Category: Book Recommendations Page 5 of 6

Recommendations from the last six months of reading:

Passages Through Pakistan: An American Girl’s Journey of Faith by Marilyn Gardner

In her introduction, Marilyn Gardner writes of visiting, as an adult, her childhood home in Pakistan:

“[My traveling companion] looked at me, measuring her words.  ‘A compound like this must have made life as a child in Pakistan at least somewhat bearable,’ she said.

I stood still and stared at her in shock.  Bearable?  Bearable?  I repeated the word to myself.  I said it aloud.  ‘Bearable?  It was more than bearable.  My childhood was extraordinary.'”

In this beautiful memoir, Gardner exquisitely captures the life of a third-culture kid.  She spent her entire childhood in Pakistan, went off to boarding school 800 miles away at age 6, struggled through furloughs in America, battled to find her identity, yet looks back with wonder and awe.  She brings her readers into the sorrow and joy of boarding school; she is deeply honest in her assessment of her younger self; she poignantly expresses the tension of growing up between worlds.  I highly recommend this memoir to anyone who wants to better understand the TCK experience.

*half of the proceeds from this book go to help refugees

Seven Women:  And the Secret of Their Greatness by Eric Metaxas

I had mixed feelings about this one.  I really enjoy biographies (especially by Eric Metaxas), and I appreciated that he chose some well-known, and some lesser-known women for this book.  Like his other books, it was filled with well-researched, fascinating detail.  All the subjects he chose were women of faith; however, while venerating each woman, he failed to grapple with the somewhat convoluted and even disturbing aspects of some of these women’s theology.  Of course, I am interested in reading the biographies of women of all beliefs, but I’m not necessarily going to endorse their theology–yet that’s what it felt like Metaxas was doing.

Most Dangerous:  Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War by Steve Sheinkin

I picked up this book because my education on the Vietnam War pretty much consisted of what I had seen in Forrest Gump.  I’m a college graduate, yet this very important part of America’s history had never been covered in any class.

Wow.  This book had a slow start, but once I got into it, it was riveting.  By telling the story of the man who leaked the truth about the Vietnam war to the American people, Daniel Ellsberg, I learned so much about the Cold War, the four U.S. presidents involved in Vietnam, and the massive lies each of them told the American public.  Of course, the climax was Watergate and Nixon’s resignation.  It was eerie to read a story that parallels so much of what is happening in today’s political world.

Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

This was my Christmas break novel, and though it wasn’t the best I’ve read, I really enjoyed what it taught me about the Japanese internment during World War II.  A delightful historical fiction novel with some substance.

Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan

Though this is not the best-written book, the story itself is astonishing.  This memoir takes place in Romania during the Cold War, and the author describes how she first became a lawyer, then a Christian, and fought for the rights of Christians in the Communist courts.  After unsuccessfully trying to shut her up, the government sent an assassin to her office.  The events which lead up to this event and what happened after it are nothing less than Providential.  Truly an inspiring story.

The Price of Privilege:  How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids by Madeline Levine

This book is a few years old now, but still just as relevant.  The take away?  Your kids need your relationship more than they need your stuff.  They need to develop character more than they need to be the best athlete, student, or musician.  Protecting them from all of life’s hard things doesn’t produce happy kids–it actually does the exact opposite.  An important book for today’s parents.

If You Can Keep It:  The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty by Eric Metaxas

Read this book.  Wow.  Read this book.  At this crazy point in American history, every American needs to read this.  I thought I was pretty familiar with the history of my country, but Metaxas asks important questions that I hadn’t fully considered before.  What makes America unique in the history of world governments?  Why has democracy worked in the States but failed in so many other countries?  Why is the morality of our leaders so vital to the success of our government?  Why is our increasing cynicism destroying us?

Non-Americans will also find this book interesting since it helps to explain so much about why America is the way it is, and why it’s failure would have worldwide implications.  I found Metaxas’ observations to be fascinating but I didn’t necessarily agree with his conclusions.  However, the topics he brings up are exactly what Americans need to be discussing right now.  It would be great to read together with teenagers.  This is a short and compelling book.  Read it.

Between Worlds:  Essays on Culture and Belonging by Marilyn Gardner

If my recent posts have been particularly nostalgic, it’s all Marilyn’s fault.  I thought I didn’t really have third-culture kid (TCK) “issues,” but I found myself constantly getting a bit weepy as I read through Marilyn’s book.  She speaks deeply into the heart of those of us who have spent a significant portion of our lives away from our passport country, especially to those of us who are now raising kids the same way.

Every good story has a conflict.  Never being fully part of any world is
ours.  That is what makes our stories and
memories rich and worth hearing.  We live
between worlds, sometimes comfortable in one, sometimes in the other, but only
truly comfortable in the space between. 
This is our conflict and the heart of our story.

