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Book, Books I've read (or want to read), Just for fun, Summer Reading Challenge

Summer Reading Challenge 2022 is here!

Calling all readers!

It’s a day of rejoicing because the Summer Reading Challenge 2022 is here … or the Winter Reading Challenge for my Southern Hemisphere friends! If you can believe it, this is the seventh summer of the challenge.

If this is your first year, welcome! If you’ve been doing this challenge from the beginning, I bet you’ve felt this too . . . With the turning of April into May, I’ve begun to notice a low buzz of reading excitement. I think to myself, “It’s coming!”

Eight summers ago the primary emotion of my summer was resentment. I associated childhood summers with spaciousness, a bit of boredom, and reading. My adult summers felt the opposite—crowded, busy, and no leisurely reading. While there’s much I love about being an adult, I missed summer reading and decided something needed to change.

I also noticed that left to my own, I read the same kind of book over and over, always meaning to get to other types of books. I don’t make time to read certain kind of books because I have work, responsibilities, and intentions that, it turns out, are very weak intentions. So, thank you one and all of joining in and during this challenge we all become more well-rounded readers!

It will start on June 1  and run through August 12, 2022. To enter, read seven books from 25 categories.

What’s different?

  • I read Gone to the Woods by Gary Paulsen this spring and it is so fantastic that for the first time I’m choosing a book for us. (I’ll share more about it later.)
  • A few new categories
  • No COVID or Olympic focus this year 

What’s the same?

  • Many categories will be similar because reading is reading. But you will notice a few new gems
  • Counting a book of more than 700 pages as two books.
  • Choosing a penalty book within the first week of the challenge. A penalty book or category is one you declare to yourself I will read or be penalized. The last four summers I’ve selected a penalty book and it worked! I read books I’d been meaning to read for ages and I am all the richer for reading them. This year Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan by Edmund Morris is my penalty book. Can I tell you how many years I’ve meant to read this book?! I think the answer is 20 years. This is the summer!
  • Like previous years, if you do not read your “penalty” book, you will subtract two books from your total.

What’s in it for you?

  • All who comment between August 11-15th with the names of the books they read will be entered to win one of ten $10 Amazon gift cards.

Drumroll . . . here are the categories!

  • Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood by Gary Paulsen. This is a memoir told in Young Adult style. Not for young kids because parts of his childhood are shocking and heartbreaking, but the writing is so good. Keep reading when it gets hard, I don’t want to spoil it, so just keep reading!
  • A Biography or about history
  • A book you already own
  • A book you’ve been wanting to reread
  • A book a friend recommended
  • A Young Adult book (YA)
  • A book with a great cover
  • A book of poetry
  • A memoir or autobiography
  • A graphic novel
  • A book for professional development (loosely defined)
  • A book longer than 700 pages (counts as two books)
  • A book with a verb in the title
  • A play
  • A book about a country or culture you have never visited
  • A book with the number 7 in the title or subtitle (in honor of this being the 7th anniversary)
  • A book that won an award
  • A book by someone with a different view point than you recommended you read
  • A mystery
  • A classic
  • An audiobook
  • A book with an animal
  • A book less than 100 pages
  • A book you want to discuss with others
  • A book you read as a child

Download the 2022 Summer Reading Challenge

Download the Summer Reading Challenge 2022, print it off, and track your progress. But most of all, have fun and read books you might not read in other times of the year!

