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Summer Reading Challenge

2023 Summer Reading Challenge . . . is over :)!

Congrats for making it to the end of the 2023 Summer Reading Challenge! As I sat down to work on the list of books I read this summer, I am so proud of us and of this challenge. Thanks to this challenge, every summer I read several books that I simply would not have read without this nudge of this challenge. I imagine it’s the same for you.

Three things to know for me this summer:

1. Last summer I only read one novel. (What?! I know). This summer had a lot more fiction. Yay!

2. Thanks to the “Penalty Book” category, for the sixth summer I read a book I have been meaning to read for ages! Go penalty books! After last summer’s colossal disappointment of a penalty book read, this year I’m back on track. I’m so glad I read No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin and that it has moved from the “I want to read” to “I’ve read that!” column.

3. Summer reading makes me happy.

So, how did The Summer Reading Challenge go for you? Remember, in The Summer Reading Challenge the goal is to read seven books between June 1 and August 11th. Comment below and you are entered for one of ten $10 Amazon gift cards. Even if you didn’t read seven books, still share what you read! This isn’t really a contest so much as a chance to share and a see how many books we read collectively.

I also find great books for my fall reading in your comments :).

I’m going to put the categories here if you want to cut and paste them into the comments. Also feel free to just list books, whatever works for you.

A biography or a book 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 of poetry

A memoir or autobiography

A graphic novel

A book for professional development (loosely defined)

A book longer than 600 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 that won an award

A book by someone with a different view point than you

A book by an author you know (get “credit” for supporting your friends 😊)

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

A book in a different language than English (could be sign language, morse code, Spanish, don’t get hung up on terms 😊)

Read out loud to someone. Could be a whole book, a favorite passage, or to a child

Listen to someone reading out loud (not an audio book, an actual person)

Penalty book—subtract 2 books if you didn’t read.

Amy’s books with a five star rating (you don’t have to do this!)

A biography or a book about history—The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict (3.5 stars)

A graphic novel—My Begging Chart by Keiler Roberts (3 stars)

A book longer than 600 pages (counts as two books)—No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin (I love Doris Kearns Goodwin’s writing. Very interesting to read about WW2 in light of the current war in Ukraine. In the middle of WW2, it became evident the Allies would win and so the leaders started thinking about Europe and Asia after the war. What are current leaders already working on for Ukraine and Russia? This was my penalty book 4.5 stars)

A book with a verb in the title—The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave (I must be living under a rock! I’d never heard of this book until a member of our book group won 12 copies for us. Yes, it’s a TV show which I have now watched. Page turner! Great summer book. 5 stars)

A book that won an award—Transcendent Kingdom by Yao Gyasi (WOMEN’s prize finalist. 4 stars)

A book by an author you know —Hello, My Name Is Phillip by Brian Shimer (I met Brian at a Member Care Conference in May. His booth was next to mine and after hearing me desperately force my books people because I didn’t have suitcase space, he told me he’d written a book. He’s a kind man!)

An audiobook—Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave (Having read The Last Thing I Told You, I was curious about her earlier work. Definitely a few themes beginning to emerge in her writing! Enjoyed listening, but not as much as The Last Thing, 3.5 stars)

A book with an animal—Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (Okay, so there was a man with a rabbit mask, and the main character called her daughters “monkey” and “frog.” So, you can see that we can loosely interpret these categories. This was a reread for book group . . . and I loved it even more! 5 stars)

Read out loud to someone—Palace of Books by Patricia Polacco (I read this out loud to you on an instagram live that you can watch here, 4.5 stars)

Listen to someone reading out loud (not an audio book, an actual person)—Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco (I had the privilege of hearing my mom read this book. My friend Katie and her family were in the States for the summer and the love to have “Mama Young” read to them. 4.5 stars)

You can see I didn’t read in every category.

I come back to this not being a contest, if you read four books and that was your goal, great! I find that I’m more likely to accomplish my goals if I tell people what they are. I wouldn’t have read a book out loud or pushed to read the book Brian mailed me. I’m 99% sure I would still be intending to read No Ordinary Time. Thanks to you, I read all of them.

