Michelle DeRusha

Every Day Faith. Faith Every Day.

books

What I’m Reading {Summer 2018 Edition}

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When I was a kid I spent most of my summer afternoons on the screened-in porch, tucked into a rocking chair, the vinyl seat cushion sticking to the back of my legs in the New England humidity.

Often my best friend Andrea would fold herself into her own rocking chair next to me, and together we’d while away the day in quiet contentment, each with a book in our hands. It seems funny now that we intentionally got together in order to spend hours without speaking, each of us with her nose in her own book. And yet, there was something perfectly right about those long, hot summer afternoons spent in companionable silence.

Decades later, Andrea lives 1,500 miles away, I don’t have a screened-in porch or a set of aluminum rocking chairs, and I don’t often have a whole summer afternoon in which to dedicate solely to a book.

Nowadays I often pull a novel from my purse to read a few pages in the car as I wait for a boy to emerge from one activity or another. Or I squeeze in a chapter before turning out the light, my eyelids growing heavy but my mind and heart still eager to turn the next page.

Reading will always be my pastime of choice, which is why every few months or so I love to share the books I’ve enjoyed lately (and I love to hear what you’re reading too – let me know in the comments!).

Here’s what’s been stacked on my nightstand this summer:

The Edge of Over There
by Shawn Smucker
Genre: YA Fiction

The Edge of Over There has a Madeleine L’Engle-ish feel – a little bit fantasy, a little bit mystery, and a whole lot riveting. Though it’s technically Young Adult fiction, I guarantee this book will have you reading late into the night, no matter what your age. Start with Shawn’s The Day the Angels Fell first, if you haven’t read that one yet, and then move on to this equally satisfying sequel.

Why I loved it: It’s a page-turner with a fast-paced plot, but it also got me thinking about deeper questions.

Raise Your Voice: Why We Stay Silent and How to Speak Up
by Kathy Khang
Genre: Christian nonfiction

A powerful, convicting new voice, Christian activist Kathy Khang makes an important, convincing argument for why it’s imperative that we use our God-given voices and intellect to confront racism, discrimination and injustice. As a person who is often hesitant to speak up, this book gave me a much-needed push toward raising my own voice, as well as a whole lot to think about.

Why I loved it: Kathy’s approach is grace-ful yet firm. I deeply appreciate her wisdom and her courage in telling the hard parts of her story.

Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage
By Dani Shapiro
Genre: Memoir

I’ve read all of Dani Shapiro’s memoirs (Devotion, Slow Motion) and some of her fiction, and Hourglass is my favorite so far. Tender, intimate and vulnerable, yet also ruthlessly honest, Shapiro looks hard at her own marriage — “a reckoning in which she confronts both the life she dreamed of and the life she made, and struggles to reconcile the girl she was with the woman she has become.”

Why I loved it: Maybe it’s the voyeur in me, but I love a good memoir for its intimacy and vulnerability and the way it prompts me to look at my own life. And this one has the added benefit of being expertly written in beautiful, luminous prose.

A Year by the Sea: Thoughts of an Unfinished Woman
By Joan Anderson
Genre: Memoir

When she hits middle-age, her children grown and married, her husband focused on a new job, Joan Anderson decides to take a hiatus and go her own way. Her year alone on Cape Cod is a rebirth of sorts, a time in which she begins to know her true self for the first time in a long time, perhaps ever. A Year by the Sea is a beautiful reflection on the passage of time, on seasons and the gifts of nature and on the process of deep transformation. Wise, compelling, poignant – this is a book I will return to again.

Why I loved it: At 48, I’m nearly the age Anderson was when she spent her year by the sea and penned this memoir about her transformative experience. I don’t know…maybe I am on the cusp of a mid-life crisis? All I know is that this book spoke to me deeply.

The Poisonwood Bible
By Barbara Kingsolver
Genre: Fiction

I tried reading this one years ago and put it down. But this past spring my son Noah read it for one of his high school classes, which compelled me to pick it up again, and I am SO glad I did. A riveting, compelling saga, The Poisonwood Bible is narrated in alternating chapters by the four daughters and the wife of a Baptist missionary who relocates his family to the Belgian Congo in the early 1960s in order to save souls. I’m a little rusty on my African history and my knowledge of post-colonialism, so I undoubtedly missed some key points, but wow, this book was fascinating. It had me staying up WAY past my bedtime most nights. Kingsolver is a master storyteller, and this book, one that is at the same time very dark and richly beautiful, is one I will not soon forget.

Why I loved it: Plain and simple, The Poisonwood Bible is a masterful novel with deeply compelling themes, rich, multi-layered characters and stunning prose.

