book report: june book thoughts & reviews

Kelli
2 days ago
5 min read

This is a little stream of consciousness post- you in? I like to keep AI guessing.

Big news on the reading front: I added a bookcase to the collection. This will solve it all, right? I call it my library - my scattered shelves, overflowing with books I love, books I've halfway started then bookmarked with my short attention span and the ones waiting until I have the time.

I saw a two bookshelf set with a ladder on Facebook marketplace the other day, but decided dreams of Belle swinging on the ladder wouldn't really work on the carpeted floor. Alas, a self-and-husband put together bookshelf will do for now.

I'm listening to The Outfield right now. That and talking about summer reading is a whole vibe. They have the lamest lyrics, but the catchiest melodies, and it's perfect summer listening: Say it isn't so, tell me I'm the only one/Say it isn't so, without you I can't go on/How was I to know, if you keep me guessing I don't understand.

Back to the issue at hand: Book Reviews for June (and julyish...)

Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday

"To become great and to stay great, they must all know what came before, what is going on now, and what comes next. They must internalize the fundamentals of their domain and what surrounds them, without ossifying or becoming stuck in time."

Listen, I certainly don't want to ossify or be stuck in time. I like a good stoic quote. I wish I was more stoic (I am not.). I like the philosophy and it makes sense...up to a point. So am I promoting stoicism? Yes and no. I think it's good to be thoughtful about our reactions and motivations. I think it falls apart when my complete reactions are based on my own SELF. For me - because I believe in the work of the Holy Spirit based on my salvation in the Lord - I'm well aware I can't solve or do any of this on my own.

Sidenote: I also have it on my list to look more closely into Apostle Paul and his speech in Acts 17 regarding stoicism. (Also - did you know Gallio, whom Paul is brought before in Acts 18, is the brother of the Stoic philosopher Seneca?) Interesting stuff.

I told you this was stream of consciousness.

That being said - Ego is the Enemy is a good book. Holiday is a great writer, I'll give him that. I especially loved the chapter on being a student. Excellent material and truths. Few adults know how to be learners.

Rating: 4/5 Good book. Easy to read in short spurts as well, so it's good for summer reading. Stick it in the ol' tote bag and get some reading done sitting in that parking lot waiting.

Holy Unhappiness by Amanda Held Opelt

"Sometimes I wish that all those people who told me I needed to do something grand and adventurous with my life had told me that so much of life is simply doing the needful. And that's okay. It is, in fact, quite beautiful. While it might be easier and more exciting to follow your inner longings, to pack up and passionately pursue some grand adventure, sometimes you don't because life and virtue beckon you to stay. To serve. To do the needful, to be faithful to what is required of you. Calling, it seems is whatever is in front of you. It is an invitation to be present."

I picked this one up at the library and am so glad I found it. I don't know that I've read a book lately where I put more tabs in to write down quotes and thoughts.

Taking topics like work, marriage, parenting, calling, community, serving, church and suffering, Opelt talks about the common approach of today's church and shows how much of how we view these topics is not biblical - okay, maybe touches of biblical...but then veering off into almost a prosperity gospel approach.

It also sounds like Opelt and I might have had fairly similar backgrounds, so that definitely helped my opinion, but definitely recommend this one if you have been around the church a while and are thinking through what you've been (or are being) taught. I also liked that Opelt did not veer into cynicism - while she critiques at times, it is always followed with a "but here's what the Bible says..." which is missing from so many arguments I hear stated (online especially).

Rating: 4/5 Keep those tabs and pens beside you for this one.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Here's the promo online: Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson, haunted by his secret knowledge of his mother’s infidelity, is traveling by single-engine plane to visit his father for the first time since the divorce. When the plane crashes, killing the pilot, the sole survivor is Brian. He is alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother had given him as a present.

This was recommended to me by extended family and it was a great read. I think it would be appropriate for an older elementary/junior high reader and yes, adults would enjoy it as well. Written in 1987, it's a popular book, but I had somehow never heard of it! Glad I grabbed a copy.

Rating: 4/5 I love a good survivor story and yes, I watch Alone.

Cathedrals by Claudia Pineiro translated by Frances Riddle

Why live on old works of art, made by others?

May every one build their own cathedral. -Jorge Luis Borges

A Catholic family in Buenos Aires is torn by the murder of their daughter thirty years prior. The author "Takes on institutions that shape our most intimate connections with unsparing clarity. Church, family, sibling rivalry, sex, cowardice, and rage are the forces that might tear a family apart, but will also never let you go."Showing the story from various points of view from the family, Pineiro writes in an almost poetic way and this book grabbed me from the start. I will say it's probably a little darker than most I would recommend, and covers some topics I would say are a bit more graphic than I typically would suggest. If someone reads this, let me know because it's one I would like to discuss. And a reminder that it's okay to read to think. This one made me think.

I also learned the word Opprobrium from this book. As my grandfather would have told you: Look it up.

Rating: hard to rate.... still thinking.... Beautifully written.

And to end: My number one answer to what should you read in the summer is: The River by Peter Heller. This is a great adventure beautifully written, atmosphere chef's kiss. Perfecto.