My penalty book is Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan by Edmund Morris

~~~

In short: Read seven books from June 1 to August 12, 2022.

Are you in? What books are you looking forward to reading during the challenge?

Happy Reading, Amy

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11 Comments May 25, 2022

Book, Books I've read (or want to read)

Top 10 Books of 2020

I love year end book lists! I love reading yours and creating mine. The processes of looking back over the books I read in a year brings back memories of where I read them, why I liked (or disliked) a book, and what stands out from the year.

Very surprising to me, four of my top ten books are fiction. People, there are so many gems out there! Summaries from Amazon.

Best Non-fiction of 2020:

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear

I have pages of notes and in January predicted this would be on of my best books of 2020. “Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits–whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.”

2. The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction by Justin Whitmel Earley

If ever there was a book that as I read I thought, “Dang!!! This is the book I wish I had written.” This is it. So, if you jive with the way I think and approach life, consider this to be by Amy Young who is Justin Earley. Pages of notes (duh! Since it’s the book I didn’t write). “The answer to our contemporary chaos is to practice a rule of life that aligns our habits to our beliefs. The Common Rule offers four daily and four weekly habits, designed to help us create new routines and transform frazzled days into lives of love for God and neighbor. Justin Earley provides concrete, doable practices.”

3. Didn’t see it coming by Carey Nieuwhof

Anyone in ministry (or who works with people) should read this! The author, “wants to help you avoid and overcome life’s seven hardest and most crippling challenges: cynicism, compromise, disconnectedness, irrelevance, pride, burnout, and emptiness. These are challenges that few of us expect but that we all experience at some point.”

4. Talking with strangers by Malcolm Gladwell

I love Gladwell and his style of writing so much and this did not disappoint. “Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don’t know. And because we don’t know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our lives and our world.”

5. Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen by Dan Heath

Dan and his brother Chip are two of my favorite authors and I read every thing they write. This is, hands down, the best nonfiction I read this year because of the ways it has put words to thoughts I’ve had while propelling me to apply what I read. The entire Global Trellis team is reading it and I think you should too :). “Upstream delivers practical solutions for preventing problems rather than reacting to them. How many problems in our lives and in society are we tolerating simply because we’ve forgotten that we can fix them?”

6. This too shall last: Finding grace when suffering lingers by K. J. Ramsey

In the church too often we “amplify the stories of triumph” and we need to “hear more about sustaining grace.” To say I loved a book about suffering might sound like a note sung out of tune. But that’s the point. “Our culture treats suffering like a problem to fix, a blight to hide, or the sad start of a transformation story. We silently, secretly wither under the pressure of living as though suffering is a predicament we can avoid or annihilate by having enough faith or trying harder. When your prayers for healing haven’t been answered, the fog of depression isn’t lifting, your marriage is ending in divorce, or grief won’t go away, it’s easy to feel you’ve failed God or, worse, he’s failed you. If God loves us, why does he allow us to hurt?”

Best fiction of 2020

7. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

“I’m satisfied,” I said to myself at the end. Though one of the longer books I read this year, I didn’t want it to end! When asked about the theme, Towles said, “There is no theme but beauty.” and I can testify that it is some of the most beautiful writing out there. If you have not read A Gentleman in Moscow, get it right now. Right now :)!

Here’s the description: “In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.”

8. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing: A Novel and the sequel A beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green

These were recommended by a Summer Reading Challenge participant (and this is why it’s good to talk about books in community. I never would have picked these up!). For both books, the entire first half I thought, “Why am I reading this? I don’t like it.” and then WHOOSH I was sucked in and had to find out where the plot was going and how it was going to be resolved.

Here’s why you might want to try it out (and keep reading past the halfway point!): “Compulsively entertaining and powerfully relevant, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing grapples with big themes, including how the social internet is changing fame, rhetoric, and radicalization; how our culture deals with fear and uncertainty; and how vilification and adoration spring for the same dehumanization that follows a life in the public eye. The beginning of an exciting fiction career, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is a bold and insightful novel of now.”

9. The War That Saved My Life and The War I Finally Won by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

My sister’s friend showed up on her doorstep with these two books. “You will love them! You must read them!” If you have not heard of this Newberry Honor book, picture me showing up on your doorstep with both books in hand and thrusting them at you. They are amazing!

Here’s the descrition of the first book: “Ten-year-old Ada has never left her one-room apartment. Her mother is too humiliated by Ada’s twisted foot to let her outside. So when her little brother Jamie is shipped out of London to escape the war, Ada doesn’t waste a minute—she sneaks out to join him.
 So begins a new adventure for Ada, and for Susan Smith, the woman who is forced to take the two kids in. As Ada teaches herself to ride a pony, learns to read, and watches for German spies, she begins to trust Susan—and Susan begins to love Ada and Jamie.”

10. Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen

In my notebook I wrote, “Harry’s Trees is beyond fantastic! It is a brilliant modern day fairy tale that has all the pieces—red coats, a wolf, magic, a young girl in the woods, and treasure—all while keeping its own story moving forward.” If you like a Gentleman in Moscow or Orleana is Totally Fine, you will love this too!

Here’s the description: “Thirty-four-year-old Harry Crane works as an analyst for the US Forest Service. When his wife dies suddenly, Harry, despairing, retreats north to lose himself in the remote woods of the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania. But fate intervenes in the form of a fiercely determined young girl named Oriana. She and her mother, Amanda, are struggling to pick up the pieces from their own tragic loss of Oriana’s father. Discovering Harry while roaming the forest, Oriana believes that he holds the key to righting her world.

“Harry reluctantly agrees to help Oriana carry out an astonishing scheme inspired by a book given to her by the town librarian, Olive Perkins. Together, Harry and Oriana embark on a golden adventure that will fulfill Oriana’s wild dream—and ultimately open Harry’s heart to new life.”


