Luggage and Literature

The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. - St. Augustine

January 2022 Reading List

by //

This year, I’m not doing a reading challenge. They’ve guided and expanded my reading in previous years, but more recently have felt constraining and somewhat joyless. Continuing with one then, seems silly. So this year, I’m reading whatever brings me joy and fits my mood. But I’m going to use a few guiding principles based on things that I want to accomplish. I want to continue or finish some book series that I’ve already started. I want to read primarily from books that I already own. I want to read one fiction, one nonfiction, and one devotional/spiritual/wellness book per month. So without further ado, here is my January 2022 Reading List!

Books Finished

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

The Guide by Peter Heller

A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts by Therese Ann Fowler

Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher

No One Goes Alone by Erik Larson

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

Galápagos by Josef Litt

To Pixar And Beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs to Make Entertainment History by Lawrence Levy

The Eighth Flag: Cannibals. Conquistadors. Buccaneers. PIRATES. The untold story of the Caribbean and the mystery of St. Croix’s Pirate Legacy, 1493-1750 by Stanford Joines

Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience by Brene Brown

Society as I Have Found It by Ward McAllister

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

Life in Christ: Lessons from Our Lord’s Miracles and Parables: Volume 1 by Charles H. Spurgeon

 

Books In Progress

The Stand by Stephen King

Influence by Robert B. Cialdini

An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears

Mornings with Tozer: Daily Devotional Readings by A.W. Tozer

 

Books Abandoned

None.

December 2019 Reading List

by //

Every month I try to read at least one book from the following categories: nonfiction, devotional, and fiction. In 2019 I’m not participating in a formal reading challenge, but rather The Unread Shelf Project 2019, a challenge to read books that I already own. So I’ll be listing where each book came from this year instead of listing a particular challenge category. This is my December 2019 Reading List, my brief reviews and book recommendations for December 2019. Hopefully I’ll provide you with some inspiration for your future reading as well!

Books Finished:

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

This short story is a father’s story to his children about the reason for his delay when going out to get some milk for breakfast. It is charming and fun, and definitely did not disappoint. If you need something a little lighthearted, choose this one.

Prognosis: A Memoir of My Brain by Sarah Vallance

Borrowed through Amazon Prime Reading.

A woman is bucked off of a horse and suffers a traumatic brain injury. This is her story of coping with it, as well as the changes to her life as a result. It’s an interesting story, but is also heartbreaking and eye-opening. In reading it, I also couldn’t help but think that if she’d suffered the injury now, that the treatment would have looked much different than when she sought treatment.

The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

This is my book club’s January pick, and since it’s pretty long, I thought I’d get a jump start and read it early. The story is set in the prehistoric ice age era, which struck me as novel. I can’t remember ever reading a book, or even hearing about a book, set in this time frame before. And it follows early humans, including Neanderthals. The story is fascinating, if a bit heavy on the details at times. I enjoyed it enough that I decided to check out the second book in The Earth’s Children series.

The Valley of Horses by Jean M. Auel

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

The second book in The Earth’s Children, this book follows Ayla as she journeys on without the Neanderthals in search of the Others. I don’t know that I liked it as much as the first one, as it felt a little tedious at times. But seing Ayla grow in her independence and confidence was fun.

Following Christ: Losing Your Life for His Sake by Charles H. Spurgeon

Already owned Kindle e-book.

This book encourages Christians to move into action, and to listen to God in determining the best course of action for each of us, and the best time/place/manner for that action. It was written in the 1800s, so pieces of it would be interpreted a little differently in present time, and the language used is a bit different. But it remains a compelling book, and generally holds up well to the pasage of time.

The Coincidence Makers by Yoav Blum

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

This book is a bit of a mind bender, but in a really good way. It follows the coincidence makers, people whose job is to quite literally create the “coincidences” that lead to new thoughts or ideas or people to meet particular other people. There are also IFs, or Imaginary Friends. This book was fun at first, but more serious later on, and had a compelling narrative that tied together well in the end. Definitely recommended.

Ghost by Jason Reynolds

Borrowed from library using Libby app.

This is on the PBS Great American Reads list, and I decided to listen to the audiobook this month. It is well narrated, and I felt like the narrator captured Ghost’s voice well. The story is of a middle school boy trying to cope with past family trauma and navigate life. He stumbles across a track team and ends up on the team. And the ending of the book is just fantastic. I really enjoyed this book and can see how it ended up on the list, even though it was quite new when the list was put together.

The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas by Ann Voskamp

Already owned physical book.

This is my third time reading through this Advent devotional. This time around, I started right on December 1, so I didn’t need to read multiple entries to catch up, and I managed to actually make sure that I read each entry on time. This book is wonderful, and stands up well to re-reading, with the scripture passages, thoughts from the author, and questions at the end of each section. I just love this book.

 

Books in Progress:

Courageously Uncomfortable by Lisa J. Goins (Already owned Kindle e-book.) My bible study group is working through this book.

