Reading Diaries

Happy Sunday!

I hope you've not been too blown away with the weather these last couple of days, talk about blowing the cobwebs away!

I’ve finally sat down and managed to collect my thoughts on a couple of books I've been reading this year. The girls and I have started reading together, using the Zoella book club for inspiration. Something I want to get better at this year is reading, so I've got a selection of fiction books that I'm getting through, along with some christian books which I'm loving reading too.

So in January our little book club kicked the year off with The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.

The Midnight Library is a fiction book about personal growth with some science fiction thrown in for good measure. Nora isn't happy with the path she has taken in her life, so goes to the midnight library, where she can experience an infinite number of different life paths simply by picking up a book. I found the places and situations that Nora found herself in pretty stressful... I certainly wouldn't want to wake up in the middle of nowhere without knowing who anyone is but still be expected to be in the right places at the right times!

The Midnight Library was definitely a nice easy book to get stuck into. I'm not very good at starting new books and getting stuck into the characters but I was able to pick up the storyline pretty quickly, despite this not necessarily being the kind of book I'd usually pick up. Generally, I read romance books with some sort of mystery element, the kind of book that's really gripping and I can't put down until I find out what happens. If at the end of the story I go, 'Ohhhh I wasn't expecting that!' then I know it's been a good read. They’re also often set on an American range in the 1800s. Standard.

After chatting to the girls we rated this book pretty highly, I really enjoyed reading it. The plot was entertaining whilst being underlaid with important messages to take into our lives. It reminds us that it's important to recognise success, money and big life experiences won't bring ultimate happiness, but that recognising the potential and hope we do have is what can bring us joy. It's also about recognising the joy in what we have and appreciating life as we know it. Where there is life there is possibility. 

Ratings: 

Lotti- 7.5/10 (Not happy about this half point just saying)

Hannah L - 7/10

Hannah H - 8/10

Emily - 7/10

 

We then read Untamed by Glennon Doyle, and this is a very different read to what I would normally pick up! Here’s the blurb:

Part inspiration, part memoir, Untamed explores the joy and peace we discover when we stop striving to meet the expectations of the world, and instead dare to listen to and trust in the voice deep inside us. From the beloved New York Times bestselling author, speaker and activist Glennon Doyle.

*****

For many years, Glennon Doyle denied her discontent. Then, while speaking at a conference, she looked at a woman across the room and fell instantly in love. Three words flooded her mind: There. She. Is. At first, Glennon assumed these words came to her from on high but soon she realised they had come to her from within. This was the voice she had buried beneath decades of numbing addictions and social conditioning. Glennon decided to let go of the world's expectations of her and reclaim her true untamed self. 

Soulful and uproarious, forceful and tender, Untamed is both an intimate memoir and a galvanising wake-up call. It is the story of how one woman learned that a responsible mother is not one who slowly dies for her children, but one who shows them how to fully live. It is also the story of how each of us can begin to trust ourselves enough to set boundaries, make peace with our bodies, honour our anger and heartbreak, and unleash our truest, wildest instincts.

Untamed shows us how to be brave. And, as Glennon insists, 'The braver we are, the luckier we get.'

 

I definitely found this one harder to get into. I wasn't quite sure what type of book I was reading before I started it and should have found some more context before heading into it. But I persevered and found the last third of the book most enjoyable. This may have been because I’d finally got into the book, or perhaps I found that I learnt the most from these chapters. I also really liked the short chapters, it felt like I was reading the book quicker haha! Glennon shares her life experiences and allows us to reflect on our own lives and apply her learning to ours. She talks a lot about pain and suffering she experienced and what she has learnt in reflection. She talks of stopping pleasing others and choosing to live instead. Glennon helps us recognise the inbuilt rhythms and learning we have been conditioned into from birth and challenges them.

I've highlighted a few moments in this book which stood out to me that I wanted to share...

Being fully human is not about feeling happy, it’s about feeling everything.

Whether you are brave or not cannot be judged by people on the outside. Sometimes being brave requires letting the crowd think you’re a coward.

Grief is a cocoon from which we emerge new.

We've talked a lot about grief and lament at church recently and how it's ok to hang out in these sad places before moving on. It's ok to cry and lament and question God through these dark places and actually we learn and grow and come through these moments. It might take time and that's ok.

I also really enjoyed the chapter called Comfort Zones. Social media is a dangerous place of comparison where we can feel all sorts of feelings through other people's successes and struggles. Sadly our world has become a place where we can feel comforted in the weakness of other women. However as Glennon says I want to find inspiration in the joy and success of other women. If we keep bringing down strong women who are smashing it instead of loving them, supporting them and voting for them then we won't have any strong women anymore. 

Glennon says:

When I see a joyful, confident woman moving through the world with swagger, I’m going to forgive myself for my first reaction because it’s not my fault, it’s just my conditioning. First reaction: Who the hell does she think she is? Second reaction: She knows she’s a goddamn cheetah. Hallelujah.

I think that was my favourite part of the book!

I'd definitely recommend giving both these books a read this springtime and hope they both teach you new things, I've certainly learnt a lot.

Hope you have a great week!

 Emily xx

Thankyou Laura for editing this post for me! She's a pretty good writer and book reader extraordinaire.

@lauradurrant27 <3