My Summer Reading List

I've never really been a fan of summer until very recently. I think the fact that I don't have another semester waiting for me at the end of August is a significant factor in my new-found taste for the season. A few people have asked me what I'm doing with all my free time now that I don't have school. Besides the time I give to work and housework, deciding what to do with my time is pretty easy. Now that I am no longer obligated to read, I'm choosing to read! :)

I do have a couple of fun (what I consider fun) projects lined up for the summer such as organizing my spices, reformatting my Alice paper to APA for journal submission, studying some kinesiology for better workouts, working on our budgets, and trying out some new recipes. But, I hold onto all of these projects with a loose grip. I don't ever want to feel any type of bondage to them. I think it's very easy for me to make myself a slave to projects. (Which is ironic because even though I do, they sometimes don't get done). Just goes to show how naturally our hearts incline to anything other than Jesus. But I'm realizing that I can have these things planned loosely or "theoretically." By this, I mean, I would like all of these things to get done, but I'm not going to commit myself to them so wholeheartedly that I'd be disappointed with myself if they don't get done.

The same is true for my summer reading list. I have a handful of books that I'm reading and hope to read this summer. This will be more easily accomplished as I don't really have a deadline for the end of summer, haha! - My summer can end around October ;) Here's the list (in no particular order).

1. N.D. Wilson's 100 Cupboards series. This series lies somewhere in between young adult and children's literature. It's a little too intense for younger children, but doesn't deal too much with the coming-of-age issues that a piece of out and out YAL would. I have read the first two installments of this series, 100 Cupboards, and Dandelion Fire. I'm currently making my way through The Chestnut King. The series is about a 12 year old boy named Henry York. He is spending the summer on his uncle's farm in Kansas when he, in his attic bedroom, discovers a wall full of small cupboards. As the story unfolds, Henry finds that each cupboard is a doorway into a different world. As he discovers this, he unleashes a powerful evil that he and his family must spend the rest of the series fighting to conquer. 

Why I'm reading it: I loved (LOVED) N.D. Wilson's Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl. That was not a fantasy tale. It falls on the side of apologetics. Let me give you a taste of his writing style from Notes: "Imagine a poem written with such enormous three-dimensional words that we had to invent a smaller word to reference each of the big ones; that we had to rewrite the whole thing in shorthand, smashing it into two dimensions, just to talk about it. Or don't imagine. Look outside. Human language is our attempt at navigating God's language; it is us running between the lines of His epic, climbing on the vowels and building houses out of the consonants." 

Though this series isn't allegorical, per se, there definitely are characters that embody Christian characteristics and obstacles that remind the reader of the detriments of sin. At the beginning of the series, I found myself looking back to catch what I must have missed, and I honestly think those times were Wilson's fault. But! Not only did the writing get considerably tighter, the story was enough to keep me engaged despite interruptions of confusion. 

Originally, I only had the first installment on my reading list. But after I finished it, there was no way I could continue without finishing all three books. Wilson has been called the modern-day C.S. Lewis. I don't know about THAT, but there are some Lewis-ish qualities about him. What a great segway to my next book.... 

2. C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity.  If you know even a little about me, you know I'm a Lewis fan. I'm considering naming our next dog Clive. I first read this book about six years ago. I remember kind of zooming through it. Since then, I've learned that you don't ever (EVER) zoom through Lewis. Lewis is meant to be mulled over. Savored. Enjoyed. I always read a Lewis book on my "breaks." But I don't really have breaks anymore, so I'm just making my way down a check list of Lewis books. There are still plenty I have to read before I can happily say I've read every thing Lewis ever had published, but I do feel that without slowly and carefully re-reading this monumental Christian work, I'd be doing myself a disservice if I continued on to other Lewis books. Here are just a couple of rich quotes (of which there are several):

"My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?"

"A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you." 

"And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history - money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery - the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy."

My mom was the one who got me started with Lewis. She has loved to read his books for as far back as I can remember and when I was a child, she read the first two Narnia books to me.  It was because of that warm memory of childhood that I knew C.S. Lewis would always be a significant part of my literary life. Speaking of childhood....

