|| MARCH || APRIL ||

It’s time for another edition of my Monthly Reading Roundup! I read five new books in May: Unplanned, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Daring to hope, One Thousand Gifts, and Julie & Julia.

Unplanned

Unplanned is the true story of Abby Johnson, the woman who went from being the director of a Planned Parenthood Clinic to a front-line (and now famous) pro-life activist. I actually read this book back in high school but when the movie came out in a few months ago, my parents got a copy of the book to read themselves and I decided to re-read it. It was just as powerful and moving as it was the first time. I think the thing that is the most powerful from the whole book is Abby’s honest and fair approach to both sides of the debate and her conclusion that most people on both sides really and truly believe they are doing what is right and want what’s best for women. She certainly believed she was helping women in crisis and following her calling during her time working for Planned Parenthood and she knows that most of her co-workers believed the same thing. She has had the unique perspective of being intimately involved with both sides of the debate and I think her book is really worth your time, no matter what you believe about abortion.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

Ooof this book is a hard one to read but oh so very good. Last year I read Khaled Hosseini’s book “Kite Runner” and I have had this one lying on my shelf for over a year but only just now finally got to it. It starts with the story of Mariam who is forced into an arranged marriage at the age of 15 to a man three times her age and then jumps twenty years to another 15-year-old girl named Laila who ends up leaving her home and being forced to join Mariam’s household. It is set in Afghanistan and covers the rise of the Taliban. Although a fictional story, it forced me to think a lot about the great tragedies the people of Afghanistan have faced rather recently and the crazy way women are treated under extremist Islamic law. This is not an easy book to read but it is a deeply moving story and provides beauty and hope despite the intense tragedies it brutally describes. Although I definitely recommend this book, I can’t recommend it for everyone because of the intense content.

Daring to Hope

Last month I read Kisses From Katie, the first book Katie Davis Majors wrote about her life as a full-time missionary in Uganda and adoptive mother to thirteen girls. One of my Aunts saw that I had read that book and so she lent me Katie’s second book “Daring to Hope”. Written six years later, this book is less about the huge miraculous outward movements of God in Uganda and much more about the interior struggle and journey of Katie’s own heart and spiritual life. Breathtakingly beautiful, and so incredibly rich, this was I think, one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. It was challenging and inviting at the same time, humble and honest and just plain beautiful. Even if you never get to read “Kisses from Katie”, I highly, highly recommend taking the time to read this one.

One Thousand Gifts

The same Aunt who lent me “Daring to Hope” also lent me Ann Voskamp’s book “One Thousand Gifts”. I’ve heard about this book for a long time but never got around to reading it. It started when Ann was challenged to write down one thousand things she was grateful for. In her book, she writes about the journey she underwent when she began to document (and notice) all the moments of grace and pure gifts God was giving her each day no matter what the day’s events looked like. She invites you to embrace a lifestyle of radical gratitude and thus receive the joy God promises us. It took me a little bit to get into her writing style because she kind of jumps around a lot and doesn’t just tell one chronological story but it was overall a beautiful book and a really good read.

Julie & Julia 

I picked this book up at a Goodwill a few years ago because I love the movie “Julie & Julia” starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams. Normally if there is a book that has been turned into a movie I always love the book way more but I have to be honest and say I was not a fan of this book. Julie Powell is rather crass and flippant throughout the entire book and while I understand she was being true to herself, it’s not really the kind of content I enjoy reading at all. I actually thought about stopping reading it half-way through but I was curious to finish it to see how similar to the movie it would be. The movie was honestly a very accurate adaption of the book, there were scenes from the movie that were virtually word-for-word identical to scenes in the book. However, the movie makes the whole story a more light-hearted romantic comedy and cuts out a lot of the real Julie Powell’s cynism and crassness. So in conclusion: don’t waste your time on this book, but go watch the movie if you’re in the mood for a really cute (and solid) rom-com.

And that’s a wrap for May! I’d love to hear any book suggestions for future months in the comments!!

Xoxo,

Mary Kate