books of 2017 | 001

last year, i recapped my year in books in a single post. this year, i have more lofty goals. of reading more books, and of telling you about them sooner.

i didn't really plan out how i would do it, but it's now april so here is a quarterly recap.

top pick.

chasing slow (erin loechner) my boss came home with this book one day, and i hadn't even heard of erin, but i totally judged that book by its cover and wanted to read it. while she read and i waited, i dove into erin's blog archives. she is (with her writing) everything i wish to be.

chasing slow is an extension of her posts online: a collection of essays that tell, not of the point-A-to-point-B, but of the trying, the being, the failing, the trying again, when it comes to reaching for the life you want. she is honest, sharing relatable stories, and encourages you to embrace the and – the fact that "we are not either/ors. we are the both/ands."

other favorites.

love warrior (glennon doyle melton) if you know anything about glennon, you might already be giving me a side-eye. yes, this is her book about saving her marriage to a man she is now divorced from. but! the thing about this book is that it's about one aspect of her life, and one aspect of a person's life is not her whole life. anything that happens outside, or after, this storytelling does not impact the book for what it is: a raw and honest portrayal of the journey she took in this marriage. as always, her words are insightful and thought-provoking.

the chronicles of narnia (c.s. lewis) this is basically a cheat answer because there are seven books in this series. so what i'm saying is, more than half the books i read are my favorites. but i loved them all, separately and together. and i think i'm most surprised by the fact that, for how well known they are, a surprising number of people (read: everyone i've talked to about it) haven't read them at all, or not more than one or two of them. you guys! please read them all and then come talk to me about how it ends.

english lessons (andrea lucado) okay, i did get a free advanced copy of this book because i signed up to be part of the launch team for it, but that's not why i'm highlighting it. i actually thought about it for days after i finished reading it, and marking up all the pages. partly because it's all stories from her time studying in oxford, england and it makes me want to live abroad somewhere for a year. and partly because it's all about her life and her faith and, basically, the struggle that is your twenties. and as a person still in my twenties, i feel that.

(english lessons releases on may 2, but you can pre-order it now and get some beautiful, free things. if for nothing else, do it for the print of the quote from the chronicles of narnia. it's one of my faaavorites.)