It’s a rainy day here in Colorado Springs, which is a blessing long-time coming. We have the front and back doors open to let the wet breeze through; James Taylor is singing “Fire and Rain” over and over to quiet my heart. My husband is baking cinnamon rolls for our church picnic tomorrow, where we will (most likely) gather together in grateful huddles under the pavilions and watch it rain some more.
Weekends are times for play, rest, restoration. I try not to take myself too seriously on a weekend, and I don’t take my reading that seriously, either.
So here are a few things I read on weekends. I pull them from my shelves, load them up on my Kindle, or retrieve them from the pile of magazines that seems to accumulate on the edge of the kitchen counter.
Laurie King’s Mary Russell Series
I love all things Sherlock. I ripped through this series of eleven books with gusto, especially since the main hero is a strong, feisty, intellectual and interesting woman. She studies theology at Oxford—how could I not love her? These books are pure fun, and well-written to boot.
Still Alice by Lisa Genova
This is the book currently on my bedside bookshelf. (What, doesn’t everyone have a bedside bookshelf?) It’s a novel by a writer with a Ph. D. in neuroscience whose main character slowly succumbs to Alzheimer’s. While that doesn’t exactly sound like “fun” reading, it’s a beautiful reminder that we are always and still ourselves, no matter what happens to us.
Kingdom Come by John Estes
I love this earthy, lyric collection of poems by John Estes. Poetry isn’t just for weekends, and I eat these words every day of the week, but they set me to right on these days of rest in a way other reading doesn’t.
The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis
My husband and I have been slowly reading this series aloud to one another at bedtime. It’s good to be reminded of reality right before sleep.
Yup, it’s eye candy. Yup, it can be ridiculous and vapid. And, yes, it can have some really moving articles. A good weekend read for me.
Brain, Child: The Magazine for Thinking Mothers
Although I’m only a step-mom at the moment, I mourned when Brain, Child recently announced that they were going out of print. This is a magazine full of thoughtful articles by moms who aren’t afraid to say that raising a child is incredibly hard, by moms who wrestle with real issues in a literary way, by moms who talk openly about infertility and IVF. I read it when I have downtime because it feeds my brain. While they aren’t producing a print edition any more, they have some really interesting plans for the future. I’ll be following along for sure.
Good Eats: The Middle Years by Alton Brown
Bryan and I are unabashed foodies, and Alton is one of our favorites. His quirky, mad scientist style appeals to Bryan, and the fact that his food is really, really good appeals to me. If we’re reading something together on the weekends, it’s often something like Good Eats, looking for recipes or ideas for our latest creation. There’s something of Eucharist in our marriage that revolves around the food we make and offer to others. It’s when we are most broken that we bake, and in that breaking feed those we love.
Jamie At Home by Jamie Oliver
Another cookbook that is weekend reading at our home, in no small part because we’re doing our best to be seasonal eaters. This is our fourth year with a backyard veggie garden, and Jamie’s recipes are inspirational. Plus, he’s British and uses words like “lovely” all the time.
A Christian magazine out of Canada, Comment is thoughtful, culture making and full of writing that makes me want to lick the pages, it tastes so good. Their current issue on how (badly) we deal with legacies is making me think about my family and my faith in a different way.
Art + Mystery + Faith. Need I say more?
Okay, I’ll say a little more. I learned of Image by attending the Glen Workshop in Santa Fe in 2007. I’ve been every year since (with the exception of the year I had my heart attack) and it’s fed my soul. Getting Image is like receiving little piece of the Glen on a regular basis. They also have an amazing blog that’s worth reading not just on weekends but daily.
* * *
Check back in each day for a new list, and be sure to click on over to Sarah’s blog to read hers as well. I mean, hey, she has a fancy button and everything:
Monday: 10 books that formed me spiritually
Tuesday: 10 books that I keep in my spiritual direction room
Wednesday: 10 books that I own but am embarrassed I haven’t read
Thursday: 10 books that help me pray
Friday: 10 books that remind me God’s the Great Storyteller
Saturday: 10 books I read on the weekends
Sunday: 20 books I read while writing my book