book reviews

What I’m Into: September 2015 Edition

September has been a month of high highs and low lows. Korea feels like a million years away and I miss it more than I could have possibly anticipated. September has felt both impossibly long and incredibly short and I’ve vacillated wildly between feeling overwhelmed with all there is to do and feeling unable to do anything at all. We’re settling in more and more every day, but it still doesn’t quite feel normal.

As usual, I’m linking up with Leigh Kramer to share what I’ve been into this month.

What I’m Reading:

Guys. The library. That thing is amazing.

Days of Blood and Starlight by Lanie Taylor. This is the second book in the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy. These books are intense. And fascinating. I’m completely sold on this YA fantasy trilogy about love and war and revenge and what it means to dream the world new.

Selfish Shallow and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on Their Decision Not to Have Kids by Megan Daum. This was the book that earned me some alarmed looks from the librarian. It’s hard to give an overall impression of this book because there are 16 separate essays written by 16 individuals. Some of the essays I really appreciated and resonated with. Some I didn’t like at all. One thing that was interesting to me was that the vast majority of the writers were not people who had never wanted to have children. Most of them were people whose interest in reproduction waned over time, who became busy with other things, who didn’t have a willing partner, or who were otherwise unable. In some ways it was more a book about being content with not having children than it was about coming to the decision not to have them. Regardless, I found many of the perspectives in this book interesting and I certainly resonated with some of them (though not all).

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. I actually listened to this as an audiobook and I think the audiobook is the way to go on this one. It’s read by the author who not only has a fantastic dramatic voice, but he does all of the voices and accents of the characters which brings this strange, fantastical story to life.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. This book tells the story of Cadence Sinclair Eastman, a member of the distinguished Sinclair family whose greatest ambition is to be sure to always appear as if everything is perfect. Every year Cadie and her cousins spend the summer on their grandfather’s island. The call themselves “The Liars” and they are inseparable. Until Summer Fifteen when a mysterious accident leaves Cadie with chronic headaches and a gaping hole in her memory. This is a very quick read that’s become pretty popular, but to me it was only OK. (I listened to this as an audiobook on my way back and forth to Raleigh).

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery . I finally read this book which has been on my To Read list for ages! This is entirely thanks to the generosity of my reader, Duncan, who sent me his copy in the mail so I would have no more excuses. This is a tiny little book that is packed with meaning. It’s one of those rare books that children will enjoy for the basic story line and adorable illustrations while adults will pick up on the underlying commentary about life, human nature, and the differences between childhood and adulthood.

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray Love). I just finished this today so it only just made it into September books. I’d love to do a full review of this book because I thought some of Gilbert’s ideas were so important. If you are a creator of some sort, I think this book has value for you. If you are the type of person who is bothered by someone speaking about creativity and inspiration is divine and mystical terms, than this book might irritate you. This book explores the paradoxes of the creative life – that creating art is vital to our humanity, and also completely inessential to human existence. That we should commit ourselves seriously to our creative work, and we should always remember that life and death do not hinge on what we do creatively. Most of all, it reminds the reader of why a creative life is a worthwhile life even if you never receive any kind of recognition for your work.

Currently reading: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett, Washing the Dead by Michelle Brafman, Shopaholic to the Stars by Sophie Kinsella. Follow me on Goodreads for more reviews.

What I’m Watching:

The onslaught of fall shows is about to hit, but lately Jonathan and I have been sticking to Frasier re-runs, I’ve made it to season 3 of my Gossip Girl re-watch and picked up The Good Wife again. We watched the movie Stardust together one date night (cause I’m on a bit of a Neil Gaiman kick) but I don’t think we saw any new releases. We did watch the first two episodes of How to Get Away With Murder earlier this week and I’m absolutely hooked. Can’t wait to get caught up!

What I’m Listening To:

Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Magic Lessons” podcast which is a sort of companion to her book Big Magic (though it works perfectly well on its own). For the podcast, Gilbert wanted to put a very practical spin on some of the things she wrote about in her book so she speaks with 5 creators (two writers, a musician, a painter, and a photographer who wants to be a podcast maker) who are feeling stuck in their creative lives for one reason or another. In one episode she will talk to that person about what’s holding them back and give them some advice and in the next episode she will call another (famous) friend of hers to discuss the case with them and get their input. She speaks to Cheryl Strayed, Ann Patchett, and Rob Bell, among others.

If you only listen to one episode of this whole podcast, listen to the last one (Episode 12) which is just a conversation between Gilbert and Brene Brown (author of Daring Greatly which I reviewed here and her new book Rising Strong).

What I’m Eating:

I know September was a little early for this, but ALL THE PUMPKIN THINGS!!!! Pumpkin spice lattes and pumpkin cake with cinnamon cream cheese icing and pumpkin ravioli and pumpkin butter. I also made this very fall-themed spiced apple pork chop recipe last week and it was delicious. Now if only the weather would get on board with this whole fall thing.

Spiced Apple Pork Chops via: Budget Bytes

Follow me on Pinterest for more recipes and Instagram for more of what I’m eating (and other things!)

What I’m Writing:

I picked up a freelance job for the website Modernize this month. I’ve got an 8-week assignment with them for now writing various articles about home decor. This isn’t my usual genre but I’m enjoying doing something different (and being paid for it!) If you want to check out some of my articles you can click on the links below. My ongoing assignments are dependent on the number of views my articles bring in so I would greatly appreciate your clicking over, even just for a skim.

Creating a Home That Reflects Who You Are and Where You’ve Been

4 Small Decorating Changes That Can Make a Big Impact

Blogging has been a little sporadic, but I’ve kept up with my 52 Weeks of Adventure with weeks 36, 37, 38, and 39. I wrote about my reverse culture shock and about chronic homesickness. And I wrote about my new appreciation for the Lord’s Prayer and what it means to ask for Daily Bread when provision feels scarce.

What I’ve Been Up To:

Josh and Laura and baby Genevieve, our good friends from Korea, drove through town one afternoon on their way North Carolina to visit some family. They stopped by our place for an hour or so in the middle of their drive which was wonderful and also pretty surreal. It’s always odd to see people you know from one specific context in a completely different one.

Gen loved Ruthie. Ruthie was decidedly indifferent.

We also had the chance to see our friends Sarah and Kyle (also friends from Korea) who were visiting Kyle’s parents who actually live in Columbia (small world!) but I completely forgot to take a picture with them.

I have been loving having our cats back. I used to hate cats before we got ours so I am sympathetic to those of you who are just not cat people, but our cats really are the best cats in the world (not that I’m biased). They are so cuddly and sweet and gentle and soft, even if they are a little obnoxiously needy and oblivious to the fact that I don’t actually want them to shove their little heads under my hands for petting while I’m in the middle of typing.

We have (fingers crossed!) found a new place to live. Nothing’s signed yet so I don’t want to say too much about it, but things are looking hopeful! If all goes as planned we will move at the beginning of November. The new place is smaller than the current one, but is a duplex so it feels more like being in a regular house which is fun.

My beautiful bestie, Christina, got married this past weekend which meant I spent more than half of last week in Raleigh for all of the wedding festivities. It was the most beautiful wedding of life.

Could you just die? Exquisite photo credit to Grain & Compass

Couldn’t you just die of beauty? Exquisite photo credit to Grain & Compass

I continue to spend a lot of my time looking for work and while I don’t have a full-time job, I’ve managed to stay very busy lately substitute teaching at a local private school, working on a few freelance writing pieces, and tutoring 4 -5 times/week. It’s not consistent and it’s not quite enough income, but I actually really enjoy having a schedule that varies from day to day and if I could scrape together enough hours doing all of these different things I think I could be happy doing that.

What have you been into this month? What am I missing out on?

What I’m Into: July 2015 Edition

July is over which means I can now say, “We are moving back to America this month.” Here’s a look at what I’ve been into this month. (Linking up with Leigh Kramer, as usual!)

