Lisa notes

Once a month we share the books we’ve finished reading and are reading now at 5 Minutes for Books.

Here is my reading list for May and early June. I’m still working on eliminating books from my shelf or my Kindle that have been sitting there too long.

BOOKS I’M READING NOW

1. The In-Between
Embracing the Tension Between Now and the Next Big Thing: A Spiritual Memoir
by Jeff Goins

We rarely live in the “big moments” of life. Most of our life is spent doing ordinary stuff. But those are times worth embracing too. Jeff Goins shares what those in-between moments have meant to him and can mean to us.

2. Frankenstein
by Mary Shelley

Even though I’ve seen movies about Frankenstein, I’ve never read the book. But the 1818 version or 1831 version??? My hardcopy is 1818; my kindle version is 1831. And I’ve discovered they are significantly different. For now I’m going with 1818. This is my pick for the “19 Century Classic” category in the Back to the Classics 2015 reading challenge.

3. When Mockingbirds Sing
by Billy Coffey

My review here

This novel is about 9-year-old Leah’s mysterious paintings dictated by the Rainbow Man, and the havoc they cause with the preacher of her town. I’m over halfway finished and I’ve yet to figure out where the author is going with it. That’s a good thing. Surprise me.

4. The Marriage You’ve Always Wanted
by Gary Chapman

I don’t read many marriage books anymore, but I was gifted this book last year from another blogger. I’ve enjoyed Gary Chapman’s teachings (author of The Five Love Languages) for years. This book may not contain many new ideas to me yet, but it is already reminding me of many areas I could step it up a notch in my marriage with Jeff.

BOOKS I FINISHED FROM APRIL’S LIST

1. The Age of the Image
Redefining Literacy in a World of Screens
by Stephen Apkon

My review here

Visual storytelling takes on new dimensions in our technological age. This book addresses the how and the why of what it means to be literate in our current times. I found it very interesting indeed.

2. The Invisible Man
by H. G. Wells

For a book published in 1897, I found it surprisingly modern in some of its tone. See?

“You don’t blame me, do you? You don’t blame me?”
“I never blame anyone,” said Kemp. “It’s quite out of fashion.”

Being invisible does have a certain attraction, but this short, classic story of a man who discovers a way to become invisible shows the chaos that can ensue from it.

3. 50 Women Every Christian Should Know
Learning from Heroines of the Faith
by Michelle DeRusha

My review here

So many women I didn’t know! I’m glad to learn at least a few things about each one of these 50 women that Michelle DeRusha chose as heroines of faith. Fascinating.

4. A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L’Engle

If you don’t already know, this wonderful classic is a fantasy novel about children who travel to other planets in search of their father. (But it’s so much more, truly.) It’s my pick for the 1960s of reading one Newbery Award winner per decade with Amy and friends. It’s the first of a quintet. I’ve read through them all years back but needed a refresher.

And in a weird twist of timing, Madeleine L’Engle was one of the 50 women in Michelle’s 50 Women Every Christian Should Know (above) that I also read this month. Michelle writes, “For Madeleine, writing fantasy was a way for her to apprehend the mysteries of God. She claimed the young adult fantasy novel A Wrinkle in Time was a theological book because it was a metaphor for God’s love.” (I also discovered that Madeleine was married to Dr. Charles Tyler of All My Children fame, going back to the days when I watched that).

“I hoped it was a dream,” Meg said.
Her mother carefully turned over four slices of French toast, then said in a steady voice, “No, Meg. Don’t hope it was a dream. I don’t understand it any more than you do, but one thing I’ve learned is that you don’t have to understand things for them to be.”

5. The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

This novella originally written in French in 1943 is about a little prince traveling through space, landing on different planets, including earth. According to Wikipedia, it’s one of the most-read and most-translated books in the world. I enjoyed its simple story on the surface, and I know each chapter could go deeper, so maybe I need a second reading through at some point. It’s a spiritual memoir of sorts for Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a French writer, aviator, and aristocrat who died in 1944 while flying a reconnaissance mission for France over the Mediterranean.

“But I was not reassured. I remembered the fox. One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets himself be tamed. . . .”

6. The Soul of a Pilgrim
Eight Practices for the Journey Within
by Christine Valters Paintner

My review here

A book to do, not just read! One of my favorite types. This one shows eight paths to an inner (and also potentially outer) pilgrimage to a deeper intimacy with God. I read through it already—it was good!—to write a review next month at Patheos, but now I’m working it one week at a time for my own spiritual growth. Books like this prove the adage: You get out of it what you put into it.

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What are you reading this month? Please share here.

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