The Abundant Wife

Thanks to my 6 goals on June 15, I have now finished 9 books in 9 weeks!  Between Friday June 15 and Friday August 17, I read some books cover to cover, and read others that I had begun but never finished.  In the year 2012 then, I have finished 12 books total.  As further motivation, I’ve been documenting the books I read for myself, and to the kids, on Pinterest.  Before I began these goals, I had only read 3 books from January 1 to June 15.  So I am very satisfied with my progress.  Here is a brief review of the last 3 books I have read:

1. The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis.  I think I began reading this book in China, more than 3 years ago!  I was about a third of the way through the book at that time.  I was dreading the older English and philosophizing of Lewis, but I had forgotten his knack for telling stories to illustrate his points, and poking fun at himself.  So I enjoyed the book and read it faster than I’d expected.  Lewis covers the 4 basic kinds of human love: affection, friendship, erotic love, and charity.  He compares need-love and gift-love.  He elevates friendship as the most spiritual of loves.  There are many well-known passages in this book, like “There is no safe investment.  To love at all is to be vulnerable” (pg. 121).

2. Penny Pincher’s Almanac, Handbook for Modern Frugality by Dean King.  I think I actually read this book once before, when we were first married.  The copyright on my edition is 1992, so the information in this book is somewhat outdated.  However, it is still chock full of commonsense wisdom, frugality, bargain-finding, and strategies for doing more-with-less.  There is advice for saving on everything from air-conditioning costs to cleaning your car.  There are suggestions for saving, investing, stretching your money, and having fun on a budget.

3. Hinds’ Feet on High Placesby Hannah Hurnard.  This book was very different from most books that I read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It is the allegorical tale of Much Afraid, a crippled girl with a deformed face, who dreams of following the Shepherd and climbing to the High Places.  She travels with her two companions, overcoming the mocking voices of her tormenting Fears.  They travel through many trials, learning many lessons along the way, until they reach the High Places where she is given a new name.  This book was originally written in 1955, but it is still a classic today.

How do you find time or motivate yourself to read?  What good books have you read recently?