Six Books I Recommend – June 2016
Below are six books I recommend from books I read this month.
Nonfiction
1. The More of Less
Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own
by Joshua Becker
My book review here of The More of Less
We own too much stuff. It doesn’t make us happier. It can actually rob us of our true purpose. This book both makes the argument for less and explains how to make it happen. Of the two decluttering books I read this month (see Unstuffed below), this is my favorite one. (Book review soon.)
2. The Happiness Effect
How Social Media Is Driving a Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost
by Donna Freitas
My book review here of The Happiness Effect
The author surveyed college students on thirteen college campuses about their use of social media. Some of the results were expected (their phones are with them 24/7); some were unexpected. An interesting read, albeit sad in places. We’re obviously all struggling with how to appropriately use social media. (Not yet released. Book review soon.)
3. Unstuffed
Decluttering Your Home, Mind, and Soul
by Ruth Soukup
My book review here of Unstuffed
A good overview on why and how to get rid of excess clutter in your house, head, and heart. It’s basic information but still motivating. (I did clean out a closet because of it—win!)
4. The Words of Gandhi
by Richard Attenborough
This book is an excellent collection of short quotes from Gandhi’s writings and speeches on a variety of subjects. I’ve had a passion for Gandhi’s teachings for years, and this was a worthy re-read.
Fiction
5. The Day the Angels Fell
by Shawn Smucker
Author and blogger Shawn Smucker writes about 12-year-old Samuel Chambers’s unusual experience with his mother, the Tree of Life, and the passage of time. Death can be a gift. I enjoyed this novel and will read more by Shawn Smucker.
6. The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde
Crazy but fascinating story. It’s about Dorian Gray, a young man who lives life for self-pleasure, and his unusual portrait. I overlooked reading this classic in my school years, but I’m glad I read it now.
I also finished 18 Minutes: Find Your Focus, Master Distraction, and Get the Right Things Done (Peter Bregman) and Bossypants (Tina Fey).
Currently Reading
- I Am Malala
The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
by Malala Yousafzai - Paperboy
by Vince Vawter - Entering the Castle
An Inner Path to God and Your Soul
by Caroline Myss - Success through Stillness
Meditation Made Simple
by Russell Simmons
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What are you reading this month? Please share here.
My books on Goodreads
Previous reading lists
sharing at Month in Review
I’m really enjoying Susan Cain’s Quiet Power … for all those introvert kids and teens out there … and those of us who cheer them on.
An easy yet important must-read! I wish this was available back when I was young …
I wish that Quiet had been available when I was younger too, Linda! Loved that book. I wanted my husband to read it so he could understand me better but it’s way too long for him. 🙂 So I just have to assure him that not only am I normal, but that there are lots of other people out there like me. ha.
I just bought a few books. How much time i will have to read I don’t know. Gospel Treason by Bigney. Life as Sport by Fader. The Champion’s Comeback by Afremow. The Track to Redemption by Erickson (a fellow blogger’s 3rd installment of a cult trilogy). On pre-published order is When Trouble Comes by Ryken. Also reading Recovering Redemption by Chandler. I’m tired just writing them. 🙂
At least you own your books, Bill, so you can go at your own pace; they’ll be there waiting for you when you’re ready. I tend to check out things from the library, so it sets a deadline for me, which can be good or bad, depending on the book. 🙂 You’ve got a great stash there! Hope you do find time to get through them because I know they’ll be beneficial.
Nice choices, and glad to see a classic!
I’m re-reading Richard Bach’s “Illusions”, just for the fun of it.
http://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2016/06/your-dying-spouse-173-when-caregiver.html
I’m glad you’re giving yourself the gift of re-reading a book just for the fun of it. Everyone deserves that.
I sometimes enjoy the classics; sometimes don’t. I like most when a classic takes me by surprise. I really knew nothing about Dorian Gray so it was nice being taken aback by the plot twists.
Ooo…very intrigued by The More of Less. Happy to say that I’ve now gotten to the point where I’m feeling like I CAN’T get rid of anything else. (Whereas it used to be piles and piles of stuff leaving the house during cleaning out.) The closets aren’t jammed, the toys aren’t as scattered and everything feels a bit more clean and peaceful. Still, I’m in the extreme scrutiny point and that book sounds very fascinating.
