It is barely dawn. The valley is still tucked into the dark. The animals are still snoozing in their cozy dens, and I suppose most people are too. It is the weekend after all. There is a tiny sliver of blue light on the rim of the eastern mountains. The dawn is coming, but for now, the night still reigns.
Here I am, in my cozy home, underneath a blanket, watching the dawn come. Early mornings are special. Watching the dawn reminds me, this is a new day. Yesterday is over, with all of its worry and woe. Tomorrow has not come. It is on the brink of today, a day as yet unwritten, not lived yet. Anything is possible.
This was kind of a crazy month. Work has been wild. Unfortunately, that meant my reading suffered a lil’ bit. I read a whole bunch during break, and then… There are a few books I am chipping away at, but progress is slow.
Anyway. On to the books!
Of Time and Turtles by Sy Montgomery.
All about a small turtle rescue operating on the east coast. Also delved into the fascinating history of turtle rescues, what we are doing to help the turtles, and also how human greed is quickly emptying our world of turtles. It made me want to go out and rescue all the turtles! Only to find out there are no turtles native to Western Colorado. Plan thwarted.
The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway.
Not my first foray into the world of Hemingway. But this was my first deep dive into it. Instead of reading about an old man trying to catch a fish, I was reading about a group of youngish people pretending they are happy, when really they aren’t. They try everything to make themselves happy, alcohol, jobs, friends, infatuation, but in the end they are right back where they started. Unhappy, but keeping up an illusion of happiness.
How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill.
An interesting little book that is the history of Ireland during the first century. He goes into their culture, and why they decided to write down and copy so many books. They are the ones who created the Book of Kells, and other similarly beautiful manuscripts. I enjoyed this glimpse into a time and culture I know very little about.
The Secret Battle of Ideas about God by Jeff Myers.
My obligatory nonfiction book from our shelf. It was the shortest one… I had heard Myers speak at a conference on this same topic, so it was a refresher of what I had heard. Some interesting thoughts, though I wished he had been a little more specific in some areas.
…
There you go! All I read in January. I am hoping to add one more to the list before the month is over. I kind of have to, because it is a book club book… Wish me luck!
What did you read in the month of January?
Shaina Merrick
The Beauty of a Story 