3. Tedd Tripp's Shepherding a Child's Heart. I began this parenting book earlier in the year but had to put it down because of the silly demands of school. Reading my required texts for CSUN was definitely a wiser use of my time in that season of life -- especially when the alternative is a parenting book and I'm not even pregnant yet.

This book is filled (FILLED) with biblical wisdom with regards to child-rearing. I've always kind of laughed when I thought about "book parents." But then I realized that books are really one of the biggest sources of superficial comfort for me. And that the greatest book of all is my greatest source of profound, unshakeable (and sometimes difficult) spiritual comfort. While I still kind of feel that parents who rely on every new pop-psychological parenting theory for comfort are a bit silly, I don't think this book is one of those. This book does a great job of explaining and laying out what God has intended for the role of parents. It consistently points to scripture (which, ultimately, is really the only authority on anything and everything), and gives practical insight and application. Spoiler alert: discipline is not an option, and neither is diligent communication. There's so much more beyond that as it gets age-specific in the latter half, but that really is the bread and butter of it.

I'm almost done with it and am SO glad I am a highlighting and note-taking type of reader because this is a book that I know I'm going to refer to often for many many many years to come.  Here's a taste of the blessings and bits of encouragement (and conviction!) I've received:

"All behavior is linked to attitudes of the heart. Therefore, discipline must address attitudes of the heart. This understanding does marvelous things for discipline. It makes the heart the issue, not just the behavior. It focuses correction on deeper things than changed behavior... Your concern is to unmask your child's sin, helping him to understand how it reflects a heart that has strayed. That leads to the cross of Christ. It underscores the need for a Savior. It provides opportunities to show the glories of God who sent his Son to change hearts and free people enslaved to sin."

"In short, you must learn to engage them, not just reprove them. Help them see the ways that they are trying to slake their souls' thirst with that which cannot satisfy. You must help your kids gain a clear focus on the cross of Christ."

"The parent must be aware of the fact that he is God's representative to the child. I know of no realization that will sober and humble the parent like this one."

"If correction orbits around the parent who has been offended, then the focus will be venting anger or, perhaps, taking vengeance. The function is punitive. If, however, correction orbits around God as the one offended, then the focus is restoration. The function is remedial. It is designed to move a child who has disobeyed God back to the path of obedience."

One last one, though there are so many great quotes.

"Teaching your children to live for the glory of God must be your overarching objective. You must teach your children that as for them, as for all of mankind, life is found in knowing and serving the true and living God. The only worthy goal for life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."

If you have kids, are about to have kids, want to have kids, are curious about what Christian parenting ought to look like, or want to know what the Bible says about the most important job in the world, I can't recommend this book highly enough.

4. John Piper's Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist. This is probably John Piper's most influential and popular book. I started reading this a little less than two years ago. I can't remember why I put it down, but I know it was a really foolish reason (it must have been) and so, it's time to pick it back up again! It really is difficult to summarize what this book does in such a small space. As I am looking through the parts of the book I've read for highlighted excerpts, I find that I can't select just a couple to indicate to you how rich, profound, enjoyable, soul-shaking, mind-blowing, joy-stirring, and overall wow this book is. I think this one and Mere Christianity tie for "books you have to read as soon as possible." It's not short. And it's not easy. But it's fulfilling. It is more than satisfying. It inspires to stand in awe in Jesus (and to find joy immeasurable in doing so). For those who love God, it is a feast for the soul.



That's all for now. These are the most pressing books on my list. I have several more. But these are the ones I've started and so, must finish. I've realized that somewhere down the line, I have become a bookworm. As a kid, I hated reading. Now, I'm not satisfied if I'm not in the process of reading at least two books at a time. Yes, I know, two books isn't all that much, but unfortunately I'm an incredibly slow reader. (This has been the bane of my academic career). So I can't really take more than two at a time without getting scatter brained and not really appreciating either book. I'm nearly done with the third N.D. Wilson book and Tedd Tripp's. I have a feeling I'll have to take Lewis and Piper individually.

I want to know what you're reading/you have read that you found has been either just a fun read, or a marrow-piercing blessing to your soul.