VT Christian Reading Challenge discussion

How exciting - a new month, and only 30 days to read all we've planned.

I keep an ongoing list of books I want to read over on my blog... really, too many books to list here.

Right now I'm focusing on reading only three books at a time. One audio, one Kindle, and one physical book.

Here's what I'm reading right now:

Audio: American Familia by David A. Morales - a Christian memoir, and I'm enjoying it quite a lot. It is about a Puerto Rican family living in Massachusetts. The writer starts with his childhood in Puerto Rico. Interesting.

Kindle: Come Down Somewhere, by Jennifer L. Wright - this is an ARC and won't be published until September. The novel is about two teen girls living in Alamagordo, New Mexico during World War II. This is Christian fiction.

Physical: Indigenous Prosperity and American Conquest, by Susan Sleeper Smith - this tells about the Ohio River Valley from the Native American point of view - sort of the opposite of what I read last month, which was The Pioneers by David McCullough. I asked my local library to buy this, and they did... I am so grateful they want purchase suggestions. Anyhow, Indigenous Prosperity is a more difficult reading experience than The Pioneers was - but I'm learning a lot about the agricultural development by Natives prior to settlement by US pioneers.

Of these three, I'm most likely to recommend American Familia. It is really well-written and interesting to listen to.

Happy June. Nearly halfway done with the year. I hope everyone is doing well as summer approaches.

I try to read 3 at a time to though I go 2 physical (1 nonfiction and 1 fiction) and 1 audio.

I am currently reading:

Walking the Amazon by Ed Stafford who walked from source of the Amazon River to the mouth. I have only gotten to the start of the river.

God's War by Kameron Hurley which is far future post-human heist book.... enjoyable enough that I will finish but not suggesting to anyone.

(Ok, I just finished this but still very good) The Grammar of God by Aviya Kushner. The author is a Jewish woman who grew up reading the Old Testaments in Hebrew along with rabbi's commentary about the passages. This book came about after she took a class to read the OT in English and she realized that there were a lot of culture stuff that is missing in the translations. It is half grammar/language information and half biography of the author and her family.

I really enjoyed the Grammar of God as it opened my eyes to a different way of studying.

I put two of your books on my TBR list - Grammar of God and Walking the Amazon - both sound like good books I'd like to read.

I finished Walking the Amazon: it was extremely good and did not drag on as it easily could- the person spent 2 years walking through the amazon. I will warn that there are 2 graphic parts but they are less than a page and were used as to show mind set.

I just finished Bluebird a historical fiction novel set during - and after - WW1. The MC are Canadians, a nurse who is working in a hospital treating the wounded, and two brothers fighting in the tunneling companies. They settle back in Windsor Ontario during Prohibition. There was a lot of history I didn't know and just really enjoyed the story.

Right now my audio-read is The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See. I am not liking it nearly as much as I liked her other book, The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane.

My Kindle read is Things We Didn't Say by Amy Lynn Green. I am loving this Christian fiction book as it is 100% epistolary told through correspondence with various people, plus some newspaper articles and letters to the editor, things like that... I guess there are some court documents thrown in there too. Anyway, I love epistolary novels and this is a good one.

I just started Where the Road Bends. I also picked up Keep a Quiet Heart by Elizabeth Elliot. I have many I want to start, but I’m trying to be reasonable with my time! I’m hoping to squeeze one more in before the end of the month.

I just finished a novel by Grace Livingston Hill - this was the first time I'd read one of her books. She wrote over 100. She was credited with being the origin of the Christian romance fiction genre. The book I read was her first published novel, A Daily Rate, published in 1900. The novel was a bit dated but also a fascinating look into a bygone era. The Christian message was clear and obvious throughout, much moreso than Christian fiction these days.

I've been wanting to read Where the Road Bends, but haven't been approved for a copy yet. I've heard it is very good.

Cancel that! I just got approved for reading the ARC of Where the Road Bends !! I'm also going to be reading another Christian fiction ARC - The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip.

Happy end of June and half-ish point of the year.
So what was your best, worse, and surprise for June?

Best: Trejo by Danny Trejo. I have no clue why I grabbed this as I am largely indifferent about him as an actor but still a good story. He did a lot and it was very inspiring.

Worse: Agatha Cristie's Poirot series. I am going through the series and the manner of the mysteries unfolding are just not my favorite. I love my police procedural but this series just gets me. The mysteries are good and I will finish them but not my type of books.

Surprise: Murderville by Ashley Antoinette. I was expecting a murder mystery when it turn out to be the life story of two children that were kidnapped and enslaved to drug and other evils.

Best: Bluebird
Surprise: The Bookshop of Secrets
Didn’t have a worst 🙂

I got through 15 books during June! Apparently I've turned into a little old lady with not much better to do than read books. Well, I have my outdoor chores in the morning (gardening, etc.) but by afternoon it is too hot for me to be out there so I sit in here and read. Here's my complete list of What I read in June
I finished 15 books, but a few were very short and one was a picture book. I did not count the picture book as part of the challenge as it took me only about 15 minutes to read. It was this year's Caldecott Medal winner.

Best - Tie between The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate, and Things We Didn't Say by Amy Lynn Green.

Worst - This is an easy decision. The Island of Sea Women, by Lisa See. I was so disappointed, really.

Surprise - The Last Cuentista, by Donna Barba Higuera. This book won the Newbery Medal this year. I was expecting some kind of southwest or Mexican story, but instead I got a post-apocalyptic Sci-Fi set in outer space, with a child main character who aspires to be a southwest style storyteller. Cuentista means storyteller.

15 books! That sounds lovely!

I finished two. Prisoners of Geography was a great course in politics with a bit of history thrown it. It really was a surprise! Where the Road Bends bothered me. I’m hoping to write my review soon.

I have a few more I was hoping to finish, maybe next month I’ll have them completed!

Can't wait to see what you have to say about Where the Road Bends!! I wanted to read it because so many others were raving over how good it was, but as you see, it didn't make it to my "Best" category for this month.