Books for Your Reading List | What I’m Reading
Books for Your Reading List | What I’m Reading Now
Summertime! Since I was a child, summertime and books have been inseparable. One of my great joys was to ride my bike to our small-town library. First, I would stop off next door and say hi to my Grandma Fossey, who was the receptionist of the Moab Museum.
Next, I would pop over to the library–hot and sweaty from my desert bike ride–and breathe in the cool air-conditioned air while heading straight to the water fountain. Surely it’s my imagination, but that library water fountain seemed to have the coldest and most delicious water around. Yes, it was city water–the same water that came from the faucet at home–but even the water was infused with the library magic.
The library was my childhood Happy Place, and I spent untold hours browsing books, reading books, dreaming of writing books, and winning Summer Reading Contests.
So you see, summer and voracious reading are synonymous in Kim-land.
As always, I read many books, but only recommend the best.
Here we go!
Fiction Books for Your Reading List
The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay
This may be my favorite Katherine Reay book so far! Family secrets, career quandaries, and an inherited bookshop set the stage for a captivating story. One of the things I love about this author is her love for literature and art and her knack for strewing her stories with book references and recommendations. This is a light-hearted, fun and easy read. Perfect for summertime!
Also by Katherine Reay:
She is also co-author (with Rebecca Powell) of a Christian non-fiction book coming out in December 2019, Awful Beautiful Life: When God Shows Up in the Midst of Tragedy. I will certainly be pre-ordering that!
Christian Non-Fiction Books for Your Reading List
Doing Life with Your Adult Children by Jim Burns
If you’re struggling with how to be a good parent to your adult children, this book is for you! Full of practical, concrete tips to cultivate grown up relationships with your grown up kids. This would be a great gift for the parents of the bride and groom…or maybe for yourself.
Memory Making Mom by Jessica Smartt
You. Need. This. Book. Subtitled “Building Traditions That Breathe Life Into Your Home”, this book is jammed full of more ideas than any human could ever execute. I love how she gets to the root: the “why” of traditions. What a beautiful resource to encourage parents! I think this will be a go-to gift for baby showers from now on.
The Scars That Have Shaped Me by Vaneetha Rendall Risner
Vaneetha suffered twenty-one surgeries by age thirteen. Verbal and physical bullying. Multiple miscarriages. The death of a child. A debilitating progressive disease. Pain. Abandonment. Unwanted divorce. This raw book is the story of a woman who begged God to deliver her, and found His sustaining grace. There are no easy answers here, but there is hope. It’s a beautiful and encouraging book packed full of Scripture.
Once Upon a Time by Debbie Macomber
Who else didn’t know Debbie Macomber writes Christian non-fiction? I had no clue. The author delves into the importance of literary elements in story structure, and then uses these elements to illustrate God’s hand in our lives. Equal parts writing guide, devotional, and storytelling/journaling prompts, I enjoyed this book. Find more Debbie Macomber books here.
Non-fiction Books for Your Reading List
When There Is No Cure by Craig K. Svensson, PharmD, PhD
Finally, a book to guide those of us with chronic illness. With chapter titles such as: How to Make Your Doctor Listen, What to Do When Doctors Don’t Know How to Help, What to Do When People Say Hurtful Things, I felt hopeful just reading the Table of Contents. Both practical and hopeful, this book is for anyone dealing with chronic illness or who loves someone with chronic illness. While not categorized as Christian non-fiction, the author is indeed a Christian and talks about how his faith sustains him in the final chapter of the book.
Chasing Cupcakes by Elizabeth Benton
Basically a Life Coach in a book, this rah-rah book encourages you to seize the day and make the choices that will get you where you want to go. Lots of positive thinking and can-do attitude. What I liked about this book is all the journaling prompts. I’m a sucker for a thought-provoking prompt, and this book is full of them. The entire final section consists of questions for thought. If you are into journaling and over-thinking (like I am), then this may be a book for you.
The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn
When a recent Le Cordon Bleu graduate realizes she has skills that others lack, she begins a project. Her idea? Find people with no cooking skills and teach and inspire them to become home cooks. I love this book! The author recognizes that the ability to feed oneself and others changes lives. A fascinating and eye-opening book that also features simple and delicious-sounding recipes.
Middle Grade Books
The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
I’ve just discovered this writer and I’m in love! What a sweet, old-fashioned, and heart-felt book. A young orphaned teen faces a wrong and is determined to right it. Delightful!
YA Books for Your Reading List
The Ghost and the Box by Yari Garcia
This is a fun-but-spooky read, and I enjoyed it. What if you could have any of your wishes granted? Do you think you would end up with what you wanted? Sweet, thought-provoking, slightly chilling. Enjoy!
A Cookbook with Heart
The Art of the Pie by Kate McDermott
I’ll just say: I never expected to be brought to tears by a cookbook. This author views baking as art, as love, as philosophy. She speaks of being connected to a long line of bakers, of nurturers, nourishers. Since I view feeding people as something high and holy, I cherish this gift book. My Grandma Turner was an artist of a pie baker, so I relate to the compulsion to master the language of the pie.
Your turn to share what you’ve been reading! What should I read next? Let’s talk books.
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Thanks for all the great book suggestions! And I so enjoyed your memory of summer. Those carefree days that always included our bikes:) Goodness, we had our bikes and life was our for the taking. Or, riding!!
Thank you, Jennifer! Such sweet, happy memories.