All who comment between now and August 14th with the names of the books they read will be entered to win one of ten $10 Amazon gift cards. To enter, leave a comment on this post.

I can’t wait to see what you’ve been reading. I’ll pick winners on Monday so you have several days to leave a comment.

Thank you for joining in!

Amy

Book, Summer Reading Challenge

2023 Summer Reading Challenge Revealed!

Calling all readers!

It’s a day of rejoicing because the Summer Reading Challenge 2023 is here … or the Winter Reading Challenge for my Southern Hemisphere friends! If you can believe it, this is the eighth 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!”

Nine 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 outside of my familiar categories because I have work, responsibilities, and intentions that, it turns out, can be strong ruts in my reading leading me to the same watering holes. 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 11, 2023. To enter, read seven books from 25 categories and leave a comment at the end of the challenge with the books you read. That’s all. No entrance fee, no hassle, just fun.

What’s different?

  • I tried to find a book we could read in community, but the author didn’t get back to me. So, this idea will have to wait for another summer. Is that something you’d be interested in?
  • A few new categories: read in a book in a foreign language, read out lout to someone, and listen to someone read out loud (not an audio book, an actual person) to name a few
  • The picture for the reading challenge this challenge was taken by me :). Have any of you every visited Cannon Beach Book Company (in Cannon Beach, Oregon)? Their website claims that they are the “perfect browser’s book store” and I agree. The owner and staff were delightful!
  • I lowered the “700 page book” to 600 pages

What’s the same?

  • Many categories will be similar because reading is reading. As mentioned above, you will notice a few new gems
  • 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 five summers I’ve selected a penalty book and it worked, except that my penalty book last year was horrible. I’m now a bit gun shy, but am reminding my self that my track record is 80% good books. I tend to choose “long” history books that I have meant to get around to and this summer is no different. My penalty book for 2023 is No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin (I have been meaning to read this for year and I like her writing).
  • Like previous years, if you do not read your “penalty” book, you will subtract two books from your total.
  • The joy of reading!

What’s in it for you?

  • All who comment between August 10-14th 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 or a book 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 of poetry
  • A memoir or autobiography
  • A graphic novel
  • A book for professional development (loosely defined)
  • A book longer than 600 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 that won an award
  • A book by someone with a different view point than you
  • A book by an author you know (get “credit” for supporting your friends 😊)
  • 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
  • A book in a different language than English (could be sign language, morse code, Spanish, don’t get hung up on terms 😊)
  • Read out loud to someone. Could be a whole book, a favorite passage, to a child
  • Listen to someone reading out loud (not an audio book, an actual person)

Download the 2023 Summer Reading Challenge

Download the 2023 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!