Honorable mention: Connected by moi and Spiritual Rhythms for the Enneagram by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Doug Calhoun, Clare Loughrige, and Scott Loughrige My only caveat is that if you get this is a marvelous handbook, you want to get the physical copy. The digital copy, I read online, is very hard to read. “For those who have learned about the Enneagram and wonder ‘What’s next?’―this handbook is the answer.”

There you have it! My top ten books in 2020. Which have you read? What’s on your to-read in 2021?

You might also enjoy the lists from previous years:

9 Books I Loved in 2014

10 Books I Loved in 2015

My top 15 books in 2016

The 17 Best Books of 2017 

Top 10 Books of 2018

Top 10 Books of 2019

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3 Comments December 28, 2020

Books I've read (or want to read)

10 Best Nonfiction Books of the Last Decade

Jumping right in . . .

2010 — Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer

From Amazon: “With wisdom, compassion, and gentle humor, Parker J. Palmer invites us to listen to the inner teacher and follow its leadings toward a sense of meaning and purpose. Telling stories from his own life and the lives of others who have made a difference, he shares insights gained from darkness and depression as well as fulfillment and joy, illuminating a pathway toward vocation for all who seek the true calling of their lives.”

His views on the soul and coaxing it out were formative for me.

2011 — Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion by Gregory Boyle

My sister Elizabeth brought a copy to China when she and two of the girls visited. I wrote, “This book makes me want to be a better person! Father Gregory (G-dog) works in L.A. with people who have either been in gangs or exposed to them, helping them with gainful employment, make better decisions, and find belonging. He consistently reminds the reader that all people are of value and that compassion needs to be offered again and again and again. My favorite chapter looked at so-called failure and success in ministry. He is funny!”

2012 — The Pastor: A Memoir by Eugene Peterson

Having been in full-time ministry most of my adult life, Peterson is one of my mentors. In my notebook, in part, I wrote, “Amazing. This is the kind of life I want to lead.”

From Amazon: “Eugene Peterson tells the story of how he started Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland and his gradual discovery of what it really means to be a pastor. Steering away from abstractions, Peterson challenges conventional wisdom regarding church marketing, mega pastors, and the church’s too-cozy relationship to American glitz and consumerism to present a simple, faith-based description of what being a minister means today. In the end, Peterson discovers that being a pastor boils down to ‘paying attention and calling attention to ‘what is going on now’ between men and women, with each other and with God.'”

2013 — A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness by Nassir Ghaemi

This was a hard year to choose! I listed four “best books” and can see how each made a difference in my life and still see their fingerprints on me. But the book I could not keep talking about—and talked about it so much my friend Amy’s daughter Kate even read it and used in a class project—was A First Rate Madness.

From Amazon: “This New York Time bestseller is a myth-shattering exploration of the powerful connections between mental illness and leadership. Historians have long puzzled over the apparent mental instability of great and terrible leaders alike: Napoleon, Lincoln, Churchill, Hitler, and others. In A First-Rate Madness, Nassir Ghaemi, director of the Mood Disorders Programme at Tufts Medical Center, offers and sets forth a controversial, compelling thesis: the very qualities that mark those with mood disorders also make for the best leaders in times of crisis.”

Now I want to reread this!

2014 — Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner & Saint by Nadia Bolz-Weber

I read this in my midst of my memoir binging. I admire her writing ability so much! Chatty and readable. What draws me to this book is that she shared about life in ministry in ways that I could relate to. At that time in history (2014) much written was by rah-rah men who shared such tidy stories of ministry I could not relate.

Though very different from Nadia, I can feel like a misfit in the church because I’m not married, have no children, and am a leader. But the church is for me too and books like this remind me I am not alone. (Truth be told, I think we can all feel like we don’t belong. And she cusses like a sailor, so not all will want to read this book.)

2015 — With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God by Skye Jethani

Ugh! This was another year where I had five “best” nonfiction books. But as I look back, I still find the ideas from With in my daily life. This is my go-to book with young people in ministry. My friend Hannah read it and then felt inspired by the Holy Spirit to buy me a copy. Isn’t that beautiful!

From Amazon: “Stop Living Your Life Under, Over, From and For God and Start Living in Communion With Him.” Also, if God wants you to buy a book for me? Listen, wink!

2016 — Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown 

From Amazon: “The Way of the Essentialist isn’t about getting more done in less time. It’s about getting only the right things done. It is a systematic discipline for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution towards the things that really matter. “

I am wired to seek more =), but if I’m not discerning I can end up leading a diluted life. This book is so good!

2017 — The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business by Patrick Lencioni

You know when a book says something you believed but you didn’t know how much you believed it until you read or heard it? That, in a nutshell, is The Advantage for me! The subtitle says it all, we need competent people, but competence isn’t enough. Very helpful for what “health” is and how to pursue it in an organization.

2018 — The Power of Healthy Tension: Overcome Chronic Issues and Conflicting Values by Tim Arnold

I love this book so much, if I had to pick the best book of the decade, it would be this one. Do not approach everything as a problem to be solved, be discerning and if something is not “solvable” learn to manage the tension. (Also, anything that embraces “the messy middle” had me at hello!)

2019 — Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin

From Amazon: “In Leadership, Goodwin draws upon the four presidents she has studied most closely—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson (in civil rights)—to show how they recognized leadership qualities within themselves and were recognized as leaders by others. By looking back to their first entries into public life, we encounter them at a time when their paths were filled with confusion, fear, and hope.”

I love reading about history because it broadens me and helps me to see my place, our place in the grand scope of the world.


Whew there you have it! If you missed it, here’s my overall thoughts on the last decade and my top 10 fiction books.

Share your nonfiction highlights of the last decade, please! Amy

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Leave a Comment January 17, 2020

Books I've read (or want to read)

10 Best Fiction Books of the Last Decade

Let’s jump right into it!

2010 — Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

My mom read this first and said, “You must read this!!!” She was right. Though I’m sure it had been done before, Olive was my first novel told in what at first seemed like unrelated short stories. Brilliant writing and Brilliant story telling. Though it has been 10 years since we met, I can’t for more Olive time and am eager to read Olive, Again which I’ve heard rave reviews.

