On my nightstand

Of course every day is a good day to read but each season brings with it things that make reading especially nice.  Summer reading means finding a cool spot and almost begs you to fill vacation-y hours with time in a good book.   Now we’re heading into the days of curling up on the couch under a soft blanket, fire in the fireplace (not in ours but I can wish), big mug of coffee and a new book to get lost in. 

It’s been a while for me since I’ve found a story that captivated me so I am always open to suggestions!  But these are the books I’ve been reading lately…

I’ve become a big fan of Rev. Keller – I love all of his sermons (found here).  He is an amazing teacher of the Word whose messages always challenge and usually surprise me.  Jeff and I often, after listening to a sermon together, say something like ‘I’ve never thought of that verse that way before’ or 'Whoa, I need to write that down and think about it.'  The Reason for God addresses the doubts and questions our culture of skeptics and unbelievers (and believers) raise about God...  How can a loving God send people to hell?  and There can’t be just one way to God.  It has sound bible answers and also rational, well-presented reasons.  I am loving this book.

We are going through this book/workbook in my bible study life group and the 20-something young women who are coming are helping me see these familiar bible stories in a new way.  I love hearing the ways they view the mistakes, weaknesses and rebellion of women who lived so long ago yet who they have so much in common with.  Bad Girls of the Bible is also very much about all of us girls.

A Long Walk to Water was recommended to me by an old friend who read it with her daughters.  It’s technically a children’s book, which only means it is in a category of some of the very best books out there.  Two concurrent stories are told about children living in Sudan – one in 1985 during the huge exodus of refugees and one in 2008.  Jeff and I are reading this one at night before sleep and we are completely caught up in the story.  I’ve read that the way the two stories intersect in the end is both ‘astonishing and moving’ – can’t wait to finish it!

Listening for Lions is also a children’s book.  It’s the award-winning story of a young girl in British East Africa with missionary parents.  The story contains everything you want in a good novel… She becomes orphaned, gets caught up with an unscrupulous couple who use her for their own greedy purposes and deals with grief, honesty and longing.  The book is not long but well worth reading!

When you can so easily go online to your local library, search for a specific book, request it and receive an email when it’s been set aside for you, you can hardly find an excuse for not reading.  I’d love to hear what you’ve been reading and can recommend!