Up Next in My To-Be-Read Stack:

An Unfinished Marriage and The Second Journey, sequels to Joan Anderson’s A Year by the Sea.

March, by Geraldine Brooks – The story of the absent father in Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.

A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, by Molly Wizenberg – Part cookbook, part memoir, my favorite (Though I don’t actually cook, I like to read about cooking, which is odd, I realize. Also, I got this for .99 cents on Kindle; check to see if the deal is still on!).

Food: A Love Story, by Jim Gaffigan – I’m reading this one for my book club in August. I think Jim Gaffigan is hilarious, so I’m looking forward to this.

So tell me, what have you read this summer that has you staying up way past your bedtime? 

 

Favorite Books of 2017

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What better way to kick off the New Year than with a look back at favorite reads from 2017? Plus, now you can take all those gift cards you received for the holidays to the bookstore and find yourself a good book to help you weather the doldrums of January!

I read a total of 44 books in 2017, which, strangely, was exactly how many I read in 2016. I’m nothing if not consistent, right?! However, this doesn’t count the five books I didn’t finish this year (they are marked DNF in the list below). I gave myself the same rule I give my kids: read 50 pages, and if you are still meh, you can quit. Nothing against any of the books I didn’t finish (in fact, at least one came highly recommended and has been well-liked by many); they just weren’t for me.

So, without further delay, here are my eight favorite reads of 2017, followed by a complete list of all the books I read last year. Happy reading, friends!

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
By Cal Newport

Genre: Business

About the Book: “Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It’s a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship. In short, deep work is like a super power in our increasingly competitive twenty-first century economy. And yet, most people have lost the ability to go deep-spending their days instead in a frantic blur of e-mail and social media, not even realizing there’s a better way.”

Why It’s a Fave: Technically this is a business book…but it’s easily applicable to lots of different fields, including creative work. This was the first book I read in 2017, and it changed the way I approach my work. I especially appreciated how Newport wove interesting, relevant stories with science and practical applications to make this book super accessible. This would make a great January read.

The One-In-A-Million Boy
By Monica Wood

Genre: Fiction

About the Book: 104-year-old Ona befriends an 11-year-old boy who knocks on her door one morning looking to fulfill his Boy Scout duty. As he refills the bird feeders and tidies the garden shed, Ona tells him about her long life, from first love to second chances. Soon she’s confessing secrets she has kept hidden for decades.

Why It’s a Fave: I loved the writing in this book. Monica Wood has a real gift for gently revealing the nuances of human connection. One-in-a-Million Boy is funny, poignant, a little bit quirky and bittersweet; be prepared for tears with this one.

One: Unity in a Divided World
By: Deidra Riggs

Genre: Christian Non-Fiction

About the Book: “Jesus didn’t say that the world would know we are his followers by our biting rhetoric, our political leanings, our charity work, or even by our knowledge of Scripture. He said the world would know us by our love for one another. Yet it’s so easy to put others at arm’s length, to lash out, to put up walls. Deidra Riggs wants us to put our focus on self-preservation aside and, like Jesus, make the first move toward reconciliation.”

Why It’s a Fave: I know you might think this is cheating, because Deidra is a good friend, but truly, I loved this book, and I deeply value its message, especially at a time which feels, on most days, more divisive than ever. Deidra does not get all up in your grill with her message about unity and reconciliation, but instead, offers a gentle but firm approach to how we might more toward more unity in our families, communities and churches.

At Home in the World: Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe
By Tsh Oxenreider

Genre: Travel/Memoir

About the Book: At Home in the World follows the Oxenreider family’s (Tsh, her husband Kyle, and their three kids under age nine) on their nine-month journey from China to New Zealand, Ethiopia to England, and more. “They traverse bumpy roads, stand in awe before a waterfall that feels like the edge of the earth, and chase each other through three-foot-wide passageways in Venice. And all the while Tsh grapples with the concept of home, as she learns what it means to be lost—yet at home—in the world.”

Why It’s a Fave: This is one of the best travel memoirs I have ever read. If you want to travel the world but can’t quite sling a backpack on your shoulders and hit the road like the Oxenreiders did, this book is your next best option. I especially loved how Tsh’s writing offers a complete sensory experience – I felt like I was smelling, tasting, hearing and seeing right along with her. I also appreciated her honesty. Traveling around the world with three kids under age nine isn’t all roses, and Tsh lets the reader in on some of the challenges and frustrations she faced along the way.

