June Titles // 2019

Been waiting a loooong time to read this one!

I really had no idea how many books I had actually read in June (I thought it was half of this!) until I started this blog post and realized the four I thought were from May were actually this month. What?! That might be an example why my brain feels so slow these days.  I am fully into the book, but time is passing quickly and I just can't remember when I finished what. Thank goodness for Pinterest, where I keep track of the books I want to read and those I have finished. 

*No Walls and the Recurring Dream by Ani DiFranco - My best girl Ani finally wrote a memoir! It only covers her first 30 years (she's close to 50 now), but it was just as good and rife with feminism and weirdness as I expected it to be. I first started listening to Ani Difranco's music in high school and I am so glad I found her, her uncontrollable guitar, and her penchant for fierce political poetical lyrics early in life. Loved this; 100% biased. 

*A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood by Fred Rogers - I saw this book in the window of my favorite local bookstore, Wendell's, and quickly placed a hold on it at the library. Fred Rogers, cute illustrations, and emotionally intelligent poetry for children? Obvs. right up my alley. It was cute, but don't expect more than the songs of your childhood that the characters sang...that's exactly what it is. 

*A Tea in the Tundra by Josephine Bacon - This was a  book of poetry I just so happened upon at the library and read it in about 30 minutes. Each poem is translated into English on one side and the poet's Indigenous language on the other. I love reading Indigenous stories and usually pick up most Indigenous poetry I can find, too. This one didn't disappoint. If you're curious about poetry but not sure where to start? Go with little expectations. I often find myself only 'understanding' about 40-50% of what the author is talking about. It's just lovely words, and a lot of emoting. 

*Talking With Your Kids About God by Natasha Crain - This is one of the most accessible apologetics books I've ever read...and I've read a lot! I love Crain's blog, and her book writing is even better, in my opinion. She is clear and concise, her chapters are well-organized, her metaphors are really easy for a child or caregiver to undertsand, and her essays are meaty. Just what I want in a book like this. When I finished I thought to myself, "I really hope she writes another exactly like this but more questions!" and guess what, it's coming out in 2020. I'm for sure pre-ordering. 

*Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski -  This was an interesting book that I found to be not only fascinating because of the psychology, but also becuase of the creativity of the format. It takes research and social commentary to a new level by infusing the topics of each chapter into a storyline with the same two characters throughout the book. Some of the abstract concepts the authors are talking about are explained more easily in anecdotal ways, so this was a really unique and fitting way to handle the book. It's a really worthwhile read if you are currently feeling "burned out" bigtime in your life, and what you can do to complete the cycle, understand where the symptoms come from, etc. 

*There's No Such Thing As Bad Weather  by Linda Akeson McGurk - I kept telling Stefan while reading this that, "I simply must travel to Sweden and experience this myself someday!" And when I get traveling involved, you know I mean business. This book is about something I used to tell my kids all the time: There's no such thing as bad weather...only bad clothes. It's a saying that encouraged my kids (and myself!) to get out of the house and go outside no matter what the weather was like. We walked/played/etc. in the deep snow of winter to the wrung-out humidity of summer, and everything in between. We squeeze the juice out of the outdoors, because it's something I highly value, and the culture in Sweden is very similar, but goes to even further. I knew I'd like this book based on the title, but it was so much more than expected (confession: I expected it to be like this Hygge book, more like a pretty and tiny coffee table book).
 The author made so many good points as to how our North American culture really tramples our kids' ability to enjoy the outdoors as so many freedoms in the US have been tightened up: from the cops being called on kids playing alone at a park, to being fined for enjoying nature but going off trail with Leave No Trace policy. I want to now go to Sweden, and see where this mindset I've adopted would really fit in!

*The Wolf's Boy by Susan Williams Beckhorn - When I'm feeling a bit fried, I often will turn to YA to give me an easy read that I know will (almost always) be really enjoyable. This, I suppose, is my genre of beach read. This book was a historical fiction novel set in ancient times (think cave men), and was about how a wolf became the first domesticated dog. It was really interesting and well-written, with a tie-in to the Lascaux caves that I thought was clever, and I am going to read one of her other books, "Wind Rider" about the first domesticated horse, aloud to Ani. Lukka is now reading this one.