The 5 Books I Read the Past Two Weeks + a Movie We Watched

Welcome to my weekly Book-ish post where I share what I’ve been reading and watching recently. If you missed it, you can see my Reading Goals for 2018 and 44 Books I Plan to Read This Year. 

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Well, I didn’t quite hit my goal of reading 3 books per week the last two weeks, but I read 5 books, so I’ll celebrate that! (Oh and I had planned to post a book post last week and that just didn’t happen… thanks for your patience!)

1. Sacred Rest

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it. It addresses rest from a very different perspective than other books I’ve read on this topic and I loved how it wasn’t just about getting more sleep or slowing down or taking a Sabbath.

This book is written by a doctor and I thought the author’s medical background shed a lot of wisdom on the topic of rest and how being well rested impacts our lives. However, what really stood out to me in this book was the author’s differentiation between the types of rest we need — physical rest, mental rest, emotional rest, spiritual rest, social rest, sensory rest, and creative rest. I had never heard rest and our need for the different kinds of rest broken into these categories and I found it very insightful.

In fact, it helped me to understand why I can feel drained sometimes — even if I’ve been getting plenty of sleep. I might not be rested in other areas such as getting creative rest or sensory rest or social rest.

And I loved the practical suggestions that the book gave for ways to recognize which kinds of rest you are lacking in and how to get more of each kind of rest in your life.

2. How I Became the Fittest Woman on Earth

Since you all know we’re big fans of CrossFit, I’m sure you’re not surprised I enjoyed this book! 🙂 If you love CrossFit, you’ll find this book fascinating as it gives the behind-the-scenes peek into the life and training of one of the most well-known women of CrossFit: Tia-Clair Toomey.

Her story is interesting, surprising, and inspiring. I love that her husband is her coach and I love that she talks so openly about her failures and struggles. In addition, she shares candidly about her workout routines, training regimens, nutrition, recovery, and more.

Note: This book has quite a bit of language in it.

3. The Journey Back

We read this book aloud together because it’s the sequel to The Upstairs Room — the true story of two Jewish girls who had to go in hiding in a house for two years during World War II.

We didn’t enjoy it as much as The Upstairs Room and I would love to know more about how the story played out in the years to come, but it was eye-opening to think of how hard it must have been to rebuild your life and community after the war. The books are firsthand accounts and the writing style is a little weird and sometimes hard to follow.

Note: Both of these books have crass language in them. I edited some of it out as I read.

4. Jesus, My Father, and the CIA

I got this book because I enjoyed the author’s other book, Chasing Francis. It was a little hard to follow and felt like some sections had filler content to reach the word count. But other parts made me laugh out loud or feel deeply with the author. Overall, it gives a very compelling account of the ravaging impact an alcoholic parent can have on their children and the entire family.

5. The Shape of Mercy

I listened to this audiobook (thanks to the free Libby app!) and really enjoyed it. Well, I don’t know that enjoy is the right word, because it was a sad story. But it’s well-narrated, engaging, and doesn’t end like you expect.

The author does a fantastic job of addressing the atrocities of the Salem Witch Trials while challenging us to really think about how we perceive people and how we can often judge people based upon those perceptions. I fell in love with the characters and didn’t want it to end!

We watched The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society movie this past week. I loved the book so much and didn’t know if I wanted to watch the movie. The movie made me want to go back and read the book… because I read it so long ago that I can’t remember if the movie follows the book and went way off script. And now I need to go back and read the book again to find out! 🙂

When I Find Time to Read

People are always asking me how I find time to read. Honestly, it’s because I love to read, because I’ve chosen to prioritize it, because I don’t have a lot of other hobbies, and because I can’t not read. Also, when you love something, you usually can find ways to get creative to find time to fit it in — even if it’s in the little nooks and crannies of life.

I wrote a post on 3 ways to find more time to read — even when life is busy. And here are 7 more ways to find time to read.

What did you read and watch this past week? Any books or movies or shows you really think I need to read or watch?