What I Read in February

I have a goal to read 50 books in 2018 and I am doing great [so far] on my goal of 2 or 3 books a month. (9 so far in 2018!).  This month travel helped me read more--time on the plane and on a road trip added to some reading hours.

I started the month with Slaying the Debt Dragon:  How One Family Conquered the Debt Dragon and Found an Inspired Happily Ever After.  At the University, we hosted Cherie Lowe to do a day's worth of talks on Faith & Debt.  Cherie shared her family story of paying off $127,000 in four years.  The students loved her positive, shame-free wisdom of how to get and stay out of debt.  It was inspiring! Better than Before inspired me to stop eating dessert (which I am still doing--although I have had some dessert in the last month, but MUCH less dessert!), Cherie inspired me to knock out some lingering debt we want to take care of.  Cherie's book is down-to-earth, fun and filled with practical suggestions.  4 star recommend!







In late January I did something I never do.  I am huge fan of listening to books, but I research the
books I listen to and have specific criteria (fast-moving, suspenseful, usually YA).  I read a ton of reviews before I commit to listening to a book.  This one I chose on a whim!  Artemis is a fantasy-type novel about a young woman who lives on the moon and gets mixed up in some low level crime that makes her a target by a mafia-style moon-based company.  It's by the author of The Martian which is why I chose it.  I liked it overall--the second half is much better than the first. Good suspense at the end!  I really enjoyed the moon city world which was very scientifically believable to me.  Quite a bit of vulgarity so I don't recommend.

The Book of the Month for me was the book club book--Neither Wolf nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder by Kent Nerburn.  It is essentially a memoir by an Indian elder written through a white man's eyes--but true to the Indian experience--a lot of the memoir was taped verbally.  This book stole my heart and opened up my mind to the experience of the First Nations people. Profound, beautiful and terrible, I realized how little I know (and have taken time to know) about reservation life.  This is a must read for all of us.  I need to do a whole separate post about this book.  Please read this!

THIS BOOK.  Another one that deserves a post all on its own.  I will be writing about this because this reflective, essay-style writing met me right where I am.  I am constantly thinking about how to be intentional with my time and how time management gives us an illusive experience of being in control of our lives.  Tish Harrison Warren helps us hold time and the everyday events of life with holiness and gentleness.  Awash in beauty and theological depth, this is a transformative book on how our lives are constantly acts of worship. A great read for this lenten season!

So there you have it!
Sneak peak of March:  I just finished Rilla of Ingleside and have started The Nightingale (book club book) and have Subversive Sabbath sitting on my couch.  I am trying to finish A Wrinkle in Time (I have read it before several times), before I see the movie this week.

Happy reading!