2022 reading list

Here’s everything I read this year, plus statistics. Links are to Bookshop (but if you wanna buy it on Amazon or support a local shop or check it out from the library, as always, do what’s best for your conscience and financial situation).

(Previous lists: 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007)

• January 11: Beth Allison Barr, The Making of Biblical Womanhood (started in 2021)
• January 29: Aimee Byrd, Recovering From Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
• March 5: Lina Meruane, Nervous System
• March 14: Kaitlyn Greenidge, Libertie 
• March 22: Leonard J. Vander Zee, Christ, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper
• March 29: Kelsey McKinney, God Spare the Girls
• April 21: Lauren Groff, Matrix
• May 11: Michael Allen, Grounded In Heaven
• May 25: Becky Chambers, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
• May 31: Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief
• *June 11: Lauren F. Winner, Girl Meets God
• June 13: Rick Riordan, The Sea of Monsters
• June 14: Malinda Lo, Last Night at the Telegraph Club
• June 18: Rick Riordan, The Titan’s Curse
• June 22: Rick Riordan, The Battle of the Labyrinth
• June 24: Rick Riordan: The Last Olympian
• *July 6: Kendra Adachi, The Lazy Genius Way
• August 7: Daniel Nayeri, Everything Sad Is Untrue
• August 8, Lisa Wool-Rim Sjölblom, Palimpsest
• August 12: Emily St. John Mandel, Sea of Tranquility
• August 13: Gene Luen Yang, Boxers
• August 26: Kendra Adachi, The Lazy Genius Kitchen
• September 5: Amanda Montell, Cultish
• September 15: Gene Luen Yang, Saints
• September 17: Christopher B. Kaiser, The Doctrine of God
• October 2: Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
• October 4: Becky Chambers, A Closed and Common Orbit
• October 7: Dan Allender, The Healing Path
• November 4: Becky Chambers, Record of a Spaceborn Few
• November 6: Andy Crouch, Playing God
• November 7: Becky Chambers, A Psalm for the Wild Built
• November 10: Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited
• Norember 19: Becky Chambers, A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
• December 3: Susan Grove Eastman, Paul and the Person
• December 3: Celeste Ng, Our Missing Hearts
• December 22: Becky Chambers, The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
• December 28: Tish Harrison Warren, Prayer In the Night

total: 37

fiction: 19

nonfiction: 15

graphic novels/memoirs/comics: 3

poetry: 0 (oops)

e-books: 18

library books: 25

re-reads: 2

books read for class: 6

books written by women: 23

books written by Black people, indigenous people, or people of color: 10

most read author: Becky Chambers, with 6

top 10 (in no particular order): Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Matrix, Playing God, Last Night at the Telegraph Club, Our Missing Hearts, Everything Sad is Untrue, The Lazy Genius Kitchen, Sea of Tranquility, Boxers

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right now: october 2022

Making: plans for the rest of the year (professionally, academically, and personally); a blanket so I can get some yarn out of the house

Cooking: lots of soup because it is, in fact, soup season

Drinking: Sprite Zero Sugar (I have a cold and Sprite just hits the spot)–will be downing a whole bunch of water once my Nalgene gets out of the dishwasher

Reading: Jesus and the Disinherited, plus miscellaneous stuff for class

Wanting: to kick this cold, dang it

Looking: forward to the World Series this weekend, hooray

Deciding: on some bigger life stuff that I don’t want to put on the public Internet (ask if you’re really that interested

Listening: to this band Spotify’s algorithm recommended to me called The Dip, especially their song “Paddle to the Stars”

Buying: new shoes–just bought a pair of Rothy’s and am waiting for payday to pull the trigger on a new pair of Allbirds

Smelling: not much, honestly (see also: I have a cold)

Watching: Andor (y’all this show is so good!!!), Werewolf by Night (also very good!)

Wearing: Blue shorts, this gray 3/4-sleeve shirt that says “EVERY THING WILL BE AMAZING” that i’ve had for something like 10 years now

Noticing: I need to eat something soon

right now: august 2022.

