July's Books

By this time last year I'd read 15 more books than I have this year. I'm reading more non-fiction and those books are mostly slower reads than fiction, which I can race through. So, here's the list of books I read and/or finished reading in July.

1. A Light in the Window by Jan Karon; second in series about Mitford and Father Tim. (An old friend I turn to in stressful times.)

2. Bootstrapper by Mardi Jo Link; a humorous and poignant memoir of the first year after separation and divorce of a mother of three sons. Living on a mini-farm in northern Michigan Mardi Jo works to keep the farm and her family together. 

3. The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg; a fun romp through an alternate reality Victorian London where magic is something you can go to school to learn (not at all like Harry Potter). 

4. Mayflower: Voyage, Community, War by Nathaniel Philbrick; well researched and documented story of those who came on the Mayflower and the first fifty years of community, culminating in King Philip's War. Balanced view, fact based (rather than opinion) and well written. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

5. The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown; the story of the young men who rowed to victory at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. This book was mentioned in a General Conference talk by Sharon Eubank and had been in the back of my mind since. When I saw it at a little used book store I grabbed it. Terrifically engaging story, I couldn't put it down!

6. Dark Agenda: The War to Destroy Christian America by David Horowitz; not as good as I was expecting. Yes, it was worth the read, but typos and a few glaring flaws that should have been caught by a good editor detracted from it for me. It seemed hastily written and a little disjointed.

7. Every Storm by Lori Wick; a good story, Christian romance, with themes of forgiveness and redemption. Set during World War II.

8. Eric Liddell-Pure Gold by David McCasland; biography of the Olympic runner who chose not to compete on Sunday. If you liked the film Chariots of Fire, this book will give you his backstory and what happened after the Olympics. Very well written and engaging.

9. Money, Greed and God: Why Capitalism is the Answer and Not the Problem, by Jay W. Richards; Richards makes his case well and explains economics in an understandable way. Very enjoyable book. I see that a new 10th anniversary edition has been issued sub-titled The Christian Case for Free Enterprise. 

That's it for July.