Spring is For Reading! April Books
35/80 books for the year!
1. The Red Threads of Fortune, and 2. The Descent of Monsters, Jy Yang - It took me a long while to get into Yang’s work, despite glowing praise I’ve seen around the internet. These are the second and third of their novellas, and although it took me a while after reading the first to get to them I read them back to back, and enjoyed them greatly. Once again, fantasy with a different cultural basis is really appealing to me these days. Yang’s characters are fascinating, and I love what they do with gender. Looking forward to the next book, which I’ve already preordered.
3. Faith Unraveled, Rachel Held Evans - I’ve loved Evans from the first paragraph of the first one of her books that I read. She gives me hope for Christianity, and she confirms and encourages my own beliefs. She makes me think, and she challenges my old belief systems and prejudices. I was delighted to have the opportunity to actually meet Evans two years ago when she attended Spec as a special guest. I loved the sermon she delivered, and the hour that I spent with her in a special class in the chapel has stuck with me for many reasons. I don’t know why I hadn’t read this book yet. It was as special as her others. Being so fresh on my mind, it was then so horrible to learn of her illness just before Easter. As of the writing of this blog, she remains in a medically induced coma...although today’s update from her family indicates that they are trying to wake her up. Evans is 7 or 8 years younger than I am, with small children and a lot of work left to do him this world. I hold her and her family in prayer and I invite you to do so as well.
4. Summer Night, 6. Death Masks, 8. Blood Rites, 9. Dead Beat, 11. Proven Guilty, Jim Butcher (audio) - What can I say? The Dresden Files have grown on me, and I think they’ve gotten better as the series has continued. There’s enough self-awareness and self-deprecation to address the few issues I had at first, and at the end of the day they are on the better end of the urban fantasy/detective sub genre that I love so much. (I think we can thank Buffy for that!). I also happen to be in a place right now where I’m spending a lot of time in my car and am very stressed out - both setting me up for a need to be told a good story. Podcasts are too short and disjointed right now. The long arch of this series is speaking to the part of me that wants to be told a story.
5. When Breath Becomes Air, Dr. Paul Kalanithi - I think everyone should read this book. It’s really that simple. I’ve owned it for a while. No idea why I decided to pick it up now, of all times, when you would think that the subject matter would be deeply upsetting and hard for me to read. It is, after all, the story of a young doctor’s cancer - a book that he spent the last year of his life pouring his heart and soul into. I sobbed when it was over, a catharsis that was a gift. It’s not really a book about death, but rather is a book about the beauty of life. I’m ordering a hardback copy to keep on my shelf, and I will go back to it again and again.
7. Pride and Prometheus, John Kessler - A dear friend recommended this book a while back, and I truly wish I’d read it right away. Kessler has written a really fun mash up of Frankenstein and Pride & Prejudice, and I loved every single minute of it. Kessler has fast become a writer I’ll watch. His work is really hard to put down, and the concepts and perspectives he comes up with are truly interesting. Now, of course, if I had time I’d reread both source books!
10. A Ring of Endless Light, Madeleine L’Engle - This has long been one of my favorite L’Engle books, and I felt called to read it again this month in the midst of some tough things that I’m dealing with. Not wanting to waste time trying to find my beloved, battered old copy in my book crates, I bought a digital copy. I’m glad I did that. I highlighted everything that struck me, and have gone back multiple times already to read through those quotes again. A part of me has always known that my idea of God was heavily influenced by L’Engle’s work. Reading this book again showed me just how deep that influence runs. I’m so very grateful to Madeleine...for the gift that she gave me through her writing.
12. Grief is the Thing With Feathers, Max Porter - I found it on the iBooks sale table shortly after a friend brought it up in conversation. It’s interesting, and I think perhaps even a bit profound. It’s also a curiously written work, with a style that feels very true to the way that grief is experienced. Having said that, I skimmed through it pretty quickly. The unusual, poetic style didn’t allow me to truly connect to the work so it remains an intellectual curiosity/appreciation without having touched my heart.