When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life’s Sacred Questions
By Sue Monk Kidd

Genre: Christian Non-fiction/Memoir

About the Book: “Blending her own experience with an intimate grasp of spirituality, Sue Monk Kidd relates the passionate and moving tale of her spiritual crisis, when life seemed to have lost meaning and her longing for a hasty escape from the pain yielded to a discipline of ‘active waiting.’ Full of wisdom, poise, and grace, Kidd’s words will encourage us along our spiritual journey, toward becoming who we truly are.”

Why It’s a Fave: I read a library copy of this book for research, but it really resonated with me – so much that I ended up purchasing my own copy just to have on my shelf. I appreciated Kidd’s honesty regarding her spiritual dark night of the soul. If you’re in a wilderness or waiting season, this is definitely one to pick up. I know I’ll be re-reading it again.

Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion
By Gregory Boyle

Genre: Christian Non-fiction

About the Book: “For twenty years, Gregory Boyle has run Homeboy Industries, a gang-intervention program located in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, the gang capital of the world. In Tattoos on the Heart, he distills his experience working in the ghetto into a breathtaking series of parables inspired by faith.  Arranged by theme and filled with sparkling humor and glowing generosity, these essays offer a stirring look at how full our lives could be if we could find the joy in loving others and in being loved unconditionally.”

Why It’s a Fave: Hands-down my #1 favorite read of 2017, this book is a deeply moving testament to the power of love and community, even in what seem to be the most despairing, hopeless circumstances. Father Boyle is funny as heck, and his storytelling abilities are second to none. You will come away from this book not only astonished by Father Boyle’s commitment, generosity and compassion but also, honestly, astonished by the humanity of the gang members with whom Boyle makes his life. A truly inspiring and transforming read.

The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian
By Sherman Alexie

Genre: Fiction/YA

About the Book: “Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.”

Why It’s a Fave: Truth be told, I didn’t think I was going to like this book when I first started it. It’s YA, which is not my favorite genre, and it includes drawings/cartoons, which felt a little too Diary of a Wimpy Kid to me at first. But it didn’t take long for the character of Junior to grow on me. This book is FUNNY, but it will also tug at your heartstrings in a very real way. Alexie, who draws liberally from his own experiences of growing up on a Native American reservation, does not shy from depicting the relentless poverty and rampant alcoholism pervasive in the Native American culture. I read this one with my book club, and it generated a lot of in-depth discussion.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
By Gail Honeyman

Genre: Fiction

About the Book: “Eleanor Oliphant struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding social interactions, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy. But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. And it is Raymond’s big heart that will ultimately help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one.”

Why It’s a Fave: I love quirky (but not too quirky) fiction, and this book fits the bill. It’s smartly written, clever, funny, a little bit bizarre, and heart-warming. While I don’t like books with saccharine plots/unrealistic happy endings, I do appreciate a story, like this one, that ends on a generally uplifting note. Also, Eleanor Oliphant is different enough that it’s not likely to blend in with the many other books I read each year. In other words, I like a book that stands out, and this one does exactly that (but not in a gimmicky way).

And the rest of the books I read in 2017, in the order I read them:

[I also indicated which ones I listened to on audio, and which ones I read for my book club.
DNF = Did Not Finish; R = books I read for book-writing research]

Daily Rituals, by Mason Currey
The Lilac Girls, by Martha Hall Kelly
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by Betty Smith
Where’d You Go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple
The Creative Habit, by Tyla Tharp – DNF
Images and Shadows, by Iris Orega – DNF
One True Loves, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead
A Fall of Marigolds, by Susan Meissner (book club pick)
One Plus One, by Jo Jo Moyes (audio)
Hillbilly Elegy, by J.D. Vance
The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan, by David Perlmutter
Columbine, by David Cullen
You are Free, by Rebecca Lyons
A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles
The Hidden Life of Trees, by Peter Wohlleben – R
Lab Girl, by Hope Jahren
The End of Absence, by Michael Harris – R
The Art of Slow Writing, by Louise DeSalvo
What I Talk about When I Talk about Running, by Haruki Murakami – DNF
Let’s Not Go to the Dogs Tonight, by Alexandra Fuller
Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less, by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang – R
Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi – DNF
Anything is Possible, by Elizabeth Strout
Upstream, by Mary Oliver
Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah (audio)
Waking Up White, by Debbie Irving
Abba’s Child, by Brennan Manning – R
Learning to Walk in the Dark, by Barbara Taylor Brown – R
A Beautiful Disaster, by Marlena Graves – R
Adopted, by Kelly Nikondeha
The Year of Small Things, by Sarah Arthur and Erin Wasinger
The Way of Hope, by Melissa Fisher
The Tech-Wise Family, by Andy Crouch
Winter: A Spiritual Biography of the Season, Edited by Gary Schmidt
The Anthropology of Turquoise, by Ellen Mcloy – DNF
The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (book club pick)
If All the Seas Were Ink, by Ilana Kurshan
Ordinary Grace, by William Kent Krueger
The Year of Yes, by Shonda Rhimes
The Raven’s Gift, by Jon Turk

