2014 summer reading.

Alright friends, here it is: my 2014 Summer Reading List. And because I love you so much, I even made it fancy this time with photos (I’m sure I could’ve improved the layout but I’m not the most technologically literate person).

Many of you ask where I get my book ideas from: I always, always ask people what they’re reading. I browse the library shelves at least once a week. I check Amazon and snap photos at Barnes and Noble and then request the books on our library’s website. I read books recommended by my favorite bloggers. In fact, as I write this, I’m working my way through the summer reading list at Modern Mrs. Darcy.

If you’re not a reader, I beg you to consider tackling just one book this summer. It doesn’t have to be from my list. Make it about a topic that interests you. If you’ve hated novels in the past, don’t read a novel. Hey, if I can attempt to learn to become crafty and keep plants alive this summer, then you can read books! It’s good for you!

Happy reading!

1.Sous Chef: 24 Hours On The Line, Michael Gibney

David and I thoroughly enjoyed this book during our anniversary trip: both because we love food and great restaurants, and because my brother Danny spent 14 years on the line himself. This book gave us a glimpse into his world — and it’s not an easy world. We appreciate and respect our dining experiences a whole lot more now.

2. Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible’s View of Women, Sarah Bessey
I was kind of ho-hum about reading this book, but a friend heard Sarah Bessey speak and really liked her. Let me tell you what: I loved it! Her writing style is beautiful, as well as honest, engaging and very, very gracious. Bessey calls us to unity-in-diversity and made me want to love and serve the Church even more.

3. Notes From a Blue Bike: The Art of Living Intentionally in a Chaotic World, Tsh Oxenreider

I pre-ordered this one from Amazon because Tsh Oxenreider is the creator of one of my favorite blogs. I knew I’d love it. There wasn’t necessary a whole lot of new information here, but I loved the stories from her family’s life and travels, and the emphasis on stopping and evaluating my own life, asking the questions: “What is our family’s purpose? Are we living toward that purpose or allowing our life and home to be cluttered by things that don’t matter?” Lots of practical wisdom in here.

4. Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Carol Rifka Brunt

Another recommendation from a friend, this was a heavy novel. Loved the writing style, but the subject matter was hard. A teenager comes to terms with the death of a beloved uncle from AIDS in the 1980’s, and wrestles with relationships in her family. I’m so glad I read it, this is one of those books that changes the way you see people and stretches your view of the world.

5. The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World’s Most Glorious – and Perplexing – City, David Lebovitz

I found this one on Modern Mrs. Darcy’s reading list, and loved it! My favorite thing about this food memoir is Lebovitz’s theme of culture shock and differences that come with moving to another country. If you’ve traveled a lot or spent time in another country (and if you’re one of my living-in-South Asia friends), there are so many similarities to the culture shock/assimilation process. I laughed out loud and felt really happy reading his account of food and life in Paris.

6. Sensing Jesus: Life and Ministry as a Human Being, Zack Eswine

David bought Sensing Jesus several months ago, and I picked it up recently and can’t put it down. This may be my new favorite book on Christian living. There are so many things Eswine is able to put his finger on that preoccupy ministry and the Church in America today: busyness, performance, status, approval, distractions, and he shows how these things are the same temptations Adam and Eve faced in the Garden: to “become God-like.” Eswine explains that all this striving causes burn-out, depression, and divisions in the Church, and just plain takes away our joy. In contrast, Jesus calls us to something simpler and deeper. His yolk is easy and His burden is light. I hope to read this book again and again and to be changed by it.

7. The Lost Husband, Katherine Center

Is it weird if I tell you I read this book twice in 2 days? Yeah, I guess that’s weird. I have a strange thing about novels: I want to read them quick, quick to find out the ending, then I want to read them again to enjoy the story and the characters. That’s what happened with The Lost Husband. A very sweet beach read about a widowed woman and her two young children who move to a goat farm.

8. Glitter and Glue, Kelly Corrigan

Ever since The Middle Place, Kelly Corrigan has been one of my favorite authors. Her new memoir did not disappoint and yep, I read this one twice too. She writes about an “in-between” season of her life when she nannied for a family in Australia, and — as only Kelly Corrigan can do — makes the story completely riveting and memorable.

9. The Nesting Place: It Doesn’t Have to be Perfect to be Beautiful, Myquillyn Smith

Somehow in my great love of design blogs, I completely missed The Nester, until a few weeks ago. I liked her blog so much that I ordered her book last week, and it is worth every penny. I love this book! I especially appreciate it because Myquillyn Smith, has lived in 15 homes in her marriage. She tells her story through what she’s learned from each of the houses she’s lived in, and gives lots of fun, practical insight into home design. It may sound silly, but this book was healing for me, since I still find myself struggling with the havoc that living in 10 houses in 10 years of marriage has wreaked on me. I see our homes and our moves much more redemptively after reading The Nesting Place, and I feel more grateful than ever for the house I live in now. I also got some fun home decor ideas.

10. On the Noodle Road: From Beijing to Rome with Love and Pasta, Jen Lin-Liu
In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a sucker for travel and food memoirs, but somehow I haven’t spent a lot of time reading and learning about China. In this book, a Chinese American travels the historic Silk Road, learning about the history of pasta. My only complaint? It makes me very hungry.