Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Summer Reads


This has become a staple in my life. I actually have two copies -- one that I keep on my desk and one that I keep at home. The short daily readings speak to my heart, to my station in life, to my tired soul. It is a necessary part of my daily routine.

Timing is everything. I'm rereading the last HP book before the movie comes out on July 15th. Although it is long, it is not hard to read so I should get done in plenty of time. Discuss the pros and cons of HP all you want, but I've found the series to be a wonderfully clever story of good vs evil. Yes, there is magic but there is magic in Narnia and Middle Earth, so don't use that line of reasoning with me.


How have I not found The Eyre Affair before now? This is actually a series of books featuring the a British heroine named Thursday Next. Clever, clever, clever and full of Britishisms and literary references that any Anglophile book lover would enjoy. In the first book, Ms. Next travels into Jane Eyre to solve a crime. In the second, Lost in a Good Book (which is the one I'm actually reading at the moment) she has to learn to navigate between books. It's rich, rich stuff, I tell you. Kind of a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for Brit Lit lovers.

I've felt very unproductive at work lately; like I'm getting the basics done, but excelling at nothing. Part of that is because I'm stretched too thinly between home and work, but I still need to find a way to move through this malaise I've been in. Michael Hyatt, former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing, recommended this book a while back and it has been sitting on my shelf for quite a while. This summer I am committing to read it through, hoping to find something that will encourage me.

What are you reading?

4 comments:

Jenny said...

Reading _The Tiger's Wife_ for book club, and it's pretty great - very eerie and interesting.

Also, I think i told you about this, but I read the young adult novel _The Underneath_ and love love LOVE it.

Lindsay said...

Love "Jesus Calling" as well. Sarah Young went to my church in Richmond, VA many many years ago.

lisa b said...

Jenny, The Underneath is on my Part 2 reading list. I always keep an "in case I get done with the must-reads" list. My hope is to read it in the weeks between Summer 2 and Fall semester.

Lindsay, you know the most interesting people!

elaine said...

Wha.... I can't believe you haven't read Thursday Next! LOVE HER. I think there's a new one out - gotta reserve it from the library. His Nursery Crime series intersects with Thursday Next a little bit (IIRC) and is fun, too.