Porch #150 📚 A Hefty Literary Lovers Package

September's Bookbag is jam-packed with goodies, curated with tender attention just for you

“You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”
- C.S. Lewis

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The best reading season is upon us, friends!  

Autumn was specially designed for feathering our nests and cultivating appreciation for TBR stacks, hefty mugs of Earl Gray decaf, big fluffy throws, and absorbing storylines.  It’s also the perfect season for picking up those volumes that have been patiently sitting in a pile in the corner or gathering sad layers of dust on a shelf. I hope you’ll enjoy all the bits and pieces here … and that you’ll share the treasure trove with your book club and all your bookish friends and fans.

You’re going to need that large cup of tea that our old friend C.S. Lewis was talking about. As always, click on the titles to read more. And you might need to click another link at the bottom of your email to finish reading the whole post.

• Music for Reading, Writing, & Studying

• Literary Guides & Role Models

• Next Level Devotional Journaling

• Booklover’s Links

• Upcoming Bestsellers I Can’t Wait to Get My Hands On

• My 30 Year Literary Time Capsule

• Kindle Deals

LITERARY GUIDES & ROLE MODELS
- perceptive, godly companions that point us to healthier paths

Fight Back with Joy: Celebrate More. Regret Less. Stare Down Your Greatest Fears.
- Margaret Feinberg
'Trials can become the gateway to greater joy, but these passages are fraught with obstacles. The roadside is dotted with land mines, inhabited by bandits, overgrown with briars. Telling someone to look for blessings in the midst of burden, however true, is hard to swallow and even more difficult to execute. But the spiritual growth we experience in trying times, though often more gradual and painful than we’d like, is occasion for celebration. It’s not in the absence of difficulties but in their presence that God bestows a mighty blessing on us.’
(page 60)

In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership
- Henry Nouwen
'In our world of loneliness and despair, there is an enormous need for men and women who know the heart of God, a heart that forgives, that cares, that reaches out and wants to heal. In that heart there is no suspicion, no vindictiveness, no resentment, and not a tinge of hatred. It is a heart that wants only to give love and receive love in response. It is a heart that suffers immensely because it sees the magnitude of human pain and the great resistance to trusting the heart of God who wants to offer consolation and hope.’
(page 24)

A Still & Quiet Mind: Twelve Strategies for Changing Unwanted Thoughts
- Esther Smith
'Meditation is the practice of contemplation or reflection. When you meditate, you focus your thoughts somewhere. This means that meditation is inevitable. The question is not will you meditate but what will you meditate on? Will you focus on your fears, anxieties, doubts, or other unwanted thoughts? Or will you purposefully linger on thoughts that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise as Scripture invites us to do (see Phil. 4:8)?’
(page 72)

The Emotionally Destructive Relationship: Seeing It, Stopping It, Surviving It
- Leslie Vernick
When you begin to read Leslie's wise words, you'll thank God that someone's finally putting a name to the sometimes subtle yet always devastating tragedy of abuse.  Leslie hits the nail on the head, naming sinful relational patterns in all their various forms, and guides the reader toward sanity, hope, and freedom.

Biblical, enlightening, straight talk that I’ve recommended often.  You might be surprised at what you discover.

NEXT LEVEL DEVOTIONAL JOURNALING

I've always struggled with keeping my devotional life faithfully up and running.  And I know I'm not alone.

Viewing quiet time with God as a discipline is something I've never been comfortable with.  I want to view this as a kind of sacred invitation, not a chore to check off my daily to-do list.  And I want to be excited about it.  If I'm not careful, these high expectations lead to lame excuses to do everything else ... jump online or throw in a load of laundry or quickly get caught up in the busyness of the day.

I admire the faithful who've created a lovely morning routine in a quiet space, Bible and devotional books, journal, prayer list, and pens at hand.  But this has somehow never worked for me.  My times and places and what I use continue to vary, a restlessness for God somehow propelling me to stay unsettled and searching, not easily satisfied. I've come to the conclusion that I'm yearning for Jesus Himself, for heaven, neither fully attainable until I actually meet Him face to face.  