What I’m Reading

I started this month with Bill Bryson’s book, The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way. I generally like Bill Bryson who writes a lot of travel books, but also lots of other informative nonfiction. He has a laid-back style and is often very funny. I was interested in this book as an ESL teacher and there were parts of it that I found fascinating, but overall I have to admit that it was a bit dry.

I read Hero of Ages (Brandon Sanderson) this month which was the last book of the first Mistborn trilogy. (There are three
planned trilogies) Highly, highly recommend for fantasy lovers and Brandon Sanderson fans who haven’t read them before. I spent most of the month on this book since it’s a whopping 800 pages, but I was engaged the whole time and felt sad when it ended.

After finishing this epic fantasy trilogy I decided to move on to a quicker read. I read Ian Morgan Cron’s sort-of memoir Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me. Cron is a great storyteller and his recounting of his experience growing up with a father who was an alcoholic and secretly in the CIA was equal parts fascinating and heart-wrenching. If you like memoirs in general, you’ll probably like this. I wish there had been a little more story between college and where he is now (he’s an episcopal priest), but I think he may have written about that portion of his life more in other places.

Paris Letters by Janice Macleod. I enjoyed reading this book even though I didn’t feel like I could relate to the author that much (different life philosophies and priorities). What I most appreciated about this book is how practical it was in some areas. Janice tells the story of how she realized she’d reached a point of burnout at her job as a successful middle-management copywriter in LA. She crunched the numbers and figured out what she needed to do to buy herself a year of freedom, and she made it happen. She headed to Europe, but ended up falling in love and staying in Paris, figuring out creative ways to support herself financially along the way.

I’m currently reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone which is the first book in a YA fantasy trilogy by Laini Taylor. It was recommended by some bloggers who normally have similar tastes to mine. I’m halfway through at this point, but I’m not sure that I’m sold. I’ll try to reserve judgment til I’m finished.

What I’m Watching:

In theaters this month we saw Inside Out which was really cute and sweet and I thought had some great messages about the human psyche and what it means to be whole and well-balanced and how much we need all of our emotions, even the ones we don’t like feeling.

At home I finally watched the last season of Downton Abbey which I love, though I feel like there are some characters they just refuse to leave alone so they can be happy. Sigh. I have stayed current on the new season of Pretty Little Liars which is of course, more creepy and ridiculous than ever, but I still really want to know where it all ends up. Jonathan and I have been watching Frasier all summer. We’re on season 5 now and still enjoying it. And I somehow got myself sucked into a re-watch of Gossip Girl which is the ultimate guilty pleasure show for me. I mean, I watch for the clothes. And for Chuck and Blair…

What I’m Eating:

Caprese salad. Every day. Tomatoes are huge and juicy right now and I was able to get a big beautiful chunk of soft mozzarella from Costco along with a giant container of fresh basil leaves. Drizzle with a little balsamic. So simple. So delightful.

Also lots of mandu (Korean dumplings) because I love them and it won’t be the same even if I can get it in America.

I also made a batch of one of my favorite cookies this month – oatmeal butterscotch coconut. I didn’t grow up eating this cookie but discovered it as an adult and was immediately like, “Where have you been all my life?!” It may sound like a strange combination, but believe me, it is awesome.

For more of what I’m cooking/eating, check out my Pinterest.

On the Internets:

An article at Off the Page from my friend Briana on All That We Don’t Know.

A piece by Meredith Bazzoli over at The Mudroom on not being a traditional church lady.

This piece from Addie Zierman reflecting on Elisabeth Eliot’s death. As someone who also grew up with Passion and Purity and attended the Eliot’s alma mater, Wheaton College, I really related to Addie’s complicated feelings about a woman whose words have been a part of me for so long, for better or worse.

And this piece from Kelsey Munger, “Telling Myself I’m Beautiful,” which is something most of us could probably stand to read.

On the Blog:

I’ve made it up to week 30 in my weekly adventures as we’ve crammed our weeks and weekends full of activities. (#27, 28, 29, and 30).

I finished out my Thankful Thursdays guest series with this post from Sara about losing her hearing, this post celebrating my 200th blog post, and this post from Laura about postpartum depression.

For my weekly book chats I kicked off the month with an interview with poet, Karissa Knox Sorrell, and an opportunity to win a prize when you pre-order her new poetry chapbook. I wrote about books my teacher’s made me read, gave recommendations for books to match your mood, and listed books I’ve never read but everyone else has.

Apart from all of the series I also wrote about being God’s favorite child. My favorite piece this month was my most recent one about why I think it’s OK to be unhappy sometimes.

What I’ve Been Up To:

Packing in as much fun Korea stuff as possible. This month we finished up regular semester classes at school and said good-bye to the students. I will still see some of mine the first week of August at an English camp I’m running, but my regular classes are finished. We both received some adorable (and strange) cards and pictures from our students. While I was really ready to be done with teaching, there’s no denying that these kids are cute.

Check out these awesome pictures Jonathan’s 3rd grade students made of him. For the record, this is Jonathan. I fear many of his students are blind.

: Hippie Drag Queen Jon

: Jon with false beard from unknown country.

: Jon with orange juice stained mouth

: Jon with snout

: Jon with major hair problems

: Asian Canadian Jon

We did some hiking, took a trip to Seoul, went to the cat cafe, checked out the Daegu Chicken and Beer Festival, and went to one last baseball game. This weekend we are going to visit a friend who lives in a small village a few hours away. We haven’t spent a ton of time in the countryside here so we’re excited for one more new experience.

July has also been a difficult month in some ways. I was deeply saddened to hear about the theater shooting which took place in my hometown of Lafayette a few weeks ago. It’s bizarre to see your small town on international news, especially when it’s for something so horrible. And last week my best friend’s father passed away after a relatively short battle with cancer and I have been grieving with her and for her as she deals with this loss which has come just two months before her wedding. It’s been hard to be so far away during this time.

August holds a lot of excitement and transition for us and we’ve been looking forward to it for so long that it’s hard to believe it’s actually here. In exactly two weeks we will leave Korea, and fly to my parents home in Louisiana. From there we will immediately pack up a moving van and drive up to South Carolina to move into our lovely condo and have Jonathan jump right into classes. We only have 5 days between our arrival in the US and the start of classes, so August may be a quiet month for me on the blog, though I will miss all of your encouragement and support as I go through what I assume will be a time loaded with all the feels.

What have you been up to in July?

Friday Book Chats: My Teacher Made Me Do It

Today’s book chat is a tip of the hat to some of the literature teachers I’ve had over the years who assigned me some great works that I may have never read on my own. Of course, not every book I read in school was a smash hit. A lot of the books on my Books I’m Supposed to Love But Can’t Help Hating list were also assigned reading. But this post is about celebrating the gems I discovered and about saying thank you to the teachers who made me do something I didn’t necessarily want to do because they knew it would make my life richer. (Or because they were required to by state law, but either way…)

1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I can’t say for sure that I would never have read this book if it hadn’t been assigned, but I certainly wouldn’t have read it when I did and I think this is a book that impacts you more when you read it as an adolescent. As a teenager in the American South this book had an impact on my developing understanding of race and justice in America.

2. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I wouldn’t call this a favorite book, but it is a book that I’m glad to have read. As a sophomore (or maybe junior?) in a small Christian high school I remember my sheltered self being appalled and disgusted by parts of this book (particularly the ending) but after a few years of maturing and, frankly, growing less prudish about literature, I came to really appreciate its message about the Haves and the Have Nots, the scope of moral vision, and the endurance of human dignity.

3. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole. In retrospect, it’s strange that this book was assigned at my conservative Christian high school, but I think it had more to do with it being a story set in Louisiana and written by a local author. This book is considered a comedic masterpiece and follows the main character, Ignatius J. Reilly, “a Don Quixote of the French Quarter” on a series of comedic adventures.

