Books: 2016: Update

In January of this year, I gathered ten books and set a goal to read all ten before year's end. 

Here we are, half way through the year already, so how far have I gotten?

A Praying Life by Paul Miller was a little bit of a cheat because I had begun it months before the start of my reading challenge, but I did finish it!  So cross off one!

Meanwhile, I read the first two books of Game of Thrones and got stuck half-way through the third.  It got more and more gruesome and I have a weak stomach.  I don't think I'll be watching the mini-series for that reason - it's one thing to read about it, another thing to see it! - although I am interested to watch a little bit and see how the makers imagined the characters and their world.  Anyway, cross off another!

I read A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot.  It is the story of Amy Carmichael, missionary to India, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!  Amy was wonderful, but still human; an amazing example of a life given over to the Lord's will, not without struggle both physically and spiritually, but truly surrendered to Him.  I am generally not a fan of Elisabeth Elliot (*shock*gasp*) but this was a lovely read: challenging, encouraging, uplifting, inspiring.  Cross off number three!

Just today, I finished reading 7 Women and the Secret of Their Greatness by Eric Metaxas.  It contains brief biographies of seven women (hence the title!), putting them into historical context and illuminating the incredible impact each one had on her time and on ours, and how her faith impacted her actions and attitudes. Most are well-known: Joan of Arc, Susanna Wesley, Corrie Ten Boom, Rosa Parks, and Mother Teresa.  Hannah More I had heard of but knew almost nothing about, and Saint Maria of Paris was completely unknown to me before this.  Each biography is well-crafted and enjoyable.  I am certain there is much more to know about each of these women, but Metaxas has managed to give us a fair glimpse into the life and faith of each of these remarkable women.  He ends his Acknowledgements page with Soli Deo Gloria and I think that is how these women would want it.  Cross off number four!

And that is the list so far!

Four down and six to go!

To be fair, I have taken detours into a few other books, including Thrones and Dominations by Dorothy Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh - a fast and very enjoyable read! - which picks up where Busman's Honeymoon left off, with Lord Peter Wimsey and his wife, Harriet Vane, moving into their newly renovated London home, and, of course, getting mixed up in a murder investigation.  

Any others have been unremarkable enough that I can't think of them at the moment. 

I have started Far from the Madding Crowd and hope to make more progress when I need a break from packing up Will for college, and hunting and gathering school supplies for everyone else!

So, that's me.  What have you been reading?  Share in the comments below!