Being back in the UK over summer was a great opportunity to catch up on some reading. Here's a few of the books I've read (or finally finished!) and appreciated over the last few months.
The Imperfect Disciple - Jared Wilson
This book is subtitled 'grace for people who can't get their act together' and it aims to be a discipleship book that is honest about how messy real life can get, even for Christians. I loved the relentless focus on the Good News and reiteration of the concept that we never graduate from the Good News, and found Jared Wilson's conversational writing style very easy to read and engaging. However, it is quite American (a few pop culture references passed me by) and I can imagine that some readers could find the informal writing style a little tricky to get used to. But I loved it.
A couple of quotes that stood out to me:
“There is more security with Christ in the middle of a stormy sea than without Christ in the warm stillness of our bathtub.”
"It can be ok when pieces of our wish dreams come true, and some of us might actually get the whole shebang, but it's also dangerous to dwell in that imaginary world, because when our joy is placed anywhere but in Christ, we are setting ourselves up for incredible, crushing disappointment and spiritual and emotional disaster."
NB: I found that this book was significantly cheaper to purchase on Kindle. The downside is I can't lend it to anyone, the upside is that I didn't have to wait for someone coming across to bring me it or pay for shipping.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
This is a novel written in the form of letters written from one character to the other (this form of writing is called 'epistolary'. Who knew?). It's set just after World War Two and focuses on the impact of the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands. I really enjoyed it as a light read. Apparently there's a film adaptation, although I haven't seen that.
Old Wives' Tales - Clare Heath-Whyte
Old Wives' Tales is a collection of short biographies of eighteenth century women e.g. Charles and John Wesley's wives. I really appreciated the way that the author didn't present these women as super-spiritual, flawless heroines but was realistic about their characters.
The Optician of Lampedusa - Emma Jane Kirby
This is a fictional telling of a true story, the 2013 Lampedusa boat tragedy where a boat carrying over 500 people sank. Only 155 people survived; only 5 out of 80 women on the boat survived and no children under the age of 12 survived. As might be expected, this book is harrowing but it is also brilliant, written from the perspective of an 'ordinary' Italian who was on the fishing boat that happened to be first on the scene of the capsized boat. I really recommend it.
Every Man in This Village is a Liar - Megan Stack
Megan Stack is a journalist who covered several different Middle Eastern countries after 9/11 and this is her account of her experiences. It's a sad book, as most books that cover the Middle East are. But this type of book is also a necessary book. I'm very conscious that I live such a sheltered, privileged life in contrast to most of the world's population so I try and make sure that I read some books that help me know a little bit more about what life is like for most of the world.
Wonder - R J Palacio
This is a children's book, according to Amazon recommended for children ages 8-12 years so it was kind of an accident that I read it. But I actually really enjoyed it (the sign of a good children's book is when adults and children enjoy reading it, right?). It's about a boy with a severe facial difference who starts school for the first time aged 10/11 years and just wants to be accepted as an ordinary boy. I'm going to add it to my list of books to read to J when he's a bit older.