Right now I’m penning 1 Peter, reading out loud as I write verse after verse in a journal.  I've discovered that combining both speaking and writing have made God's Word come alive, becoming more understandable and meaningful. 

I feel richer for this discovery, more at peace as I leisurely hunker down into this focused practice of joyfully speaking and writing His Word.  I feel His pleasure.  And isn't that what the devotional life is all about.  Our affection, our devotion, poured out on the feet of Jesus.

• I do love First15 in the morning, too.  Patiently awaiting my arrival in my inbox. Scripture, a devotional, focused meditation on God's Word, and beautiful worship music.  I highly recommend.

BOOKLOVER’S LINKS
10 Garden Reading Nook Ideas for a Backyard Getaway
Blythe Copel
’Comfortable seating, secluded spots, & lush landscapes let you savor your next read in peace.’

33 historical fiction books avid readers can’t get enough of
Anne Bogel
The Great Alone, The Gown, All the Light We Cannot See, The Secret Keeper, & more

This Milwaukee-area book club has met for 50 years. Here are 10 of their favorite books.
Kathy Kozlowicz
’When it started, the club was simply a chance to talk to someone other than their own young children.’

HarperCollins made a tiny tweak to its book design & has saved thousands of trees as a result
Elizabeth Segran
‘The publisher is reducing the number of pages in its books by tweaking their fonts & layout.’

Reading the Bible with Women
Carmen Joy Imes
’The caricature of Rahab & other female characters in Scripture often sidelines their contribution.’

Quiz: Which Jane Austen Heroine Are You?
Michelle Watson
’Have fun answering these silly questions, & I will reward you with book recommendations at the end.’

UPCOMING BESTSELLERS I CAN’T WAIT TO GET MY HANDS ON
- click on the links to discover why

The PLAN: Manage Your Time Like a Lazy Genius
Kendra Adachi
October 2024

Christmas with the Queen: A Novel
Hazel Gaynor
November 2024

Becoming the Pastor’s Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman’s Path to Ministry
Beth Allison Barr
March 2025

The Story She Left Behind
Patti Callahan Henry
March 2025

MY 30 YEAR LITERARY TIME CAPSULE
- what I was reading back in the day
1 year ago
Dreamland: A Novel
Nicholas Sparks

5 years ago
I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights & Dilemmas of the Reading Life
Anne Bogel

10 years ago
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way Ae Live, Love, Parent, & Lead
Brene Brown

15 years ago
Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace … One School at a Time
Greg Mortenson

20 years ago
Soul Keeping: Ancient Paths of Spiritual Direction
Howard Baker

25 years ago
Counsel for Pastor’s Wives
Diane Langberg

30 years ago
The Covenant (The White Pine Chronicles #1)
Hilda Stahl

KINDLE DEALS
Wuthering Heights
Emily Bronte
$3.56

Does Jesus Really Love Me?: A Gay Christian’s Pilgrimage in Search of God in America
Jeff Chu
$2.99

A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, & Calling Her Husband Master
Rachel Held Evans
$3.99

True Crime Novels
Karen Kingsbury
$2.99

When God Whispers Your Name
Max Lucado
$3.99

Glorious Intruder: God’s Presence in Life’s Chaos
Joni Eareckson Tada
$4.99

Embraced: 100 Devotions to Know God is Holding You Close
Lysa TerKeurst
$3.99

The Forgiveness Journal: A Guide to Forgiving What You Can’t Forget
Lysa TerKeurst
$2.99

The Attributes of God Volume 1: A Journey into the Father’s Heart
A.W. Tozer
$2.99

I can’t wait to hear what you’re paging through and what’s in your own personal reading queue. If you like it here, please click the little 🤍 below.
Linda

PORCH
A CHRIST-CENTERED
WEEKEND NEWSLETTER
gentle conversation & calming snapshots
uplifting linkage & occasional surprises
for those who delight in doing life
in the company of kindred spirits

🛒 I appreciate all of you who are supporting my work when you click on any Amazon link here & then shop 'til you drop.  That's it!  A few cents go into my pocket at no extra cost to you ever. You’re happy, I’m happy, it’s a win-win.

🔗 Anne . Paula . Joanne . Andrew . Joanne . Lynn