Here are some books I enjoyed from January to April this year. I made a goal to read 30 books this year, a lofty goal but not an impossible one. In 2013, I only got to read seven and I hated myself for the low stat. This year I've been making slow progress but I've never been more intentional to disconnect from social media to open a book and get lost in its pages than this season of my life.
My biggest inspiration to read more and curate my own online library is Cat Juan. Her lifestyle blog has a section devoted entirely to books. I always easily get bored reading long book reviews but Cat's are short and simple, yet very insightful. I used to list down all the books that I read using Microsoft Excel. I find that so passé now so I decided to make it more visual and more current. The first four books for 2014 will be:
Book No. 1 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (Mark Haddon) - Packed with childlike but genius illustrations, diagrams and maps, I enjoyed reading this book immensely. The book has equal parts of being funny, being mysterious and being tender that had me smiling and crying as I turned each page. I would never forget Asperger syndrome again and how beautiful and painful it was to be in Christopher Boone's shoes.
Book No. 2 - Strangers on the 16:02 (Priya Basil) - Meant to be a short story, I devoured this book in one sitting. Set in London, the story revolved mainly as the title suggested it, in the tube or train. For a short story to be able to build up its characters as strong as Priya Basil did, I am impressed. It left me wanting for more.
Book No.3 - The Language of Flowers (Vanessa Diffenbaugh) - Just in time for spring this year, I purchased this bestseller on Kindle. A story of an orphan girl whose only connection to the world was through flowers and their meanings, this book was a pleasure to read. I love flowers and the idea that each flower has a meaning excited me. More than the discovery of the language of flowers, this book will take you to a journey of giving happiness a chance by forgiving---yourself first and foremost, then all the rest who at one point, wronged you or let you down. The world, no matter how flawed its people are, is full of beauty that we can only fully enjoy without the baggage of resentment and hate on our shoulders.
Book No.4 - Becoming Your Husband's Bestfriend (Lisa & David Frisbie) - This was a birthday gift from last year that I got to finally wrap my head around with to read. Narrated from a Christian perspective by Christian marriage counsellors, this isn't a self help book that merely instructs you the steps to better your marriage. This book consists of real stories of real married couples who have gone through real life marital issues---criticisms, infidelity, gossiping, pride, and bitterness. Their stories have had a huge real life turn-around because the wives decided to take the first step, in humility and grace. This, in turn, impacted their husbands' hearts, brought about the miraculous changes and saved the marriage. Divorce was never an option.
My marriage might not be in any of those dire situations but it's good to safeguard it as early and as young as now. I have personally grown in the area of respecting and building up my husband by reading it. My biggest takeaway however will be this: Becoming a godly woman is its own reward.
How about you? What are you reading lately?
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