4. Light in August by William Faulkner. I read this book in college having previously only read The Sound and the Fury (a book I was not thankful to have read in high school). Light in August is one of my favorite modern classics and its main character, Joe Christmas, is one of the most fascinating characters I’ve ever encountered.

5. The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare. I happen to love Shakespeare so who can say whether or not I would have gotten to this play eventually had it not been assigned, but it is one of the less famous of Shakespeare’s plays. I read this during a study abroad in England and later saw a stage production of it in Stratford that was so creative that it brought the play to life for me in a way I’ve never forgotten.

6. Dogwalker by Arthur Bradford. I had to write a paper on this collection of short stories while in college. Initially I thought it was bizarre and disturbing and I kind of hated it. The stories in this book are strange bordering on the absurd with elements of magical realism woven throughout. After studying the text and learning more about the author I came to understand these stories as showing the strange and unconventional beauty of the misfits of society.

7. Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood. Elaine Risley is a painter who has returned to Toronto, the town where she grew up, for a retrospective, only to be confronted with the shadows of her childhood. As someone who has spent much of recent years trying to make sense of the complexities of my own childhood, this book resonated with me on a deep level. It was heart-wrenching and tender and funny all at once and I remember it as one of the most moving books I’ve ever read.

Friday Book Chats: “Middle Child” Books (Easily Overlooked)

I’ve been thinking lately about how very hard it must be to be a novelist. Not only is there so much work that goes into writing, and then the pressure of trying to get published and then hoping people buy it and then hoping it gets good reviews, etc. And even if you manage to achieve all of that, the buzz around a particular book only lasts for so long and then you have to do it all over again.

For today’s book chat I wanted to write about some really good books that you may not have heard of, or at least may not have heard about in a while. These aren’t exactly obscure books, but they are what I’d call “Middle Child” books.They are too old to still be hyped up and popular but they aren’t old enough to be classics and most have authors that are better-known for other works. While none of these books are all-time favorites, they are all books that I rate highly and would recommend.

Deerskin by Robin McKinley (1993). McKinley was one of my favorite authors growing up. She was writing young adult fantasy before that genre really existed. While I read and loved every one of her books (highly, highly recommend The Hero and the Crown), I remember being awestruck by this one, perhaps in part because it was one of my first forays out of true children’s books and into something weightier. Princess Lissla Lissar is on the cusp of womanhood, a beauty only equal to her dead mother, but she is forced to flee her kingdom when that likeness sparks her father’s lust and madness. She flees with her loyal dog, Ash, eventually finding a job working in the kennels for another king where the prince becomes captivated by the kennel maid and tells her stories until one day he tells her the story of Lissla Lissar.

The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards (2011). Edwards is best known for The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, but The Lake of Dreams is worth a read. This beautifully atmospheric book tells the story of Lucy Jarrett who has returned home to a small town in upstate New York after years of living abroad. When Lucy finds a collection of objects inside a window seat, she realizes she has stumbled onto some family secrets. Lucy begins a quest for answers about the objects she’s found and about the unresolved death of her father a decade earlier.

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (2008). Brooks is a Pulitzer-prize winning author (for March in 2006, also a great book) whose books are heavily rooted in real historical events. Inspired by a true story, this book traces the story of a rare illuminated manuscript and the people who loved it and preserved it through centuries of war and exile. When the Sarajevo Haggadah is rescued from Bosnia, Hanna Heath, a rare-book expert, is given a once-in-a-lifetime chance to study it. This book takes Hanna and the reader on a journey that is both historically fascinating and emotionally evocative. I’ve read reviews of this book from people who didn’t connect with it at all, but I thought it was fascinating.

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld (2008). Sittenfeld is probably best known for her debut novel, Prep, which I didn’t love. I was intrigued by this novel because it’s a complete work of fiction whose main character, Alice Blackwell, is heavily modeled after Laura Bush. One of the most interesting elements of this book to me was the exploration of a character who doesn’t hold all of the same political or social views as her husband and is put in position where she has to decide what it looks like to support someone she doesn’t always agree with.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss (2006). Krauss’ more recent book, Great House, is also well worth reading, but this was the first book of hers I read and I’m attached to it. Until recently she was married to writer Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) and I can see some similarities in their work. Leo Gursky is a tired old Polish immigrant who lives a quiet, lonely life, but once upon a time he was young and in love and he wrote a book. 14-year-old Alma was named after a character in that book and she is determined to find her namesake, even though it’s been 60 years since the book was written.

The Yiddish Policeman’s Union by Michael Chabon (2007). Chabon is the author of one of my all-time favorite books, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (which won the Pulitzer in 2000). The thing I love about Chabon is that he strongly believes that a book can be both literary and entertaining. He often experiments with classic genre fiction, and this book is a prime example. The Yiddish Policeman’s Union is a police detective story mixed with a dose of 1940’s noir. A small community of Jewish refugees have made their home in Sitka, Alaska where they were offered temporary asylum after WWII, but now their little world is about to change as their district reverts to Alaskan control. For homicide detective Meyer Landsman, this is just one more part of his life that is falling apart. When Landsman begins to investigate the murder of his neighbor, he receives instructions to drop the case from his supervisor – who is also his estranged wife. Landsman pursues the case anyway with startling results.

Do you have any books you wish more people knew about? Or books you love that don’t seem to get enough credit? Please share in the comments. I’m always looking for new suggestions!

What I’m Into: May 2015 Edition

Have you ever noticed that the moments you are most enjoying your life are always the ones that seem to got the fastest? Since the weather warmed up and the world turned green and we had some long weekends to travel life has been pretty enjoyable this month and it’s also flown by. We are about 2 1/2 months from leaving Korea and as excited as I am to go home, I sort of wish I could make time stand still. Life here is comfortable and there is so much unknown ahead.

I am linking up with the lovely Leigh Kramer for this little reflection on what I’ve been into in May.

What I’m Reading:

Since I took two trips this month I had lots of plane/train/waiting room time for reading. I read 8 books so I won’t go into too much detail on each one.

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. This is a YA fantasy trilogy that I devoured. I thought it was great. Highly recommend for those who enjoy slightly lighter fantasies.

Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin. I’ve never read Rubin’s first book on happiness (The Happiness Project) so I can’t compare it, but this book was only all right for me. It was mostly her making a lot of resolutions which mostly made me feel tired and stressed rather than empowered. Maybe that’s just me.

Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans. I wrote a full review on this here, but the short version is that I loved it and it’s had a huge impact on me as I look towards moving back to America and thinking about church.

Story Story: How I Found Ways to Make a Difference and Do Work I Love by Kola Olaosebikan. Kola recounts her winding path through the corporate world and then out of it as she searches for meaningful work. I could certainly relate to her winding path and appreciated how she addressed the practical issue of finances, something a lot of “I quit my job!” people never explain. I wish she’d explained more at the end about what she’s doing now, but this was a very quick read that reminded me I’m not alone in what feels like floundering about trying to find meaningful work. (As full disclosure, I was sent this book for free from the author).

Learning to Walk in the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor. To be honest, this one wasn’t my favorite. It just felt a little more rambling than her other books, less focused and less insightful. I did appreciate the idea that darkness isn’t always sinister and that we shouldn’t expend so much energy trying to avoid hard emotions and instead let ourselves feel them.

The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan. (Crossed this one off my “sitting on my kindle” list!) I really liked this memoir which is about being in the middle place between being a child and being a parent. Corrigan, a mother of 2, is diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 36. As she goes through treatment, she relies heavily on her father who has always made her feel like the most important person in the world. When her father is diagnosed with cancer himself a few months after she is, Corrigan must deal with what it means to move from being the cared-for child to being the caretaker, for her children, for herself, and for her father. It’s a very moving book.