Making: project plans for work; plans and routines for the fall semester

Cooking: not a ton, since it’s summer and I mostly just want to eat sandwiches anyway. I do have some chicken thawing in the fridge so I can make and eat this over the weekend, and I need to get ingredients so I can make dessert for parish on Sunday

Drinking: hibiscus kombucha (local brand Kickin’ Kombucha, acquired from the coffee shop where I am writing this post)

Reading: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I have a couple of things on hold until I finish both of these–trying to get stuff read before the fall semester begins (two weeks from Monday, ack!)

Wanting: to get back in a better routine once I start school again–I’ve been a little feral this summer, especially since I just went on vacation and haven’t gotten my brain out of that mode quite yet

Looking: forward to my class this semester, actually. It’s a wonder what taking a break will do for your whole mindset.

Deciding: on a couple of things I don’t want to write about on the public internet, but if you want to ask me about it go ahead and ask if you really want to know

Listening: to old top 50s–I put together these playlists of 50 of the songs I listened to or enjoyed a lot in a given year, and have been doing so since 2004, so I have a pretty deep backlog. I just kind of felt like listening to all of them again, and I’ve gotten up to 2017.

Buying: stuff for my niece-in-law’s baby shower (getting a second grandnephew sometime this fall), but not a whole lot else (spent a lot of $$ on vacation, whew)

Smelling: other people’s coffee and food, ha

Watching: 7 Days Out on Netflix (surprisingly interesting). Also, I’ve somehow never seen all of the Spider-Man or Ant-Man MCU movies, so I’m trying to catch up with those.

Wearing: Dark grey shorts (acquired from Goodwill), red t-shirt (a perk from this year’s Project for Awesome), plus Tevas (these in black, if you’re wondering)

Noticing: the guy next to me who is taking a work call

right now: may 2022.

Making: myself insane by writing a paper that I have the feeling is going to be really convoluted but it’s due on Tuesday and I’m at 1350/4000 words (should’ve started this earlier!)

Cooking: not much! I just moved last weekend and I’m still slowly finding where all my stuff is–I still haven’t unpacked my knives, which is somewhat impeding my ability to cook

Drinking: a lot of strawberry mango sparkling water (the Target brand)

Reading: Grounded In Heaven by Michael Allen (for class); I have a couple of other things on pause while I finish out my semester, and then I plan on blitzing through quite a few

Wanting: this paper to be done and for this weird sinus/cough situation I’ve had since early March to go away

Looking: forward to the six weeks I have off between semesters (I’m taking a summer class but it doesn’t start until July)

Deciding: on where to put all my stuff in my new place–it’s a little smaller than the old one but there’s more storage, so it evens out

Listening: to a Tim Keller sermon on covenants; also just discovered a podcast called Things I Learned Last Night that’s pretty fun

Buying: mostly just groceries for the time being (saving money!)

Smelling: not much (see also: my sinus situation)

Watching: not much (see also: this paper that’s due on Tuesday)

Wearing: Blue shorts, Ravenclaw t-shirt, Tevas

Noticing: I’ve been waking up entirely on my own at 6 AM every morning, regardless of what time I went to bed

a service for the commissioning of single people

Friends in Christ, we have gathered to commission these members of our family as they prepare for another year as unmarried people.

The Lord Jesus, during His earthly ministry, did not take a wife, in order that He might take a heavenly bride for Himself, the Church. Many of His prophets and saints remained unmarried in order to pursue undistracted devotion to Him. Some remained unmarried despite their desire for a spouse, but nonetheless lived in faithfulness and holiness. Some became single after the end of a marriage, whether through divorce or through their spouse’s death. Some remained unmarried for many other reasons and lived out their various vocations and callings as members of the Body of Christ. All of them, regardless of the reason for not getting married, were nonetheless beloved, called, chosen, and accepted before God.

As these members of our congregation continue in their walks with Christ and with us, their community, some of them may eventually enter into the covenant of marriage, and some of them may not. While they remain single, we want to affirm both the difficulty and the freedom that being single provides; we want to commit ourselves to being their helpers and companions on the way of Jesus; and we also want to encourage them in their vocations as equal members of this body and of the Church at large.