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Books Your Mom Will Love for Mother’s Day

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I’ve never done a “Gift Guide” here before, but I got the idea this month because the e-book version of 50 Women Every Christian Should Know is on sale this week for 99 cents, which got me thinking about other books that might make great Mother’s Day gifts. So here you go…my first official Mother’s Day Book Gift Guide:

50 Women Every Christian Should Know50WomenCover
Starting off with a bit of shameless promotion…but honestly, you have no idea how many people have told me they have given this book to their mom or their grandmother or their favorite aunt. It really does make a good gift. And the best part: your mom won’t know that you only spent 99 cents on her gift if you don’t include the price on the receipt! 🙂 Or…you could get her the e-book and something else and be the very best offspring ever! Here’s the link to the e-book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble – it’s on sale at both places till May 8.

EverythingthatmakesyoumomEverything That Makes You Mom – A Bouquet of Memories
Laura Lynn Brown
Give your mom a whole book full of memories with this sweet keepsake book, which prompts you with questions that will inspire you to jot down reflections and stories about your mom. You might even consider giving it to your mom empty and then walking down memory lane together for a “gift that keeps on giving.”

Gift of Ordinary Day

The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother’s Memoir
Katrina Kenison
This one’s been around for a while now (I first read it in 2010), but it’s one of my all-time favorite books. I actually re-read it every couple of years or so. Kenison speaks so clearly to me, wherever I am on the parenting and life journey. From the back cover: “Poised on the threshold between family life as she’s always known it and her older son’s departure for college, Kenison is surprised to find that the times she treasures most are the ordinary, unremarkable moments of everyday life, the very moments that she once took for granted, or rushed right through without noticing at all.”

Operating instructionsOperating Instructions: A Journal of My Son’s First Year
Anne Lamott
This book might not be the perfect pick for your own mom, but it would be a great one for any new mom in your life. I remember first reading Operating Instructions when Noah was an infant, and thinking, “Thank God, I’m not the only one!” Lamott writes this journal with her characteristic humor and no-nonsense style, two qualities any new mom will appreciate.

The Mother LettersThe Mother Letters: Sharing the Laughter, Joy, Struggles, and Hope
Seth Haines and Amber Haines
After his wife Amber gave birth to three boys in three years, Seth decided she needed a bit of encouragement. So he collected six hundred letters from mothers around the world who offered Amber wisdom, encouragement, and inspiration in the form of poignant, compelling, honest and often hilarious letters. Together Amber and Seth chose the best of the bunch to be included in this book.

Carry OnCarry On, Warrior: The Power of Embracing Your Messy, Beautiful Life
Glennon Doyle Melton
I just listened to Glennon Doyle Melton on Rob Bell’s podcast The Robcast, which inspired me to pick up this book again. I first read it when it came out a few years ago, but let me tell you, it’s just as good the second time around. Melton is more honest than just about anyone I’ve ever read. This collection of essays is laugh-out-loud funny one minute, poignant and thought-provoking the next. And while it’s not an orthodox “Mother’s Day book,” she writes a lot about parenting, so the material is certainly accessible to any mom out there.

Happy Mother’s Day, friends. Now I’m off to find a gift for my own mom…

Top 5 Favorite Fiction Books of All Time

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fave books

Around this time of year it’s trendy out here in the blogosphere to post about your favorite books of the past year or your reading goals for the coming year. But I’ve got a bit of a twist on that today.

A few weeks before Christmas my friend Bonnie messaged me, asking about my top five favorite fiction books of all time — “books that have prompted a big ‘ah-ha!’ moment or helped me to live my life better.”

I know! What a question, right? I told Bonnie I’d think about it, and then I pondered for about three weeks before replying. I was an English major; I still read about a book a week. How in heaven’s name could I pick just five fiction books out of all the fabulous books I’ve read over the last 25 years?

In the end, I’m not convinced these are my be-all-and-end-all top five favorite books, and I’m not even sure exactly how they’ve helped me live my life better, though I know they absolutely have. Plus, just two weeks after I finally replied to Bonnie with my list, I find I’m second-guessing a couple of my choices.

But I will say this. Out of the hundreds (thousands?) of books I’ve read in my lifetime so far, these five have stuck with me. They are still right here on my shelf, and that’s saying A LOT, because I cull my bookshelves ruthlessly once or twice a year. I donate all the books that don’t pass The Test, which is this simple question:

Will I read this book again? If the answer is no, it goes to the Goodwill or is donated to my local public library.