What I’m Watching:

Television we keep up with: Brooklyn Nine-Nine, new season of Community, and New Girl. Still watching The Good Wife, the occasional Friends or Bob’s Burgers and Graceland which just became available on Netflix. We finished Fresh Off the Boat, a big hit for us.

Last night I saw Pitch Perfect 2. The story was pretty generic and I didn’t find it nearly as funny as the first one, but the music was great! I watched two movies on airplanes, Still Alice (really good, but so sad) and Song One (also kind of sad). It was good, but nothing spectacular.

What I’m Eating:

Finally kicked it into gear and have been eating really well (aside from my travels). I started eating these banana pancakes most mornings that are literally just two eggs and a mashed banana. They are surprisingly delightful – they taste like banana french toast with just a slightly chewier texture.

I also tried a lot of Taiwanese and Japanese snack varietals while traveling, mostly with great success.

Follow me on Pinterest for more of what I’m cooking.

On the Internets:

Loved this Open Letter to the Church from Non-Mothers that came out around Mother’s Day.

And this from Sarah Bessey, “Why Not Let a Woman Preach.”

This list of 13 Things to Remember if You Love a Person with Anxiety because it is SPOT ON.

This post on God’s intense love for the Cosmos is beautiful.

Really really loved this post from one of my faves (Jamie, the very worst missionary) about prayer and remembering its purpose.

And this clip of Amy Schumer on Ellen which made me laugh so hard even on the 3rd viewing.

On the Blog:

This month I got to write two guest posts for friend. This one on Sacred Spaces and this one on Rituals. I also got to host a bunch of guest posts in my Thankful Thursday series from writers Rox, Jackie, Karissa, and Melchee

I continued my 52 Weeks of Adventure with our trip to Taiwan (parts 1 and 2), seeing an original musical, and going to Tokyo’s famous Robot Restaurant.

I wrote about what’s on my kindle, reviewed Searching for Sunday, and made a list of summer reading suggestions.

My most-viewed post this month was Karissa’s “I’m Thankful for my Body” guest post, followed by my post about living life in the in-between.

If you just can’t get enough of me, you can like my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter and Instagram for more things I’m into.

Beauty Bits:

After much contemplation I sprang for the Urban Decay Naked eye shadow palette (the original one). This is my first high(er) end eye shadow palette and let me just tell you, it really is that much better than anything I’ve ever tried. I didn’t know eye shadow could be so creamy. It’s like my eyelids are covered with baby unicorn magic dust. For realz.

What I’ve Been Up To:

Ugh. Trying to find a job. Job searching is the worst, but it’s especially unpleasant when you’re doing it from another country. Other than that, we’ve been trying to enjoy our favorite things about Korea as much as possible – going to favorite restaurants, taking walks, runs, and hikes, and hanging out with our friends.

As I mentioned before, we traveled to Taiwan and Tokyo this month which was bittersweet since those were our last trips before returning home. We’ve come to love traveling so much that it’s hard to think about going back to a life where international travel isn’t easy.

I’ve been on the ball about taking care of various tasks we need to do while still in Korea. For example, we went to the dentist last week even though that is my least favorite thing in the whole world. I think that is what you call “responsible,” thank you very much.

Also, I got this shirt in Tokyo (much to hubster’s chagrin) and I am very, very into it. For obvious reasons.

So, that’s me. What have you been up to?

Friday Book Chats: What’s on My Kindle

I have a problem. I am addicted to buying books. This has been a problem for a long time now, but it’s gotten especially out of hand lately. Living abroad in a country where it’s difficult to find English books and living in a state of transience where it’s impractical to accumulate possessions has made my kindle a necessity. But reading primarily on my kindle means I have instant access to thousands and thousands of books with just one click.

Admittedly, I almost never buy anything at full price and when I finish a book I always choose my next book from what’s already on my kindle. I have an enormous Amazon wish list which I check every day to see if anything’s gone on sale, and I’m always hunting for deals to share with you. This results in lots of split-second purchases, sometimes on books I’ve been wanting to read for a long time, and sometimes on books I was suddenly seized with the desire to read once I realized it was only $2.99.

Today I want to share what’s on my kindle. This will serve to tell you about books I’m interested in, but also to provide some public accountability when I admit to all of the books I’ve impulsively purchased and not read. Maybe. Also, I’m included a list of current kindle sales at the end of this post…which might be counterproductive, but there are some really good books on there right now!

Books I’m Currently Reading

1. Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church, Rachel Held Evans. I am about 65% through this book and it is a book I have desperately needed for a long, long time. I’m sure I’ll be writing more about it soon.

2. Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals, Shane Claiborne. I read this book devotionally in the mornings (and sometimes evenings). It’s a book of common prayer that integrates many Christian traditions worldwide into its liturgy. I highly recommend it.

3. Listening to your Life: Daily Meditations, Frederick Buechner. I also read this devotionally off and on. It’s short passages from various parts of Buechner’s work (fiction and non-fiction) that reflect on spiritual truths.

Books I Haven’t Started Yet

4. STORY STORY: How I Found Ways to Make a Difference and Do Work I Love, Kola Olaosebikan. Kola is a blogging/internet friend who recently published this book and was kind enough to send it to me to read and review. This is what I will read as soon as I finish my current book and I am really looking forward to it!

5. Siege and Storm (The Grisha Book 2), Leigh Bardugo. Read book 1 in this YA series a few weeks ago and would have moved straight to this one, but I’m one of those weirdos who doesn’t like to read series’ straight through. I love to have a wide variety of genres in my reading, so after finishing a YA fantasy, I want to switch genres for a book or two.

6. Ruin and Rising (The Grisha, Book 3), Leigh Bardugo. Same as above.

7. Mariana, Susanna Kearsley. A historical fiction book/time travel book set in present and 17th century England.

8. The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd. There is absolutely no good reason I haven’t read this yet. A highly-praised historical fiction book by a favorite author. It’s about slavery and struggle, but also about liberation and empowerment.

9. Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro. Bought this in a sale. Not sure if I’m going to like, but it’s on of those I want to have read.

10. The Middle Place, Kelly Corrigan. A memoir of a daughter and a father who bond for the first time when they are both diagnosed with cancer.

11. Interrupted: When God Wrecks Your Comfortable Christianity, Jen Hatmaker. Hatmaker asks (and answers) hard questions about the purpose of the church and what the Christian life is really meant to be.

12. Cress (The Lunar Chronicles Book 3), Marissa Meyer. Read the first book in this series (Cinder) and loved it. Bought book 3 because it was on sale, but haven’t read book 2 yet because it’s not on sale. But I’ve got my eye on it…

13. How to Make Money Blogging: How I Replaced My Day-Job With My Blog, Bob Lotich. Because I’d like to know how to do that. But not enough to read it, apparently. Also got this for free.

14. Learning to Walk in the Dark, Barbara Brown Taylor. Love BBT. I actually read the first 7% of this and then realized that An Altar in the World sort of came first and went back and read that one instead.The 7% I read was already great.

15. The Bible Tells Me So:Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It, Peter Enns. The title and premise of this book intrigues me. I know that Enns is considered a controversial biblical scholar so I really have no idea if I’ll agree with his conclusions or not, but I’m interested to read his perspective.

16. The Mistborn Trilogy, Brandon Sanderson. I read (and enjoyed) the first book in this trilogy a few months ago and need to move on to the next two books, but as I said above, I’m weird about series and take breaks sometimes.

17. The Secret History, Donna Tartt. Not a fan of The Goldfinch, so hoping this one is better!

18. The Year of Living Biblically:One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible, A.J. Jacobs. This is supposed to be an entertaining, interesting read akin to Rachel Held Evan’s similar book A Year of Biblical Womanhood.

19. Courageous Compassion:Confronting Social Injustice God’s Way, Beth Grant. Something I want to spend more time and energy thinking about and working towards.

20. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggers. Because I WILL FINISH THIS SOMEDAY!

21. Red Seas Under Red Skies (Gentleman Bastards Book 2), Scott Lynch. I read the first book in this series, The Lies of Locke Lamora, a while ago. It was like Pirates of the Caribbean meets Oceans Eleven. Then hubby borrowed my kindle to read this series and while he was using it I got distracted and started reading other things and haven’t come back to it yet.

22. The Republic of Thieves (Gentleman Bastards Book 3), Scott Lynch. Same as above.

Books I’ve Read That Are Still on my Kindle

23. Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading, Nina Sankovitch. I mostly enjoyed this, but I totally forgot to write about it in last month’s What I’m Into Post so it stays until I can do a review.

24. Happier at Home: Kiss More, Jump More, Abandon Self-control and My Other Experiments in Everyday Life, Gretchen Rubin. Read this month. Will review at the end of the month.

25. Shadow and Bone (The Grisha, Book 1), Leigh Badusco. Read this month (really enjoyed it!) and will review at the end of the month.

26. One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are, Ann Voskamp. I keep this one around cause you never know when you need a little reminder.

27. The Secret Place (Dublin Murder Squad #5) Tana French. I’m a huge fan of French’s. I’m keeping this one around because hubsters hasn’t read it yet and would like to.

So, yeah….told you I have a problem!

Are you a book hoarder like me? What are you reading right now?

Current Kindle Deals

*As of May 14th. I use the US Amazon site. Prices may vary on other sites.

New On Sale:

Case Histories, Kate Atkinson($2.99). Fabulous mystery. One of my faves. (First in a series).

Human Croquet, Kate Atkinson ($3.99) This one’s not a mystery and is a little trippy since it experiments a bit with time, but I really think she’s a masterful writer.

The Magicians, Lev Grossman ($2.99) This is like a more adult version of Harry Potter plus Narnia. Oddly enoough, not my favorite, but a lot of people really like it.

Still on Sale:

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life, Donald Miller ($3.99)

The Good Luck of Right Now, Matthew Quick (author of Silver Linings Playbook) ($1.99). I read this last year and wrote about it here.

The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart ($2.99)

Me Before You, JoJo Moyes ($2.99) Read with Kleenex!

Divergent, Veronica Roth ($2.99)

The Getaway Car: A Memoir About Writing and Life, Ann Patchett ($2.51)

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you click through to make a purchase a small percentage of your purchase will go towards supporting this site. This does not affect the price of the items in any way.

What I’m Into: April 2015 Edition

Even though I was counting down the days to the end of April and the beginning of our little spring vacation trip to Taiwan, somehow the end of the month What I’m Into post crept up on me. So here it is, a little late, but not forgotten. As always, I am linking up with Leigh Kramer for this monthly round-up.

What I’m Reading:

I’m actually super confused about what I read this month. I had to look back on Goodreads and check the dates because I couldn’t remember… yeah, it’s been that kind of month. Apparently, I read 5 books. I’m at 20 for the year so far which is on-pace for my goal of 60.

An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor. I really love Barbara Brown Taylor. This book was a breath of fresh after so many books (and sermons and churches and Christians) who intentionally or unintentionally separate the spiritual life from the physical world. This book made me feel so grounded in my body and to this earth. I especially loved the practical disciplines she suggested for making the world a place of worship. Things as simple as taking a walk or working with your hands. or being still and resting. The thing I loved most about this book was walking away feeling that a simple life could be good and honest and holy and true when so often I feel the drive to be more and do more, even from the church.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. (First book in the All Souls Trilogy). Oh man. This book drove me nuts. I read it because several bloggers and fellow readers who have similar taste to mine raved about it. This book is Twilight for grown-ups mixed with The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Since I really hated both of those books, it makes sense that this book drove me crazy. However, if you really really liked either or both of those books, then you will love this. Diana Bishop is a witch who inadvertently discovers an old manuscript that all of the non-human community has been searching for for years. Vampire Matthew Clairmont stumbles upon Diana while in pursuit of this manuscript, and the two fall immediately, madly, and passionately in love despite the fact that a union between vampires and witches is forbidden. This book is 600 pages of almost nothing happening. And then when something finally does happen (around 400 pages in) it is resolved within 20 pages. I could not connect with the main character, Diana, at all. I didn’t understand her reactions throughout most of the book. There was so much tea drinking and wine drinking and not-having-sex for somewhat inexplicable reasons (very reminiscent of Twilight) and what essentially felt like the same conversation happening dozens of times–Matthew saying, “No, Diana, you cannot do x. I won’t allow it,” and Diana saying, “Matthew, I am my own person I can do what I want.” And Matthew responding in awe, “Will you never cease to amaze me?” Diana also did a lot of telling people that Matthew was in charge and they all had to listen to him, which rubbed my feminist side the wrong way. And yet…at the very end of the book things suddenly got more interesting. And now I kind of want to know what happens in spite of finding this book almost painful at times. Dilemma.

Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down by Tony Merida. The author of this book is the pastor of a church in North Carolina that was supported by my former church in Raleigh. I picked this up because it was pitched as a sort of anti-Francis-Chan’s Crazy Love. It was supposedly about how God doesn’t call us to be radical, he calls us to be faithful in ordinary lives. But then came the twist. And the twist was convicting. Because Merida pointed out that our ordinary lives should be about extravagant justice and mercy, especially to the poor, the orphan, and the widow, because these things are the very fundamentals of what it means to follow Christ. I didn’t think this book was especially profound, but it was challenging and convicting.

Atlas Girl: Finding Home in the Last Place I Thought to Look, by Emily T. Wierenga. I had a complicated relationship with this book. First off, I think it’s mis-marketed in a way. I didn’t get the sense that this book was about finding “home” even though the author shares life experiences that occurred in various parts of the world. To me it it was more about finding herself, coming to terms with her faith and with her family. The writing is poetic and moving at times, but at other times it feels like she is drawing connections without fully explaining them. In other words, it probably makes sense to her how these things are connected, but it doesn’t always to the reader. There were quite a few times when I wanted to know more or to understand more. Wierenga writes candidly about growing up with a missionary/pastor father who was distant throughout her childhood, about her struggle with anorexia as a child and again as an adult, and about the pain and the healing of moving home to help her father care for her mother who was ill with brain cancer. The stories she tells are poignant and evocative, even if some left me wanting more. Overall I thought this was a lovely memoir.

I also want to give another shout out to my friend Brett “Fish” Anderson’s book i, church. If you are interested in a realistic view of the problems with the church coupled with a hope for how the church could be, you should check this out.

What I’m Watching:

Television: Finished The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (sometimes hilarious, sometimes just OK) and The Mindy Project and caught up on Pretty Little Liars (total guilty pleasure show). Still making our way through the new season of Community and staying current with Brooklyn Nine Nine (hilarious) and Nashville. Also picked up where I left off with The Good Wife a few months ago. I’m mid season-2 now and still love it.

Movies: Avengers: Age of Ultron – entertaining, but I didn’t love that the villain is essentially a computer. I think Loki is one of the most fascinating villains in the realm of superhero mythology, so I missed him.

What I’m Eating:

Wraps. Guys, I just figured out that if I take a fairly boring salad and wrap it in a tortilla – Bam! Magic. I tried it out with a recipe of Bang Bang Shrimp and it was probably the most excited I’ve been about lunch in two years. Tonight I made buffalo chicken wraps. I sort of feel unstoppable. Follow me on Pinterest for more of what I’m cooking.

Photo by: cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com

On the Internets:

My sister-in-law sent me this article called “I Followed My Stolen Iphone Across the World and Became a Celebrity.” It’s kind of long, but it’s so amazing. And hilarious.

