book club selections :: 2012-2013
This June marks the beginning of my third year reading together with my book club. The time has passed quickly since it first began and when I think about the past two years, I’m really thankful for the constant reminder and accountability to be reading.
We’ve read a number of different books (two dozen to be exact) and I’ve been challenged in ways that I wasn’t expecting when we first got started. I’ve learned that you can have a really good discussion over a not-so-good book. I’ve been reminded how good it is for Christians to read books from all genres and to learn how to read them well. And I’ve learned that reading together with others is a rich experience, because almost always you will see something more.
We had our book selection last night. We brought our book suggestions and were given twelve votes to cast on what we hoped to read this year. We could use our votes however we liked. This gave us the freedom to vote for twelve different books, or use all twelve votes on a single book if we wanted to ensure that title in our line-up.
Here is this year’s book selections. Have you read any of them? I’m thrilled to get started. And if you aren’t a part of a book club, by all means start one soon!
June: Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by: Nathaniel Philbrick
July: 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by: Jenn Hatmaker
August: Culture Making: Recovering our Creative Calling by: Andy Crouch
September: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by: Amy Chua
October: Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping by: Paco Underhill
November: The Hunger Games Trilogy by: Suzanne Collins
December: Simplify Your Spiritual Life: Spiritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed by: Donald S. Whitney
January: Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier, and More Secure Kids by: Kim John Payne
February: The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis by: Alan Jacobs
March: The Dog Says How by: Kevin Kling
April: Orthodoxy by: G.K. Chesterton
May: Hannah Coulter by: Wendell Berry
In case you are looking for some good book recommendations, here are reading selections from the previous two years:
Wow! Quite a list….will be curious to hear your reaction to each book.
thanks for three great lists. are most of these available at the church library or public library or do you purchase them? maybe i can fit in some reading this summer. how do you start a book club if you have never done it. is there any structure that you follow when discussing the book. thanks again.
I just started a book club not too long ago and I’m loving it! I have a question for you – how do you decide what to discuss for each book? Do you take turns leading discussions/coming up with questions?
Jenny, can you list maybe just a few of your favorites? I’m looking for some recommendations for books. Thanks! -Jessica
Yes! We loved The Help, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Good Earth, oh wow…the list could go on and on!!
Another suggestion: a little known spiritual suspense memoir called Graffitti On My Soul which will make you laugh and cry, hold your heart in a vise and make your spirit soar. check out reviews on Amazon.
Praying for Strangers is a really good one! And an easy read… fun to discuss as well