2011 — Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson 

I wrote in my notebook, “Beautiful. Simply beautiful. As one reviewer wrote, ‘The disarmingly simple prose in the novel is filled with profound wisdom.’ What started out as a letter to his young son by his elderly father turned in a reflection and the complexities of life.”

In December I read Lila, the third book with these characters. It gives the background to his young wife. This year I plan to reread Gilead.

2012 — The Beginner’s Goodbye: A Novel by Anne Tyler

From Amazon: “Crippled in his right arm and leg, Aaron grew up fending off a sister who constantly wanted to manage him. So when he meets Dorothy, an outspoken, independent young woman, she’s like a breath of fresh air. He marries her without hesitation, and they have a relatively happy, unremarkable marriage. Aaron works at his family’s vanity-publishing business, turning out titles that presume to guide beginners through the trials of life. But when a tree crashes into their house and Dorothy is killed, Aaron feels as though he has been erased forever. Only Dorothy’s unexpected appearances from the dead—in their house, on the roadway, in the market—help him to live in the moment and to find some peace. Gradually, Aaron discovers that maybe for this beginner there is indeed a way to say goodbye.”

Are you beginning to notice a theme of what I’m drawn to? People further down life’s path that want to make a difference. Good grief, this feels a bit like baring my soul and we are only to 2012. Carry on, Amy. Carry on.

2013 — Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

I’ll be honest, I have four “best” of nonfiction books for that year and no first time reads in novels that stood out. I did reread Crossing to Safety and absolutely loved it. 2013 is the year I transitioned from China to America after nearly 20 years. Nonfiction was helping me make sense of my world more than fiction was at that point. I highly recommend Crossing to Safety. And just now, in the moment, seven years later notice the title and how it is a messy interpretation of a messy wonderful season. The title is a snapshot of what I was trying to do.z

2014 — And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

I wrote, “Wow! I don’t read much fiction, but maybe I should read more. Hosseini did an amazing job telling an epic story spanning three countries, five decades, and multiple story lines with grace and dexterity.
Bookended by brother and sister Abdullah and Pari, this note from Abdullah to Pari moves me. It was written after he was diagnosed with Alzheimers and before they were reunited.

“‘They tell me I must wade into waters, where I will soon drown. Before I march in, I leave this on the shore for you. I pray you find it, sister, so you will know what was in my heart as I went under.'”

I repeat, wow.

2015 — A Separate Peace by John Knowles

In truth, I read four or five novels in 2015, so A Separate Peace probably wouldn’t have made the cut in any other year. The Tuesday Night Book Group I’m in read this because one of my nieces (or another member’s kid) read this for school and many of us had not read it. It is famous and worth reading, I should have read it long before 2015!

From Amazon, “Set at a boys’ boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.”

2016 — Wonder by R. J. Palacio

One of my niece Katy’s favorite books, I chose it as a Velvet Ashes Book Club read. August has cranial abnormalities and his story confronts the deep part of ourselves where we judge those different from us and what it means to be beautiful or valuable. One of the highlights for me as we discussed the book was hear from a doctor and a parent who had a child with facial abnormalities. You can read what the doctor said here and the parent here.

2017 — A Man Called Ove: A Novel by Fredrik Backman

I wrote, “This book is amazing! It is brilliant story telling—and from a marketing perspective, to reinforce Ove’s name, brilliant! I loved watching Ove navigate life after his wife died. He was true to his grumpy self, but also open to community. His story showed how very much we all need each other.”

2018 — Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech

From Amazon, “Thirteen-year-old Salamanca Tree Hiddle, proud of her country roots and the ‘Indian-ness in her blood,’ travels from Ohio to Idaho with her eccentric grandparents. Along the way, she tells them of the story of Phoebe Winterbottom, who received mysterious messages, who met a ‘potential lunatic,’ and whose mother disappeared. As Sal entertains her grandparents with Phoebe’s outrageous story, her own story begins to unfold—the story of a thirteen-year-old girl whose only wish is to be reunited with her missing mother.”

Also read for the Velvet Ashes Book Club and the conversation it stimulated was rich! If you’re looking for a great book to discuss, try Walk Two Moons.

2019 — Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: A Novel by Gail Honeyman

I wrote, “I LOVE this book SO MUCH!!!! Eleanor is 30 and has very poor social skills, saying exactly what she thinks in a literal way. Mom described this book as Eleanor unfolding like a flower blossom. The storytelling was outstanding as Honeyman dropped clues that kept the story moving forward and the reader curious. This is a book about loneliness and the power of human connection.”


If you missed it, here are my thoughts on the last decade of books I read and tomorrow I’ll share my top nonfiction of each year of the last decade. Share some of your favorite fiction below! I can’t wait to hear. Amy

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Leave a Comment January 16, 2020

Books I've read (or want to read)

Reflections on a Decade of Reading

As the last decade drew to a close, I was curious to look back over my reading notebooks and ask myself the question: what was the best book I read each year?

In classic Amy-fashion, having opened pandora’s box—lists, books, and patterns are my catnip—this simple question morphed into three blog posts. I found myself pitting oh say, Wonder against Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less in 2016. It was like watching the worst boxing match on the planet, wincing at each blow.

I conceded I was on a fool’s errand and allowed myself two books from each year: best fiction and best nonfiction.

And then I almost added more categories because not all fiction or nonfiction are equal. Stop the madness Amy! Just pick a book!

So I did. Tomorrow I’ll share my fav fiction read from each year of the last decade and the day after that my fav nonfiction read.

Today, I want to share my thoughts reviewing a decade of reading.

Faithfulness adds up.

Would you be shocked to hear that I read 621 books last decade? I sure was! I knew that I was reading (duh!) and at the end of every year I was curious how many books I’d read that year. But, I never added up the years until now. On average, that is 62.1 books a year, 5.175 books a month, or 1.29375 books per week.

Like you, I had weeks where I did not read much, if at all. International moves, illness, traveling, my dad’s death, starting two ministries, writing four books, watching the Denver Broncos. My lowest year was 56 books in 2015, which surprised me. Nothing big happening that year, so go figure. In 2011 I made the goal to read 70 books and hit it. And nearly died in the process. Most of December was dedicated to reading the shortest books I could find, not my noblest book choices, that’s for sure.

