2018 BOOKLIST

Every year I do a book list, inspired as always by the veritable Spanjer sisters three. I read far more than usual this year and am posting this far too late, but I have come to love this tradition, and reading all the other booklists that I decided to whip one together anyhow. Below, you’ll find a flyover of select, twenty-eighteen reads.

The Boy on the Beach, Tima Kurdi

I went to see Tima Kurdi in person, when she travelled from Vancouver to share the story of her nephew, Alan Kurdi - better know as the Boy on the Beach; he child who shocked the world into a state of consciousness about the state of the refugees in the twenty-first century. She was full of sobs during her tour, still too heartbroken really to be speaking so publicly about such a deep tragedy. The book was helpful in providing an entry into one family’s story, deeply representative of so many, from desperation to tragedy to now. Choiceless choices is what we call the many moments encapsulated by stories such as these.

The Ghost Keeper, Natalie Morrill

This book was written by a dear friend, and borrowed from another mutual friend. I adore Natalie. When I introduce her as an author, she often says, “Oh, I don’t lead with that.” Which is why always do. This is a masterful story that helps pull our relationship with memory, the dead, and choiceless choices into focus. The characters so belie Natalie’s life experience. She is not a man in his forties, with a wife and child, worn by war and beset by terrible questions. And yet, you would never know that from the empathy and detail that graces these pages. I remain in awe!

The Sabbath: It’s Meaning for Modern Man, Abraham Heschel

I am part of a Jewish-Christian book club which has led to my discovering a friend from the ages, and I am convinced our souls already knew each other, long before my eyes ever graced his pages. Have you ever felt as though you discovered a kindred spirit in the pages of a book? Heschel is my kindred spirit. He speaks the language of my soul, and I cannot recommend enough anything he writes.

Housekeeping, Marilynne Robinson

I am shamefully behind on the Robinson train, but just never felt like I could delve into one of her stories past the first few pages. Nothing like the deadline of returning a book to your cousin in another state to compel you through something. This book was like wistfulness bottled up on the pages. I left feeling like I had encountered a beauty and a deep sadness, all at once.

I Shall Not Hate, Izzeldin Abuelaish

I read this in the span of one of the many plane rides I took from my second home to my heart home. It was heart-breaking, eye-opening, and challenging all at once. Once again, there is nothing like needing to return a book to your dinner date in another province to hurry along the reading experience!

Survival Guide for the Soul, Ken Shigematsu

I highly recommend anything that Ken writes. His chapter composition speaks to who I am. He is simple and straight-forward, begins with the facts, follows up with a personal story, and then invites you into guided reflection. I always emerge determined to live in a different way, without feeling guilty or inadequate. A hard feat for any writer!

Oink: My Life With Mini-Pigs, Matt Whyman

I highly recommend this dryly written, satirical book for anyone who likes to laugh out loud on public transit. Thank you to my sister for recommending it!

Call the Midwife, Jennifer Worth

It has taken me literally years to work up the courage to read this book. The first chapter I found horrifying in its detail, but I fell in love with the characters and communities within this delightful book. Nothing like book club and your own personal cheerleader to get you through the reading of it!

Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim’s Tale, Ian Morgan Cron

My dear friend Kayla sent this book to me in the mail, and we’ve had a little mail train of readers together ever since. I loved it. It gave me a sense of St. Francis in a unique way I would never otherwise have encountered him.

The Chilbury Ladies Choir, Jennifer Ryan

This one was almost as good as the Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society...almost!

Tattoos on the Heart, Gregory Boyle

Please never ask me about this book in person. I can't talk about it without crying. The story of Father G and the Homeboys is one that I will carry with me for years to come. Father G lives in the poorest postal code in L.A. and accompanies beautiful, wrestling communities through choiceless choices and renewal. These pages are fraught with love, loss, and the message that none of us are ever too far out of “God’s jurisdiction” to be loved, forgiven, and redeemed.

Red Notice, Bill Browder

Funny story. I once told my elderly aunt and uncle about this book. They went out, bought a copy, read it, and have since begun purchasing copies of it for their friends at an alarming rate. I worked for the man who helped shepherd the Magnitsky Act through in Canada, and reading this book made me awake to justice and the world of high finance/crime that continues to shape our contemporary, socio-political reality.

In Search of a Better World, Payam Akhavan

I finally made it through this book, and it was a true gift. I am so grateful for spirits like Payam in the world. I first encountered him in listening to him give the concluding address at a briefing on Syria. There was nothing positive to say. The attendees sat in stunned silence as drone footage showed the depth of destruction in Homs. I’ll never forget him saying, “I’d like to end our time together in the tradition of my people: poetry.” He then quoted a piece of Rumi’s that I now carry with me always. If you want to know it...you’ll have to ask me in person!

The Bright Hour: A Memoir of Living and Dying, Nina Riggs

As life often does, life took me on a little trip with this book. It was on hold for months and only came to me while I was wading through my own series of breath-holding scans. The book is beautiful, but I remember my roommate yelling more than once down the hall, “Don’t read the cancer book tonight!” Some things hit too close to home.

Everything Happens for a Reason, Kate Bowler

I literally sobbed on a train while reading this. If there is one book I want to recommend everyone read from this list, this is it. I wrote a whole review of it here.

Sabbaths, Wendell Berry

I love this man’s way with words. I need to have read more poetry last year - I hope to make up for that this year.

What Happened, Hillary Clinton

While I enjoyed this book, I struggled with the sheer amount of facts that seemed to be presented now, and yet were totally absent during the election. I felt powerless to fact check, and was deeply saddened by the degree of discourse revealed in this book that exposed the lack of dignity that was so clearly absent from our last election.

One Day Closer, Lorinda Steward

The mother’s perspective/companion to A Life in the Sky, the story of her journey to bring her kidnapped daughter home.

Unstoppable, Maria Sharapova

This book was an eye-opening glimpse at what it takes to be successful in the tennis world - endless sacrifice, relentless practice, and sheer psychological endurance.