Summer Reading

When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate; when life is bitter, say thank you and grow.

This little tidbit of truth comes from a book I recently downloaded on my kindle called Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way by Shauna Niequist. Right now it's only about $2 on Amazon.com (Kindle Edition), so it was a no brainer to scoop it up. I have listened to interviews with her and knew this would be a great book. Just started it, and I'm sure I won't be dissapointed.

I've been reading quite a bit the last few weeks, now that I have a bit more time to do that. During our island getaway, I stuffed my book bag with my Kindle, a few fictional library books, and several other work-related books, just in case I felt the urge to read work-related material (that didn't happen much).

A few of the books I read were 'duds' - if I look at a book cover and can't remember what the book was about less than a week after I read it, that's a pretty sure sign it was dudly.

A few of the Kindle books I enjoyed (all very cheap or free!):

The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod - an inspirational little book on how getting up one hour earlier than usual can improve your life. Definitely inspiring. I've started to implement this.. but haven't jumped into it 100% yet.. will let you know if/when I do. I've always wanted to be a morning person, and Elrod claims you can train yourself to be one. And love it. Apparently, many people agree with him. Check out his blog, if you are so inclined.

The Sky Beneath My Feet by Lisa Samson - I really liked this book! A 'Men's Pastor' of a mega church gets offered a new pastorate at a small church, and he decides to hole himself up in his detached garage/cottage to figure out what God wants him to do. (The description of what it's like to attend a megachurch is worth reading all on its own! I chuckled and clucked a few times. ;) ) His wife thinks he's going nuts; she's not sure what she wants or what God wants; Her kids are changing and she's trying to keep up with it all. She unexpectedly gets involved in a 'rent a mob' crowd and grows in her passion for the disadvantaged. And there's a lot more to it. It is rather quirky, as most of her books are, but so enjoyable to read. There's a social commentary/ lesson in there, too. A great summer read.

All For A Song by Allison Pittman - It's the roaring 20's. Small town girl Dorothy Lynn Dunbar is engaged to be married to the new young minister of the church where she grew up (much to the joy of her mother), but when she visits her older sister in St. Louis, she gets a taste of the 'big city' life with fashion, movies, restaurants, and interesting people. She loves to write songs and sing, and when she is tantalized by words she hears at the charismatic woman evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson's crusades, she gets the opportunity to sing for more than just herself. She also is attracted to one of McPherson's managers, and she has some difficult decisions to make. This is a coming-of-age story, one that I had a hard time putting down (or should I say clicking off). What I really liked about it was that the characters were not good guy/bad guy. They were realistic and interesting, and the situations in the story were very 'grey', not necessarily right or wrong. What will Dorothy Lynn decide to do in the end? You will have to read it to find out!

Are you doing any summer reading?