9 Books I Recommend – June 2024

“All of literature is one of two stories: a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town.”
– Leo Tolstoy

Here are 3 novels and 6 nonfiction books I recommend from what I finished reading in June 2024. 

[See previously recommended books here]

NONFICTION

1. Worth Fighting For
Finding Courage and Compassion When Cruelty is Trending
by John Pavlovitz

Sometimes it seems our country has gone mad, dividing into two angry camps against each other. Along comes John Pavlovitz with hope that perhaps it doesn’t have to be this cruel. I thoroughly enjoyed this book encouraging us to continue standing strong for our values, but also to respect each other as we do so. [Full book review coming soon…]

2. Write a Must-Read
Craft a Book That Changes Lives―Including Your Own
by A.J. Harper

I recently participated in a writing webinar with A.J. Harper as the host. In the short amount of time that I had her one-on-one with my work, I was amazed at her ability to lead me more directly to the heart of what I wanted to say in my writing. If you’ve ever wanted to write a book, I highly recommend A.J.’s book about the writing and editing (and some about the publishing) process; it’s phenomenal.

3. The Age of Magical Overthinking
Notes on Modern Irrationality
by Amanda Montell

Because I loved Amanda’s other books (Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism and Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language), I had a hunch I would love this one, too. And I was right. With her witty and personal writing style, Amanda walks us through the biases that trap our brains into thinking irrationally. There’s no guarantee that we’ll automatically think more logically and realistically after reading this book, but we’ll at least be more aware of fallacies when we see them. [Full book review coming soon…]

4. Life After Doom
Wisdom and Courage for a World Falling Apart
by Brian D. McLaren

How are we to live in the middle of our climate crisis? Brian McLaren shows us a wise and brave path through, not around. This is a book about grieving, about hoping, and about changing, regardless of what happens next. I found it incredibly insightful and helpful.

[Read my full review here of Life After Doom, “A Journey of Hope Amid Climate Chaos”]

5. The Light Shines in the Darkness
Choosing Hope After a Mass Shooting
by Melinda Rainey Thompson

On June 16, 2022, about 100 miles from my home in north Alabama, a visitor to a church potluck in Birmingham, Alabama, sat down to eat with welcoming church members. And pulled out a gun. With no warning, he began firing. Three people died that night. And everyone was affected. Even the church members not in attendance. This book is a beautiful collection of essays from those who were there or who loved people who were there that night. I’ve chosen it as the selection for the August meeting of our Alabama Moms Demand Action online book club. One of the authors will be with us to share his experience of that horrible night.

6. Do/Walk
Navigate earth, mind and body. Step by step.
by Libby Delana

My other book club—the in-person group—is reading Do Walk this summer. It’s a small, easy book about Libby DeLana’s habit of taking a walk every day. It’s definitely motivated me to do my short walk in my neighborhood far more frequently these days (despite the oppressive heat).

FICTION

7. The Women
by Kristin Hannah

This is a powerful novel about a young nursing student in the mid-1960s who joins the Army Nurse Corps to serve in Vietnam. While it is fiction, it is based on the lived experiences that many female soldiers had during the war and after their return home. I cried throughout the book because it was so gut-wrenching yet also such an important story to hear.

8. Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë

Because I want to read Praying with Jane Eyre: Reflections on Reading as a Sacred Practice, I thought I’d better re-read the classic novel Jane Eyre this month. It’s been years since I first read it, but it held up beautifully. I thoroughly enjoyed it (maybe even more this time?). If you’re not familiar with the story of orphaned Jane Eyre, the travails of her life, and her relationship with Mr. Rochester, I encourage you to find a copy (they’re everywhere) and read it, too.

9. The Dollhouse
by Fiona Davis

This novel is based on the actual Barbizon Hotel for Women in New York City in the 1950s. Aspiring models lived on one floor, and secretaries and editors lived on another. The book alternates chapters between a modern tenant as she uncovers a story that happened in 1952, and a character living it in 1952. Interesting plot and well-written.

WHAT I’M READING NOW

• Zero Days
  by Ruth Ware
• Punished by Rewards
  Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Edition: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’S, Praise, and Other Bribes
  by Alfie Kohn
• The Heart of Nonviolent Communication 
  25 Keys to Shift From Separation to Connection
  by Kristin K. Collier
• American Carnage
  Shattering the Myths That Fuel Gun Violence
  by Fred Guttenberg, Thomas Gabor
• Spiritual Bypassing
  When Spirituality Disconnects Us from What Really Matters
  by Robert Augustus Masters
• A Well-Trained Wife
  My Escape from Christian Patriarchy
  by Tia Levings
• The Power of Ritual
  How to Create Meaning and Connection in Everything You Do
  by Casper ter Kuile
• Good People
  Stories From the Best of Humanity
  by Gabriel Reilich, Lucia Knell

What good book have you read lately? Please share in the comments.

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