This post from a sort-of-internet/sort-of-real-life friend Abigail Heath about wanting life to be a fairytale. I actually have a lot of thoughts about this that I plan to share in an upcoming blog post.

The news about actor Jonathan Crombie’s sudden death made many of us sad and nostalgic about the role his most famous character, Gilbert Blythe, played in our childhoods and adolescences. Here are two great posts that express some of my own feelings about what Gilbert Blythe meant to me and how one person, even playing a part, can impact the lives of so many: this one from Kelsey Munger and this one from Sarah Torna Roberts.

I was also moved by this piece “How Christians Have Sex” from my college friend, Rachel. I’ve always admired Rachel’s frankness, but more than that, the way she finds poetry in the raw truth. While our experiences are very different, this post gave me a lot to think about and I admire her courage and her willingness to express confusion and doubt in a world that prizes certainty and self-assuredness.

Also, just everything on my blogging friend Angela’s travel blog. Especially all of the spectacular apartments she and her hubby manage to find around Europe.

This video that my mom sent me made me cry. Let’s all walk through the door marked, “Beautiful,” OK?

https://youtu.be/7DdM-4siaQw

On the Blog:

I’ve really tried to stay committed to posting three times a week though I admit that sometimes it’s a challenge. Thankfully, I have my 52 Weeks of Adventure posts and my Friday Book Chats to keep me focused. This month I wrote about unplanned loveliness, a coastal hike in Busan, a professional baseball game, and a major hair change. I wrote about my favorite spiritual memoirs, about books I own but haven’t read, about the most interesting fictional characters I’ve encountered, and about my favorite books to re-read.

I also wrote about my struggles with wholeheartedness in the midst of failures and about combatting shame with self-compassion. I wrote about gratitude and started a Thankful Thursdays guest series with this post from Pradnya Vernekar.

My most-viewed post this month was an open letter to my sisters about love and regret followed by my Geronimo post about giant leaps of faith which was part of a link-up with my friend Karissa.

Also, if you just can’t get enough of me, you can like my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. I will probably follow you back if I can figure out how. 😉 And I will definitely keep you updated on flash Kindle deals and other stuff I’m discovering day-to-day.

What I’ve Been Up To:

Things are starting to crank into high gear as we make preparations to move back to America. At this point we are about 3 1/2 months away. For a while I was so excited for the next step that it felt like it couldn’t come quickly enough, but nowadays I’ve become more hesitant. I’m anxious about all of the unknowns of what comes next, but also realizing how much of this life I will miss and how quickly it will all feel like a dream. I am a complete mess of contradictory emotions.

We went through some major ups and downs as we considered whether or not we should buy a house when we return to the US (we landed on not, for the record) and I struggled through some serious homesickness when all of my college roommates got together a few weeks ago to help with planning my best friend’s wedding.

I continued to wade through awkward interactions with CoT this month (which have actually declined a bit as we’ve fallen into a routine) and got to witness the school’s Sports Day at the end of the month. It was similar to Field Day in my school growing up with tons of strange relay races and athletic competitions. There was also a lot of parent and even grandparent participation built in which I thought was kind of sweet.

The first-graders had to roll this giant ball around a cone and back in pairs. It was unbelievably adorable.

We have two short trips planned for May, one to Taiwan and one to Tokyo, so I expect this month will move quickly. I have a few guest posts coming up this month for other blogs that I am excited to participate in as well as continuing my Thankful Thursday series with guest writers here on my blog. I really enjoy opportunities to collaborate with other bloggers and I hope you enjoy those posts in the coming weeks!

Friday Book Chats: Books You Can’t Believe Are Real

Today’s book chat is a just for fun post. Sometimes when I’m browsing through Amazon looking for good deals some pretty amazing things pop up. Amazing in the sense that you can’t believe that 1) someone actually wrote it and 2) people actually buy it on Amazon. I know there are a few Buzzfeed articles with ridiculous books or book covers on them, but this is my personal list of books I’ve run into that I can’t believe are real.

Don’t forget to check out the list of kindle books currently on sale at the bottom of this post.

Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle. Not only does this book exist, but it has several sequels, too. Unlike most of the books on this list, I’ve actually read this one. One of the kids I used to babysit for loved it so I’ve actually read it many times. Walter is a great dog with just one problem. His farts are the worst. They are so bad that dad says he has to go. But the night before he’s supposed to go to the dog pound, robbers break into the house and Walter has to use his special skills to protect the family. It’s kind of funny and charming – if you’re into that kind of thing. Probably not a book I’d naturally gravitate towards, but hey, some people are super entertained by fart jokes.

The Amish Vs. The Zombies by Gregory Zschomler. This book has everything. ““Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” ~Deuteronomy 31:6 HANNAH STROVAL is restless. She has the wanderlust and dreams of exploring the wonders of the world. She wants out of her restrictive Amish community…bad. Zechariah Miller has loved Hannah all his life, but being tied down isn’t what Hannah wants just now. As Hannah is about to leave on a rumspringa excursion to New York, her mother drops a bombshell on her daughter revealing a long-held secret that rocks Hannah’s universe. But the big city wild life isn’t all Hannah hoped it would be and she brings home an unimaginable terror that pits pacifist against predator and nearly tears her district apart. Hannah, Zechariah, her family and friends must come face to face with life, death and choices that will change them…forever. A Romantic Thriller, coming of age story filled with heartache and hope, faith and forgiveness, loss and love.” – synopsis from Amazon. Not gonna lie, it sounds kind of awesome.

How to Date a White Woman: A Practical Guide for Asian Men by Adam Quan. Not sure if this book is serious or not, but it does really exist. Make of that what you will. I don’t really have anything else to say about it.

Dancing with Jesus by Sam Stall. This is a board book that I would really love to see in person. It is a set of “easy-to-do” dance moves inspired by “the deeds of the original Lord of the Dance, Jesus of Nazareth.” The book contains instructions and illustrations for such dance moves as “The Water Walk,” “The Carpenter Clog,” and “The Temptation Tango.” Intrigued? I know I am.

Who Cares About Elderly People? by Rachael Letch. So, I think this is a book aimed at preschoolers to teach them about caring about other people. It’s part of a whole series of “who cares” books. But you have to admit that the author/publisher did not think it through. Because it sounds like a book all about why the elderly don’t matter. Don’t know anything about the elderly. Who cares?

Spam: A Biography: The Amazing True Story of America’s “Miracle Meat!” by Carolyn Wyman. I actually feel like this book would do great in Asia. Or at least in Korea. Spam is actually something of a delicacy here. It’s sold in special gift sets for you to give to family and friends for all the big Korean holidays. The priciest gift sets will include a large bottle of canola oil surrounded by four cans of spam in a beautiful box. Because nothing says, “I love you,” like canned meat.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into the world of lesser-known books. And hey, if you’re an aspiring writer, you should be encouraged by this. If these books could all get published, why not yours? That’s what I tell myself.

Current Kindle Deals

*As of May 1st. I use the US Amazon site. Prices may vary on other sites.

New On Sale:

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life, Donald Miller ($3.99)

The Good Luck of Right Now, Matthew Quick (author of Silver Linings Playbook) ($1.99). I read this last year and wrote about it here.

The Mysterious Benedict Society, Trenton Lee Stewart ($2.99)

The Husband’s Secret, Liane Moriary ($2.99) Love all of her books.

Me Before You, JoJo Moyes ($2.99) Read with Kleenex!

Divergent, Veronica Roth ($4.99)

The Getaway Car: A Memoir About Writing and Life, Ann Patchett ($2.51)

Still on Sale:

Cold Sassy Tree, Olive Ann Burns ($2.99)

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald ($1.99)

Fall of Giants, The Century Trilogy #1, Ken Follett ($2.99) Follett is a GREAT historical fiction writer. This one is set in the First World War era.

Found: A Story of Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer, Micha Boyett ($3.03)

Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell ($4.99). Adorable. One of my favorite YA books.