My penalty book is No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin

~~~

In short: Read seven books from June 1 to August 11, 2023.

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

Happy Reading, Amy

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

Summer Reading Challenge

Summer Reading Challenge 2021 is Finished!

Congrats for making it to the end of the Summer Reading Challenge 2021!

As I sat down to work on the list of books I read this summer, I am so proud of us and of this challenge. Thanks to this challenge, every summer I read several books that I simply would not have read without this nudge to read more variety. I imagine it’s the same for you.

Three things to know for me this summer:

1. I read more fiction than normal. (This is a big deal for me!)

2. Thanks to the “Penalty Book” category, for the fourth summer I read a book I have been meaning to read for ages! Go penalty books!

3. Summer reading makes me happy.

So, how did The Summer Reading Challenge go for you? Remember, in The Summer Reading Challenge the goal is to read seven books between June 1 and August 13th. Comment below and you are entered for one of ten $10 Amazon gift cards. Even if you didn’t read seven books, still share what you read! This isn’t really a contest so much as a chance to share and a chance to see how many books we read collectively.

I’m going to put the categories here if you want to cut and paste them into the comments. Also feel free to just list books, whatever works for you.

In honor of the Olympics:

—A book involving the Olympics, sports, or Japan

For the Joy of Reading:

—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 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 book by someone with a different view point than you

—A mystery

—A classic

—A novel 

—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

 

Amy’s books

A Biography: American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI by Kate Winkler Dawson

A book I already own: Olive, Again: A Novel by Elizabeth Strout

A book a friend recommended: Ten Words to Live By by Jen Wilkin

A Young Adult book (YA): Jeanie Blair, Author Extraordinaire: A lesson in Compassion by Allie Slocum

A book with a great cover: Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn

A book of poetry: The Tale of a Niggun by Elie Wiesel

A graphic novel: Why She Wrote: A Graphic History of the Lives, Inspiration, and Influence Behind the Pens of Classic Women Writers by Lauren Burke (Author), Hannah K. Chapman  (Author), Kaley Bales  (Illustrator) (Note: Not for young children.)

A book for professional development (loosely defined): Effortless by Greg McKeown

A book with a verb in the title: Beyond Awkward Side Hugs: Living as Christian Brothers and Sisters in a Sex-Crazed World by Bronwyn Lea 

A book about a country or culture you have never visited: Out of Darkness, Shining Light: A Novel by Petina Gappah

A book about history: The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 by David McCullough

A book that won an award: The Midnight Library: A Novel by Matt Haig

A mystery: The Beekeeper’s Apprentice: or, On the Segregation of the Queen (A Mary Russell Mystery, 1) by Laurie R. King

A novel: Little Fires Everywhere: A Novel by Celeste Ng

An audiobook: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World by John Mark Comer

A book You want to discuss with others: Anxious People: A Novel by Fredrik Backman

Penalty Book (subtract two books if you don’t read this book): The Path Between . . . I read it! I read it! No need to subtract. Whew AND I’m glad I read it.

 

You can see I didn’t read in every category.

I come back to this not being a contest, if you read four books and that was your goal, great! I just find that I’m more likely to accomplish my goals if I tell people what they are. I would not have read as many novels, the poetry book, or the graphic novel and I’m 99% sure I would still be intending to read The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough. Thanks to you, I read all of them.

To enter, leave a comment on this post.

I can’t wait to see what you’ve been reading. I’ll pick winners on Monday so you have several days to leave a comment.

Thank you for joining in!

Amy

Summer Reading Challenge

Summer Reading Challenge 2021 is here!

Calling all readers!

It’s a day of rejoicing because the Summer Reading Challenge 2021 is here! If you can believe it, this is the sixth summer of the challenge.

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

Left to my own, I will read the same kind of book over and over, always meaning to get to other types of books. I will not 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 13, 2021. To enter, read seven books from 25 categories.

What is different?

  • A few new categories
  • No COVID focus this year
  • A nod to the Olympics

What is 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 three summers I have 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 The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough is my penalty book. Can I tell you how many years I’ve meant to read this book?! 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 12-15th 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!

  • 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 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 book by someone with a different view point than you
  • A mystery
  • A classic
  • A novel 
  • 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

In honor of the Olympics and because my first “sports injury” was inspired by the Olympics:

  • A book involving the Olympics, sports, or Japan

(Pro tip: Do not do a cartwheel that starts by you standing on a piano bench and ends with you on the floor screaming in pain, and gets worse because you lie to your mom as you realize, even in the midst of severe pain, how dumb it was to seriously injured your wrist by falling more than four feet onto it with no training (or common sense!). Good news, the x-ray showed that unlike my pride, the bone was not broken!)

Download the 2021 Summer Reading Challenge

Download the Summer Reading Challenge 2021, 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 The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough.

~~~

In short: Read seven books from June 1 to August 13, 2021.

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

Summer Reading Challenge

Summer Reading Challenge 2020 is Finished!

Congrats for making it to the end of the Summer Reading Challenge 2020!

I admit, I needed the challenge like never before. In the past, I have needed this challenge for the fun and joy of reading. This year? I needed it to kick my behind so that I actually read books outside of my normal categories. If you’re familiar with what I tend to read, you won’t set that much that’s different.

But without this challenge? You’d see even less that I wouldn’t normally read.

Three things to know for me this summer:

1. I have been drawn to all things “The Office” recently. The podcast The Office Ladies breakdown each episode and I love hearing the back story of an episdoe and then rewatching the episode. You’ll notice my Office obsession played out in books I read.

2. Thanks to the “Penalty Book” category, for the third summer I read a book I have been meaning to read for ages! Go penalty books!

