photo of it.
Next up was I'll Be Your Blue Sky by Marisa de los Santos. I've never read a book of hers that I didn't like. Fast fiction with such warm characters that you want to be friends with. The relationships are fairly predictable from the beginning, but no less lovely for it. She even threw some major plot twists in this one.
I heard the author of this on Anne Bogel's podcast and was really interested in this story. It is based on true events that happened to the author's Jewish grandfather, his parents, and siblings during WWII. Honestly, this book was a little disappointing, and it was probably one that I could have walked away from. My investment in the characters was pretty low, which is odd in a Holocaust novel. But with all the major events being true, I wanted to see where they ended up. It was still neat to see all of her research, and I'm always eager to learn more history.
This one, though, this one goes on the favorites list. This is my second book by Barbara Brown Taylor, and I absolutely loved it. Before preaching one day, she was prompted to answer the question, "What is saving your life right now?" Each chapter of this book lists her answer to that question, and so often my answers would echo her. The pulse of this book is embodiment and what it means to act out our faith. If I were to answer that question recently, I think I would say, "The work of our hands." Creativity and incarnation hold all manner of holiness.
This was my first Ann Patchett. Again in this novel, I didn't feel super connected to the characters, but I was very interested in the story line, and I did appreciate Patchett's writing style. Now I would feel confident picking up another of her books. There seemed to be a lot of unmined potential for character development when the book ended, particularly with the protagonist, who seemed to be written with some measure of ambivalence. But maybe the loose ends are meant to leave the reader in a . . . wait for it. . . State of Wonder???
I've also been on a poetry kick, and mostly read Mary Oliver on the internet, and I pick up this old friend every few days.
I have a few more reading goals as far as specifics, and I would love some recommendations on these! This year I want to read:
1. An engrossing biography. Any suggestions? Only requirement: Must be interesting.
2. A nonfiction book on a topic other than spirituality (I have two in the running, the first is about microorganisms and the second is a real-life scandal in Silicon Valley.) What are your recommendations?
3. A book on parenting or child psychology. I will be ruthlessly picky with this one. I tend to veer away from parenting books because I already feel like a lousy parent and having a checklist of things I am failing to do only compounds my problem. The only parenting book I have really liked and used is How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish.
Any good recs? So far my options are:
The Whole Brained Child by Daniel Siegel
The Wonder of Boys by Michael Gurien
The Good Enough Parent by Bruno Bettelheim
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