A book, a booklist, and a podcast about books
Abby's Reading: 33
The Chosen by Chaim Potok
Thought-provoking and timely, I really enjoyed this middle grade novel about two Jewish boys (from different Jewish traditions) growing up in Brooklyn in the 1940s. I like books that are a good bang for your buck (ie, a lot of food for thought relative to the effort and time they ask) and this is definitely fits in that list
100 Books of the 21st Century from Current
The (current) tagline for my newsletter is cultivating diligence and delight in my reading life. In this season of life, diligence looks like disciplining myself to read books that aren’t fun or easy, but enriching and enjoyable, good for my life and mind. My seminary class forced a certain amount of diligence for the first third of this year, and I’ve been considering what diligence might look like for the rest of the year. I think I’ll pick some titles from this list to read this year. I just finished “Anthropocene Reviewed” by John Greene (to which I give 5 Stars) and have just started “The Deep Places” by Ross Douthat.
The Read Aloud Revival Podcast from Sarah Mackenzie
After the Bible and folks in my family and community, no one has helped me think about parenting better than Sarah Mackenize. Though she speaks from and to a homeschool context, I find so much of her stuff is full of wisdom for any parent... I usually just need to mentally insert the word “parent” whenever I hear “homeschool.” I copied this quote into my journal from a recent email and it might be my parenting mantra this year.
Do fewer things…
as consistently as able… putting relationships first.Three good places to start on her podcast:
The Chosen is one of my all-time favorite books. It’s so underrated, and I’ve never recommended it to anyone who didn’t also love it.
I had an amazing college lit class that required reading The Chosen. I think I’ve read all his books now, and wow. What an author. One of my top favs.