by John Chandler

To audiobook or not audiobook. Here’s a good example of why this question haunts me. I can’t get through all the books I want to read, and audiobooks help me find space to add 5-6 books a year to my reading list.

I’ve figured out that the kind of audiobooks that work best for me are narrative based, like history or biographies, or practical idea based, like this one. But the segmented nature of how I listen to audiobooks, and pay attention to audiobooks, oft makes me feel like I miss some of the big picture.

I chugged through this one in many trips to meetings, dance classes and appointments. I pulled away lots of interesting ideas about the value of naps, when it’s best to drink coffee, and why my current decade of life (my 40s) might be my least fulfilling. But I’m sure there were other great ideas that floated past my head and settled somewhere in the back of my car, never to be found again.

Maybe there should be a supplemental chapter on when it’s best to listen to audiobooks.

I’m intrigued enough to still have this on my list of books I hope to read ‘normally’ someday. But golly it’s a long list.

This feels like an important and timely book filled with important and timely ideas.

The topic of attention is one that has, um, had my attention lately. I’m aware how much I have to work harder to stay focused on a particular idea or task. I’m aware how much that this same struggle for attention is part of a broader conversation in our culture.

And in a twist of irony, I’m aware of how interested I was in reading this book. And how much I struggled to stay engaged through the whole of it.

A.J. Jacobs is one of my guilty pleasures, and I’ll read anything he publishes. He makes me laugh, often. I suppose it doesn’t need to be all that guilty though, because there is thoughtful engagement weaved in with the humor.

This wouldn’t be the first one I’d recommend to someone new to his books, if only because I didn’t find the subject matter as interesting. No regrets for the time I spent reading it, though.

We used a recent family road trip for some classroom time by listening to this book together.

I always find books that are story based to be easiest to listen to as audiobooks, whether true life or fiction. But this one was tough to follow along. As a rewrite of all the ancient tale of Greece, it reads more like a history book. All of us struggled, and all of us agreed we’d probably find it more accessible and interesting if we’d read the hard copy instead. In fact, my kids did.

This book was recommended by one of the many hospice chaplains we have in our church community. He’s read about and seen his share of grief, so the suggestion wasn’t taken lightly.

It’s about Sandberg’s own grief at the unexpected loss of her husband, and how she found a way forward after.

I’d say it is more nuanced about coping with grief and loss, than the adversity and resilience that the subtitle names. But, they aren’t so different I suppose, and her experience is helpful for seeing one’s own loss and imagining what should come next.

A helpful book for anyone in formal leadership, or just wants to have influence with others. Keltner is a research psychologist who makes the case that power and influence aren’t taken or exerted, but earned through a selfless and humble posture.

Not necessarily new ideas here, but ideas that aren’t widely practiced either. And this is one of the most helpful books I’ve read for outlining them. It left me both encouraged and challenged.

A double-meaning with the title here. Francis Spufford is not apologetic for maintaining his Christian faith though the stereotypes of English professors might cause you to expect otherwise. The book is also unapologetic in that it is not your typical apologetic full of facts and arguments for beliefs.

We end up with a well-reasoned for why being a Christian continues to make sense for him. And why it might for his reader too. Thoughtful and off-color. And a book I’ll suggest to others trying to make sense of Christian faith. In fact, I already have…

This is the third book Katherine Applegate I’ve read through with my two youngest kids in our nightly bedtime reading ritual. All three have been engaging, moving, and beautifully written. This one, though, was a thoughtful and timely social commentary on difference and hospitality. Fiction at it’s best.

I actually finished reading this book about 6 weeks ago. (I’m behind in posting in here, among a number of other books.) But now that I’m circling back to it, I recognize that I’m also slow to implement it.

Most of the books by Greg Boyd that I have read, even those written at the popular level, focus on broader theological ideas. This one is unlike any of those in that it is intended to teach a specific means and practice of prayer. (Of course, it does lay some thoughtful theological groundwork for it, as one would expect. )

The style of prayer described in the book was new and challenging for me. But, I’m also challenged by how difficult it is for me to implement practical ideas that come out of reading. I value rhythms, and think I work best in rhythms. And yet, when a book like this offers new practices, my patterns become a barrier to figure out how to incorporate them.