But day in and day out, the years passed and I read 621 books.

Seasons are reflected in reading choices.

Good golly, but if anyone looks over the books by years, themes emerge. I can see when my thinking towards writing shifted and I read voraciously about the craft. The year after I relocated from China I read memoirs like a drowning fool, looking to cling to anyone else’s story in hopes of making sense of my own. Leading two organizations (Velvet Ashes and Global Trellis) has flavored my reading choices.

Reading formed me.

Seeing a title, author, or my thoughts on a book brought back memories to mind. I was reminded that much of what I know, think, or believe was formed by my reading.

Thankfully, I also saw on my lists books I disagree with or no longer would recommend and that’s good. If I’m only reading people who think like me, I’m not going to grow very much as a human!

Solitary, but not alone.

Over and over as I poured over my lists, I smiled at how often I noted, “Read for the June Velvet Ashes Book Club” or “Read this for Tuesday Night Book Group.” And over and over I noticed how reading in community broadens my reading selections, pushes me to read books I’ve been meaning to read, and helps me see what I would have missed as we discussed it.

If you are wanting to read more, it’s this simple: join a book club. If you are not sure of any in your area, join the Velvet Ashes Book Club. We are reading the novel Chasing Francis this month and I am loving it! Case in point, Chasing has been on my to-read list forever. I’m so glad to be reading it!

Stay posted for th Summers Reading Challenge! That’s also developed me as a reader.

Any chance you kept a list of the last decade? What patterns did you notice? I’d love to hear how reading the last ten years formed you.

Happy Reading!

Amy

P.S. Up tomorrow? Best fiction of the decade! Day after? Best nonfiction of the decade!

Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash

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Leave a Comment January 14, 2020

Book, Books I've read (or want to read)

Top 10 Books of 2019

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

The internet is awash with lists containing the “Best books of 2019.” I love reading them and seeing which books I’ve read, which are on my to-read list, and which are brand new to me. Here is my list, enjoy!

1) All That’s Good: Recovering the Lost Art of Discernment by Hannah Anderson —I preferred this to her book Humble Roots. “Discernment is knowing the difference between what is good and what is better. And sometimes seeking what is better means learning to trust God while you wait for him to
1) All That’s Good: Recovering the Lost Art of Discernment by Hannah Anderson —I preferred this to her book Humble Roots. “Discernment is knowing the difference between what is good and what is better. And sometimes seeking what is better means learning to trust God while you wait for him to supply it.”

2) When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by Daniel Pink — One of the signs of a good book is how much I am compelled to read parts out loud to people near me. Let’s just say, I basically did the audio version of this book. Even now, reviewing my notes I have almost gotten off track with working on this post. So good!

3) On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books by Karen Swallow Prior — Organized by Cardinal Virtues (prudence, temperance, justice, and courage), Theological Values (faith, hope, and love), and Heavenly Virtues (chastity, diligence, patience, kindness, and humility), this book is written slightly above my normal level. It pushed me in a good way and got me to think on another level.

4) The Light of the Fireflies by Paul Pen — One of several fiction books to make my list, Fireflies was a surprise read in 2019 because I had never heard of it. My Tuesday night book group read it and I think I liked it the most. I loved this book. Some in our group hated it. I was so curious to see what was going to happen and it reminded me of other books I loved (The Secret Annex, Born a Crime, Educated, and fiction book House of Sand and Fog). This is the story of how one bad decision can cascade and what you think you know . . . you’re wrong. I underlined the word loved in my notebook and it is only .99 on Amazon as of this writing.

5) Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World by Noah Strycker  — In 2015 Noah traveled around the world with the goal of seeing 5,000 different bird species. He ended up seeing 6,042! I love books that following someone for a year and give me a taste of that world. This book opened my eyes to how many birds there are and the quirky, kind, and passionate birder community.

6) Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine: A Novel by Gail Honeyman — Also read for my book group and unlike Fireflies, Eleanor was universally adored. This is a book about loneliness and the power of human connection. My mom described Eleanor as a flower blossom opening. I felt like a better human being for having read this.

7) Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel by Mariah Marsden (author) and Brenna Thummler (illustrator) — a first ever! A graphic novel made the list. Months later, I can still picture these stunning images that captured the original book so well. In a word, delightful.

8) Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin — Looking at four presidents (Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Johnson), this book explored their ambition, adversity, growth, and the times they served in. Each one had truly trying issues to face.

9) Britt-Marie Was Here: A Novel by Fredrik Backman — Britt-Marie finds herself aged 60, separated from her husband, and needing a job. She moves to Borg for a temporary job and becomes a soccer coach to a team that has been forgotten. I laughed more than I expected and then I cried more than I expected. Backman is a genuis at capturing cranky people who have tender elements. His books challenge me to see beyond the surface.

10) The Newcomers: Finding Refuge, Friendship, and Hope in America by Helen Thorpe — Follows the lives of twenty-two immigrant teenagers throughout the course of the 2015-2016 school year as they land at South High School in Denver, Colorado. These newcomers, from fourteen to nineteen years old, come from nations convulsed by drought or famine or war. Many come directly from refugee camps, after experiencing dire forms of cataclysm. This book brought back many memories of teaching ESL over the years.

Honorable mention:

Of course, Getting Started and Enjoying Newsletters have to make the list. These labors of love make me smile. One of my reading goals for December was to reread The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson. It had been years since I read it. Why had I waited so long? If you are looking for a short, delightful read that points you to wonder of this season, this book is for you.

You might also enjoy the

9 Books I Loved in 2014

10 Books I Loved in 2015

My top 15 books in 2016

Have you read the 17 Best Books of 2017 and

Top 10 Books of 2018

Have you read any of my 10? What would you recommend to fellow readers?

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4 Comments December 18, 2019

Books I've read (or want to read), Cross cultural, Summer Reading Challenge

You are Invited (and a giveaway!)

Hey friends, this is a brief reminder that the Summer Reading Challenge will end this Friday. On Friday I’ll share what I read and you will have four days to leave a comment sharing what you read to be eligible for one of the ten $10 Amazon gift cards. I can’t wait to see what you’ve read!

