I’ve been wanting to read more lately. I gobbled up books as a kid, not to brag (okay – to brag a little) I was AR Points champ over and over in elementary school. I was always immersed in two or three amazing stories at the same time.

I recommend every Roald Dalh book out there. Not all are for children though..

But lately I’ve been in that zone where I either have so much to do around the house or I just did so much I want to veg out with my BFF Netflix. Netflix is a beautiful catastrophe in my life. Like a good bag of chips, I can’t stop at just one. That continuous playing gets me every time. But I’ve notice my brain more easily switching to autopilot – and that scares me. Books will get me thinking again.

I wanted to take a second and talk about 3 books/series of books that will forever be in my heart. These books have shaped me into who I am today. I’m not going to summarize  – we all know how to google – but I wanted to state some books that made me, me.

1. The Harry Potter Series – J.K. Rowling

Of course I was going to say, right? I mean, my dog is named after one of the characters after all. Please don’t be one of those people who say to me, “Well I saw the movies, I don’t need to read the books.” Y’all. They leave so much out. I actually cried during the forth movie because I was so upset that they had left out major plot points all over the place.

These books teach so much about how it’s the character of the person that matters, not any worldly standards. If you haven’t read them, please do. If you have children, please let them read them. I promise you, your child won’t become a satan worshiper just because they read Harry Potter.

2. A Wrinkly in Time Series – Madeleine L’engle

These books will forever be a favorite. Complex physics theories and subtle Christian allegory make for an exciting tale about time and space travel. Girls are taught that being smart isn’t a bad thing, and that everyone has an awkward phase. So many life lessons are subtly infused with great and exciting storytelling. This fictional family goes through a lot together. The author was criticized and almost not published because of the science and “big words” that went into this book for children.

I’m so glad she stuck to her guns, she insisted kids were smarter than adults give them credit for – a reminder to me daily as I am now on the other side of the equation.

     3. Screwtape Letters – C.S. Lewis

I didn’t read this one until college. I think late high school or early college is the right time to read this book, for the first time. But I’ve reread it every year since. I also have the audio version done by Focus on the Family and it’s fantastic. This quick read by C.S. Lewis is an amazingly insightful and convicting set of letters from one demon to another. We only get one side of the conversation, and I can’t imagine what Lewis went through to put himself in the mind of demons. I think about this book constantly, I would say a weekly if not daily.

READ THIS BOOK. If you don’t want to invest the time into a children’s series – I get it. Your life will be a little less awesome because of your lack of HP, but Screwtape Letters is a must for any Christian. And those doubtful about the Faith – its a great read to bring up in conversation with your hypocritical Christian friends if they bug you too much.

Reading List – Summer 2016

On my bedside table/in my kindle right now are Girl on a Train and Mere Christianity.

Girl on a Train has been raved about since its release – and I’ve avoided all summaries in hope to be surprised by the book. Don’t tell me anything.

Mere Christianity is (I think) the only Lewis book I’ve never read. Honestly, I’m terrified of it. Random quotes from this book posted by the C.S. Lewis fan twitter account are convicting – I have a feeling the book is going to be a hard cleansing for my soul.

So ask me how these new book are coming along, accountability is important – so here is my statement that I want to finish these two books by July. [[I was going to say by June – but  the tree going through my ceiling will definitely throw my timeline off a bit. More updates on that when we know something more definite. I’m sure I’ll blog about the turmoil of picking the perfect stain when the floors are being redone.]]

What other books have a been missing lately with my netflix binges getting in the way? I’m now taking suggestions for must reads this summer!