1. The Red Threads of Fortune, and 2. The Descent of Monsters, Jy Yang - It took me a long while to get into Yang’s work, despite glowing praise I’ve seen around the internet. These are the second and third of their novellas, and although it took me a while after reading the first to get to them I read them back to back, and enjoyed them greatly. Once again, fantasy with a different cultural basis is really appealing to me these days. Yang’s characters are fascinating, and I love what they do with gender. Looking forward to the next book, which I’ve already preordered.
3. Faith Unraveled, Rachel Held Evans - I’ve loved Evans from the first paragraph of the first one of her books that I read. She gives me hope for Christianity, and she confirms and encourages my own beliefs. She makes me think, and she challenges my old belief systems and prejudices. I was delighted to have the opportunity to actually meet Evans two years ago when she attended Spec as a special guest. I loved the sermon she delivered, and the hour that I spent with her in a special class in the chapel has stuck with me for many reasons. I don’t know why I hadn’t read this book yet. It was as special as her others. Being so fresh on my mind, it was then so horrible to learn of her illness just before Easter. As of the writing of this blog, she remains in a medically induced coma...although today’s update from her family indicates that they are trying to wake her up. Evans is 7 or 8 years younger than I am, with small children and a lot of work left to do him this world. I hold her and her family in prayer and I invite you to do so as well.
4. Summer Night, 6. Death Masks, 8. Blood Rites, 9. Dead Beat, 11. Proven Guilty, Jim Butcher (audio) - What can I say? The Dresden Files have grown on me, and I think they’ve gotten better as the series has continued. There’s enough self-awareness and self-deprecation to address the few issues I had at first, and at the end of the day they are on the better end of the urban fantasy/detective sub genre that I love so much. (I think we can thank Buffy for that!). I also happen to be in a place right now where I’m spending a lot of time in my car and am very stressed out - both setting me up for a need to be told a good story. Podcasts are too short and disjointed right now. The long arch of this series is speaking to the part of me that wants to be told a story.
5. When Breath Becomes Air, Dr. Paul Kalanithi - I think everyone should read this book. It’s really that simple. I’ve owned it for a while. No idea why I decided to pick it up now, of all times, when you would think that the subject matter would be deeply upsetting and hard for me to read. It is, after all, the story of a young doctor’s cancer - a book that he spent the last year of his life pouring his heart and soul into. I sobbed when it was over, a catharsis that was a gift. It’s not really a book about death, but rather is a book about the beauty of life. I’m ordering a hardback copy to keep on my shelf, and I will go back to it again and again.
7. Pride and Prometheus, John Kessler - A dear friend recommended this book a while back, and I truly wish I’d read it right away. Kessler has written a really fun mash up of Frankenstein and Pride & Prejudice, and I loved every single minute of it. Kessler has fast become a writer I’ll watch. His work is really hard to put down, and the concepts and perspectives he comes up with are truly interesting. Now, of course, if I had time I’d reread both source books!
10. A Ring of Endless Light, Madeleine L’Engle - This has long been one of my favorite L’Engle books, and I felt called to read it again this month in the midst of some tough things that I’m dealing with. Not wanting to waste time trying to find my beloved, battered old copy in my book crates, I bought a digital copy. I’m glad I did that. I highlighted everything that struck me, and have gone back multiple times already to read through those quotes again. A part of me has always known that my idea of God was heavily influenced by L’Engle’s work. Reading this book again showed me just how deep that influence runs. I’m so very grateful to Madeleine...for the gift that she gave me through her writing.
12. Grief is the Thing With Feathers, Max Porter - I found it on the iBooks sale table shortly after a friend brought it up in conversation. It’s interesting, and I think perhaps even a bit profound. It’s also a curiously written work, with a style that feels very true to the way that grief is experienced. Having said that, I skimmed through it pretty quickly. The unusual, poetic style didn’t allow me to truly connect to the work so it remains an intellectual curiosity/appreciation without having touched my heart.
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