Bekah's Bookshelf: My 2024 Reads So Far

 

            You might remember that in 2023, I started a reading challenge I found online. The challenge was 52 books long, obviously averaging a book a week. By the end of the year, I’d read 21 books, which is nowhere near the challenge goal, but it was about 20 books more than I managed to read the year before, so I was proud of the accomplishment. (Take into consideration that I learned two separate new jobs, packed up a house, moved, and unpacked in another house throughout that year, so I am really proud of what I accomplished in the world of reading.)

            My first book completed in 2024 is part of that unfinished challenge, and I did actually start reading it in 2023, but I didn’t get it done before the end of the year. It filled the category “A Book that Makes You Happy,” and I feel like it’s a lot to ask of a book before you read it. What if it doesn’t make you happy? I chose I’ll Be There For You: The One About Friends by Kelsey Miller for this category.

            I am a behind-the-scenes information junkie. I love reading books and posts and even trivia tidbits that pull back the curtain about all kinds of things in life. Reading behind the scenes of a television show sounded fascinating to me, so I put this book on my wish list.

            Years ago – back in high school, even – I read a similar book about I Love Lucy, and what I learned from that book was that if you’re going to read behind the scenes, you have to be willing for some of the mystery and magic of your subject to disappear. In the case of the I Love Lucy book, I learned that the four main cast members were nowhere near as good of friends in real life as they were on the show. That was disappointing to learn and did shape how I watched the show going forward. It didn’t ruin it for me. But it distorted it.

            I’ve read enough articles about Friends that the book didn’t ruin anything or even surprise me in a really big way, but I did learn new bits and pieces throughout the book. For example, I learned how audience-driven this show was. I knew they filmed in front of a live audience, but I didn’t know that in a handful of circumstances, a poor reaction to a scene or storyline actually sent the writers back to the table to start over, and then they stayed to reshoot the scenes, sometimes filming until 1 a.m. The producers wanted happy viewers – and if it meant rewriting, they would do it. I did not know that.

            The book was, admittedly, more intense than I was expecting. I figured a book about a sitcom would be as fun and easygoing as the show itself. But the book was intense and dove into deep issues about the topics they covered, the relationships of the actors, and the culture of entertainment through the decade the show aired. Because of that, it wasn’t as carefree and easy of a read as I expected, but I still enjoyed it. (Except the last chapter, that is. It covered post-show life, and I didn’t connect with it at all.)

            I think my favorite part of the book came in the footnotes sprinkled throughout, providing extra trivia that was just fun to read. The footnotes were more representative of what I expected in the book overall.

            I think I’ll pass this one along to a friend who is a big fan of the show rather than keeping it for my permanent library, but I enjoyed the fun and new bits of information I learned along the way. If I redid my reading challenge, I might not list this one in the category of a book that makes me happy (because it wasn’t as carefree as I expected) but I am glad I read it!

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            Though I want to continue chipping away at that reading challenge from last year, I also want to read some books I have here in the house awaiting my attention. In particular, I’d love to make my way through (back through, in some cases) some series I own.

            I decided to start by reading all The Chronicles of Narnia. Years ago, when I was in elementary school, an IWU college student who taught midweek Bible club classes at our church, read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to our class. As I look back now, I see that she didn’t have enough curriculum to fill the time when church ran over, as it almost always did. I don’t think she knew what to do with us, so she brought the book and would read it, one chapter at a time. I loved it, and my parents bought me the whole series. I was so happy to have it, but I never finished it. How embarrassing is that? I think I read maybe the first two books, but nothing more. And I read those so many years ago that I barely remember them.

            I pulled the series off the shelf and put it in our little coffee table vignette in the living room, and this month I ran right through the first book.

            Anymore, this kind of literature is not what I’m naturally drawn to, but I found myself as captivated by The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as I was the first time I heard it in church. This time I was able to make the connections between the fantasy/fiction world of Narnia and the corresponding threads of Scripture, and that made it all the more beautiful to me as I read. When I heard it as a child, it was simply a fascinating story. I wasn’t mature enough for connections back then.

            Since this is such a familiar book to so many, I won’t recap it in the way I normally do, but I will say that if you haven’t read this book in many years, give it another read. If you’ve never read it, try it. You just might find yourself captivated and grateful for the TRUE account in the Bible. C.S. Lewis has a (rightful) reputation for deep and profound thoughts, and while there certainly are profound statements woven throughout this book, it really was written for children, so you’ll be able to understand it!

            I’ll be diving into the second book – Prince Caspian – next!

NOTE: I shared on Instagram that I had read this book and one of my friends said that he recently read the series in its chronological order rather than its written order. He prefers the written order. That is the order I’m reading for this round. But I do believe if you purchase the whole series today, it is renumbered, so books one and two are not the same as these two I’ve mentioned.

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            The last book I finished this month is really an ongoing book for me. It’s called Vantage Point by Brenda Jank, and it is a very short read, but it requires time and thought, so I’ve been working on it since December. The book is created workbook-style with wide margins for notes and journaling. It can be done independently or as part of a group study. I would love to do it as a study sometime, but for this read, I did it on my own.

            Brenda lives here in Indiana and is the founder of an organization called Run Hard, Rest Well. I have shared some of her blog posts on Saturdays, and I really appreciate her desire to teach people to rest intentionally so they can fulfill the work they are called to do. Rest is a topic that has become dear to my own heart over the years. I resisted it for far too long, and now I champion it.

            Rest can be viewed as laziness, but when done properly, it’s not lazy at all. It’s restorative. It’s necessary. It’s ordained by God.

            I loved Brenda’s book, and even though rest is something I feel I engage in well (regularly), I still found myself challenged to do a better job of it. It has pushed me to reevaluate the rhythms of my own life right now and is shaping how I frame the future.

            Ryan and I know what it means to be burned out, and we have seen the toll it has taken on us. It has affected us in different ways. It probably hit me harder than it did him, but it took us both out more than we realized in the moment. Learning how to rest according to God’s design has been (truly!) life-changing for me!

            When I finished reading, I felt that gentle nudge from God, urging me not to put it on the library shelf, but to keep it at hand and to slowly walk through it again, learning more from a second read. I’m all too happy to do so.