If you noticed, there were no blog posts in May. I had a graduating senior and the month was just full of focusing on her last year in high school. I’ll be back at it in June – I have two NYC trips to tell you about and there might be an upcoming one across an ocean. I did still get some good reads in during May. It was the way I had to decompress most evenings. Here’s what I read in May:
The Women is a powerful story about nurses who served their country during the Vietnam War. They saw the effects of combat firsthand, yet received no real support when they got back home. The Women follows Francis as she volunteers to go to Vietnam as a nurse after her brother is shipped over there. It’s nothing like she expected, and she finds ways to cope that put her on a path to self-destruction. Love gives her hope … for a while. The Women is a hard read and deals with a lot of dark topics, but it does cover an important aspect of history.
When I see an interesting movie, I usually end up just reading the book. The Boys in the Boat is a fascinating book about the American rowing team that went to the Berlin Olympics and earned the gold medal. It focuses mainly on Joe Rantz, but tells the stories of most of the men who rowed in that boat. They grew up during the depression and dust bowls and often had to overcome dire circumstances to get to and stay in college. I highly recommend this book.
Bad Therapy is a very thought-provoking book. Shrier examines why in this day when mental health is such a focus we have the highest number of teens and young adults facing mental health crises. She looks at upbringing, parenting, medication and therapy and examines how they can be good and what harm they can cause. The book really made sense to me and the overall message is that parents need to be parents to the children they are entrusted with.
Maggie and Catherine are both part of a women’s musical group, but when the tour is up, neither want to go home. A USO representative recruits them to join a group planning to go perform for troops in Europe and Africa and they jump at the chance. Both have to face the ramifications from their family, but end up growing into women who can stand on their own two feet. The Foxhole Victory Tour was a sweet story about this aspect of WWII.
A must-read! Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence is a short book that will change a reader’s perspective on the hardships of life. If everything comes from God, why should we worry or fret about any of it? All things can be used for our good by Him. I highly, highly recommend this book. I will probably be reading it once a year.
Religionless Christianity is a sequel to Metaxas’ recent book, Letter to the American Church. Feeling the same call as Bonhoeffer, Metaxas is sending a message to the church to warn them of what could happen if they stay stagnant. Culture is falling apart around us and the church has a role to play. Every Christian should read the two books and realize what a crucial role we play in a very crucial time.
Blood and Thunder is about the American West during Kit Carson’s lifetime. I’ve wanted to read this book for a while since back on the family tree, I’m related to Kit Carson’s cousin. The book tells about the West during Kit Carson’s life – the good, the bad and the ugly on both sides. Neither the Native Americans nor the Americans come out looking good in this book, but the facts are laid bare of what happened and what some of the provocations were. I found the book highly fascinating.
Emily Morrow runs an account on Instagram called Really Very Crunchy. I’ve been following it for a while. It lightheartedly makes fun of the “crunchy” lifestyle. That’s where you make food from scratch, garden, use non-toxic cleaners and ground yourself by walking around barefoot. The book gives tips but is mainly a reminder that “crunchiness” is a spectrum and everyone has to decide what works best for them and their families. Good book – highly recommend the Instagram account!
I have enjoyed every book Emily St. John Mandel has written that I have read. The Glass Hotel is no exception. The backdrop is the Ponzi schemes of the early 2000s, but the main characters are half-siblings Paul and Vincent (Vincent is a girl). The lives continuously intertwine after Vincent’s mother goes missing during a boating accident. The book follows them as adults and shows how easily people can be corrupted … how you can both know and not know something. I found it to be a fascinating plot with just enough twists.
What have you read recently that you would recommend? Share in the comments!
