I never read more than when I have other things to do
My favourite recent read plus all the books I finished lately and Kindle deals for you
Hi friends,
Today’s Field Notes is a recurring and beloved topic around here … books!
For our newer subscribers, every 6 weeks or so, I share what I’ve been reading lately, a favourite from that stack, and even comb through Amazon Kindle deals to find a few reads worth your time.
Get that hold request page on the library website open in a nearby tab, let’s gooooo.
My Favourite Recent Read
Enchantment: Awakening Wonder In An Anxious Age by Katherine May ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Well, I already know this will be on my best books of 2023. I underlined so much of this beautiful, wise, and well-paced book. As she says, “If there were a spirit of this age, it would look a lot like fear….It is all so urgent. There is no other solution. We can only run, and panic, and chatter out our fears to others, who will mirror them back to us.” Offering up the possibility of enchantment, or wonder, as an antidote to this age of fear and anxiety, her prose is magnificent, yes, but the seed of truth in the pages is also healing. Read with a good pen in hand.
The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings For Imperfect Days by Kate Bowler and Jess Ritchie ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Kate and Jess have done it again. It’s well established that we all love their blessings and this book is a wry and clever yet tender addition to the bedside table. With blessings for an ordinary life, this tired life (“for when the stress is getting ridiculous” is already a fave), this lovely life, this grief-stricken life, painful, overwhelming, this garbage life, for others, and onward. If you’ve forgotten how to pray, if you never knew, or if you’re looking for a companion in even the possibility of prayer, I can’t recommend this enough.
Side note: I am chatting with Kate about this book later this week and we’ll post that recorded conversation in the online Evolving Faith community. Of course, that’s if we can manage to have a conversation about something other than our mutual nostalgia for Zellers open-face roast beef sandwiches and The Friendly Giant. #CanadianProblems