12ish Books I Read This Summer

I read like I yard – slowly. I can’t read when there’s any noise or possibility of interruption so I only read 1-2 books a month unlike those who read dozens and/or hundreds a year! I surprised myself this summer by reading 12ish books. You’ll see why it’s not a plain, old “12” when I go through the books.

We got a little off track for the summer reading programs because everyone and their grandma’s neighbor got on board with doing it virtually and they were all a little different from how they have always done it. It got a little too confusing so we just tracked our own progress.

I asked on social if anyone wanted my quick thoughts on each of the books. The answer was a unanimous YES, so here’s my attempt…plus some facts and stats for June and July:

Minutes:

Range: 5-70 minutes/day. Average: ~15 minutes/day. Total: 1827 minutes

Pages:

Range: 5-100 pages/day. Average: ~18 pages/day. Total: 2226 pages

Book Length:

Shortest: The Undefeated – 40 pages // Longest: Just Mercy – 368 pages

*Note: This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

The Lifegiving Parent by Sally Clarkson

This was on my book list to read for the month of June. I love reading wisdom from moms who have been through my stage of life. It helps to see their reflections on the challenges and celebrations in retrospect. Even if there are some things we may not view the same as any mentor or older, more mature person, there is always knowledge and experience that they share in which we can learn from moving into the next stage of life. I like the principles that Sally offers in this book to encourage a life-giving approach to parenting our children.

Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison

I was on the launch team for Be the Bridge so this was a re-read for me. My favorite part of the book remains the prayers/liturgies at the end of each chapter. Latasha draws a lot from her own experience growing up, as well as in the different work settings she’s been in and the friendships she has had throughout the years. She shares of stories in history as well as stories of people she knows to illustrate how we can be the bridge in whatever place we are right now. There are lots of great discussion questions as well as sharing of resources that will guide some community engagement.

The Underground Abductor by Nathan Hale

Our library has a tween book club that the 11-year-old joined last year and they have some discussions on some fairly challenging topics such as physical and learning disabilities, poverty, racism, immigration, and other similar injustices and issues. The Underground Abductor was one of the books they read so I “checked it out” from the girls’ bookcase stacks. :p It is the first “graphic novel” that I’ve read. I’ve only read picture books about Harriet Tubman and we only learned a tiny bit in history classes, but in this seemingly trivial book with drawings, I learned so much more than I thought I would. Lots of names and dates and details of Harriet’s life as she journeyed from childhood to who we know her as through her brave acts.

New Kid by Jerry Craft

Another book from the tween book club and another graphic novel. I really enjoyed this one. The main character is not a little Chinese girl but I could relate to Jordan on a number of different things. All of the supporting characters add to the story in a meaningful way from the quirky students in his classes who we find out to have their own stories to the teachers who are sometimes unaware of how much their comments impact heir students.

Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom by Lynda Blackmon Lowery

I believe this was in a suggested read in one of the chapters in And Social Justice for All. This one gave me some chills because it is hard to imagine that some of the experiences of the children who marched. I vaguely remember learning about this in history class and mainly know of the events outside of school. This could be a simple recommended read in history classes. Since it was written “as told to,” it was written in a very conversational way as if I was sitting with Lynda Blackmon Lowery and hearing the story firsthand.

The Marriage Challenge by Art Rainer

This was on my book list to read for the month of July. This is also a re-read so you can read my thoughts on The Marriage Challenge HERE. It’s great to go over this one again because if any couple is not ready for one of the challenges, they can come back to it later and start working on it.

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

I had a number of friends recommend Just Mercy to me when it first came out and I had it on my to-buy list for a long time. I finally put the ebook on hold but was on the waitlist for a long time. I knew I had to read it before it had to be returned…since there were other holds on the ebook, I couldn’t renew it. Little did I know it is more lengthy than I’m used to reading with a time limit. Wow, this was an eye-opening book. I mean, I know some things from the movies but the details, the stories, and injustices were too hard to read. I believe there is a young adult version that might be better for younger or more sensitive readers. There are details of executions that may stick in your mind. From what I’ve heard, if you’ve discussed these types of things with your kids, the movie is good for them to watch but you may want them to leave or cover their eyes during some scenes. Preview it if you’re not sure but you know your kids best.

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander

Another suggested read in one of the chapters in And Social Justice for All? This is a beautifully illustrated picture book. There is a link to download the audio of the author(?) reading the book and it adds to the depth of words on the pages. I love that there were short bios of the people in the illustrations. There are people from the past to the present.

The Money Challenge for Teens by Art Rainer

I’ve read several of Art Rainer’s books on money and this was his latest one. The girls have also read one of the chapter books in the kids’ series. You can read more of the thoughts that Melody and I about The Money Challenge for Teens HERE.

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad

I had this one on hold from a recommendation and I was able to borrow it around the time our church was going to do a book study on the book but I’m really bad at book club type stuff and can’t keep on schedule for the life of me. This was born out of an Instagram challenge so the words were really easy to read through as social media posts don’t oftentimes get too deep. I’m not familiar with the original challenge but I think the author expanded on each day’s posts/discussions. I love reading the breakdown of some of the terms we’ve been hearing recently in regards to racism.

Loving My Actual Neighbor by Alexandra Kuykendall

This was on my book list to read for the month of August. It is part of the reason why 12ish in the title of this post. :p I started reading it in July but didn’t finish until August so only part of it is counted toward the summer reading minutes/pages. I love the sections in each chapter that give us practical steps to take – A Call to Saturday Living, discussion questions, Scriptures and biblical examples of loving our neighbors, and lots of stories of missed opportunities and lessons learned as well as moments well spent in community out of abundance and/or sacrifice! This is a great challenge (in a good way) for such a time as now.

I’m Still Here by Austin Channing Brown

This was also an ebook I had on hold from the library too. It was available to borrow at the same time I was finishing Me and White Supremacy so I started late and then didn’t get a chance to finish before it was due. So I’m Still Here is my second reason for why I read 12ish books during the summer reading months instead of 12 whole books! :p

Here is the book list in one place again if any of them interests you:

More facts and stats about my summer reading:

Speed:

Fastest reads: The Undefeated / The Money Challenge for Teens (10 days)

Slowest Read: The Marriage Challenge / Just Mercy (17 days)

Average: 1 book every 9-10 days / 13-14 days if you don’t take into account the kids’ books :p

Physical copies:

The Lifegiving Parent
Be the Bridge
New Kid
The Marriage Challenge
The Money Challenge for Teens
Loving My Actual Neighbor

Although I love being able to highlight quotes and bookmark in ebooks, nothing compares to a feel of a book in your hand and turning the pages as you read. But because I really wanted to read some of these books before things got busy with back-to-school and I’ve run out of money in my non-existent book budget account, I checked half of the books out from the library.

Ebooks:

The Underground Abductor
Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom
Just Mercy
The Undefeated
Me and White Supremacy
I’m Still Here

What books did you read this summer? Any recommendations?

*Note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a tiny percentage if you make a purchase through my link at no extra cost to you. Read my disclosure policy here.