Books
Reflections on the role of reading in culture, faith, and family
Last spring, I received the wonderful news that Zondervan would be my publisher for my next book, Small Talk (subtitle to be decided), which is scheduled to come out next August. It took a few months of back and forth to finally receive the signed contract, so I've written twenty chapters in the meantime. ...
On the bedside table: I just started God's Double Agent: The True Story of a Chinese Christian's Fight for Freedom by Bob Fu (with Nancy French). I'm 100 pages in, and so far I recommend it as a well-written memoir that takes place within a historical and spiritual context all Americans should try to ...
Yesterday was Sunday. I think of it as the Sabbath, even though I know that the Sabbath is a Jewish observance that typically happened on the last day of the week, Saturday. But still, from what I understand, Christians co-opted the Sabbath and moved it to the first day of the week after Jesus' resurrection, ...
I hope to offer a reflection on Andy Crouch's Playing God on Monday. For now, I will simply say that if you are interested in culture, sociology, and the Christian story, this book is for you. And in case I haven't been clear about it already, Kate Braestrup's Here if You Need Me is amazing. It's a ...
I have a new post on Christianity Today's website this week, a review of Rachel Adam's new memoir, Raising Henry: A Memoir of Motherhood, Disability, and Discovery. To read it, go to A Mother's Love for a Modern-Day Miracle: Meet the pro-choice secular Manhattanite whose study of society's outcasts ...
I finished The Little Way of Ruthie Leming. I thought it could have been even better than it was, but I still ultimately recommend it. This was my favorite line: "St. Benedict considered the kinds of monks who moved from place to place all the time to be the worst of all. They refused the discipline ...
First of all, does anyone have a catchy title for what is becoming a regular Friday feature of what I'm reading, listening to, and thinking about?
Secondly, the books: I've finally gotten into The Little Way of Ruthie Leming, by Rod Dreher. It's a lovely book, though I found the first three chapters ...
Where I live, we don't get consistent cell phone service. Every day, I drive my kids to school for twelve minutes, and we talk and listen to music and observe the changing leaves and babbling brook. For the twelve minutes back, I used to try to listen to NPR, though the signal was scratchy, or pray, ...
It is Sunday. Peter is away for the night. It has been a hard day. Marilee has a fever and an ear infection. William misses his dad and has erupted into tears more than once. Penny has been unable to control her impulses–she can't get a door to close so she slams it again and again and again and again ...
I finished reading Wonder, by RJ Palacio, which I loved. I won't take the time to review it in full right now, but it is the story of a young boy named Auggie with a severe facial deformity who enters 5th grade at a local private school in Manhattan. You can imagine what it's like, and Palacios does ...
"My pastor Veronica says, 'Peace is joy at rest and joy is peace on its feet.'"
The tweets:
What one mother learned from having a child with #DownSyndrome @SippingLemonade ow.ly/ozxpj #Family #Parenting
"You Can't Have It All, but You Can Have Cake" @nytimes ow.ly/oIyR6 #Choices #Success #HighSchoolNeverEnds
What does #HavingItAll mean to you? http://ow.ly/oIzoM#Success#Approval @nytimes ...
A friend recently asked for my recommendations for books that might offer spiritual formation and encouragement, for parents and children alike.
Here's what I had to say:
As for the kids, the book we have is called The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones. Very readable for adults too.
–You also ...
No, really, I'm not writing a blog post. I promise. I'm working on the new big project, I'm taking walks by the seaside, I'm reading great books, and I'm enjoying my three kids (more stories to come, especially on the kid side, in September).
But two things happened this past week that I just have to ...
Today I'd like to introduce you to another writer I love, especially when it comes to spirituality and family, my friend Micha Boyett. Before I give her the stage, let me direct you to one of my favorite posts of hers, one which I intended to share with you all long ago. It's about her childhood friend ...
I'm on vacation this week, so I want to take the opportunity to introduce you to three of my favorite bloggers. I've mentioned each of them on this blog before, but I'm going to give them a chance to introduce themselves and share some of their favorite posts. Later this week, check back in for Ellen ...
In addition to tweets mentioning articles I've read and appreciated this past week, I want to share a quotation from a book I just started by Wendell Berry, The Hidden Wound. I wonder whether those of us who are white people struggling to think about and understand the reaction to the George Zimmerman ...
My first book on tape was Tom Sawyer. My dad and I listened to it on cassette tape one summer when we drove from North Carolina to Connecticut together. It was a treat, and apparently I paid attention because I still remember the story in detail.
Still, audiobooks were never my preferred method of reading. ...
For those of you who prefer listening to books to reading them (or for your friends in this camp), you can now pre-order A Good and Perfect Gift as an Audiobook. It will be released next Tuesday. I haven't heard the whole recording yet, but I listened to the sample and she did a good job with the opening ...
Last week, I posted two series of questions for George Estreich, author of The Shape of the Eye (A Doorway to New Life and Questions for George Estreich). Not only did George craft thoughtful answers to my questions, but he also returned with a series of his own questions about my writing, prenatal ...