What better way to get ready for the end of summer reading that to have a chance to win a book? Leslie and I met a million miles ago in China. We overlapped for five years as she taught in the program I was the director. She and her teammate taught at one of the most remote schools we had teachers. I remember going over all of the new teacher resumes and praying over placement. Single women were always the last to be placed because they were more moveable in options than say, a family of five.

I can still remember placing her at her school in Guyuan and then submitting her resume to the school. That we both ended up in Colorado and writers? A delightful twist of life paths. I love that Leslie and I are still in each others lives and can support each other. Today her book Invited: The Power of Hospitality in an Age of Loneliness is born! When she asked me to endorse her book, I jumped at the chance and said:

“I shudder at the word hospitality because it has been weaponized in Christian circles, especially for women. I wondered if Invited was another veiled shame message pointing out how I was failing yet again. It is not; instead, Leslie Verner breathes on the embers of connection we all long for, offering hope and examples of how you can invite others into your real life and forge life-giving relationships.”

If you like memoirs that nudge, dare I say invite you, to be the better version of yourself you know are possible, this is the book for you. Leslie has graciously given me a copy of Invited to give to one of you. Leave a comment and you’ll be entered to receive a physical, signed copy. (I’ll also sign my endorsement as a bonus. Ha!) If you don’t live in North America, you can enter and win it for someone else. Talk about hospitality!

Don’t you love this cover:

To give you a flavor of what you’ll find, here are four simple ways to show hospitality from Leslie:

1. Say no.

“Sorry, I’m too busy/have too much going on/already have plans …” are common refrains in American society. One way to show hospitality is to say no to busyness and frantic living. When we say no to another lesson, sport, or activity for our kids or ourselves, we reserve time in our lives for spontaneous hospitality and unplanned connection with people. 

What happens when we step into slowness and retain a buffer in our schedules reserved for relationship, rest, and wonder? We begin to notice the living, breathing souls right around us. We have time for them. We may even get to know their names, feel known, and start to feel less lonely ourselves. 

2. Say yes.

It’s easier for me to offer hospitality than to receive hospitality from others. As we risk the discomfort of giving up control, we learn the humility necessary for relationships to start. Has someone asked you into their life recently? What did you say? 

When we refuse busyness, we’ll have more opportunities to say yes to pausing on the sidewalk to chat with a neighbor. We might have more energy to invite someone over spontaneously or ask someone to meet us at a park or outdoor concert. Clearing away the extraneous clutter in our lives leaves space for us to say yes when God nudges us to ask, invite, or welcome outside our comfort levels.

3. Respect the Zone of Hospitality.

I stumbled on an article recently meant for hotel staff, but have begun to apply it to my own life. It describes the “10 and 5 Staff Rule.” The rule goes like this: If you pass within ten feet of someone, called the “zone of hospitality,” you make eye contact and “warmly smile” at a person. When you are within five feet of them, this smile is accompanied by a greeting or some kind of gesture of acknowledgment. 

While it seems obvious (and visits to the south prove the regional nature of the head nod, steering-wheel-finger-wave, and vocal greeting), I’ve started doing this here in Colorado. Mostly, I greet the people I pass on my runs. I often think to myself, What if I’m the only person who smiles at them or acknowledges them all day long? Some days, hospitality looks like a simple smile and a head nod to a stranger. 

4. Just Invite.

Admittedly, mustering up the nerve to put ourselves out there and risk rejection is the hardest part of hospitality. But the truth is that it takes very little effort on our part to send a text to someone we’ve been wanting to get to know. We pull out our phones, swipe to our text messaging app, and tap out: “Hey! Can you come over sometime?” And then we worry about the details when “sometime” comes around.

P.S. See you Friday for the Summer Reading Challenge Wrap-up. Don’t forget to leave a comment and you might win Invited!

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6 Comments August 12, 2019

Books I've read (or want to read), Summer Reading Challenge

It’s here! Summer Reading Challenge 2019

Calling all readers, it is a day of rejoicing because the Summer Reading Challenge 2019 is here! If you can believe it, this is the fourth summer of the challenge.

Like a kid pouring over the toy catalog in days gone by, I’ve chatted with family members, dreamed about books, and looked for ways to expand the reading challenge. Today, I  am excited today to reveal this summer’s reading challenge!

It will start on June 1  and run through August 16, 2019. To enter, read seven books from 24 categories. Along the way, I’ll touch base and have several book giveaways planned.

What is different?

  • For fun, I scrapped the previous reading challenge and created a fresh one for us.
  • Many categories will be similar because reading is reading. But you will notice a few new gems —an audiobook, a book with a verb in the title, a book under 100 pages. People, I love this challenge so much I almost added more book as I wrote this paragraph. I need help!
  • This year if you do not read your “penalty” book, you will subtract two books from your total (last year we were only docked one book).

What is the same?

  • Counting a book of more than 700 pages as two books.
  • Choosing a penalty book within the first week of the year. A penalty book or category you will read or be penalized. Last year I picked The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt and the Golden Age of Journalism, as my penalty book at it worked! I finally read a book I had planned for at least three years to read. My intention is strong and will weak. And I am all the richer for reading it. I even blogged about Ten Takeaways from The Bully Pulpit.
  • More fun categories than ever!

What’s in it for you?

  • All who comment on August 16-19th with the names of the books they read will be entered to win one of ten $10 Amazon gift cards.

Drumroll . . . here are the categories!

  • A Biography
  • A book I already own
  • A book a friend recommended
  • A Young Adult book (YA)
  • A book with a great cover
  • A book of poetry
  • A memoir or autobiography
  • A graphic Novel
  • A book you might disagree with
  • A book for professional development (loosely defined)
  • A book longer than 700 pages (counts as two books)
  • A book with a verb in the title
  • A play
  • A book about a country or culture you have never visited
  • A book about history
  • A book that won an award
  • A classic
  • A novel by an author you have never read before
  • An audiobook
  • A book related to a skill
  • A book recommended by someone you know
  • A book with an animal
  • A book less than 100 pages
  • A book You want to discuss with others

My penalty book is: Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Download the 2019 SUMMER READING CHALLENGE, print it off, and track your progress. But most of all, have fun and read books you might not read in other times of the year!