The Selected Letters of Willa Cather by Willa Cather, Andrew Jewell, and Janis Stout (Purchased physical book this year.)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey (Borrowed from a friend.)

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien (Already owned Audible.)

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young: The Wild, Definitive Saga of Rock’s Greatest Supergroup by David Browne (Borrowed from library.)

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M.T. Anderson (Purchased using Audible credit.)

The St. Nicholas Anthology edited by Henry Steele Commager (Already owned physical book.)

 

Books Abandoned:

Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham (Borrowed from library using Libby app.)

September 2018 Reading List

by //

Every month I try to read at least one book from the following categories: nonfiction, devotional, and fiction. And this year I’m participating in the 2018 PopSugar Reading Challenge, so I’m also going to be listing which category my books fulfill. If you want to join in on the fun, you can check out the list of categories here! This is my September 2018 Reading List, my brief reviews and book recommendations for September 2018. Hopefully I’ll provide you with some inspiration for your future reading as well!

Books Finished:

Testament of Youth: An Autobiographical Study Of The Years 1900-1925 by Vera Brittain

This book is quite long, and had some slow-moving spots, so it took me a long, long time to read it. I found the section where Ms. Brittain talks about her nursing career during World War I and of the correspondence with her brother and fiance most interesting.

Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t by Simon Sinek

This book examines various leaders and teams in efforts to examine what the differences are between the successful and less so. I found some of the information quite illustrating, but some of it was oversimplified. And other portions appeared to be downright insulting of those who think or act differently than the author. I’m not sad that I read this, but I’m not certain that I’d recommend it to others.

The Winter Station by Jody Shields

This book is the story of a Russian doctor living in Manchuria with his Chinese wife during an epidemic. I expected the novel to be quite different from how it actually turned out to be, based on the book description. It wasn’t as gripping or fast-paced or engaging as I expected. But I listened to the book in its entirety.

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester

This was a great book, and I flew through reading it. Essentially it’s the story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, the history of English dictionaries, and the story of two men who were instrumental in creating it. Not so spoiler alert, one of them was locked up in an insane asylum. I recommend this fairly short, but very interesting book.

Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book that was being read by a stranger in a public place

Although I’d previously seen the movie (and it is one of the most violent that I’ve probably ever seen), I wanted to read the book. This book was so riveting that I flew threw it in about a week and a half. I can’t wait until my Libby hold on the second book in the series comes due, so that I can find out what happens in the second installment.

Hexed by Kevin Hearne

Hammered by Kevin Hearne

Hexed and Hammered are books two and three of the Iron Druid Chronicles. I really liked both of them as well. If you check out book one (Hounded) and like it, you’re bound to like these as well.

The Virtue of Selfishness by Ayn Rand

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book about a problem facing society today

Having read both The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, I wanted to read more about the theories behind both books. Ayn Rand’s theories are intriguing to me, as I see quite a lot of sense in them. But I don’t agree with all of them, as I don’t think that they completely comply with the tenants of Christianity and Christ’s teachings.

Feeding the Dragon by Sharon Washington

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book by an author of a different ethnicity than you

This book was an Audible Original, and I so enjoyed listening to it. The book is the story of a girl who grows up living in a library. Her voice, the narrative nature of the story, and the topic were incredibly engaging. I recommend it.

The Coming Storm by Michael Lewis

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book with a weather element in the title

An Audible Original, I picked this out based solely on the author. Michael Lewis previously wrote The Big Short, which I thought was fantastic. This book looked at the intersection of NASA, the National Weather Service, and politics. I mostly liked it, but there was a liberal bias to the book that I found to be distracting.

The Whistler by John Grisham

After reading a couple of Grisham novels lately that weren’t to my taste, I was very happy to find another that I loved. This book follows Lacy, an attorney working in the Florida Board of Judicial Conduct. She receives a tip about a judge who is completely corrupt and involved with a mafia in the panhandle of Florida. Murder, bribes, and legal thrills abound. This book is page turner, and I finished it in just a few days.

The Soul Winner: How to Lead Sinners to the Saviour by Charles H. Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon was a prominent and well-known preacher in the 1800s. This book is his guide to those who are interested in a career in ministry, as well as for those who want to see people go to Heaven. Some parts of it are quite dated, not applicable in the modern world. But much of it contains excellent information and tips to help people save souls.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling

2018 PopSugar Challenge: a book about or set on Halloween

This was my book club’s pick. Although I’ve read the entire series twice before, I was really excited to talk with everyone about this book. If you’ve not read it before, what are you waiting for? It’s so fantastic. And many in our book club who’d been reluctant were mesmerized by the story.

 

Books in Progress:

Twelve Women of the Bible by Lysa TerKeurst (My bible study is working through this book and the associated videos)

Flawed Convictions: “Shaken Baby Syndrome” and the Inertia of Injustice by Deborah Tuerkheimer

Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky

The Brave Ones: A Memoir of Hope, Pride and Military Service by Michael J. Macleod

 

Books Abandoned:

None.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.