It’s Monday! What are you reading? Is a meme started by Sheila at Book Journey. Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts gave the meme a kidlit twist. It’s a great way to reflect on what you’ve read and reviewed the last week and plan what you want to read next. Join up with us and discover what good books other people are reading.

I’ve missed a few weeks, but I’m glad to be back! I had to find time to slip in reading where I could around a full soccer season and then planning for and attending a conference in Sacramento. I’m glad to be home and resting up from the jet lag just in time to enjoy fall weather and lots of good books!

I finished…

Amazon affiliate link

Beastly by Alex Flinn – With all the craziness of school and soccer and college applications, I decided to finish this one on my on. This is not my favorite retelling of Beauty and the Beast (that honor goes to Robin McKinley) and not my favorite Alex Flinn novel (that would be Cloaked), but I found much to enjoy in this very modern setting for the classic fairy tale. I liked the transformation of Kyle into Adrian (via being a beast). I like the character of Lindy, the bookworm who learns to see past the beast’s outward appearance. I like the occasional chatroom transcripts between various fairytale characters. I like Will, the blind tutor. I even like Kenra, the witch who means well but sometimes acts rashly.

Amazon affiliatr link

Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor – In this memoir of faith, Taylor explores her journey of finding God, becoming an Episcopal priest and then giving it all up to teach at a college. It is not the life she expected or planned, but I found much to learn from her journey, both in how I live my own life and in how we live life together as a church. I’m glad I get to discuss this book with my group at church. I’m eager to share my reactions and to learn from theirs.

Amazon affiliate link

Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes – While the story may be set in 1950’s Petal, Mississippi, this is a sweeping saga that brings together characters from different walks of life. Valuable Korner struggles to find her own place out from under the shadow cast by her harlot mother. She finds love with her childhood friend, Jackson (who shares a past with her that no one is willing to talk about). Even Grade, a young black man, struggles to fill the hole left by his being raised an orphan. His friend Canaan works on his life thesis that attempts to define the place of the black man in a white dominated society. All are drawn into the orbin of Joody Two Suns, a mystic woman camping by the river. Throw in eccentriic aunts, a persistent undertaker, other odd characters and secrets bound to come out. Wrap it up in prose that takes my breath away and here is a story I won’t soon forget.

Amazon affiliate link

Fairest: Levana’s Story by Marissa Meyer – I’m not sure it’s fair to give us Levana’s story while we are waiting for the ultimate showdown with her in Winter, the conclusion to the Lunar Chronicles.  I will definitely be cheering for Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Kai as they take on Levana. But I am glad to have a better understanding of her cruelty and where it comes from. Levana did not have an easy time of it, living with her cruel older sister. She desperately wnated love, but her every choice drove love further and further away. November can’t come soon enough.

I’m currently reading…

Amazon afffiliate link

Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor – Yes, I’m rereading it already. I’m glad I read quickly to get the big picture. Now I’m going back to read and think more deeply as I discuss it with my study group at church. This time I’m reading with my pen in hand! I may need a pile of sticky notes or a notebook as well, since it doesn’t have wide margins for me to take notes on the pages.

Amazon affiliate link

The Gospel According to Starbucks by Leonard Sweet – A former paster dropped by a lot of books to donate to our church library, and this is the one that first caught my eye. Sweet explains that the church can learn much from Starbucks (which isn’t just about the coffee but the experience of coffee). Are we living our faith in a way that we fully experience and invite others to share that full, passionate experience?

Coming up….

I have the two books I’m reading and a whole pile to raid downstairs. I hope I have some more time to read than I have the past few weeks.

What have you read this week?

Disclosure: I participate in the Amazon Associates Program. If you decide to make a purchase by clicking on the affiliate links, Amazon will pay me a commission. This commission doesn’t cost you any extra. All opinions are my own.