~~~

In short: Read seven books from June 1 to August 16, 2019.

Are you in? What books are you looking forward to reading during the challenge?

Photo by Leah Kelley from Pexels

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12 Comments May 28, 2019

Book, Books I've read (or want to read)

Three “T” Reasons to Read “The Tea Girl”

Since I lived in China, many assume it was China that turned me into a tea drinker. It wasn’t.

I became a tea drinker in 1991. My friend Kim moved to Scotland after college and part of her job was to visit the elderly from the church in their homes. One of them asked me, “Do you take your tea with milk or sugar?” They assumed I drank tea and it seemed easier to say, “Milk,” than to claim not to be a tea drinker. And the rest is history. To this day, I love tea and drink it with milk.

Lisa See will be familiar to many because of her modern classic Snow Flower and the Secret Fan. In October my American book group read her recent book The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane. While everyone enjoyed it, it was clear I enjoyed it more than the others, making me think other China hands might enjoy it too.

Amazon describes Tea Girl this way:

In their remote mountain village, Li-yan and her family align their lives around the seasons and the farming of tea. For the Akha people, ensconced in ritual and routine, life goes on as it has for generations—until a stranger appears at the village gate in a jeep, the first automobile any of the villagers has ever seen. The stranger’s arrival marks the first entrance of the modern world in the lives of the Akha people. Slowly, Li-yan, one of the few educated girls on her mountain, begins to reject the customs that shaped her early life. When she has a baby out of wedlock—conceived with a man her parents consider a poor choice—she rejects the tradition that would compel her to give the child over to be killed, and instead leaves her, wrapped in a blanket with a tea cake tucked in its folds, near an orphanage in a nearby city.

I do not tend to read much fiction, so if you are like me hopefully the description intrigues you. But if you’re still not sure, here are the three “T” reasons I recommend The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane:

  • The Time Line
  • The Topics Covered
  • The Tea Culture

The Time Line

Written in five parts, The Tea Girl covers these time frames—1988-1990, 1994-1996, 1996-2006, 2007-2008, and 2012-2016. Starting in a remote village among the Akha people, the reader meets a people group that could be described as primitive, not just traditional when compared to other parts of China. In the early section, the reader encounters beliefs related to appeasing the spirit world that may disturb most readers.  It reminds those of us interested in China that 1988 was not that long ago. As the story moves through time, the reader is introduced to characters in Hong Kong, California, and other parts of China. You see again how rapidly China changed and developed. The recent changes in China might feel extreme (because they are extreme), but the pace at which they have come is not all that different than the pace of change the last thirty years; it is the direction the change seems to be going that has caught our attention.

The Topics Covered

As I reviewed and made notes of the topics covered, I was startled by how many See stuffed into one book. Then I realized, “Hey, the same could be said of my China experience.” And probably of yours. The Tea Girl considers the complex topic of foreign adoption from both the China (birth mother) and, in this case, American (adoptive family) side. Hayley, the adopted daughter, and child of one of the main characters, loves her adoptive family but has many questions about her birth culture and story. Her response to her adoption is not the “I’m so grateful to be adopted!” story and this unfolds as we watch her adoptive parents navigate parenting her. See weaves in multiple adoptee experiences, broadening the often one-dimensional portrayal of adoption.

In addition, The Tea Girl includes marriage and widowhood at a young age, finding work in Guangzhou, the growing gap between the poverty many minorities experience and the explosion of the billionaires among the Han and Hong Kong businessmen, the tensions between traditional and modern culture, marriage markets run by parents of aging singles, and the debate between western versus Chinese medicine. I bet the potpourri of topics mirrors your China experience too.

The Tea Culture

Though I have consumed thousands of cups of tea in China, I did not know much about the tea culture beyond rinsing the leaves in boiling water.  The Pu’er tea industry seemed to explode out of nowhere when I lived in China. Though too extensive to go into depth in this review, I enjoyed the tea aspect of the book because See included enough details to help the reader know more than rinsing the leaves in boiling water without bogging them down in technical minutiae. Tea became a character in its own right in this novel and any China hand worth her weight in tea leaves will be glad to understand the tea culture better.

One More “T” Comment

The primary negative comment from my book group is that the ending was too tidy. After going on an epic journey with the characters, the ending wrapped up all loose ends, leaving nothing to wonder for the reader. I so enjoyed the Chinese culture part of the book, I forgave and overlooked the wham bam feeling of the ending. But I wanted to warn you and hope you will pick up a copy of The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See. Overlook the ending, pour yourself a cup of Pu’er tea, and enjoy reading The Tea Girl.

 

A version of this first appeared on the China Source blog

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Leave a Comment March 26, 2019

Books I've read (or want to read)

Top Ten Books of 2018

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

The internet is awash with lists containing the “Best books of 2018.” I love reading them and seeing which books I’ve read, which are on my to-read list, and which are brand new to me. Here is my list, enjoy!

 


Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

Genre: Work / Life

About the book: “Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It’s a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide the sense of true fulfillment that comes from craftsmanship.”

Why I loved it: I find too much of my time/brain space given to shallow work and shallow tasks. Newport helped me understand how much this impacts my brain and the ability to do sustained deep work. The constant attention switched we do is not good for our brains. I read this book last January and find myself returning to it again and again.

