WHAT I'M READING V. 26

The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines

Who doesn't love Chip and Joanna Gaines? I've been curious about their origin story so I put this book on hold at the library, but it was so long ago that I had forgotten about it until I got the alert that it was my turn to check it out. Chip and Joanna wrote it together and they narrate the audiobook version, which is fun, and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing their individual stories, the story of how they met, and the story of how they worked their butts off to get to where they are. It's inspiring!

Love Wins by Rob Bell

I had tried reading one of his previous books, "Velvet Elvis" a while back and remember not being able to finish it because I couldn't stand the style of his writing.  It is all written in short paragraphs, short and partial sentences and sometimes it felt like I was reading a series of tweets. I picked up the book in the first place because Ken recently learned about Rob Bell and started becoming interested in who he was and what he was doing, and I only had a vague knowledge of what he'd been up to recently, so I thought I would read this one since it's the one that became his most controversial book. I won't go into all that here, but I made it through this one! It was a struggle because I was so annoyed with his style and the way his approach to each topic was to ask pose a question about it instead of addressing it full on, but I think that is the strength of Rob Bell. His value may not be in giving you the substantive meat, but he asks hard and interesting questions and makes it okay for you to do so as well. It opens dialogue and prompts conversation, which is really important.

Euphoria by Lily King

This book is about a sort of love triangle between three anthropologists in the 1920's in New Guinea. It's a historical fiction based on the life of Margaret Mead, an anthropologist, and her love life and the narrative alternates back and forth between two perspectives. It's a great read in that it takes you to the place and time, and is descriptive of the environment and also the the inner thoughts of the narrator. Some of the themes include the idea that learning about and studying another culture sheds light on your own culture, and the idea of whether the need to possess is always a part of love.

Too Heavy A Yoke by Chanequa Walker-Barnes 

I first heard about this book when Rayshawn recommended it on an episode he did for our podcast on the topic of "Racial Reconciliation." I was intrigued when he described it and ended up borrowing a copy from him. I'm about a third of the way through and appreciate how well written and well thought out it is. There is plenty of food for thought, and I'm thinking through things like whether culture has forced black women to be "strong", and how she says black women "bear the burden of constantly disproving stereotypes." It's a fascinating and well done study on a specific type of women in a particular race, and I think it has so many implications for our culture as a whole.