Reading Journal - June

I have to admit that when June arrived I was feeling very depleted in my reading life. I like to listen to podcasts, but decided to download some audiobooks and purposely listen every change I could. I dived right in to the Miss Marple Series by Agatha Christie. I feel quite refreshed now and am going to continue this until life takes a violent shift into high gear. 

I read:

• Are Women Human?: Astute and Witty Essay on the Role of Women in Society by Dorothy Sayers - I read this for The Literary Life Podcast. An interesting read and I was thankful for the podcast to help break it down.
• Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear - It took me several months to get through this book. I started listening to it and then decided I should read it instead and check it out as an ebook from the library and finally had to check the book out. There is some great information in here, but there are so many steps that I don't know how well I could apply it to my life. He does offer a "cheat" sheet on his website but I'm sure I would need to re-read the book to implement it.
• The Gospel-Centered Mom: The Freeing Truth About What Your Kids Really Need by Brooke McGlothin - If you are a mom this is a must read book. Being a mom is hard and you can't do it on your own. The message around us is that "You are enough." but God's Word says "He is enough." Some great tips and reminders for the weary mom.
• Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery - I have been slowly reading through the Anne Series over the last couple of years. Anne's children are still young and this book is full of stories of her children. My favorite part of the book is the end where Anne thinks Gilbert is tired of her as a wife. Such a real story.
• Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver - A fun fluffy mystery.
• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen - I read this along with the Close Reads Podcast. I hesitated to read it since Marianne is so over the top, but dived right in. I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading that she wasn't as bad as I remembered, but then I got in the middle of the book and yes, she was over the top. Anyways, I did enjoy this reading and stand amazed at Austen's way with a pen.
• The Spies of Shilling Lane by Jennifer Ryan - I'm not sure why I picked up this book, except that it looked interesting. I really enjoyed this story. It's a story of a mother going in search of her daughter. In the midst of kidnapping and spying they come to terms with their relationship. (Edited: If books had movie rating I would say that this is a PG read.)
• The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie - The second book in the Miss Marple series. I couldn't get this one audio so I had to read the book.
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - I read this aloud to my 12th and 10th grader for their literature selection for the last term of school. I so enjoy this story and it prompted a lot of great discussions with my kids.

I listened to:

• Agatha Christie's Miss Marple Series: 
• Murder at the Vicarage - This has been my favorite so far. I got such a kick out of the Vicar and his wife. 
• The Body in the Library
• The Moving Finger
• A Murder is Announced
• They Do It With Mirrors
• A Pocket Full of Rye

• The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay - This was an enjoyable read. At first I had a hard time following the story since the different characters told the story from their point of view but on the audio the same narrator kept reading. When I finally realized that it helped a lot!