3. Reading makes me happy, even when the world may be in melt-down mode.

So, how did The Summer Reading Challenge go for you? Remember, in The Summer Reading Challenge the goal is to read seven books between June 1 and August 18th. Comment below and you are entered for one of ten $10 Amazon gift cards. Even if you didn’t read seven books, still share what you read! This isn’t really a contest so much as a chance to share and a chance to see how many books we read collectively.

I’m going to put the categories here if you want to cut and paste them into the comments. Also feel free to just list books, whatever works for you.

Four COVID-19 Special Categories:

  • A book with either something old, something new, something borrowed, or something blue
  • A book with a nurse, doctor, or other medical personnel
  • A book with a teacher, student, or classroom
  • A book about a pandemic or outbreak

For the Joy of Reading:

  • 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 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 
  • An audiobook
  • A book with an animal
  • A book less than 100 pages
  • A book You want to discuss with others
  • Penalty Book (subtract two books if you don’t read this book)

Amy’s books:

A book about a pandemic or outbreak: Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks and God and the Pandemic: A Christian Reflection on the Coronavirus and Its Aftermath by NT Wright

A Biography: Abigail Adams: A Life by Woody Holton (my penalty book!)

A memoir or autobiography: Educated: A Memoir by Tara Owens

A graphic Novel: Nicolas by Pascal Girard “Girard revisits the childhood death of his little brother in his most emotional and spare work.”

A book for professional development (loosely defined): The Actor’s Life: A Survival Guide by Jenna Fischer (Hello “The Office” friend!)

A book with a verb in the title: Didn’t See It Coming: Overcoming the Seven Greatest Challenges That No One Expects and Everyone Experiences by Carey Nieuwhof

A book about a country or culture you have never visited: The Breadwinner: A Graphic Novel by Deborah Ellis and illustrated by (“This beautiful graphic-novel adaptation of The Breadwinner animated film tells the story of eleven-year-old Parvana who must disguise herself as a boy to support her family during the Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan.”)

A book that won an award: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (A Business Insider Defining Book of the Decade )

An audiobook: Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling (Another “The Office” friend. If you aren’t a “Office” fan, okay to skip.)

A book less than 100 pages: two novelas by Fredrick Backman And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer: A Novella and The Deal of a Lifetime

A book You want to discuss with others: Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell

Penalty Book (subtract two books if you don’t read this book): Abigail Adams . . . I read it! I read it! No need to subtract. Whew AND I’m glad I read it.

You can see I didn’t read in every category and I’m drawn to non-fiction more than fiction.

I come back to this not being a contest, if you read four books and that was your goal, great! I just find that I’m more likely to accomplish my goals if I tell people what they are. I would not have read the two fantastic novellas and I’m 99% sure I would still be intending to read Abigail Adams by Woody Holton. Thanks to you, I read both of them.

I can’t wait to see what you’ve been reading. I’ll pick winners on Saturday so you have time this week to leave a comment.

Thank you for joining in!

Amy

Book, Summer Reading Challenge

What is Beautiful? (and a giveaway!)

My friend Abbie has written her first children’s book: What is beautiful? She sent me an advanced copy and asked me to write a short blurb. This is what I wrote:

“Reading What is Beautiful? I had the sense that for a few minutes I was back in the Garden of Eden, in the cool of the day on a walk with God. This small book speaks volumes with lyrical prose and engaging illustrations about how we are each made in the Image of God, beloved from the beginning, and unique in our own way. Though a book for the ages, it is a must read right now.”

Obviously I loved it. You must read this book!

I also love hearing about the process for an idea to become a book and asked Abbie if she’s be up for a few questions. She graciously said yes! Yay!

Abbie, what seeds planted the idea that grew into What Is Beautiful?

Honestly one could find plethoras in the soil of my last fifteen years of writing. Both Celibate Sex (through singleness) & Stretch Marks I Wasn’t Expecting (through early marriage & motherhood) spend many’a pages unpacking God’s beauty & “what is beautiful.”

