*If reading in an email, open in your browser to read in its entirety. I promise a long year-end review like this won’t happen again… for…. 12 months.
to read: essays, articles
(publications)
(newsletters)
Post Script — Jen Pollock Michel — I always look forward to her monthly wisdom on faith and life which are never trite or trendy, in addition to her book recommendations and links to other current work.
Granola — Gracy Olmstead — Another monthly read, this one focuses on place, books, and community. She has written for some big publications, even though she’s the closest to a female Wendell Berry I can think of.
Other Feminisms — Leah Libresco Sargeant — Uplifting women and issues that effect them, Leah is a Catholic convert who thinks creatively outside current feminist boxes. I love how she is constantly asking for feedback, throwing out questions, and sharing the responses.
Stay At Home Meg — Meg Conley — A unique one about home culture. She is smart and a little sassy, thinking beyond cliches or assumptions. Meg aims to “embark on the labor of claiming our homes and bettering the communities they sit inside.”
Slant Letter — Stephanie Duncan Smith — Being an editor in her professional life, she brings fresh suggestions for writers to cultivate their skills. It’s not boring, but gives you confidence in the possibility your writing has to come alive.
The Road Before Us — Matthew Lee Anderson — A professor of ethics and theology, his research is primarily centered around parenthood and procreation. However, he has a lot of wisdom to give in the broad category of ethics in public and private life.
John Starke — This one primarily revolves around modern life and religious faith. Being a pastor in New York City, I appreciate his thoughts connecting what he’s been reading to real life. Also a great twitter follow.
Story Letters — Amber C. Haines — Beautiful, conversational thoughts.
Edible Theology — Kendall Vanderslice — A unique lense through which to view aspects of the Christian life and theology.
Bullet Points — Taylor Schumann — An important topic we do well to consider more purposefully.
Good Shout — Carter Moore — When this comes back I’m sure you all will find it as valuable as I have. (Thanks for offering to send the Prone To Wander zine that arrived last week!)
to read: books
memoirs (general interest)
Notes from a Young Black Chef, Kwame Onwuachi
The Beauty in Breaking, Michele Harper
Rap Dad: A Story of Family and the Subculture That Shaped a Generation, Juan Vidal
From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home, Tembi Locke
memoirs (christian)
Motherhood: A Confession, Natalie Carnes
Mother to Son: Letters to a Black Boy on Identity and Hope, Jasmine L. Holmes
Coming Clean: A Story of Faith, Seth Haines
My Sisters the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir, Colleen Carroll Campbell
novels
The Golden State, Lydia Kiesling
Future Home of the Living God, Louise Erdich
Nothing to See Here, Kevin Wilson
The Snow Child, Eowyn Ivey
This Tender Land, William Kent Krueger
literary fiction
Light From Distant Stars, Shawn Smucker
Jack, Marilynne Robinson
A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’Engle
christian living
Handle with Care: How Jesus Redeems the Power of Touch in Life and Ministry, Lore Ferguson Wilbert
Keeping Place: Reflections on the Meaning of Home, Jen Pollock Michel
The Book of Waking Up: Experiencing the Diving Love that Reorders a Life, Seth Haines
nonfiction (christian)
On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts, James K.A. Smith
In Search of the Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World, Jake Meador
nonfiction (general interest)
The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn’t, and Get Stuff Done, Kendra Adachi
More Than Just Making It: Hope for the Financially Frustrated, Erin Odom
nonfiction (sociology)
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure, Jonathan Haidt
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, Susan Cain
The Decadent Society: How We Became the Victims of Our Own Success, Ross Douthat
Cheap Sex: The Transformation of Men, Marriage, and Monogamy, Mark Regnerus
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business, Neil Postman
Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World, Tara Isabella Burton
nonfiction (race, justice)
The Color of Compromise: The Truth About the American Church’s Complicity in Racism, Jemar Tisby
Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope, Esau McCaulley
The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap, Mehrsa Baradaran
The Myth of the American Dream: Reflections on Affluence, Autonomy, Safety, and Power, D.L. Mayfield
theology
Earthen Vessels: Why Our Bodies Matter to Our Faith, Matthew Lee Anderson
poetry
Advent: a thread in the night, E.M. Welcher
essay collections
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion, Jia Tolentino
Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community, Wendell Berry
If you rather, you can see all of them listed here:
scripture
Bible Reading Plan — A five day reading plan that I’m going on my third year using.
ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal (New Testament Set) by Dana Tanamachi — A beautiful way to read through entire books of the Bible.
Bibliotheca Complete Set — Love this for reading the Old Testament and wisdom literature. There are no numeric markers so they read like real books.
to watch
(series, films)
Godzilla films
(youtube)
Farmhouse on Boone — Food from scratch, natural living, and a handmade home from a mom of six on their homestead.
Loeppkys Life — Motherhood and lifestyle from a young, married mom of two toddlers.
Nurse Zabe — Labor and delivery nurse, certified childbirth educator, and an overall fun person to learn from.
Bridget Teyler — Pregnancy, birth, and postpartum videos from a childbirth educator and doula.
Fertility Homeopath — Womanhood, natural health, and fertility from a lady who seeks to educate on the wholistic and interconnected nature of how we as women function.
Shaheedah Hill Real Estate — Purely educational for my own enrichment in this area. It never hurts to hear from a professional on something as big and complex as purchasing a home.
to listen: music
I do love music, but coming up with a list for the year is beyond what I want to do for this newsletter!
to listen: audio
I’ve tried to make room for more audiobooks rather than podcasts, so I listened to very few this year. But if I did, they were most likely ones by these folks (who all happen to be some of the best follows on Twitter.)
to cook
Ever since Ezra was born, I’ve been absolutely loving attempting recipes, experimenting with flavors, and tweaking & enhancing the meals we enjoy.
Every weekday night has been a chance (and that’s a lot of chances!) to continue a discipline that requires planning, creativity, and playfulness.
It’s been a therapeutic and nourishing outlet — that also benefits my people (and this family is only growing.) Some favorites:
Thai Green Coconut Curry with Chicken
Burgers with Oven Fries
Oven Roasted Curry Vegetables with Fried Eggs
Soups
All the Gluten-Free Baked Goods
to celebrate
This is a space meant to primarily cheer on and highlight others. Allow me to deviate from that for the purposes of this introduction!
Back in 2019 I endeavored to share weekly "Good, True, Beautiful" posts on Wordpress, paying attention to and holding onto the good of each week. Resolving to do it — and following through — is something I’m proud of.
(This is coming back, more or less in a similar way, here on Substack. One difference is that this platform supports email subscriptions for y’all.)
to remember, reflect
Most of my favorite thinkers and writers have a similar, slower way of sharing work and connecting with others beyond the frenzied deluge of social media. I've admired that and have found value in my inbox. Hopefully I can provide a bit of the same.
I love a good face-to-face conversation, but written words (both ones I write and ones I read) have always been a life-giving outlet for me. I want to share more of others' and my own.
2020 was a year of navigating the learning curve of motherhood, a new city, and new daily rhythms at home. It was a lot of adjusting. Though 2021 will be another interesting year for our family — baby boy due in March... caring for two under a year and a half.... looking into next jobs and cities at the end of Jakob's assignment — I do feel as though it's a good year to pay attention to.
Babies are demanding, and moms need consistent outlets of joy and purpose — whatever that looks like. A purposeful online presence provides a source of calm and routine.
As with 2019's experiment, the aim is to cultivate more attentiveness, curiosity, depth of thought, and joy for me. That means enjoying life more offline and bringing the worthwhile goodness to the surface in a thoughtful way. There are others who do this so well (often through newsletters and other slower media means), sparking rich connection with others. I want to replicate that posture in online communities better.
Anyways, this was quite the extensive list this time around — encompassing a lot from 2020. From here on out, the Monday newsletters will be much shorter but follow the same outline. Hopefully you find some value in them as I share the good I come across — both online and in life.
Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear from you about anything mentioned.
And… Happy New Year!