Before we drift to sleep, I read aloud (sometimes just a paragraph, other times a page or two) from Mark and Grace Driscoll’s Real Marriage; we wake up to The Last Battle (snicker about that combination).

When I drive the car, I listen to Kathleen Norris’ Acedia & Me. Acedia means lack of caring…sort of like depression, but different.

If I have an afternoon with my eight year old grandson, our real aloud is Where the Red Fern Grows. We are at the happy parts of a compelling story; Gavin begs for one more chapter.

I’m plowing through Colin Thubron’s book Shadow of the Silk Road, a travel memoir. I believe this is the loveliest book cover…ever! So much terrain is unfamiliar; it takes longer to assimilate this reading. I had read the first two chapters a while back and put it down. When I retunred to it a few months later I had to start at the beginning. With forty pages to finish, I’ve read Thubron through China, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and we’re entering Turkey.

Donna at Quiet Life started a book club reading Bonhoeffer. I listened to it in 2012, and immediately bought the print copy because I wanted to read it with my eyes. What a remarkable family! What a rare jewel of a man!

Cindy at Ordo Amoris started a book club reading Hidden Art , in honor of the late Edith Schaeffer. I just located my copy and am happy to be re-reading this gem.

So you could say I’m filling my mind with art, Asia, apes, apathy, Achtung!, amicability, and adventure.