Recently Read

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1. Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert
I was not overly impressed with Eat, Pray, Love - her first bestselling book that was turned into a movie I also found disappointing, despite the fact that it starred my beloved Julia Roberts. So I'm not sure why I picked this up. It was easy to follow and I like her voice, but it was nothing exceptional.

2. Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs
I learned a lot from this book. The gist of it can be summed up in a few sentences: the way that women crave love, men crave respect - and vice versa. Respect your husband and show him and tell him how much you respect him. It got very repetitive, but that is often my feeling about nonfiction books by Christian authors: what they're trying to say could be summed up in a much shorter book. It might also be more aimed at couples who have already been married for awhile. I could see myself re-reading this in the future.

 3. Army Wives by Tanya Biank
I couldn't put this down! This book was the basis for the Lifetime television show. I picked it up in Barnes & Noble just for a quick skim and made it halfway through the book, and the next thing i knew i was sitting in the cafe starting to cry as I read. The man next to me who had asked me to watch his computer while he went to the bathroom came back and saw my tears and had the most panicked expression you can imagine. So I did everyone a favor and bought the book and got out of there. The author weaves the stories of several different women together into one amazing book. Each are married to men of different ranks in the Army and their stories are very different but interconnected. It's a quick, easy read.

4. The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller
LOVED this book! I learned so much and gleaned a ton of practical wisdom and fun sociological insights from it. As I said in this post, I  would recommend it to everyone, regardless of religion or relationship status.

5. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Van Auken
A few of my friends list this in their all-time favorite books, but it wasn't my thing. Maybe because I have never been able to enjoy C.S. Lewis in more than a quote or two (and this  was full letters from him), or maybe because I found it too full of dull details in a depressing story line. It is about a couple who falls in love, goes from agnosticism to Christianity, and that adjustment and how their faith journeys affect their marriage and trials. Read it if you enjoy C.S. Lewis.

6. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
I loved the first and second Hunger Games books. It's the first mega-hit series I have gotten into and Lance makes fun of me, saying soon I'll be this excited about Twilight and Harry Potter. (He is a kidding and I won't.) Mockingjay was my least favorite in the series and the ending wasn't happy enough for my liking. But I'm super stoked for the next two movies!

7. 30 Life Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans by Karl Pillemer
Dr. Pillemer realized the last living generation who had lived during World War One will soon be ... extinct. Also recognizing that the entire focus of his career as a sociologist had focused only on the negatives of geriatric patients and the aging process, he decided to instead seek out the wisdom and stories of the oldest generation before it's too late. He compiled the interviews here and they are so touching and encouraging.   

This book makes you want to talk to every old person you can - but then that has always been one of my favorite things to do. I found out about this book after I covered an event for work where the author was speaking to an audience of mainly people age 60+, and during the Q&A everyone wanted to know how they could get young people to listen to their advice. So young people: seek out an elderly friend! They want to be your friend and we need each other! Dr. Pillemer said it's more likely for a person to have a close friend of another race than in another age group - we are very segregated by age. This was a fun read and gave me some much-needed perspective, I loved it.

I think I will make monthly book posts a habit, because as I look at this list I'm realizing how much more well-rounded my reading could be! Yikes! Oh well, marriage books as the bulk of my reading material while I am engaged can't be a bad thing, right?   What are you reading?  
Have any must-reads I should add to my  books-to-read list?