Recent Reads ( Lynn )

August was a fairly good reading month for me. I read nine books, and most of them were nonfiction. I feel like I am finally getting back into nonfiction books after reading a lot of fiction over the last few months.

 

When the Germans Came 

I am not sure where I first heard about When the Germans Came, but it is basically the nonfiction version of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I am working on a whole post comparing the two books, but I will say that I enjoyed When the Germans Came To Town. It had a lot of facts and took me a while to get into it, but once I did, I really enjoyed it.

The Duchess of Bloomsbury St. 

I read this after reading 84, Charing Cross Road. The Duchess Of Bloomsbury St. is the follow-up book about the author visiting England. It was a fun follow up read.

Life Together

My daughter, Grace, has read quite a few books by and about Bonhoeffer. We have had a few discussions recently about churches, Christians, and attitudes during the current events. She thought I would enjoy Life Together, especially the first chapter. She was right. This book was a reminder that many things have not changed. Circumstances are different, but in many ways people are people and their responses are often very similar. I will say that this is not a book that I would recommend to someone new to Bonhoeffer, what he stood for, and what he believed. This book makes a lot more sense if you know a little bit about Bonhoeffer and where he is coming from.

Finding God’s Life for My Will

My oldest daughter received the book, Finding God’s Life for My Will, as a gift. She read it and enjoyed it. She thought I would enjoy it too. I did. It was a good reminder that we can plan our life, but God often changes our plans. This would be a great book for a young adult, college student, or a new Christian.

Canyon Dreams

I first heard about Canyon Dreams on the podcast Nonfiction 4 Life. When I heard the interview with the author, I knew that I wanted to read the book. It has sat in my to be read pile for a few months, and I finally picked it up. I loved this book! I am not a huge sports fan, but many in my family are football and basketball fans. What I loved about this book is that it shared a story that very few people know about. If you love nonfiction, I highly recommend this one. This book is about so much more than just basketball. It shares a part of America that few people know about or want to admit exists. I told my husband that he needs to read this one. I also plan to get it for a couple of family members as gifts.

Rural Diaries

The Rural Diaries is the story of Hilarie Burton Morgan. She gave up her lifestyle as an actress and bought a working farm in Rhinebeck, New York. This book is about life, livestock, small-town life, and so much more. It is about finding the community and learning what is important. This book is considered a DIY memoir, but since it is about farm life and life in the country, I think it is also part food memoir too. I love memoirs, and this was an easy fun read for me.

Nathan Coulter

After reading quite a few nonfiction books, I need some comfort type of reading. I have read a few Wendell Berry books and enjoyed them, so I decided to pick up Nathan Coutler. I enjoyed this one, but I definitely liked Hannah Coulter and Andy Catlett more.

Grace from the Rubble

This book was a good, but tough read for me. I have lived in Oklahoma since 1994. My husband and I lived in the Oklahoma City area when the bombing happened. My husband was close enough that he felt the blast when it went off. I am going to do a full review of Grace from the Rubble in a few weeks. But I am glad I read this one. While I don’t agree with everything in this book, and I think the writing could have been better, it is such an important read. This book focuses not just on the destruction, but on love and forgiveness.

Miss Julia Takes Over

This is the second book in the Miss Julia series. I have heard this series described as Mitford like but with mysteries. I can kind of see why people would say that, but I don’t really agree. To me, Mitford is much better. This book was definitely a bit pg-13 for me in a few spots, and they weren’t necessary to the book. I might try the third book in the series sometime, but I am not sure. If you have read this series, I would love to hear what you thought of it.