Wednesday, July 8, 2015

June Books: halfway through the year!

This month I read two books that were by far some of the BEST I have read this year. One of them deals with racial issues; the other with intimacy in relationships. Both were well written.

The Watsons Go to Birmigham - 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

This was his first book! I cannot wait to read his other works. This was a brilliant work (and great to read given our past year with racial conflict) to read this year. It follows a family from Flint, Michigan (YEA MICHIGAN!) who travel down South to see their grandma. The family consists of the parents and three kids. The story is written from the perspective of the middle child, a boy named Kenny.

Go read it. It might be the best book you'll read all year.

Scary Close by Donald Miller.

That being said, if you're not interested in that book, do yourself a favor and pick up Scary Close. Everyone needs to read this book. It talks about relationships and intimacy, and given the fact that most adults are in the intimacy vs. isolation phase of life, it was a much needed read.

Donald Miller got married recently, and he shares part of his story with Betsy. I relate to Donald Miller because he's an introvert wanting to have a relationship while struggling to give up alone time.

"At some point, I just stopped trusting people.... If I needed somebody for something, I'd let myself get close but not too close, always keeping my parachute on" (46-47).

My favorite chapter was called "You Will Not Complete Me". "Codependency happens when too much of your sense of validation or security comes from somebody else" (206). "Know who you are and what you want in a relationship, and give people the freedom to be themselves" (207).

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