I struggled to read this month. I tried to read some different fiction. I struggled through a few non-fiction book. I enjoyed perusing some cookbooks (reading, but of a different sort). I finished with a great fiction book, but even though I enjoyed it, I had to work to finish it. Anyway, here's the list for this month:
11. Leadership 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know by John C. Maxwell—This is a short, condensed book about leadership. Comprised of ten questions and their answers, it tackles issues like growth, influence, efficiency, discipline, and priorities. Maxwell asserts that being a leader is ultimately about raising up leaders. Legacy, he states, is when the things a leader starts live on after him. That is a high aim, but one to work toward. Reading Leadership 101 is a place to start.
12. Good Enough: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie—This was a GOOD book, not overly theological, but with scriptural and spiritual content, for sure. Each devotional advocates against the “Perfectibility Paradigm,” the idea that trying harder will eventually make a person holy, righteous, and deserving of the “good life.” The devotional readings challenge readers with a “good enough step” to take in the journey of sanctification with each entry, however. This book felt like a warm hug for a striving perfectionist like me. It encouraged me to consider that life itself is “good enough,” or as the authors write, already having “what it takes to make something good happen.” I recommend this book and have it on my “to-gift list” for some of my good friends.
13. The Happy Herbivore Cookbook by Lindsay S. Nixon—I read this cookbook during a period of egg-flation, in hopes of learning more recipes to make with tofu. What I discovered was a goldmine of “my type” of recipes: low-fat, whole grain, mostly simple, and vegetable-heavy. Nixon bakes with more sugar than I do, and I do not regularly stock ingredients like chickpea flour, miso, nutritional yeast, or TVP. Still, I already made the cornbread from the book, and I would probably make more recipes if I owned the cookbook (rather than checking it out from the library). If I ever decide to go more vegan again, this would be a great resource!
14. The Flirtation Experiment: Putting Magic, Mystery, and Spark into Your Everyday Marriage by Lisa Jacobson and Phylicia Masonheimer—I’ll be honest. I resisted this book a little bit. It’s my job to keep the romance alive in my marriage. No, but as the authors state, I can only control myself, and if romance is something I want, it’s my responsibility to put in the work. Maybe my husband will respond. Maybe not.
The two wives in this book are from different generations. Trading off chapters, they share how they “experimented” on their own husbands to try to bring romance back. In each chapter, they cover a different topic, sharing their own experiment, scripture to support it, and how it went. Occasionally, there are sections where the husbands reply. The authors share honestly. These experiments were challenging. They were also healing for their marriages. That is the hope they are offer readers in their writing—that maybe a flirtation experiment will bring about more than just romance, but also renewed love and commitment as well.
15. Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron—I read this book because I wanted to read a book about running. I thought it would be good for me to read a cross-cultural book. This book, about fictional runner Jean Patrick, did expose me to the culture of Rwanda. The author wrote beautifully about the country, and the story was redemptive, even with scripture. I learned about some of the horrors of the Rwandan genocide. This was a hard book to read, though, The cultural references were thick, and I did not always follow. Bloodshed was heavy. There was swearing and sex. The author, a Tucson, Arizona resident, must have done a very lot of research to write this book, and she did it well, so well she won the Bellwether Prize awarded by Barbara Kingsolver. Even so, I cannot run the risk of recommending this book. It is too dark and too rife with unchristian things. Better to avoid the rifts one could cause in one's soul by reading.
16. The No Meat Athlete Cookbook: Whole Food, Plant-Based Recipes to Fuel Your Workouts—And the Rest of Your Life by Matt Frazier and Stephanie Romine—This was, and wasn't the book I was looking for. I wanted a book to help me understand how to fuel from a more plant-based foundation. What I found was a cookbook full of somewhat complicated main dish recipes, and one treasure trove chapter (chapter seven) about plant-based fuel for workouts. This is what I was looking for! I definitely took notes from this chapter. All in all, though, the rest of the book was just a good culinary cookbook for vegans. Buying this cookbook is a no-go for me. Reading it from the library was helpful in seeing ways I could add more plants to my life, however.
17. Waymaker: Finding Your Way to the Life You’ve Always Dreamed Of by Ann Voskamp—In another poignant treatise on life, Voskamp explores addiction, attachment, and struggle, things that point to God as WayMaker. Voskamp lays out her SACRED way, revealing how it came to her even through times of pain in her marriage, and fears that cropped up as her family adopted Shiloh, a baby from China with big heart needs. Voskamp points out the deep human need for attachment to God and others. She reveals how struggle makes ways for intimacy that nothing else could. Voskamp writes in her usual thick, imagistic language, but the book also makes space to point out poignant quotes, and the SACRED way is truly applicable for everyday life. It took me a while to make my way through this book, but is that not the way of life? Learning as we go? Learning about God, self, and others? This book is a thick read, but worth it.
18. The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen—Jessica loses her leg in an accident. She was an up and coming high school runner, but not now. Maybe not ever. This book chronicles her struggles, to get back to school, to get back to walking, and to get back to running. The book showcases more than recovery, though. It showcases teamwork, abilities disabilities, and even has a sweet surprise way that Jessica returns to running. The book is easy to read, yet contains some timeless truths and quotable quotes. I haven't read young adult literature in a while, and this one, written by a teacher and runner herself, was a dream!
19. Hal Higdon’s Half Marathon Training by Hal Higdon—More then just a training guide, this is a compilation of the stories of many half-marathon runners, from beginner to advanced. While I did not find the training information that different from what is available for free on the Hal Higdon website, I did enjoy reading the tidbits from other runners. The “Tween” and “Do-It-Yourself Training” chapters are unique. From a champion marathon runner and long-time journalist, this is a decent book, but more for beginner runners than those wanting to shatter personal records.
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Does anyone have tips for reading when they don't want to read? Or is the solution to just let the season pass? I know that reading is good for me, and when I don't do it, I tend to do less productive things. Maybe the issue is just that I am not very motivated.
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