Reflections.1
In a world of pedestals (I understand the irony as I “blog” this), silence/listening seems to be a difficult discipline for myself and the christian world at large. And heartbreakingly true, that if this is a difficult discipline then much of what I do is perhaps obedience to my own will/fleshly desires only labeled God’s for the sake of rationality.
To be silent does not mean to be inactive; rather it means to breathe in the will of God, to listen attentively and be ready to obey. _ Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Meditating on the Word)
“…Walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16
This Weeks Reads…
On a fairly regular basis I have book conversations. Conversations about what others are reading, what I’m reading, what books are good, not so good, new ones coming out, classics that should be read again, movies that we didn’t know were based on books, and so on.
It’s no surprise. I enjoy a good read, heck I enjoy even some of the terrible reads. Which is why this blog is slowly becoming a “what Krystin’s reading” blog. Not exactly what I intended but hey, most things in life aren’t.
So this week, this is what I’m tackling. I may not get to some books because others just become more interesting and “win out.” But I have every “intention” to read these this week:
recommended by both Amazon and NPR it became one of those “well, shoot, now I have to read it” reads.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
I read the description and decided it sounded like something I’d enjoy.
A year of biblical living by A.J. Jacobs
I had 2 friends in 2 weeks mention that they were/had read this book and thoroughly enjoyed(ing) it. Then yesterday David asked me to grab a book on hold for him at the library and sure enough this is what I picked up and of course I snuck a peak. hilarious.
Jesus, the one and only by Beth Moore
I have a tendency to refrain from joining in on “mainstream” christian reads. I can’t explain it. Perhaps it’s just the way my rebellious side comes out or the fact that I enjoy reading older christian works, but I challenged myself this year to “join in”. A friend of mine recommended this Moore study and in truth, I have really enjoyed it. I’ve even teared up a few times. The topper is that it’s an edited version so I don’t have to feel obliged to answer review questions…just read.
Tip: if you want to know more about a book just click on the title/author and I’ve attached links for your convenience.
Shelfari
Awhile ago a friend mentioned how much she was enjoying a site called Shelfari.com. I don’t know why I waited so long to check it out. If you’re a reader or even better a reader with friends who are readers this site is for you!
www.shelfari.com and I’m always up for reading friends my shelfari
Check it out.
Confession
It’s been awhile since I gave a confession (not the sin kind, just the hidden fact kind). This is old news to some of you, but non the less, here is my public confession. I like love young adult books (mostly the fantasy/adventure kind). Books like; A wrinkle in time, Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and yes, Twilight (insert eye roll here). I like them for many reasons, primarily because they connect me to my young internal narrative (my kid/teen voice). The Narrative that saw mystery and thrived with curiosity and said “hmm…I wonder who I’ll be when I grow up (I still wonder this)?” and “Perhaps magic does exist” along with, “I can’t wait to fall in love, go to college, do what I’m meant to do.”(yes, I looked forward to education/school…shocker, I know)
By no means do I believe being an adult or reading adult fiction is boring (I read tons of it too) and I find many of the “young adult” books to be very “not young adult” books (ie. I would not let my teen read them). Here are a couple YA books I read this last week.
I’m clearly not a book expert or critic. I’m purely a gal who loves to read and if you don’t like YA books or supernatural adventures then these books are NOT for you. Both books were on the NY times Best seller’s list, though I wouldn’t put them anywhere near my top reads. They were fun, but not necessarily epic or addicting and definitely didn’t contain deep life lessons concerning identity, loyalty, self worth, or any of the above. Both attempted to play with identity and how we establish or re-create messages of self through negotiation, however, these are pretty much just “fun” reads.
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Imortal Instruments (City of Bones) by Cassandra Clare
admittedly the covers are terrible. David even asked why I was reading porn and I had to laugh. But they were fun adventures 
Both received 4 out of 5 stars with nearly 400 reviews each on amazon, but I would say it’s a good book for vacations (literal or figuratively).
The Warded Man
David just finished “The Warded Man” by Peter Brett last week and has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of “The Desert Spear” (2nd book in the series) per his library request. David is quiet a reader, himself, and I figured I would post the books he thinks are enjoyable for those whose book taste may be different then my own.
I have not read “The Warded Man”, but I did watch David devourer it and it appears to be a thoroughly good read.
I have
