Midsummer reading! I’m loving the sunshine and roses. I’m still reading some of my June books but have added a few more to the stack I’m planning to read in July.
My Word of the Month
Hope
My Haiku of the Month
Midsummer sunshine
Joy on warm, bright mornings
What will the month bring?
Bible Verse of the Month
…the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints…” – Ephesians 1:18
My July reading diary is at the bottom of this page, after the book list.
My Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/lindajm
☆ – I own the book and am ready to read.
★★ – I’m reading it.
✓ – I finished reading it. Yay!
What I’m reading during July 2020
Hold-over books from last month:
I absolutely must clear these from my reading list soon! I should not leave books half-read. Ever. Must get this done!! Time to start new things!
Goals to wrap up my reading of these books.
1. Living Beyond Yourself – I have three more short sections to finish. Not much left.
2. The Creative License… I love this art book but want to finish it up NOW.. currently on page 105 out of 197. I’d like to read four or five plages daily.
3. Finding Divine Inspiration – One chapter per week.
✓ 4. I Capture the Castle – A great story! I’m in the third and final section. I won’t have any problem finishing it because I love the story.
5. It’s All in the Story: California – Short stories. I’m enjoying the reading of them. I will continue to read throughout the month but there’s no hurry. I just want to be done by the end of the year. I’m keeping track of the stories on a different blog page – An Anthology of California Short Stories.
What’s Next?
✓ Science Fiction: The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
I’m reading this for the 2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge, prompt #23: A book that won an award in 2019. It won: the 2018 Nebula Award for Best Novel, the 2019 Locus Award for Best Novel, and the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Novel. It was also a finalist 2019 Campbell Memorial Award.
Follow-up note. I did not like this book. I gave it three stars but it probably deserved two. Review
✓ Nonfiction: Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail, by Ben Montgomery
I still haven’t started this nonfiction book. I’m reading this for the 2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge, prompt #9: A book with a map … I’ve had this book more than a year… keep wanting to read it but haven’t yet. Maybe this time?
Update: Fantastic book. Loved it. Five stars!! Review
✓ Fiction: The Broken Girls, by Simone St.James
I’m reading this for the 2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge, prompt #38. A book by or about a journalist. Looks so intriguing!
Update – good clean fiction. Five stars. Review
☆ Memoir: Light on the Devils: Coming of Age on the Klamath, by Louise Wagenknecht
I’m reading this for 2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge prompt #7: The first book you touch on a shelf with your eyes closed.
Fantastic book about growing up in a tiny mountain town in Northern California. Review
✓ Memoir: Your Blue Is Not My Blue: A Missing Person Memoir, by Aspen Matis
I’m reading this for prompt #14: A book by an author with flora or fauna in their name.
Update: This was not my favorite memoir ever, but in some ways it was relatable. Review
✓ Christian: How to Be Filled with the Holy Spirit, by A.W. Tozer
A very short book of four chapters on being filled with the Holy Spirit. This was adapted from some sermons.
Update: I loved it. Five stars. Review
My Bible study books for 2020
A one-year Bible: Pray For America
Two devotionals: Jesus Always, by Sarah Young
Praying Through the Bible for Your Kids, by Nancy Guthrie
My July 2020 Reading Diary
July 1 – Great, a new month. Good we get to start over every 30 days or so. I’m in.
July 2 – I spent the day assembling a big heavy bookcase.
July 3 – Just getting started. [Later] Today I installed the bookcase and there aren’t enough books to fill it up. I have more books in Idaho. I hope I get to retrieve them someday.
July 4 – Happy Independence Day, USA!
July 5 – I’m making progress on reading The Calculating Stars.
July 6 – I’ve got a new video out today! It is a short life update, a recap of my June reading, and my July TBR.
July 7 – I’ve been reading the last section of I Capture the Castle. Tonight I looked through the last 24 prompts for the 2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge and decided what books I’m planning to read and when I’ll read them… hopefully. This morning I went to the local book club – mainly because my friend there is having her birthday tomorrow and I wanted to have a chance to give her the gift I got for her – a Kindle Fire 7 … because she’s never had one and she loves to read. I’m not reading the same books the club is reading right now. I’m like the last person to emerge from isolation. They’ve all been meeting a few weeks already.
