VT Christian Reading Challenge discussion

We are caught up in graduations and end-of-school festivities here! Fortunately, the weather has been nice. I have been sneaking in some fiction but have no brain space for anything else. But I do plan to read more when things slow down!

Any one more ambitious? Do y’all have some fun reads set up?

I have started The Dangerous Act of Loving Your Neighbor by Mark Labberton for Loving Your Neighbor, Made for People by Justin Whitmel Earley for..... Grace in Action, Mao: The Real Story by Alexander V Pantsoy for a Global Leader.

I got The Rest of God by Mark Buchanan for Rest, Kingdom Stewardship by Tony Evans for Stewardship and A Simple Way to Pray by Martin Luther for a book on Prayer.

Ian, you are so organized. I've been reading books then hoping I'll find some slot to fit them into, in our list. Probably not the best way to do this. So far I've had to exclude only one book that I read this year.

This month I'm reading Heaven by Randy Alcorn, Truman by David McCullough (that will take a few months to read through), and a few others. As usual, I read more than one book at a time and shuffle them around a bit. I like the variety.

Happy July. Half way through the year.

Best: Talking to Dragons by Patricia C Wrede for book borrowed. The last book of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles and just a fun re-read.

Worse: Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados. This is diary from a.... call girl (it stays clean and the woman stays vague on her work) "living" in New York City.... It was just odd.

Surprise: Light of Mine by Allen Brokken. This is a Christian chapter book that goes too far in the choke on the message for my taste. It also goes further is violence than I would have thought for a chapter book.

I finished only three books in June.

Best: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Ann Jacobs - Though Harriet was not physically abused as a slave, she had to deal with unwanted male attention... which she cleverly avoided. Strange situation, but it was good she left her memoir for us to learn from.

Worst: Island of the Blue Foxes, by Stephen R. Bown - really, not a badly written book at all, but survival literature is full of terrible situations. This book detailed the first and second Kamchatka expeditions led by Vitus Bering.

Surprise: The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend, by Glenn Frankel - I was surprised to learn a lot about John Wayne and the history of the western film industry. I expected just to learn about Cynthia Ann Parker (captive of Comanches) and her son, Quanah.

That was one of my favorites I read during COVID. I felt Jacob’s very clearly explained life from her perspective. And I agree, some of her life was a bit strange!