2017 Reading Challenge: The First 10 Books

The past couple of years, I have taken part in a reading challenge where I tried to diversity my reading selections. Both years, I really enjoyed it until about May, and then started to feel very limited by needing to select specific types of books. So this year, my goal is much simpler - to read 40 books by the end of the year. Here are the first 10 books I have read so far in 2017! 

1. A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman (an audio book) - My first book of 2017! My friend and I listened to it on audio book for our drive back from Colorado today, and then I finished on Kindle when I got home. It reminded me of a cross between the movie "Up" and the book "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry," and is about a curmudgeonly man in Sweden struggling after the death of his wife. I enjoyed this book the more that it progressed - there are many depressing elements but it is ultimately warm, heartearming, and uplifting. Definitely recommended!

2. Love Warrior, by Glennon Doyle Melton (author whose blog I follow) - This is the second book by blogger Glennon Doyle Melton that I have read. I follow and absolutely love her blog, Momastery. This book focuses on her marriage and is very well written. I've read some reviews that think that it shares too many personal details, but that didn't bother me - probably because I am also an over-sharer! Recommended if you enjoyed her other book or blog.

3. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City, by Matt Desmond (a book that can change your life) - Oh my gosh. This book! If you are at all interested in understanding urban poverty, you must read this book. It's by a Harvard sociologist and focuses on the lives of tenants who are evicted and landlords in Milwaukee, WI over the course of the year. It's a page-turner and so eye-opening.

4. Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream, by Sara Goldrick-Rab (a book I read in one day) - I read this book during our "ice day." It focuses on the lives of first-generation college students who are Pell-grant eligible, intersected with all kinds of data from a representative survey study. I felt like I previously had a good pulse on the struggles and limitations of college costs/affordability, but the book was very well done and eye-opening in many accounts. Recommended if you are interested in understanding higher education.

5. Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi (a book about slavery and Africa) - A simply amazing book!! This is a novel that follows a family from the 1700s to the present day. The story begins with two half-sisters in Ghana, one of whom is sold into slavery and who is sent to America, and the other whom remains in Ghana. Each chapter is a different generation from either the Ghana/U.S. side of the family. So many themes on race, family, colonialism, slavery, segregation, and so much more. Absolutely, positively recommended!!

6. Uninvited, by Lysa TerKeurst (a Christian women's book) - I really wanted to like this book more, but thought it was a little - watered-down? Unfocused? It made some good points (ultimate one - you can't count on other people to fill you up), but I almost feel like the whole book could have been a one-page bulleted list? I feel bad being critical because the author does come off as super sweet.

7. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, by David Sedaris (a humorous book) - This is a series of humorous essays with the common theme of - who knows? I don't think I would get along with the author at all in real life. But parts of it were really, really funny (some in a twisted or black sort of humor way!) and I enjoyed reading it.

8. Hillbilly Elegy, by J. D. Vance (a book on cultural issues) - I saw this book recommended in the wake of the election last year and I expected to be a sociological explanation of Rust Belt America. Instead, it's a very personal memoir about growing up (and ultimately escaping) Appalachia. There aren't as many cited research studies as very personal and powerful stories. I really enjoyed it!

9. We Should All Be Feminists, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (an extremely short book) - I previously read "Americanah" by the author and loved it. This was a "Kindle short" and I was excited to give it a try. It is an essay on the meaning and importance of feminism. It is a great essay - but is incredibly short!! It took me less than 20 minutes, and maybe even less to read it. But I'm still tracking it in my books for the year since I paid $2.99. :) 

10. Year of Yes, by Shonda Rhimes (a book by a celebrity) - This is a book that a friend recommended. I had never heard of Shonda Rhimes before - or watched any of her TV shows. And I really enjoyed the book! I could totally identify with being an introvert who found it easier to hide from everything -- and how transformative it was to have a year of saying "yes" to everything that had preciously been scary.

What good (or bad) books have you read recently?? 

Comparison, The Thief of Joy

When my sister, Julie, and I were growing up, on one occasion we composed a list that included everything that each of us was "better at" than the other one. My list included things like writing (more a function of the fact that I enjoyed it more than any actual skill) and playing the piano. Julie's list included running (we went to different high schools and each ran for our school's cross country and track teams, and I can attest that Julie beat me easily in every.single.race) and math. I remember being quite happy with the list that we had made, but when our mom found it, she was quite upset. I can't recall her exact words, but they were along the lines of, "You two should love each other, not compare yourselves to each other!"

Why do we compare? I think it is so easy to blame social media for this phenomenon, but my sister and I made our comparison list long before the days of the Internet. I think it is natural to compare. It is one of the basis of analysis - comparing and contrasting two similar (or opposing) items. We are taught in literature classes to compare across books and characters, and in expository writing to compare elements that we have observed. We teach our children to look at picture books and found the tallest, the shortest, the softest, the loudest item on a page. We compare products to find the best one. Comparison is part of life.

And yet, comparison of our own life to another's life is fraught with problems. I have been thinking about this sentiment this past week, as one of the blogs I follow has been doing a series on comparison and how comparison robs us of so much joy. We may be feeling quite satisfied and content, but when we suddenly see evidence of someone who is happier, thinner, prettier, wittier, more successful, or whatever the basis of comparison might be, we suddenly feel ashamed and miserable.

I am so guilty of this. I compare myself all of the time, on every dimension. Parenting? Someone else is doing a better job. Work? Someone else has published more. Personality? Someone else can connect with people easier. Housekeeping? Well, I have decided to just abdicate on that one. ;)

But I also think that we can draw false conclusions from our comparisons because we do not see the whole story.  Others may be just as worried about their children, or work, or personality, or housekeeping as you are. People may be facing hidden demons or battles that they keep tucked away from the light of day.

In the end, I think my mom's words still have so much power - we should all strive to love each other, not compare. So instead of comparing ourselves on every dimension to another person - we instead could celebrate, lift up, respect, and, above all, love each person connected with us. And what a beautiful world that would be.