Part of what makes summer delicious is reading. Whether it’s time on the beach reading while the kids splash and play or resting in solitude on the screened in porch of your back yard with a glass of ice tea, summer offers a little more light and space for pleasure reading. Here are a few of my favorites over the past year. I would love to hear what you’ve been reading so feel free to send me an email highlighting what you have found challenging or inspiring or just plain lovely.
Meditations of the Heart by Howard Thurman
Although published in 1953, these short meditations resound like timeless wisdom. Beautifully crafted and inspiring, each can easily be savored as a daily centering thought. Most of my mornings begin with one of these and even my 25-year- old son found them engaging.
Late Migrations by Margaret Renkl
These can also be read as daily meditations. Though not specifically religious, her short essays reflecting on nature and family expanded my field of vision to see the world from new angles. I read them one at a time, like sipping fine wine.
The Second Mountain by David Brooks
I read this last winter prior to our webinar with Brooks/Volf (still available on YouTube if you missed it). I think it’s a great read for anyone reflecting on where he/she wants to intentionally go with crafting a life of meaning.
The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia
This was one of my favorite novels and I mentioned it in several sermons. Set in rural Mexico during the 1918 pandemic it paints a picture of a boy coming of age in a family and offers a mystical look at friendship.
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
A fictional account of Shakespeare’s wife and children, this accessible story drew me in to ponder the life that is behind a genius writer.
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Earnest Gaines
This novel by one of my favorite authors begins on the day that slaves were read the emancipation act by their masters in Louisiana. It gives a personal look at the painstaking steps and courageous joy exhibited by those stepping into an unknown and dangerous future with grace beyond measure.
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
My husband and I listened to this on audio and it drew us in both for the vivid and dramatic fiction writing but also the surprising perspective offered on migration from the southern US border.
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson
Having traveled to India with our church mission group, I had looked down upon the caste system there but this non-fiction book challenged me to see how the same kind of system exists in our own midst. Eye opening and compelling.
Grace and Peace,
Carla