Blessed:  A History of the American Prosperity Gospel by Kate Bowler

I bought this book because I wanted to have a better understanding of the theology that so greatly influences the churches here in Tanzania.  What I discovered was a better understanding of American theology as well, and of the subtle ways that the Prosperity Gospel has influenced me even though I’ve been avidly against it.  This book started as a dissertation, so it is scholarly, thorough, and very well referenced, but totally fascinating.  Bowler simply states the facts and allows the readers to draw their own conclusions.

The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges

I was first introduced to Jerry Bridges when he came to speak at The Master’s College my junior year.  Though I went to chapel three times a week during my time at TMC, his sermon is one of very few that I remember.  His teaching on grace was utterly life-changing for this “good” girl.  I then devoured a number of his books, and his straight-forward, biblical teaching on grace, holiness, and trusting God completely revitalized my life. Transforming Grace and Trusting God remain on my top-10 most influential books of my life.  So when Bridges recently passed away, I decided that I needed to read one of his books that I hadn’t picked up before.

If you’ve never read anything by Bridges, this is a great place to start, as he draws together a number of the themes from his earlier books.  I can guarantee that you will walk away with a greater fervency for Christ and a greater joy in your salvation.

If God’s blessings were dependent on our performance, they would be meager indeed.  Even our best works are shot through with sin–with varying degrees of impure motives and lots of imperfect performance…..Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace.  And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.

The Fishermen by Chigozie Obiama

I was looking for an entertaining, thought-provoking summer read, and I knew that this one was set in Nigeria, written by a Nigerian, and had won lots of awards.  And it was indeed gorgeous writing, haunting, compelling, and filled with insight into Nigerian culture and thinking.  But it was also deeply disturbing and fairly traumatizing.  A great book that I definitely recommend, but not when you want to be entertained.

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler

This novel, however, totally delivered.  This is a re-telling of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, and it was not only totally engaging and entertaining, but also full of great story-telling, wonderful character development, and beautiful redemption.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and now I’m looking for more Anne Tyler recommendations!

My favorites from the last six months or so….

Elijah of Buxton by Christopher Paul Curtis

Elijah is a boy living in a Canadian colony of escaped American slaves.  This is a book for young people, but is so well written, highly entertaining, and deeply moving that I recommend it for adults as well.  Parts of it are emotionally intense (as a book on slavery should be), so we’re going to wait a year or so before letting Grace read it.  (She is ten but pretty sensitive.)  

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

If you like historical fiction, you will enjoy this post-World War II novel.  It’s full of fascinating historical detail, but also absolutely delightful storytelling.

What’s Your Worldview? by James Anderson

Anything with “worldview” in the title always captures my interest.  This one is particularly useful, as it reads like a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book, helping the reader to understand his own worldview.  This would be an especially good book for older teens and college students.  

Prayerby Timothy Keller

I read this one slowly, over about four months, because every time I would read a few pages, I would want to stop, digest, and remember what I just read.  I wanted to cling to every word; it was that good.  I highlighted about half the book.

Joy:  Poet, Seeker, and the Woman who Captivated CS Lewis by Abigail Santamaria

This book was fascinating!  The author digs deep into Joy’s story, bringing out detail not found in the sugar-coated Shadowlands.  Joy was a brilliant writer, but also an ex-communist, brash, somewhat rude and selfish woman who fell in love with (and pursued) C.S. Lewis while still married to her first husband.  How God used their relationship and her cancer to bring out the best in them both is a wonderful story of redemption.

The Pastor’s Kid by Barnabus Piper

John Piper’s son wrote a book about being a pastor’s kid.  This was a quick read, but useful for any parents who are involved in full-time ministry.  

Dreams of My Mothers by Joel L.A. Peterson

I read this one during our recent Zanzibar trip, and it’s the kind of book you don’t want to start unless you have a good chunk of time available–because you won’t be able to put it down.  This is a semi-autobiographical story of a Korean child adopted by American parents.  But instead of pretending that the child’s story began with his adoption (as happens often), the story gives equal time to his years living in Korea with his first mother.  The book is brutally heart-breaking but ultimately redemptive.  

*Please note:  This book contains strong language that may disturb sensitive readers.

In Defense of the Fatherless:  Redeeming International Adoption and Orphan Care by Sara Brinton and Amanda Bennett

So I know that I already plugged this book in my series on corruption in international adoption, but I just can’t shut up about how good it is.  If you, or any Christian you know, is involved in international adoption or orphan care (even in a small way), this is an absolute must-read.  No other book on adoption (and I’ve read dozens) even comes close to the importance of this one.