barbara brown taylor | Rachel Pieh Jones

The Bookshelf, March 2019 and Kindle Deals

Holy Envy: finding God in the faith of others, by Barbara Brown Taylor. Holy envy is right.

The Rock that is Higher, story as truth, by Madeline L’Engle. Could I have spent the past two weeks with any wiser women?

Invited, the power of hospitality in an age of loneliness, by Leslie Verner. I had the privilege of reading an ARC (advanced reader copy) of Leslie’s lovely book. If you don’t follow her at Scraping Raisins, you should.

Inside Al-Shabaab: the secret history of al-Qaeda’s most powerful ally, by Harun Maruf and Dan Joseph This is a must read for anyone interested in the Horn of Africa. Incredibly informative but far from boring in a textbook kind of way.

Mudhouse Sabbath: an invitation to a life of spiritual discipline, by Lauren Winner. Lauren grew up Jewish and converted to Christianity. In this book she writes about spiritual practice and how Judaism informs her Christian faith. It is lovely.

Running Down a Dream, by Tim Grahl. If you’re a writer or a dreamer, this book is for you. How to beat the Resistance and get the work DONE. Also, check out Tim’s website, for writers it is the best site for marketing that I’ve found.

Everything Happens for a Reason and other Lies I’ve Loved, by Kate Bowler. I read this last year, too. But now that I have cancer, I needed to read it again.

Kindle Deals (prices may have changed)

The Furious Longing of God, by Brennan Manning

Winter Hours, by Mary Oliver

The Tigress of Forli: Renaissance Italy’s Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de’ Medici, by Elizabeth Lev (a book I read in researching my book)

Among Schoolchildren, by Tracy Kidder

Searching for Sunday, by Rachel Held Evans

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By Rachel Pieh Jones|March 29th, 2019|Categories: the bookshelf|Tags: al-shabaab, barbara brown taylor, bookshelf, kindle deals, lauren winner, tim grahl|1 Comment

The Bookshelf: Light and Dark

Learning to Walk in the Dark, by Barbara Brown Taylor

Oh my. This book has been breathing life into my days over the past week. As Taylor writes about darkness, both physical and metaphorical, I paused several times to reread, to think, to gasp.

“John’s answer (John here is St. John of the Cross, who wrote The Dark Night of the Soul) is not simple but in the simplest possible terms, he says that the dark night is God’s best gift to you, intended for your liberation. It is about freeing you from your ideas about God, your fears about God, your attachment to all the benefits you have been promised for believing in God, your devotion to the spiritual practices that are supposed to make you feel closer to God, your dedication to doing and believing all the right things about God, your positive and negative evaluations of yourself as a believer in God, your tactics for manipulating God, and your sure cures for doubting God.”

Radical Runaway by Amy and Jonathon Hollingsworth

A young radical comes back from Africa confused, disillusioned, and looking for hope.
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann

Everything David Grann writes is gold. Gold. This is the incredible true story of one of the former richest per capita groups of people on the planet, a tribe of Native Americans, who were ruthlessly picked off one by one, sometimes by those closest to them, as people stole their fortune.

Tables in the Wilderness by Preston Yancey

A young man processes through faith struggles.

The Not-Quite States of America by Doug Mack

A hilarious and instructive journey through the areas that are, well, not-quite states.

Making Your Creative Mark by Eric Maisel

For anyone who fancies themselves a creator. Music, paintings, stories…Eric has tough love and insightful advice. I highlighted lines on nearly every single page.

Begin Again: Collected Poems by Grace Paley

Beautiful poetry, of course. Its Grace Paley.

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