Bossypants, Tina Fey ($6.99)

We Should All Be Feminists, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. ($1.99)

The Maze Runner, James Dashner ($1.99) I haven’t read this, but the movie was mildly entertaining. Fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent might be interested.

The Martian, Andy Weir ($5.99) Another one I haven’t read, but everyone who has raves about it.

What I’m Into: March 2015 Edition

March is over and spring seems to have officially arrived in Korea! I am linking up with Leigh Kramer for my monthly What I’m Into post.

What I’m Reading:

Mistborn #1:The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson. I’m a big fan of Brandon Sanderson, but had not yet read his Mistborn trilogy. I tackled the first book this month and will probably delve into the second one in April. In a land where ash falls from the sky and mists envelop the night, a band of thieves plots to overthrow the Lord Ruler, the immortal king who has oppressed the people of for centuries. Kelsier is the tortured hero, leader of the band of thieves, and schemer who has designed an elaborate and perfect plan to overthrow the Lord Ruler using allomancy, the magic of metals. To complete his plan he needs the help of Vin, a street thief who has no idea the power she possesses. This book has solid characters, an interesting magic system, and a compelling plot line. It’s not Way of Kings, but it is still a really great fantasy book

Girl Meets God by Lauren F. Winner. This is Winner’s first book and it explores her conversion from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity. Reading this was a strange experience for me since I read it after reading her more recent book Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis which I wrote about here). To be honest, I think reading these in reverse order probably affected my reactions to some of this book. Overall I liked it more than Still and I was really intrigued by all that she shared about Orthodox Judaism and the connections between the Jewish tradition and Christianity. However, reading it and knowing about her future struggles with Christianity and even her future divorce, I felt like I could see some foreshadowing in this book. One thing that’s interesting to note is that Winner converted to Orthodox Judaism in the first place. Her father was Jewish, but her mother was Christian. In the Jewish faith, Judaism is passed down by the mother, so Winner actually had to undergo an extensive process to formally convert to Orthodox Judaism. A few years later, after becoming convinced of the truth of Christianity, she uses a marriage and divorce metaphor to talk about her conversion. In one passage in particular, she speaks about leaving Judaism in terms of divorce and she says,

“If it was a marriage, me to Orthodox Judiaism, I failed long before I met up with Jesus. I failed from the beginning. You could say I became a Christian because Judaism had stopped working for me, but the truth is that I had not done very much to make Judaism work…

Sometimes divorce is the only thing to do. Sometimes it is the more loving thing to do. Sometimes, you have to do it.”

I don’t think these passages would have stood out to me so much if I didn’t know what came later for her. There are moments when it seems that faith is more a matter of choosing what she intellectually has decided is true than it is a matter of her choosing something she believes in with her heart as well and is something that greatly impacts how she lives her life. All of that to say, I thought the book was very interesting, but reading it after Still made me wonder if some of her more recent struggles are really larger patterns in her life.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (This is only $2.99 for Kindle right now!) The stand-out book for me this month might just be Cinder. This is a YA book about a futuristic world where androids are essential to daily life and the moon has been colonized and become the home of a new species known as Lunars. This unique twist on the Cinderella story involves a cyborg/mechanic Cinderella, a handsome prince, and the search for a cure for the plague pandemic that is wiping out Earth’s population. This is not the sort of book I would normally gravitate towards, but it is so fresh and clever and well-done that I couldn’t put it down. Thanks to my friend, Karissa, whose positive reviews convinced me to give it a shot!

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown. Brené Brown is a huge inspiration to me. I’ve written previously about her book, Daring Greatly, which explores the power of vulnerability and her two TED talks (here and here) are phenomenal. This is her book about wholeheartedness and what we need to live a wholehearted life. As most of you know, wholehearted is my OneWord for 2015. This book inspired and encouraged me in my journey towards wholeheartedness. Some of the material was already familiar to me because it was touched on in her other book or in her TED talks, but this book was still well worth the read. I will be blogging more in the near future about specific steps I am taking on my journey to embrace courage, compassion, and connection.

I’ve just started Barbara Brown Taylor’s An Altar in the World and I am GREATLY anticipating the release of Rachel Held Evans’ new book, Searching for Sunday, which comes out April 14th. If you’re a big reader (or even if you’re not) I would love to connect with you on Goodreads!

What I’m Watching:

This month I caught up/finished the current season of Nashville and Jonathan and I tried to stay current (with limited success because of internet troubles, so we are still behind) with New Girl, The Mindy Project, and Brooklyn Nine Nine. We also finished Broadchurch (amazing) and watched a few episodes each of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the new season of Community, and Fresh Off the Boat. I have to say, the standout for me so far is Fresh Off the Boat. I think I find it especially funny and accurate since my experience living in Asia.

We actually went to a lot of movies this month and were able to see Birdman (Jonathan liked it, I was ambivalent), Cinderella (I could die of happiness.This was so beautiful I never wanted it to end), and Insurgent (I like this about the same as the first movie minus Shailene Woodley’s amazing hair. I do really like her though. It was entertaining). Speaking of Shailene Woodley’s hair, we also watched The Spectacular Now which I thought was a really good, if unsettling movie.

What I’m Eating:

I recently tried out a zucchini apple muffin recipe that came out really well and is something I will make again. You know me and zucchini – I like to put zucchinis up in everything. I’ve also been obsessed with enchiladas lately. They are all I want to eat. Follow me on Pinterest for more of my favorite recipes!

Photo by: twopeasintheirpod.com Click image for link to the recipe.

On the Internets:

I loved this piece from Micha Boyett about choosing love and humility over rightness. I think Micha is such a beautiful writer and truth-speaker.

I appreciated this post from my friend Karissa about the differences between writing and blogging, something I’ve been struggling to sort out myself.

My friend, Briana is running a 3-part series called Love Letters to the Church from a Millennial at Off the Page that are just fantastic.

This stunning piece of prose by Addie Zierman that reminds us of the love of the father for the prodigal, even when he is still a long way off.

I loved this piece from my friend, Sara, about where our confidence comes from.

I actually really appreciated this interview from Angeline Jolie regarding her recent surgery to remove her ovaries, etc. after her double mastectomy last year. The story was completely sensationalized in the media, but I like her message about making sure women have all the information they need about their health and that they can feel empowered and in control of their bodies.

I loved this brief sermon from Nadia Bolz-Weber about that oh-so-famous verse, John 3:16. She really has a way of breathing new life into things that feel old and tired.

“God so loved this corrupt world of empires and victims and violence that God gave God’s self to us. God so loved the world that God came to us in the most vulnerable and fragile way possible. God so loved the world God created that God walked among us as love.

I love Mumford and Sons new single, “Believe” whose chorus, “I don’t even know if I believe,” might as well be my anthem most days. I think it’s a fantastic song, but I can’t pretend that I don’t miss the banjo. Something about the folksy bluegrass sound touches me in a way that electric guitars just don’t. (PS- don’t watch the video, it will make you motion sick!)

On the Blog:

This month I kept up with my 52 Weeks of Adventure series by posting Weeks 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 adventures.

I had an article published over at Relevant.com about overcoming guilt in my sex life and did a follow-up post here. I wrote about not faking it til I make it and living authentically, about my recent struggle with anxiety, and about how judgement day might just be the best day of our lives.

I also continued my Friday Book Chat series with posts on my abandoned books shelf, my favorite mysteries, my favorite childhood books, and my guilty pleasure books. I also run a list of current Kindle deals that I’m aware of on books I’ve read or would like to read at the end of these posts.

What I’ve Been Up To:

Thinking back to the beginning of March feels like ages and ages ago. I feel like I’ve made a lot of changes this month. We started the new school year and I’ve been dealing with my interesting new co-teacher.

I got a tattoo (which I love! I already want another one), new glasses, and highlights (I don’t think I have any pictures of that, but I basically look the same just blonder).

