Twelve Blog Posts of Andrea (#7)

My 2020 Reading List

The first book I read in 2020 was more appropriate preparation for the year to come than I could have ever predicted. From the back cover: Life often looks so very different than we hoped or expected. Some events may simply catch us off guard for a moment, but others shatter us completely. We feel disappointed and disillusioned, and we quietly start to wonder about the reality of God’s goodness.

My first book of the 2020 Reading Season

I attempted to read this book in January of 2019, but I soon abandoned it because it didn’t seem what I needed then. I decided to give it a second go because disappointments in life are inevitable and proper preparation can prevent poor perspective-taking. As is true for anyone who has been alive for more than a moment, I had already experienced my fair share, and I knew I would face one or some in 2020. I was intrigued by the author’s assertion “that our disappointments can be the divine appointments our souls need to radically encounter God.” This book did not disappoint in helping its reader to lean into the gap between the life we expect and the life we actually encounter. Lysa TerKeurst lets us into her personal disappointments and shows us how to rethink what often feels like the end as opportunities to begin again, trusting God along the new path that opens beyond the rubble of disappointments. This book is a great reminder of God’s provision when life goes sideways by chance or by our own choices.

"History is who we are and why we are the way we are."

David McCullough

I learned of this book from a talk given by the author on the history of racial violence in Chicago.  While conducting research on another project, Ms. Ewing discovered a report of a study conducted to discover the reasons for the eight days of violence, death and terrorism during the Chicago Race Riot. of 1919. After reading the report, "The Negro in Chicago: A Study on Race Relations and A Race Riot", the author determined to utilize "speculative and Afro-futuristic" poetry to explore the stories of the lives directly impacted by the events of that Red Summer.  In this collection, Ms. Ewing asks how far have we come in the last 100 years, and how can we see our way forward so that 100 years from now we can tell a different story.

I read many exceptional books this year, almost all of which I would recommend. Each of these books served a purpose, served as a teacher of sorts.  In this historic year, I read for distraction, I read as a seeker, I read to meet old and new friends and new ideas.  I am better for this reading season- from the first book to the last.