2021 Book Recommendations
Written by Sally Anne Groomes
Please consider reading from this carefully curated collection of books involving three of the most universal yet thought-provoking themes–marriage, death, and faith.
Grace for the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman
June’s book club pick is Emily P. Freeman’s Grace for the Good Girl: Letting Go of the Try-Hard Life. Freeman takes to task the concept of needing/wanting/desiring to gain worth and value by being “the good girl.” Instead, she offers the biblical and life-giving alternative of accepting God’s gift of grace and worth through HIS redemptive love. While you absolutely can read this book beach or poolside, the length of the chapters make it an excellent addition to daily quiet time. Regardless of location, I hope you enjoy it any way and anywhere you decide to read it!
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
For May’s book selection, I have decided to go back to my roots and where my love of books started—Lucy Maud Montgomery. While the bulk of her work is young adult fiction following beloved heroines like Anne Shirley and Emily Starr, we are going to dive into one of her adult novels, “The Blue Castle.” We will follow the narrative of Valancy Stirling, a sheltered and reluctant spinster who, at the age of twenty nine, finally gets the impetus to live a life of her own making. Valancy becomes a perfect blend of compassion and pluck as she forges a new path disregarding the restrictive and judgmental opinions of others. I’m hoping this book will feel like a lovely Canadian respite where we can get lost in Montgomery’s vivid scenery and enchanting characters.
Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb
Our April book club pick is for any of my fellow eavesdropping friends! I am an extraordinarily curious individual and was immediately drawn into Gottlieb’s narrative. She is a psychologist writing about her role as a therapist and several of her most fascinating clients (reading these chapters made me feel like a privileged fly the wall getting every last snoopy detail). However, she also simultaneously shares about her own therapy experience as a patient allowing for a fascinating degree of self-reflection. This book is unlike any I’ve read before and I so enjoyed the entire reading experience. I found it entertaining but also deeply thought-provoking and I hope y’all enjoy it as much as I did!
Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved by Kate Bowler
This is a quick but insightful read that contemplates learning to walk with God and others during times of struggle and suffering. Bowler discusses the small but insidious weeds that can grow in our own theology that only become apparent during times of great struggle and how to honestly address and weed them out. I’m hoping that this book will bless and challenge us during this Lenten season.
Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living by Shauna Niequist
Shauna Niequist examines our current state of “constant busyness” and dares to suggest that we deliberately start to make choices that take us off this trajectory of doing it all.
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Speaking from her own experiences, she delves into what it looks like to choose quality of moments over quantity—a reminder that I found incredibly salient at this particular time. I think every mother, every wife, every friend, every woman, every Christian has felt the pressures that she expounds upon in her text.
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As Niequist so powerfully articulates: “Present is living with your feet firmly grounded in reality, pale and uncertain as it may seem. Present is choosing to believe that your own life is worth investing deeply in, instead of waiting for some rare miracle or fairytale. Present means we understand that the here and now is sacred, sacramental, threaded through with divinity even in its plainness. Especially in its plainness.”⠀
Persuasion by Jane Austen
There is something about starting a new year that makes me want to return to literary classics for an edifying read. It is for this reason that I selected Jane Austen’s Persuasion for our January book club. While many are familiar with Austen’s more popular Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma, whether by choice or mandatory class reading, I’m always surprised by how many have never read Persuasion. Austen’s final novel, published after her death, explores the concept of second chances, and the steady yet quiet power of women. Anne Elliot is arguably Austen’s most fully-formed and mature heroine (and also possibly the most autobiographical, which will be very fun to chat about). The Victorian prose may take a few chapters to get used to, but I promise it will be a rewarding read with plenty to talk about.
Sally Anne is a former literature and writing professor and has carefully curated a collection of books involving three of the most universal yet thought-provoking themes–marriage, death, and faith. Sally Anne’s Book Club is a member-led group within the Collective and open to members on the Dive Collective network.
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Sally Anne Groomes
Washington, D.C.
Sally Anne is a former literature professor who still cannot be caught without a book close at hand. Currently, she is raising her two kids, running many miles, and adventuring around the world one duty station at a time with her husband (a Navy doctor). She loves Jesus with all her heart and is learning daily how to count it all JOY.
Learn more about Sally Anne here and find her on Instagram at @sagroomes21.
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Whether you are looking for an advent devotional, a cozy nonfiction read, or a festive holiday fiction—here is a list of recommendations to get you started. I hope these encourage some special reading moments this Christmas season!