Readings:

Psalm 68:4-6

Isaiah 56:1-5

Matthew 19:23-30

The service leader asks the following questions to the single people, and then to the congregation.

All of our unmarried friends who are adults, will you please stand as you’re able? If you’re unable, please raise a hand or otherwise indicate that you’re a single person. I’ll ask you some questions and you can respond with “We will, with God’s help.”

Beloved, will you walk in faithfulness to the call of the Gospel as part of the body of Christ?

We will, with God’s help.

Will you love and serve your neighbors and Christian family as those who are loved by God?

We will, with God’s help.

Will you practice hospitality, welcoming others as you have been welcomed by Christ, and will you practice vulnerability, openness, and confession with others?

We will, with God’s help.

Will you resist the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil? Will you reject isolation, and accept the help of your companions in the Lord?

We will, with God’s help.

Will you pursue deep friendships with people from all walks of life and seek to encourage and be encouraged by them in love?

We will, with God’s help.

Now I’m going to ask some questions for the whole congregation. Again, your response is, “We will, with God’s help.”

Friends in Christ, will you love and honor these members of the family of God as they walk in chastity, service, and obedience to Christ?

We will, with God’s help.

Will you regard them as your equals and co-heirs with Christ?

We will, with God’s help.

Will you practice hospitality and welcome them into your households as fellow members of the household of God?

We will, with God’s help.

Will you help them in their times of temptation, and aid and comfort them in their times of suffering and sorrow?

We will, with God’s help.

Will you rejoice with them in their successes and milestones?

We will, with God’s help.

Let us pray.

Almighty God, grant that these your beloved children may walk before you in holiness and righteousness. Send them comfort in times of loneliness, send them strength in times of trial and temptation, and reveal to them your great love in times of need: through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

things i wanted to tweet during lent, but didn’t

Don’t mind me, just thinking about the fact that the United States historically skews more toward taking the Russia role than the Ukraine one, I’m sorry to say

One of my modus operandi is that I just really want people to like me, which I guess is fine in and of itself, but it also leads me into doing completely dumb shit sometimes

my garbage disposal spat up a large piece of something and my immediate response was to mutter “and the sea will give up its dead” to myself

there is no end to the internet and that is most of the problem with it

working at a college is great because there’s all this scholarship and research and culture and art, but then it’s also populated by mostly 18-24-year-olds so really random goofy stuff also happens

i mean my christian high school never talked about lgbtq people or issues other than to just say “ew” and i can think of several folks that came out after they left there, so it seems that not talking about it does not prevent it from happening, it just increases shame and fear about it and also doesn’t decrease homophobia in the student body–all of this is bad, to be clear

lent: where you suddenly remember that all the kids you know will also eventually die (hopefully not for a very long time though!!!) and then you get sad

i’m 5’4″ and i’m one of the tallest people in my work unit–i feel kind of powerful, is this how actual tall people feel all the time?

did some genealogical research and it turns out one of my maternal great-great grandmothers was named maria amanda, how about that.

i don’t think i’ve ever eaten a crab rangoon. are they actually good?

there’s nothing like realizing that you’re operating out of the assumption that you’re not likable in and of yourself and so you try to be at least interesting or useful instead

christian twitter tolerates anger and despair like way more than it should. not saying that we can’t ever experience them, but i think we lend them too much authority sometimes

[insert seven weeks’ worth of wordle scores here]

i think about the line from rent: “the opposite of war isn’t peace; it’s creation!” and i say: creation and shalom are bffs. what are you making these days, friends, to push back against the violence of the world?

i keep getting crushes on men who are definitely gay and would not be attracted to me that way at all, what is wrong with me

i am of an age when i am thinking about starting to use a serum. anyone who is way more into skincare than i am (especially if you’re of east asian descent), any recommendations that don’t cost a ton of money?

is this a safe place to admit that 1) i’m drinking instant cafe bustelo and 2) i’m enjoying it

on the dark night of the soul

no one prepares you for it

no one can prepare you for it

when the fog falls on you and

you’re left shuffling through it

trying to find somewhere to lean on

get your bearings

only to find that this is a big open field

and the one companion you thought was

never going to leave

is silent and invisible

and the terror of both the

bigness and smallness of the space

takes hold

7 reasons to watch everything everywhere all at once

(I watched an early screening last night thanks to my local Alamo Drafthouse.)

