My Reading in December

I finished my graduate school work at the beginning of December. 

While I was in school, I was always reading or rereading the books for my classes. 

And the books for my classes were quite challenging, so I devoted almost all my free time to understanding them.  

But now that I'm done with school, I can read whatever I want! 

It's glorious!  

This month alone, I've gotten so much reading done. 

I finally finished The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers. I had been reading and rereading that mystery for months at night before bed, trying to figure who did the murder before I finished the book. I think I read it three times before I allowed myself to read the last few chapters. 

You may be wondering if I guessed the murderer...

Not exactly.

But I did figure out all the people who had not done the murder, so that's something.  

(You'll have to read the book to understand more.)  

Then I listened to Why Literature Still Matters by Jason Baxter and Against the Machine by Paul Kingsnorth. 

Then I read an entire book of Wendell Berry's poetry This Day: Collected and New Sabbath Poems in a little over one day. 

My appetite and enjoyment for poetry increases. George Herbert says, "a verse may find him, who a sermon flies," and I find this to be true of myself in this season of life. 

Honestly, I can read a devotional, and I am left cold. But if I pick up a book of poems, watch out! The Spirit rushes in and there will be tongues of flame flickering off my brow. 

Next, I listened to John Mark Comer's book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. 

And now, I've started reading The Country Diary of an Edwardian Woman by Edith Holden. I found this at our library's book sale. It's a facsimile of a woman's nature journal from 1906. She painted birds and herbs and flowers in wonderful detail with watercolor. She copied poetry. She kept a record of the weather and the sights she saw on her walks. It's a real treasure! 

I'm also reading through a little book of George Herbert's poems, but I haven't finished it. The verse I included above is in one of his poems called "The Church Porch." 

Almost all the books I read this month shared a similar theme. 

They all discussed the negative affects technology has had on humanity and the need to spend more time in quiet, rest, and humane activities like reading, making art, and taking a walk in nature.