July 9 – I had a good day – mowed the lawn (some of it – this property is huge) – also read several chapters in The Calculating Stars and read 12 pages of I Capture the Castle.
July 10 – I’m one chapter away from the end of I Capture the Castle and I’ll have to leave that for tomorrow.
July 11 – Here’s my Goodreads review of I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. I’m in chapter 27 of The Calculating Stars.
July 12 – A lovely, relaxing reading day. I am in chapter 33 of The Calculating Stars – there are six more chapters. Also today I finally started reading Grandma Gatewood’s Walk. Great book! Amazing woman! I’m in chapter 4, all of 48 pages into it.
July 14 – Seven years… since I gave my life to Jesus Christ. I’m so happy I crossed that line and learned to love the Lord. I’m still reading both books… making good progress.
July 15 – I read a few more short stories in the anthology, It’s All in the Story: California. I’ve read 5 of these stories in July so far. I have 14 more to read.
July 16 – I finished reading The Calculating Stars (audiobook) . . . my new audiobook is The Broken Girls – I’m already in chapter 5. My paperback is Grandma Gatewood’s Walk and I’m more than half-way through that one. On Kindle I’m reading Your Blue is Not My Blue, a memoir.
July 17 – Today I went to the transfer station, market and post office. At home I took a nap and read a lot of Grandma Gatewood’s Walk – I’m now in the chapter where she reaches the end of the Appalachian Trail but that’s not the last chapter in the book. There are a few more chapters. I also listened to a lot more of the audiobook, The Broken Girls. It is a wonderful story that kept my attention thus far. I’m in chapter 27 out of 37 chapters.
July 18 – Wonderful day… I’m still reading the same two books… making progress. Also made another video for my Booktube channel.
July 19 – Impulse Kindle purchase – a booklet written by A.W. Tozer, How to Be Filled With the Holy Spirit. Started reading this today. I published this video today…
July 20 – I finished reading the A.W. Tozer booklet and started reading Ladies of Gold compiled by James Maloney. Amazing and exciting! I’ve also been making progress reading Your Blue is Not My Blue.
July 21 – Today I finished reading Grandma Gatewood’s Walk and reviewed it at Goodreads. I started reading When We Were Mermaids because I needed to start another audiobook. I made progress reading Ladies of Gold and Your Blue is Not My Blue.
July 22 – I had a very busy day but still managed to do some reading. In Ladies of Gold I read all of chapter 4, “Through the Valley of the Shadow.” In Light on the Devils: Coming of Age on the Klamath, I read the first 11 pages. In Your Blue is Not My Blue I read more in chapter 5. I call this progress. I will read more tonight before I sleep.
July 23 – Peaceful day… lots of reading. I’ve been looking at my progress and calculating how many pages or chapters I’ll have to read to finish by the end of the month. I’m therefore reading two chapters daily of Light on the Devils: Coming of Age on the Klamath and three chapters daily of Your Blue is Not My Blue, plus ten pages daily of Creative License, the art book. I should be able to finish all three by the end of July if I keep up that pace. The plan also includes five pages daily of Ladies of Gold, which should help me finish that book by the end of August. It is heavy reading of a spiritual nature – not something I can rush through.
July 24 – Great day. I’m making progress on reading the books. Didn’t reach all my goals today but am happy with the amount I did read.
July 26 – I had to move my desk today. Nice to have furniture changed around to different places once in a while. I managed to read about ten pages of Creative License and quite a few chapters of Your Blue is Not My Blue.
July 27 – Finished reading Your Blue is Not My Blue. Reviewed it at Goodreads.
July 28 – I finished the workbook for chapter 4 in Finding Divine Inspiration. I’ve been neglecting that book but want to continue. I also read chapter 8 in Light on the Devils: Coming of Age on the Klamath… a chapter about hunting! Not my favorite thing to read about. I listened to a chapter via audiobook, of When We Believed in Mermaids. I’m still near the beginning of that novel. It was a difficult day as there is a fire about 2.9 miles from here. It seems to be only 8 acres, and contained in a steep, inhospitable canyon on the other side of a nearby ridge. There has been an evacuation warning but I don’t expect that there will be an actual evacuation. Local firefighters are usually able to control fires near the town. The fire was caused by dry lightning last night.
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