June Reading Update!
I read nothing but articles for my Master's project during the month of May. Oh, and I also read and re-read (and re-read and re-read and....) my actual project which was nearly 200 pages long. So I was still definitely READING, just nothing that would qualify for the reading challenge.
So here is how I did in June:
Read a self-improvement book: 6-5-16- One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp ~ I started reading this book in January with the Children's Ministry group at my church. Each year we pick a book to read together. This was a quick read but I slowed it down so I didn't get too far ahead of our discussion meetings. I'll be honest - I LOVED the content. The whole idea of being happy and content and "growing roots where you are planted" was excellent. I even read a few chapters at key moments in my life when I needed to remember that everything would be okay. But Voskamp's writing style was a little harder to follow. Her writing is very poetic and sometimes even stream of consciousness. It was a nice change in the first chapters but as the book continued, I got kind of sick of her style and wished she'd just get to the point. So it was good but kind of meh towards the end.
Read a book with a blue cover: 6-17-16 - Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller ~ I picked up this book at a Little Free Library in Claremont LAST summer and finally picked it up to read this summer. (And it perfectly fit this year's category for the reading challenge!) This book was all about the author's spiritual growth and development while simultaneously wrestling with the pushes and constraints of post-modern culture and society. I loved it because it reminded me so much of my own spiritual journey. Also, I finished this book while drinking a Hazlenut latte from Coffee Bean and sitting outside in a courtyard in Claremont on a beautifully mild June afternoon. (Audrey was at preschool.) And this is why I love summer!
Read a book you own but have never read: 6-30-16 - David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell ~ This book was waiting on last year's reading challenge list as well so I finally picked it up and read it. I'm so glad I did! It reminded me of how much I appreciated Gladwell's writing and style. His research findings are so poignant, captivating, and interesting! I gobbled up this entire book, which was basically about how people or situations that you would think would be in the "underdog" slot come out on top. Examples from the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham, Three-Strikes Law in California, Nazi occupied France, and even what it really means to be rich or to go to "the best" school. I loved this book and I also loved that Audrey kept asking me why I am still reading the story of David and Goliath. She knows that story from her devotionals at home and Sunday School and was a bit perplexed as to why it was taking me so long to finish reading the story. Cute.
Read a book about a culture you're unfamiliar with: 6-30-16 - A Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country ~ Yes, I read this book in tandem with David and Goliath. It came up in my Goodreads as a recommendation because I'm also currently reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I'm reading one chapter a month from that book since it gives you resolutions to focus on for each month of the year. I thought about doing the same with this book since it is written by each month the author spent in Denmark. But since I got it in June, I had to catch up so I started binge reading a chapter a day. Well, once I started doing that, I couldn't put the book down! I decided to just keep reading and I'm glad I did! Jeff and I have been watching Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown on Netflix, so my wanderlust is at it's absolute high right now! I'm realizing how much I LOVE reading or watching and just learning about other cultures around the world. Sure I've heard of them but I had no idea about some of their cultural beliefs and attitudes. For example, from the months of November to March in Denmark, all citizens get hygge. This basically means they stay inside and get cosy. How cute is that? I loved this book and now I want to visit Denmark.
Now, what's on the horizon for July? Audrey and I are working our way through The BFG by Roald Dahl, because a.) I realized I'd never read that one and b.) it's been turned into a movie so it'd be fun to take her to see that once we're done reading the book. I just started I, Me, Mine by George Harrison. I'm continuing The Happiness Project but you won't see my review of that book until December. I have Beloved by Toni Morrison still on my currently-reading list but I haven't picked that up since.....? I also want to read the Note and Notice book for work but need to get myself in a more academic state-of-mind than I am currently. I've read a lot of nonfiction lately so it'd be good to get into a good work of fiction soon. Maybe I'll tag team the Harrison book with the Morrison book.
Summer is here! And summer is almost done! Got to get my reading in!
So here is how I did in June:
Read a self-improvement book: 6-5-16- One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp ~ I started reading this book in January with the Children's Ministry group at my church. Each year we pick a book to read together. This was a quick read but I slowed it down so I didn't get too far ahead of our discussion meetings. I'll be honest - I LOVED the content. The whole idea of being happy and content and "growing roots where you are planted" was excellent. I even read a few chapters at key moments in my life when I needed to remember that everything would be okay. But Voskamp's writing style was a little harder to follow. Her writing is very poetic and sometimes even stream of consciousness. It was a nice change in the first chapters but as the book continued, I got kind of sick of her style and wished she'd just get to the point. So it was good but kind of meh towards the end.
Read a book with a blue cover: 6-17-16 - Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller ~ I picked up this book at a Little Free Library in Claremont LAST summer and finally picked it up to read this summer. (And it perfectly fit this year's category for the reading challenge!) This book was all about the author's spiritual growth and development while simultaneously wrestling with the pushes and constraints of post-modern culture and society. I loved it because it reminded me so much of my own spiritual journey. Also, I finished this book while drinking a Hazlenut latte from Coffee Bean and sitting outside in a courtyard in Claremont on a beautifully mild June afternoon. (Audrey was at preschool.) And this is why I love summer!
Read a book you own but have never read: 6-30-16 - David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell ~ This book was waiting on last year's reading challenge list as well so I finally picked it up and read it. I'm so glad I did! It reminded me of how much I appreciated Gladwell's writing and style. His research findings are so poignant, captivating, and interesting! I gobbled up this entire book, which was basically about how people or situations that you would think would be in the "underdog" slot come out on top. Examples from the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham, Three-Strikes Law in California, Nazi occupied France, and even what it really means to be rich or to go to "the best" school. I loved this book and I also loved that Audrey kept asking me why I am still reading the story of David and Goliath. She knows that story from her devotionals at home and Sunday School and was a bit perplexed as to why it was taking me so long to finish reading the story. Cute.
Read a book about a culture you're unfamiliar with: 6-30-16 - A Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country ~ Yes, I read this book in tandem with David and Goliath. It came up in my Goodreads as a recommendation because I'm also currently reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I'm reading one chapter a month from that book since it gives you resolutions to focus on for each month of the year. I thought about doing the same with this book since it is written by each month the author spent in Denmark. But since I got it in June, I had to catch up so I started binge reading a chapter a day. Well, once I started doing that, I couldn't put the book down! I decided to just keep reading and I'm glad I did! Jeff and I have been watching Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown on Netflix, so my wanderlust is at it's absolute high right now! I'm realizing how much I LOVE reading or watching and just learning about other cultures around the world. Sure I've heard of them but I had no idea about some of their cultural beliefs and attitudes. For example, from the months of November to March in Denmark, all citizens get hygge. This basically means they stay inside and get cosy. How cute is that? I loved this book and now I want to visit Denmark.
Now, what's on the horizon for July? Audrey and I are working our way through The BFG by Roald Dahl, because a.) I realized I'd never read that one and b.) it's been turned into a movie so it'd be fun to take her to see that once we're done reading the book. I just started I, Me, Mine by George Harrison. I'm continuing The Happiness Project but you won't see my review of that book until December. I have Beloved by Toni Morrison still on my currently-reading list but I haven't picked that up since.....? I also want to read the Note and Notice book for work but need to get myself in a more academic state-of-mind than I am currently. I've read a lot of nonfiction lately so it'd be good to get into a good work of fiction soon. Maybe I'll tag team the Harrison book with the Morrison book.
Summer is here! And summer is almost done! Got to get my reading in!