It sounds like you’ve arrived then, Carrie. That’s encouraging to hear. Enjoy being in the sweet spot! I have a few areas like that, but a few other areas that still need a lot of work. 🙂
Okay, this post makes me want to de-clutter — or at least read a book about that 😉 I’m glad that’s an “in” genre currently, since I tend to be sentimental and keep more than I should. I read DGray a few years back and liked it. I, too, missed it during my school years. As usual, you don’t have anything listed that doesn’t sound good to me. So many books, so little time …!
I hear you, Susan. I think I enjoy reading books about decluttering more than the actual decluttering. 🙂 That’s how it was when I homeschooled, too: I loved the planning and organizing and getting the books, but the actual teaching? That wasn’t quite as fun. ha. I’m also glad that minimalizing is the “in” thing. At least it gets some things out of our homes and into the hands of someone who can use them. (Or else in the trash where some of them belong, in my case.)
I’m interested in some of those. Good list. I haven’t got to anything new… again… but I did circle back around and pick up a memoir by Ian Cron. Good stuff.
I have really enjoyed what I’ve read by Ian Cron. Sounds like you picked a winner. Way to make your reading count, Floyd.
I was amazed that though Wilde made no claims to Christianity and Dorian Gray is not from a Christian viewpoint, several biblical principles did emerge. I had missed it in school, too, and just read it a couple of years ago.
Yes, from what little I know about Oscar Wilde (and granted, it is very little), it surprises me too that Dorian Gray really did at least have a moral of sorts that I could agree with. That was nice to discover.
Interesting reading. I too read Dorian Gray years ago and then read it again last year and was amazed by how much more there was to the story.
So I wonder if we read it again 10 years from now, will we discover even more? Aging is indeed good for some things, I suppose. 🙂
Hi Lisa!
Always love looking at your list! This month the books I read include: The Mind of Terror by Tass Saada, The Listening Life by Adam McHugh, The Three Battlegrounds by Francis Frangipane, Covet by Marvin Brown. I am halfway throughThomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brian Kilmeade and also reading Mr. Churchill’s Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal. (Yes, I have looked at the book on Exposure, but not really started to read it so it can be counted.) All But Normal by Shawn Thornton is next in the stack.
Thanks for sharing your list, Pam! I’ve really been wanting to get to Adam McHugh’s The Listening Life. I’ve heard it’s very good!
Have you read Outlander before? If not, I hope you like it. I love it, one of my favorites. The series is a favorite. And the author is a most favorite. But people I know either love her work or don’t like it much….not a whole lot of in between.
Dorian Gray — I really need/want to get to this book. One day, and hopefully one day soon.
I am curious what you’ll think of I Am Malala.
I’m so glad to hear your view on Outlander! It started out very slowly to me (about 1/4 of the book), but now I don’t want to put it down. That’s both good and bad. ha. Can’t wait to get back to it tonight. 🙂 So far I’m enjoying I Am Malala, but it’s very sobering…
Ugh, so after reading a little more, I’m in the camp now of NOT liking Outlander. ha. I made it to 49% (reading on Kindle), and decided it’s not for me. But I did want to know how it ended. So I found an article that summarized the whole book. 🙂 Now I can concentrate on Malala instead, which is a good thing because I have to return it back to the library in 3 days and I have a lot of pages left!
I am drawn to More or Less, I find as I get older I really hesitate before I buy something and really check that I need it and want it. Or will it just take up cupboard space. Of course that does not apply to books!
Ha. No, this doesn’t apply to books! 🙂 I’m discovering the same thing as you: before I even buy anything, I start the questioning process of do I really want to store this in my house forevermore?
Taking note of The Happiness Effect – looks like an interesting read.
I also missed The Picture of Dorian Grey during high school, and thoroughly enjoyed it when I finally read it a couple of years ago. I decided to read through all the referenced novels after watching the movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
I love getting a list of books from another book or a movie, too. And I love hearing that others do it. 🙂 The Happiness Effect was very interesting (although a little long—you can get the gist pretty quickly). Nonetheless, it is making me more aware of my own social media habits and I’ll rein it in a little bit more. Not sure when it will be released; several more months I think.