New glasses. Total cost of the frames and top-quality lenses – $60. Go Korea!

My friends have been rocking at life lately.

My best friend got engaged and I got to help her pick out a wedding dress thanks to Google hangout and lots of pictures. Two of my friends announced pregnancies this month, both of which were somewhat surprising and completely exciting. My friend, Karissa is having a poetry chapbook published cause she’s just that awesome. And my friend Brett “Fish” Anderson published and launched his book i, church which you should all buy and read and share with others now. Brett is passionate about the church and has a realistic view of the problems with it while also sharing hope and casting vision for what the church should be.

This was also the month that things became more definitive for us in terms of what comes next. Jonathan applied to a number of graduate school programs to do an MFA. These programs are incredibly small and selective and I am so tremendously proud of his work and his perseverance. After months of working, then waiting, then praying, we’ve arrived at a decision. (Drumroll, please!) We are moving back the US mid-August where Jonathan will be pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing (for fiction) at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. The paperwork isn’t in yet, but that’s our final step in making it official. And just to brag on him – this program received over a hundred fiction applicants and accepted four. FOUR, y’all. He is so freaking awesome.

I will be working full-time to support us, though I don’t know where or what I’ll be doing at this point. We’ve never been to Columbia, but are really pleased about it’s proximity to some of our closest friends, almost all of whom live somewhere in the Carolinas. We are full of excitement and anticipation for this new season, though it’s going to be a crazy ride. The earliest date we can possibly leave Korea is August 14th and school starts for Jonathan on August 20th. Best case scenario is that we will have about 4 days to find a place to live and get all of our stuff there from my parents house in Louisiana. It’s gonna be an adventure. Good thing we’re always up for those!

What have you been into this month?

Friday Book Chats: My Favorite Mysteries

This week’s book chat is another favorites list. This time I’m talking about my favorite mystery books. Mystery is one of my favorite genres because I enjoy trying to piece things together and figure out what happened. Mysteries tend to be fast-paced and engaging for me. I have no patience when it comes to waiting to find out what happened, so I tend to fly through mystery novels faster than any other genre.

Having said that, one downside to the mystery genre is that mysteries often sacrifice character development and nuance for the sake of the plot. The scenario is what drives the story and the detectives and even the criminals are often colorless vehicles for moving the story along. The books on this list are books that manage to find a middle ground. They are books that present fully formed characters as well as interesting circumstances. They are centered on crimes or mysteries that are far more nuanced than cops vs. criminals. Whether you are a mystery-lover or just an occasional dabbler, I think these books are worth the read.

As a disclaimer, all of these books contain a fair amount of language and some sexual content (not necessarily violent). Nothing Girl-With-The-Dragon-Tattoo level, but I wanted to give fair warning.

There is a list of current Kindle deals at the bottom of this post.

Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie Mysteries. Atkinson is a brilliant writer. Her literary novels are fresh, fascinating, and incredibly well-executed. I genuinely think she is one of the best writers of our time and I love what she brings to the mystery genre. The Jackson Brodie mysteries interweave the personal life of Jackson Brodie, an ex-cop turned Private Investigator, with mysteries that range from the criminal to the bizarre to the mundane. In the first book, Case Histories, Brodie investigates the disappearance of a young girl thirty years ago, the case of a young woman who is the victim of a seemingly random attack, and a young mother who is trapped in a life that is driving her to take drastic action. Brodie’s investigations reveal complex characters and intriguing connections. Atkinson made me care about Brodie as a multi-dimensional character, not just a wisecracking gumshoe and that’s what made me devour each new book she wrote. Start with Case Histories,but the other three One Good Turn (2), When Will There Be Good News (3) (Jonathan’s favorite), and Started Early, Took My Dog (4) are all great. I don’t know which is my favorite – I liked One Good Turn least, but I still enjoyed it a lot. The BBC has turned these books into a miniseries called Case Histories which stars Jason Isaacs as Jackson Brodie and is extremely well done.

Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad mysteries. This is an Irish book and the characters speak authentically – a.k.a mostly in expletives. For being police procedurals, these mysteries are quite unique. The books are only tangentially related to one another and each one focuses on a different detective within the fictional Dublin Murder Squad. They do happen sequentially in time, but they aren’t heavily reliant on one another and could be read in any order. For me, the standout is The Likeness (Book #2). It is unlike any other mystery I’ve ever read. Detective Cassie Maddox finds herself in a perplexing situation when she begins to investigate the murder of a woman who looks uncannily similar to her and whose identification bears the name Alexandra Madison, an alias Maddox herself had previously used. French’s books can be a bit dark, even disturbing to some (though I’ve never had a problem with them) but they are fantastic suspense dramas. I am always impressed to read a book convincing enough to get my heart racing. If I had to rank these books I’d put The Likeness first, In the Woods (#1) and Faithful Place (#3) next, followed by the latest two – Broken Harbor (#4) and The Secret Place (#5). These are books I buy the day they are released. I loved them all.

The Cuckoo’s Calling by J.K. Rowling (as Robert Galbraith). I was so curious to read this after being less-than-enthralled by The Casual Vacancy. It turns out Rowling makes a pretty good mystery writer. Her storytelling abilities are peerless and I was impressed with how much I enjoyed this book. Rowling has also created a private detective (Cormoran Strike) whose personal life bleeds into his professional life in a way that makes him an interesting character in his own right. I read The Silkworm as well and while I enjoyed it, The Cuckoo’s Calling was better. Cormoran Strike is a wounded Afghanistan veteran now working as a private investigator who is hired to investigate the suicide of a legendary supermodel.

Big Little Lies by Liana Moriarty. While this isn’t a procedural or detective mystery, the story revolves around the death of an elementary school parent at a school function, but who died and how it happened remains a mystery until the very end. This is a story about a community, family relationships, and suburban politics with the extra element of mystery woven in.

Current Kindle Deals

Kindle devices are on sale for the month of March starting at $59.

*As of March 13th. I use the US Amazon site. Prices may vary on other sites.

New on sale this week:

The Last Anniversary, Liane Moriarty ($3.30). I wrote about this here.

Three Wishes Liane Moriarty ($2.99)

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, Bill Bryson ($5.70)

Wild by Cheryl Strayed ($4.40) You can read my review here.

The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown ($2.99) I haven’t read this one, but it has rave reviews.

Still on sale from last week:

The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins ($6.49) This is the lowest price I’ve ever seen this new release. I haven’t read it yet, but it’s recommended for fans of Gone Girl

The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver ($4.99) One of my favorite writers. Kentucky native Taylor Greer tries to escape her roots but succeeds in collecting a 3-year-old native American girl along the way.

An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith, Barbara Brown Taylor ($3.99)

Mistborn– The Final Empire, Brandon Sanderson ($4.99) This is the first book in Sanderson’s Mistborn fantasy trilogy. I’m currently reading this.

Found: A Story of Questions, Grace, and Everyday Prayer, Micha Boyett ($3.03) One of my best books of 2014 and one of my favorite spiritual memoirs.

Looking for Alaska, John Green ($2.99) This is the author who wrote The Fault in Our Stars. Read my review here.

The Fault in Our Stars, John Green ($2.99) So good, but read with tissues.

Me Before You, JoJo Moyes ($2.99) Ambitionless twenty-six year old Louise loses her job and takes a temporary position as a caretaker for a 35 year old quadripalegic who challenges her to live life on a grander scale. This is a quick read, but not a particularly light one. Be warned that you’ll need Kleenex.

The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd ($3.99). There’s a reason this book is so popular. It’s great.

Eleanor and Park, Rainbow Rowell ($4.99) One of my new favorite young adult novels. So sweet.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you use a link to make a purchase a small percentage of your purchase will go towards supporting this site. This does not affect the price of the items in any way.

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