I’ve read each of these five at least twice, some multiple times. Three I first read in college; two I read more recently (in the last three years or so). And here’s a little tidbit that I only discovered when I gathered the books together to snap a photograph: four of the five have won the Pulitzer Prize (does this make me hoity-toity?).

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So here they are, my Top 5 Favorite Fiction Books of All Time:

To the Lighthouse, by Virginia Woolf – I will tell you straight up, the first time I read this book in college, I couldn’t make heads or tails out of it. Dense and difficult, it simply confounded me. Since then, I’ve read it five or six times, and each time and in each new season of my life, it speaks to me in a new but equally powerful way. At its heart, To the Lighthouse is about human relationships, our desire to connect with one another in meaningful ways and our tendency to fall far short of that goal in reality. It’s a tough read, but Woolf’s prose and her insights into human nature shine with a clarity matched by few writers. [To the Lighthouse is the only non-Pulitzer of the bunch, but don’t let that deter you!]

Beloved, by Toni Morrison – I first read this novel as an undergraduate in my African-American literature class, and I think I held my breath the whole way through reading it. It was the first time I ever really understood the profound horrors of slavery in any real, meaningful way. Poetic, harrowing, and beautiful both in narrative and writing style, I guarantee Beloved will be unlike any book you have ever read.

The Shipping News, by Annie Proulx – Annie Proulx’s writing style takes some getting used to, but once you adjust to her fragmented, staccato writing, I think you’ll find this one funny, heartwarming and deeply poignant. The story centers around a fellow named Quoyle, a small-town newspaper writer, who, following a devastating break-up, flees to his ancestral home in Newfoundland with his two daughters to begin anew. The Shipping News is equal parts quirky, delightful and profound (Disclaimer: The Shipping News was my pick for book club and the rest of my group hated it! So…don’t say I didn’t warn you.).

Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson – The first time I tried to read this one I gave up. I honestly couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. A few years later, however, I borrowed it from the library and gave it another shot…and I absolutely loved it. Gilead reads like a prayer of sorts – deeply spiritual, poignant and profound. And the language itself makes me swoony; Robinson’s writing is simply luminous. Don’t read this one a page or two at a time; let yoursef sink fully into it.

Olive Kitteridge, by Elizabeth Strout – This book makes me want to write fiction (not that I’m going to write fiction…but if I did, I would want to write like this). It’s really a compilation of 13 short stories, but it reads like a novel because they are woven together with common threads. Strout holds up the ordinary — ordinary people, an ordinary small town, ordinary events, tragedies and triumphs — and in doing so shines a light on the innermost parts of ourselves. The character Olive is a total hoot — crabby, opinionated, New Englandy; she made me long for my people.

And because I can’t help myself…runners up: Crossing to Safety, by Wallace Stegner and pretty much anything by Edith Wharton, but especially The Custom of the Country. 

And because memoir is my truest love, I feel compelled to add my Top Three Favorite Memoirs of All Time:

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Girl Meets God, by Lauren Winner – I read this book as I was on the cusp of coming back to faith after a 20-year hiatus. I literally drove to Barnes and Noble and stood in the “Christian Inspiration” section looking for a book about returning to faith, and this title grabbed me. Winner was raised as an Orthodox Jew and converted to Christianity when she was in college. She’s not only a stellar writer and storyteller, she’s also a deep thinker and a questioner – two qualities I deeply admire.

Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth and Everyday Magic, by Martha Beck – I love this book so much! Laugh-out-loud funny, tender and thoughtful, Beck’s story of raising a son with Down’s Syndrome is gorgeously written and surprisingly relatable, especially considering my lack of personal experience with children with disabilities. The unexpected spiritual undertones of this book really resonated with me, too. A Mormon turned atheist, Beck is embraced by a mysterious presence during her difficult pregnancy that impacts her thoughts and feelings about God forever.

The Gift of An Ordinary Day: A Mother’s Memoir, by Katrina Kenison – Kenison’s writing is beautiful –  clear, lyrical and refreshing — and her ability to capture and embrace the ordinary-extraordinary moments of everyday life is nothing short of astonishing. I am a faithful reader of her blog, and I’ve read all of her books, but The Gift of An Ordinary Day is hands-down my favorite; I come back to it again and again.

Runner Up: Under the Tuscan Sun, by Frances Mayes — because seriously, who doesn’t fantasize about moving to Tuscany?!

So tell me…what are your Top Five Favorite Fiction Books of All Time? And what about memoir? Do you have a favorite?