June Reads 2024
June Reads 2024: 4 Books I Read this Month
By: Brittany Shields
This is one of my lowest quantity of books I’ve read in a month. But I began the month by visiting a friend in Wisconsin. Then I dedicated a week to prepping for and running a garage sale. My family also took a trip to Minneapolis.
Add to that the normal busyness of summer with kids’ swim lessons, park time, pool time, friend time, and reading time gets pushed to the side!
Even so, I managed to log four books this month. Two are fiction, two non-fiction. Two check off prompts for my Shelf Reflection’s 2024 Reading Challenge.
The two non-fiction books are new releases!
I’m headed to Switzerland in July and then the month settles down for a bit. We shall see how many books I can get through in the next few weeks.
What does summer reading look like for you?
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1. Does the Bible Affirm Same-Sex Relationships?: Examining 10 Claims about Scripture and Sexuality by Rebecca McLaughlin
Genre: Cultural/ Non-fiction
“Following Jesus means being willing to give up everything— even our most treasured hopes, dreams, and relationships… Jesus is the treasure. When we find him, we find our life. And as we give ourselves to Jesus, we will find that we have gained each other too.”
Rebecca is writing to us because she has been there and she currently is there. A place where she experiences same-sex attraction. She tried so hard to read the Bible in a way that affirms her heart’s longing.
She also shares the stories of some of her friends who had their own journeys of struggle and of coming to the Bible to shape it to their needs. But they all came to the conclusion that the Bible is clear in what it teaches.
McLaughlin shares why although it is hard news, it is also good news.
It’s not a book of ‘no.’ It’s an invitation to the ‘yes’ that the Bible DOES offer.
The strength of this book is being able to articulate clearly in a short number of pages the biblical argument for sex and marriage to be between a man and woman, but also to elevate other kinds of relationships to their rightful place. It assures those with same-sex attraction that they still belong in the church and they still have a place in sharing in and portraying to others the love of Christ.
Read my full review to see the list of ten claims McLaughlin addresses, read a longer quote from the author on why she is writing this book, and get a list of further reading suggestions.
2. The Housekeepers by Alex Hay
Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery
[On my list of Most Anticipated Books of 2023]
[Fulfilled ‘A book with a heist’ prompt as part of Shelf Reflection’s 2024 Reading Challenge]
This is set in the 1900s in Mayfair, London which actually just adds to the intrigue because pulling off a heist before the age of technology is a whole different beast.
The mastermind behind the heist in The Housekeepers is the freshly fired main Housekeeper Mrs. King. Having worked in the house for a long time and then running it, she knows all the ins and outs of the interworkings, the staff, and the inventory therein.
This heist is mostly an act of revenge, but possibly something else underlies her motives for seeking to empty the entire house of its contents on the night of an elite ball.
Read my full review to see what my disappointments were in the book and get a content advisory.
3. Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
Genre: Mystery/Crime
“Look, we’re not a family of psychopaths. Some of us are good, others are bad, and some just unfortunate. Which one am I?”
“One day you’ll realize family isn’t about whose blood runs in your veins, it’s who you’d spill it for.”
This was a fun read!
It is a present-day whodunnit with the principles of the ‘Golden Age’ of mystery novels, aka Agathe Christie. I agree with others who say it has a Knives Out vibe.
This book is a bit unique because it has a narrator (Ernest Cunningham), speaking in first person, but deliberately speaking to the reader as if recounting his tale in person. He offers some foreshadowing, but holds himself to the (non-fictional) ‘10 Commandments of Detective Fiction’ that are listed in the front of the book.
I know some are bored by that type of story and prefer the super twisty, unreliable narrator tropes that are popular today. But I definitely appreciate a good mystery that doesn’t rely on lies or supernatural explanations but “plays fair”.
The main premise of this book is: while at a family reunion in the mountains of Australia, a dead body is found and Ernest, knowing everyone in his family has killed someone, has too many suspects to consider as he strives to figure out the mystery before anyone else dies. Spoiler alert: more people die…
This one has humor and is clever and compelling!
Read my full review to read some comments I thought were funny, get more plot details, and a book recommendation about a family of actual psychopaths.
4. Waiting Isn’t a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life by Mark Vroegop
Genre: Non-Fiction/ Christian Living
“Waiting on God is living on what I know to be true about God when I don’t know what’s true about my life.”
I hate waste. Wasted food, wasted money, wasted time, wasted opportunities, wasted words.
When I saw the title of this book I knew I needed to read it. So much of life is spent waiting in some form or another and I needed to be able to see how it wasn’t a waste.
I loved Vroegop’s book Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy, and this is almost an extension of that book. Although that book focuses on the idea of lamenting and how we struggle through our grief, the principles he directs us to in both books are similar.
He points us to the person of God. Who is God when we hurt? Who is God when we are waiting? The answer is the most important part of both journeys. We trust God in the pain because we know what is true about him. We trust God in the waiting because we know what is true about him.
I think this book is highly relevant and a great read for anyone.
As I’ve said, I hate wasted time, and I can promise you that reading this book is not a waste of yours.
Read my full review to see how he directs us to wait, see the acronym he offers to help us wait better, and get more quotes.
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