9 Books I Read in June
9 Books I Read in June
By: Brittany Shields
It’s hard to believe summer is about half over!
I’m more than halfway done with the Spring/Summer Reading Challenge. Four of my books in June fulfilled categories for it.
Even though I vacationed without my kids last month, somehow I still read more books in May than I did in June.
It’s about half fiction, half nonfiction and genre variance within.
Check out the 9 books I just read and click through the links at the bottom to explore more of my reading lists. There’s sure to be something that catches your eye!
Below you will find a quote or short blurb for each book and a link that’ll take you to the full reviews. Don’t forget to share your favorites to your social media pages or pin to your Pinterest reading lists!
The Office: The Untold Story of the Greatest Sitcom of the 2000s: An Oral History by Andy Greene
Genre: Nonfiction/Humor
Here is a happy little book about one of the best shows to have been created!
Andy Greene has compiled snippets from lots of interviews with cast members, writing and production, and executives of The Office into a book that discusses the origin of the show and its transformation and growth from Season 1 to the finale of Season 9.
2. A Beautiful Blue Death (Charles Lenox #1) by Charles Finch
Genre: Mystery/Historical Fiction
This unappealing book cover is misleading as I found this book to be an enjoyable read. It’s very similar to a Sherlock Holmes mystery and in my review I hash it out with some of the 1-star reviewers of this book and explain why I believe Finch wrote this series correctly!
3. The Deep, Deep Snow by Brian Freeman
Genre: Mystery
“Sometimes the dead are easier to find than the living.”
Not as intense as some of his other books, but this mystery about a kidnapped boy in a small town is still worth reading. It is told in two parts— when the abduction first occurred, and ten years later when new evidence surfaces. The answers the end may or may not satisfy you.
4. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
“It’s hard to predict, isn’t it? The things that will make us happy?”
This book was a Goodreads’ 2020 Choice Award Winner for Fiction and a generally well-liked book.
A suicidal girl gets infinite chances to find ‘the perfect life’ by perusing the magical library between life and death. Much to be gleaned from these pages about depression, happiness, and what success really means. I make a few stipulations in my review, but generally speaking, I would recommend this book as I feel we live in a time where we would do anything to find what we think will make us the happiest.
5. Where I End: A Story of Tragedy, Truth, and Rebellious Hope by Katherine Elizabeth Clark
Genre: Memoir/Christian Living
“In God’s vast mercy, we live the stories of our lives one page at a time. For sometimes a chapter so painful will come, we are tempted to lament that we’d even started the story. But when we bear the sorrow, one sorrow at a time, honestly and with a measure of rebellious hope, instead of becoming paralyzed or mending crooked, we come through with a quiet strength, a peculiar beauty that only sorrow can forge.”
This is not only a telling of the story of an event that completely changed her life, but it is much more than that. It is a gospel-centered, straightforward look at pain and grief and how we are called to live it. Kate shares her story of tragedy but it takes a back seat to God’s words as she challenges us in our thinking. Solid read. (More great quotes in the review)
6. The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel
Genre: Historical Fiction
“She thought she was teaching them how to live, but now she realized that in many ways, she had been the student all along. ”
A story of survival, danger, and a bit of romance. This book is based on the true stories of Jews escaping the ghettos to hide from the Nazis in the vast Polish forests. Harmel’s story includes a fictional girl, stolen as a child and kept in the forest until events led her to a group of refugees needing her help. To get a visual taste of this story, my review names a movie streaming on Netflix about this.
7. Men and Women in the Church: A Short, Biblical, Practical Introduction by Kevin DeYoung
Genre: Theology/Cultural
A discussion on gender roles in the church and ministry. Probably a controversial book. I believe the theology of this book to be solid but something about the book that I can’t put my finger on left me somewhat dissatisfied- which is fleshed out in my review. I plan to read more on this topic and explore more of the nuances of different stances that I hadn’t heard before. Maybe not the best book on this topic, but is a good short introduction. Others rave about this one, so judge for yourself.
8. A Deadly Influence (Abby Mullen Thrillers #1) by Mike Omer
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Which is more dangerous— the influence of a cult or being a social media influencer?
This book weaves these two powers together in a chilling thriller about a kidnapping and what it takes to get him back. A hostage negotiator is haunted by her past cult experience as she helps another cult survivor. A hard mystery to solve that leaves you on a cliffhanger.
9. Finding the Right Hills to Die on: A Case for Theological Triage by Gavin Ortlund
Genre: Christian Living
“Pursuing the unity of the church does not mean that we should stop caring about theology. But it does mean that our love of theology should never exceed our love of real people, and therefore we must learn to love people amid our theological disagreements.”
Based on the term ‘theological triage’ coined by Albert Mohler, this book discusses how we can use a system of theological prioritization to help us determine what doctrinal hills are worth dying for in order to maintain both unity in God’s church and love for his children. Definitely a book needed right now. Ortlund’s tiered system is described in the review.
If you give any of these a try, let me know what you think! And share what you read in June in the comments below.
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