The Power of Healthy Tension by Tim Arnold

Genre: Leadership (I would argue “Life”)

About the book: “Often leaders and teams have a clear vision but fail to live it out. They feel stuck because of conflicting values, division within the team, and resistance to change. The Power of Healthy Tension helps leaders get unstuck.”

Why I loved it: I know have written about this book more than any other this year. Sorry-not-sorry! Culturally most of us reading this post have been programmed to see situations as “problems to be solved.” The result? We lack discernment on what are actual problems and what are tensions to be managed. For instance, responding in a truly loving way requires both unconditional acceptance and accountability (not one or the other).

 

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Genre: Classic

About the book: “When her father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the north of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice.”

Why I loved it: I will come clean, I had never heard of this North and South until it was chosen to be the June read for the Velvet Ashes Book Club. Though full of death and class clashes and written in a style of another era, I loved it because it sucked me in (and is free on Kindle!). Bonus: this book models the importance of having touchpoints for different groups to interact and talk.

The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism by Dorris Kearns Goodw

Genre: History

About the book: “A dynamic history of the first decade of the Progressive era, that tumultuous time when the nation was coming unseamed and reform was in the air.”

Why I loved it: Okay, I truly did love this book, but why it made my top ten is because this book and I have been dancing for years. Finally, I quit dancing and read it for the Summer Reading Challenge. It was totally worth it! If you have been dancing with a book, quit dancing, pick it up and read. I shared Ten Takeaways from The Bully Pulpit.  Added bonus? My friend Kathleen read it with me. That’s true friendbookship!

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Bachman

Genre: Fiction

About the book: “When Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters apologizing to people she has wronged, Elsa’s greatest adventure begins. Her grandmother’s instructions lead her to an apartment building full of drunks, monsters, attack dogs, and old crones but also to the truth about fairy tales and kingdoms and a grandmother like no other.”

Why I loved it: While Grandmother is slower to fall in love with than A Man Called Ove and confused me for the first third (clearly salesmanship runs in my blood! Ha!), I loved this book. Both of my book clubs read this, and it was in the second reading that Bachman earned my total respect as a storyteller. It is only as she delivers her Grandmother’s letters does Elsa realize her grandmother used stories to make sense of her reality and it was through the stories that she could actually see the people in her life. Not to over-spiritualize, but this book might be a modern parable. For those who have eyes to see, you’ll love it. For those who don’t, you won’t.

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

Genre: Memoir

About the book: “Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule.”

Why I loved it: Memoir is my favorite genre, and this book is why. Memoir lets the reader (me) walk in another’s shoes. In my notes, I wrote, “Compelling, tight, humorous, a great read for a Baltic cruise.”

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

Genre: Memoir

About the book: “Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University. Only then would she wonder if she’d traveled too far, if there was still a way home.”

Why I loved it: You know when you read a book and can’t quite believe that another person’s life could be like this? That’s Educated. Once again, I love how memoir opens a door into a world I did not know existed. (Warning, if you hated The Glass Castle or do not want to read how this family abused each other, pass on this book.)

Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life by Tish Harrison Warren

Genre: Christian Living

About the book: “In the overlooked moments and routines of our day, we can become aware of God’s presence in surprising ways. How do we embrace the sacred in the ordinary and the ordinary in the sacred? Framed around one ordinary day, this book explores daily life through the lens of liturgy, small practices, and habits that form us. Each daily activity is related to a spiritual practice as well as an aspect of our Sunday worship.”

Why I loved it: This is the book I wish I had thought of to write. This is the book that comes the closest to capturing what goes on in my head and how I want to interact with this world. This is the book that captures the muck of my life while offering out the hope of who I can be. This is the book that shows how theology and spiritual practices are for our common lives. I’m pretty sure Tish and I would be friends if we met.

Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf

Genre: Fiction

About the book: “In the familiar setting of Holt, Colorado, home to all of Kent Haruf’s inimitable fiction, Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis’s wife. His daughter lives hours away, her son even farther, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in empty houses, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with. But maybe that could change?”

Why I loved it: I first fell in love with local Coloradan author when I read Plainsong. How he can tell such rich and quietly moving stories with such sparse writing is a beautiful mystery to me. Months later I find myself thinking about Addie and Louis. I wonder how they are.

As Kingfishers Catch Fire: A Conversation on the Ways of God Formed by the Words of God by Eugene Peterson

Genre: Christian Living

About the book: “‘Sixty years ago I found myself distracted,’ Eugene Peterson wrote. ‘A chasm had developed between the way I was preaching from the pulpit and my deepest convictions on what it meant to be a pastor.’ And so began Peterson’s journey to live and teach a life of congruence—congruence between preaching and living, between what we do and the way we do it, between what is written in Scripture and how we live out that truth.”

Why I love it: When Eugene Peterson died this fall, I found myself craving his writing. I love this book because he shares sermons he gave over the years, which is to say, Peterson modeled what “a long obedience in the same direction. When I own a book, I note in the back pages and thoughts I want to remember. This is by far my most marked up book of the year. Peterson, you will be missed.


And a bonus book because not every year will I get to share a book I wrote, so when I do, it is to be noted (and celebrated!).

All the News That’s Fit to Tell and How to Tell It: How to Write Christian Newsletters

“You might not think of yourself as a writer, but you are. Whether on social media, newsletters, or reports, writing is a part of your ministry life. What if improving as a writer allows you to communicate with friends, family, and co-workers more effectively? What if improving your writing is simpler—and more fun—than you remember from school days?”

You might also enjoy the 9 Books I Loved in 2014,  10 Books I Loved in 2015,   My top 15 books in 2016, and  Have you read the 17 Best Books of 2017?

What were some of your best reads from 2018?

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4 Comments December 17, 2018

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