It’s time for the annual trip to the north shore of Lake Superior for the Thanksgiving weekend. This will be year #11. I’m looking forward to a few days of hiking, enjoying the scenery, eating, and reading.
As usual, I find myself behind on my goal of reading 50 books in the year, so this is time for me to play catch-up. I’m 11 books behind with just 6 weeks to go, so I need to get cracking!
These are the books I’m hoping to read (or at least get started on reading) in the coming week:
Dust and Devotion: The Memoir of a Missionary Doctor in Pakistan, by Mary Wilder
Growing up in Pakistan, I knew Dr. Wilder. To me, she was always simply “Auntie Mary.” Here is the Amazon description:
In this book Dr. Mary, aka Dr. Ji, weaves her own story with stories of her patients in Pakistan. Dr. Mary’s stories, often told in a humorous manner, not only give us a glimpse of the faithful service of a medical missionary, but also present to us a world in which people need healing for both the soul and the body. The enjoyable reading of these stories will not only inform you of medical mission in action; it will inspire you to prayerfully support those serving the needy and engage in frontline ministries.
A Village With My Name: A Family History of China’s Opening to the World, by Scott Tong. Here’s the description on Amazon:
When journalist Scott Tong moved to Shanghai, his assignment was to start the first full-time China bureau for “Marketplace,” the daily business and economics program on public radio stations across the United States. But for Tong the move became much more—it offered the opportunity to reconnect with members of his extended family who had remained in China after his parents fled the communists six decades prior. By uncovering the stories of his family’s history, Tong discovered a new way to understand the defining moments of modern China and its long, interrupted quest to go global.
James Madison: America’s First Politician, by Jay Cost
Continuing my goal of reading at least one book about a U.S. president each year, I’m going to learn about James Madison, our fourth president. Here’s the description from Amazon:
As Jay Cost shows in this incisive new biography, the underlying logic of Madison’s seemingly mixed record comes into focus only when we understand him primarily as a working politician. Whereas other founders split their time between politics and other vocations, Madison dedicated himself singularly to the work of politics and ultimately developed it into a distinctly American idiom. He was, in short, the first American politician.
The Lincoln Highway: A Novel, by Amor Towles
I liked Towles book A Gentleman in Moscow, so decided to give this one a try. And you know I’m a sucker for a road trip story! Here’s the Amazon description:
In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett’s intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother, Billy, and head to California where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden’s car. Together, they have hatched an altogether different plan for Emmett’s future, one that will take them all on a fateful journey in the opposite direction—to the City of New York.
What are you reading this Thanksgiving weekend?
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