More immediately though, two years back we were hosting friends for New Year’s Eve and decided to have everyone share something “beautiful” & “brutal” from their previous twelve months. On the way to buy food that afternoon, I was sitting at a red-light thinking about the semantics of the word beautiful, when “be-you-to-the-full” felt like it dropped in my lap. That seed has been filling-out ever since.

This is your first children’s book, I imagine it’s different writing a children’s book from your other books. I’m curious how this project was similar to and different from other projects?

Different, indeed! The red-light revelation, plus seventeen lines that came to me in a few hours (versus years) was a distinctly new experience for me. Thus far, my experience of children’s writing seems night and day from grown-up people writing. Truth be told, however, the words and message of What Is Beautiful? had been growing in me for years. 

Although I chuckle and say the children’s book took me only an afternoon to write, it’s important for me to remember that God had been birthing the lines for months and years, and many carry layers of wounds and journeys and hardship (like eating disorders & shame). In other words, I don’t want to underestimate the road that led me to that red-light, prompt thought it was in the moment. 

What is it like working with an illustrator? (Ashley did an amazing job!!) Did you know her? Did the publisher introduce you? Did you finish the words first and then she did the illustrations? So many questions :)!

Oh wow, I don’t know enough about children’s realms to know if this is often the case, but I LOVED working with Ashley. She’s a 20-something bundle of joy with utmost humility and talent, which was blissful to work alongside. Frankly that “working” and friendship were developed by us though, and not necessarily a norm for author / illustrator relationships. Once Parent Cue had my words, that was really all they needed from me; from there, they did all the work of hiring and steering illustrations with Ashley. (And I’d guess stacks of children’s books will be in her future; that girl is gold.)

Any other children’s books in your future?

Haha, not that I know of. For whatever reasons, I’ve not been writing much lately. Hard to fathom any other books on my radar right now, but I’ve been known to say that before.

What is your hope and prayer for What Is Beautiful?

What a lovely question. Unlike other writing and books I’ve done, What Is Beautiful? seems to be connecting with readers who aren’t followers of Christ. It would be my highest honor as an author to hear that someone discovered more about, or maybe even for the first time, truths of God & his beauty through these pages.

Thank you Abbie for offering us a peek behind the curtain!

Abbie’s publisher is sending me a copy to share with one of you! I’ll mail it within the US, so you could get it yourself or win as a present for someone.

Leave a comment and you’ll be entered to possibly win of What is Beautiful. Comment ideas: What stood out to you in the interview? How’s the Summer Reading Challenge going (note next Tuesday the 18th is the end!) What’s a favorite children’s book?

See you next week with the Summer Reading Challenge roundup!

Summer Reading Challenge

Summer Reading Challenge 2020 is here!

Calling all readers!

It’s a day of rejoicing because the Summer Reading Challenge 2020 is here! If you can believe it, this is the fifth 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 18, 2020. To enter, read seven books from 25 categories.

What is different?

  • Pandemic, anyone? For some you’ve already been reading extra, for others, the past few months have dinged your ability to concentrate and read.
  • You may have less access to libraries.
  • So, you might need this challenge more than ever to get your reading mojo back. BUT you might have less access to libraries and may need to borrow books from friends and family.
  • In recognition of the graduations and weddings that were planned and the medical personnel impacted, students, teachers, and parents doing school different, and those in isolation who had a very different than expected first half of the year we have four “COVID-19 Special Categories.”

What is 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 year. A penalty book or category you declare I will read or be penalized. The last two summers I have 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 Abigail Adams by Woody Holton is my penalty book. Can I tell you how many years I’ve meant to read this book?! This is the summer!
  • Like last year, 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 on August 18-21st 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!

In recognition of the graduations, weddings, medical personnel, and those in isolation who had a very different than expected first half of the year we have four COVID-19 Special Categories:

  • A book with either something old, something new, something borrowed, or something blue
  • A book with a nurse, doctor, or other medical personnel
  • A book with a teacher, student, or classroom
  • A book about a pandemic or outbreak

In Recognition of the Joy of reading:

  • 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 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 
  • An audiobook
  • A book with an animal
  • A book less than 100 pages
  • A book You want to discuss with others

My penalty book is: Abilgail Adams by Woody Holton.