1. Michelle Yeoh finally gets a headliner film after being in American cinema for like twenty years and she kills it, she’s so good and she gets to show off her entire range of acting.
2. Ke Huy Quan, though, is the whole heart of this movie and this is the best possible way for him to re-enter acting (if you don’t know who he is, he was Data in The Goonies and Short Round in Temple of Doom, and this role is infinitely better than either one of them.)
3. Literally everybody in this film, though, is incredible–Stephanie Hsu needs to be in like all of the things! James Hong (legendary long-time Chinese American actor) is the man! And you’ll never see Jamie Lee Curtis the same way after this one…
4. I was a mess at the end, which is kind of a feat for a movie that features googly eyes so predominantly. (It probably doesn’t help that I am a bi Asian American woman with mom issues, though.)
5. It’s also one of the funniest things I’ve ever watched–there are some incredible visual gags and callbacks, and I will also never see everything bagels without having a small existential crisis.
6. SON LUX DOES THE SOUNDTRACK
7. Among other things, this is a film about choosing the good even though you feel like you can’t get it together, about moms and daughters, about marriage, about having kind people in your corner leading to you being a kind person yourself. I kind of needed this as a kick in the pants, honestly. Watch this movie in a theater with a crowd, if you can, or at least don’t watch it alone.

right now: march 2022

Making: this hat but in one color (a random red acrylic I somehow procured along the way)

Cooking: so many veggies, thanks to buying a CSA subscription a few weeks ago. I usually end up roasting them, but I might make some salsa with the tomatoes and cilantro. I have a bunch of carrots and snow peas and spinach that I’m trying to figure out what to do with, but I might make stir fry or some kind of half-assed japchae, stay tuned.

Drinking: lots of water, or trying to, anyway. I have a bit of a cold/general upper respiratory grossness and I need to flush all my mucus and junk out. Other than that, I’m drinking more tea–I’m trying to make it a thing that I bring a tea to Bible study on Wednesday night, for some reason.

Reading: for class, mostly. For some reason I’m having difficulty getting myself to read, which is unfortunate since I’m in the middle of several books that belong to the library and a couple are overdue (oops).

Wanting: this stupid cold to go away; to get an ADHD assessment, because I’m almost sure I have the inattentive variety and I would like to definitely be sure; the war in Ukraine to be over soon (here are some vetted places where you can donate money to help!)

Looking: for a new place to live (my lease runs out at the end of April and my current place, while mostly fine, also is not worth the money I’m paying to live here); some kind of mojo to get my act together but also grace for myself while I’m operating at about 70% capacity

Deciding: whether or not to go to ALA this summer (it’s in Washington, DC, and I have both friends and family that live there, so I could kill a bunch of birds with one stone)

Listening: to this album Seventeen Going Under by a young artist called Sam Fender–the title track in particular is very good

Buying: not much, or trying not to–I’m trying not to spend money on stuff I don’t need during Lent

Smelling: not much, thanks to my nose being clogged

Watching: an unconscionable number of TikToks

Wearing: Gray pants, red t-shirt

Noticing: I need to clean off my dining table, yikes

epiphany

The color green is for growth

and sometimes it is the green of

fields of flowers waiting to burst with their

beauty into fruit

sometimes it is the green of flourishing trees

reaching their roots into rivers to drink deep

sometimes it is the green of rot slowly creeping in the dark

that you only find after you open doors and whitewashed walls

because not all growth is good

sometimes the green is a warning instead of a sign to go

Let the wise one know when to prune and when to scrub and when to harvest