What I read this summer.

Abby's Reading: 35

My maternity leave officially ended last Monday, the same day my daughter started school. I thought it would be fitting to share some reading highlights from my time in those long, hazy, magical newborn days/summer.

Also, below my book round up, I’m sharing some tips for reading more, if you’re looking to get more reading into your life, especially if you’re in a caregiving role. Nothing profound, but maybe a helpful or good reminder. 

L'Arlésienne: Madame Joseph-Michel Ginoux | Vincent van Gogh

Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon.

I so enjoyed this historic fiction set in colonial New England centered on a midwife caught in the middle of a murder in her community. 

“Like all mothers, I have long since mastered the art of nursing joy at one breast and grief at the other.”

Unequal Affections by Lara S. Ormiston

What if Elizabeth accepted Mr. Darcy’s first proposal? This book imagines an answer to that question in the form of a quick, fun read. 

“Many happy unions have grown from little more than common respect. If you believe you can respect Mr. Darcy, and that he will respect you, then you have a good beginning. Happiness in marriage is often a matter of choice, you know. If you choose to think constantly on the faults of your husband, then you will find yourself discontent no matter whom you are married to. If, on the other hand, you choose to think of his virtues and to treat him with regard and consideration even when you may not feel much like it, then your felicity will continue to increase.”

The Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray

The mystery is really just a set up to extend the Austen world and imagine who her characters would be if she had written sequels. And it’s delightful. 

“There is no plan so pleasant, no expectation so cherished, that someone cannot be found to disapprove of it.”

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

I learned, I laughed (I’m sure I looked ridiculous on my walks), I cried, I was encouraged to hope, I was pushed to consider the big and small marvels of the world anew. 

You can't see the future coming—not the terrors, for sure, but you also can't see the wonders that are coming, the moments of light-soaked joy that await each of us.

The Chosen by Chaim Potok

A haunting, beautiful story of two young Jewish men coming of age in 1940s, many things could be said of this book but I was surprised it gave me a lot of food for thought on parenthood and religious formation in the home. 

“I learned a long time ago, Reuven, that a blink of an eye in itself is nothing. But the eye that blinks, that is something. A span of life is nothing. But the man who lives that span, he is something. He can fill that tiny span with meaning, so its quality is immeasurable though its quantity may be insignificant. Do you understand what I am saying? A man must fill his life with meaning, meaning is not automatically given to life.”

Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley

I blazed through this book and walked away so very encouraged and inspired to build our home as a “a school of love.” And this book isn’t just aspirational… so very practical too. 

The most Christian way to think about our households is that they are little “schools of love,” places where we have one vocation, one calling: to form all who live here into lovers of God and neighbor.

Honorable mention: The Wives. Though I wanted this memoir to be something that it wasn’t, it was a compelling read that gave me a glimpse into a world I know little about: the lives of military spouses and their family. 

---

A few weeks ago,

Emily Hancock

posed a question about reading while mothering small children. I had my own experience to share and thought I’d record here. and though the question.

1. I use a Kindle for the majority of my reading. I splurged on the Oasis last Black Friday after my old, refurbished basic Kindle bit the dust, and I’ve no regrets. 

2. I also enjoy audiobooks when I’m not in the throes of newborn life. Sometimes I get a deal on Audible, but I’m a huge advocate for Libro.FM if you’re purchasing books and the library, of course! 

3. I try to anchor a few points of my day in reading (10 minutes in the morning, over lunch, I’m laying in my kids room while they’re falling asleep during nap time, before bed, etc.), but I also am always on the lookout for 3 to 5 minute increments to pick up my book, like microwaving lunch.

4. I’m usually reading three books at a time, so whatever I’m in the mood for (something fun? thoughtful? challenging?), I have a book for that.

5. I aggressively abandon anything that doesn’t make me want to keep picking it up and reading one more chapter.

6. But if there is something that I think is important to read or I need to read for work or school that I am struggling to get through, I usually purchase a print book so I have a visual cue and I roughly estimate how many pages I need to read a day to get through it in the desired length of time. Sometimes I’ll do a tandem audio and print read. I’ll listen to the audio and have the print book at hand so if I need to look something up or revisit it, I can.

7. I have a few reliable sources to get book recommendations from so I’m never without a good option to dig into.

8. I borrow liberally from my library’s digital collection.

9. I don’t take my reading too seriously, meaning I prioritize reading for delight to borrow the words of Alan Jacobs.

I’ve also learned that my reading life ebbs and flows. And that’s natural. What I shared above? it’s what’s working for me now. And I know there will be a season of life where it stops working and I’ll shift and adjust. Whether I read 10 books a year or 100, my goals are the same: To have a life enriched by the written word, and to join in a conversation that’s outside of myself.

I’d love to hear how you fit reading into your life! And your favorite summer read! Comment below.