Download the 2020 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!

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In short: Read seven books from June 1 to August 18, 2020.

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

Photo by David Lezcano on Unsplash

Summer Reading Challenge

Summer Reading Challenge 2019 is Finished!

The day that we have all been longing for is here :)— The end of the Summer 2019 Reading Challenge. Like runners at the end of a race, maybe you have stumbled across the finish line and are now collapsed and gasping for air.

But once you catch your breath, HIGH FIVE TO YOU! You made it! I made it! We made it! On Tuesday as I checked into the gym, I chatted with the front desk gal about what I had going on this week. I mentioned writing this post about the end of our Summer Reading Challenge and told her the goal was 7 books, but that I had read 13 books. A trainer standing next to her looked at me like I am an alien and asked, “Do you have a job?!”

Ha!!! I do. But these challenges help me live into the person I want to be. So, I repeat. HIGH FIVES all around! We made it.

Well, how did it go? Remember, in The Summer Reading Challenge the goal was to read seven books between June 1 and August 16th. You enter for one of the ten $10 Amazon gift cards by leaving a comment on this post. Even if you didn’t read seven, still share what you read! This isn’t really a contest so much as a chance to share and a chance to see how many books we read collectively.

I’m going to put the categories here if you want to cut and paste them into the comments. Also feel free to just list books, whatever works for you.

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 visite4d
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 with an animal
A book less than 100 pages
A book you want to discuss with others
Self Assigned “Penalty Book” (if you don’t read, subtract two books you read from your total “books read”

A book I already own—The Dark Heart: A True Story of Greed, Murder, and an Unlikely Investigator by Joakim Palmkvist and translated by Agnes Broomé. I bought this either cheap on Kindle or got it free on some international book day deal. I’m the worst about getting books for free and then never reading them. Glad to have read this true crime story.

A book a friend recommended—Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev. This was recommended by my niece Emily who read it in school and my book group in Denver read it in July. He was a contemporary of Tolstoy and  Dostoevsky, but wrote shorter books than they did! Written in 1862 about the 1859 freeing of the serfs. Very readable and generated a lively discussion.

A book with a great cover—Invited: The Power of Hospitality in an Age of Loneliness by Leslie Verner

A book of poetry—Lion Island: Cuba’s Warrior of Words by Margarita Engle. This is a young adult “novel” told through poetry, I did not know such a book existed. Cuba in the 1870s was a combo of Chinese indentured servants escpaing from California, African slaves (and former slaves), and those of Spanish descent. I don’t want to give the story away, but read it!

A graphic novel—Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel by Mariah Marsden and illustrated by Brenna Thummler. This is, hands down the best graphic novel every written. Stay tuned for more in another post.

A book for professional development (loosely defined)—Developing Female Leaders: Navigate the Minefields and Release the Potential of Women in Your Church by Kadi Cole

A book with a verb in the title—Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others by Barbara Brown Taylor

A book about history—Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II by Liza Mundy

A classic—The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The Blue Castle is the only book she wrote for grown-ups. Having read the Anne books in the summer as a child, this was a wonderful summer read.

An audiobook—Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

A book related to a skill—How to Write, Edit, and Publish Your Memoir: Advice from a Best-Selling Memoirist by Carolyn Jourdan. (You might recognize her name from Heart in the Right Place.)

A book with an animal—Britt-Marie Was Here: A Novel by Fredrik Bachman has a rat (also made me laugh more than any other book I read this summer!)

Self Assigned “Penalty Book”—Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I think this is my favorite category because it kicks me in the pants to read a book I otherwise my drag my heels on . . . and then I am grateful and proud of myself for reading it.

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You can see I didn’t read in every category and I’m drawn to non-fiction more than fiction.

I come back to this not being a contest, if you read four books and that was your goal, great! I just find that I’m more likely to accomplish my goals if I tell people what they are. I would not have read the fantastic Anne of Green Gables graphic novel and I’m 99% sure I would still be intending to read Leadership by Goodwin. Thanks to you, I read both of them.

I can’t wait to see what you’ve been reading. I’ll pick winners next Monday so you have time this weekend to leave a comment.

Thank you for joining in!

Amy

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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