I had a goal to read 25 books in 2014. Whew. That's a lot of reading I'm realizing now. I'm currently on book #17 and while I'm not going to reach my (lofty) goal, I realized that the whole point was just to READ MORE. I'm a huge bookworm (remember when I only wanted to be a librarian?) but I tend to push reading to the back burner when I have lots of other stuff going on. In college? I hardly read at all. Somehow, my multitasking-loving self couldn't fathom picking up another book after class.
So while this year was crazy busy, I'm so happy I made time to just sit with a book and unwind. Holding a good hardcover book in your hands does something for your soul. That's obviously why I wanted to be a librarian.
Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen My family refers to Henri Nouwen, a Catholic priest, all the time (have I mentioned that my mom is a minister?), so I thought it was about time I finally read this book cover to cover. It was a pretty quick read in the sense that there weren't as many pages as lots of other books but Nouwen digs deep into spiritual life in every one of those pages. A good starting point for people exploring Christianity. (****)
Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver For some reason, Barbara Kingsolver's novels have always intimidated me. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed The Poisonwood Bible in high school, but every one of her books are so big. Maybe I've grown up and gotten past the size of books freaking me out because I really loved Flight Behavior. It's not the type of subject I would normally go for (kinda science-y … that was my very worst subject in school), but it was so engrossing, and I learned so much about butterflies and climate change, that a couple pages in I couldn't remember why I almost didn't pick this up in the first place. (****)
Film is Not Dead by Jonathan Canlas This book has been on my to-read list since I picked up a film camera last year. It was chock-full of good information that my eager film-learning self hungrily devoured. Plus it had lots of pretty pictures. Canlas is funny and doesn't take himself too seriously, which I also appreciated. (****)
Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement My mom does such a good job picking out books for me. This is another one I never would have found on my own, but thanks to her I found a new favorite. The story takes place in Mexico and explores what it's like to be a woman in a city that revolves around the drug trade. It was hard to read at times but so, so important. (*****)