Um, I did not realise just how much I was reading until now 📚
My recent ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reads + a poll for our upcoming series
Hi friends,
This week features our regular edition1 of Field Notes wherein we talk about one of my favourite subjects: books! To be honest, until I began to put together this list for you, I did not realise just how much I was reading lately but I suppose it makes a kind of sense when I think about it. Books have always been my preferred harbour and, since the world has felt even more off-kilter lately, I’ve retreated from spending really any amount of time on social media,2 all while turning towards my library instead. Hence the longer list than usual…3
So below, you’ll find a smattering of everything from summer romances and historical fiction novels, books on writing, cookbook memoirs I loved, non-fiction picks on topics like social media for kids and self-help, a few books for kids, truly wonderful faith-based writing that really moved me and even a few that just didn’t land for me, despite their popularity.
Before we jump in, two quick things:
First, Relevant Magazine recently ran an interview with yours truly about evolving faith, the invitation of the wilderness, and a few other things that might be of interest to you. It is called Sarah Bessey on Surviving (and Growing Through) a Faith Crisis by Emily Brown, if you’d care to give that a read.
And finally, I am planning on writing a brand new series for paid subscribers in the late summer and I’d love to get a sense for what you’d like to explore over a 4-week period together.
The first idea I’m leaning towards is a series on what it means to actually love one other in a practical, embodied sort of way. I imagine it being a bit Bible heavy - you know me - but not necessarily restricted to that either as we explore how to love our neighbours, love our world, love our enemies, and even love ourselves right now. I would love for this to be interactive with you all, too, featuring and honouring your unique stories or practices there.
The other option is to continue with The Unexpected Jesus, as we had originally planned. (For those of you who maybe weren’t around at the time or missed it, for our last deep-dive series, I wrote through four different stories of Jesus that surprised me in some way and the whole thing stirred up a lot of great conversations here.4) When we concluded that series, the consensus from all of you was that you’d really like to keep going with more stories about our Jesus together as we try to reclaim and reimagine scripture,5 and I definitely love that idea as well.
Please go ahead and vote in the poll below on what you prefer OR if you have another idea for a series together, go ahead and pitch it in the comments - I’m always interested in your thoughts.
Thanks so much! I appreciate your input.
Okay, now let’s get to our books.
My Favourite Recent Reads
We Survived the End of the World: Lessons from Native America on Apocalypse and Hope by Steven Charleston ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I pretty much love everything this revered retired Episcopalian bishop and Choctaw elder has written but whew. What a necessary, compelling, and helpful book for right now. Like a lot of us, I find myself floundering on what to DO and how to approach this moment in time well, but his words on resilience, hope, and wisdom as we navigate our current apocalypse were so helpful, so healing. I underlined pages of it, dog-eared the rest, and I’m still thinking about all that it stirred up in me. Charleston explores four prophets from his tradition and, while cautioning against appropriation, he explores all that we can learn about their different approaches to apocalypse and hope-gathering. I could share dozens of quotes but here is one that I wrote out and taped onto my computer for a while:
“I have not single-handedly brought renewal and restoration to the world, but I have been one more tiny proof that renewal is possible.” - Steven Charleston
The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Good gracious, what a beautiful, beautiful book. It made me so glad to be alive. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but I think it’s best described as a devotional through the lens of nature. I found her uplifting prose so lovely, so joyful, so compelling and comforting about the realities of aging, change, children growing up, grief, and the natural end of things. Plus: beautiful illustrations abound. You’ll keep this on your bedside table for your morning or evening reading, I imagine.
“Because sometimes the only cure for homesickness is to enlarge the definition of home.” - Margaret Renkl