Books Read in 2023

 Books Read in 2023

A lot of my friends have posted their Good Reads stats for 2023.  Others have posted their favorite books that they have read in the past year.  As I mentioned in my 3rd resolution for this year, I do plan on reading 24 books in 2024. While I did not read as many as I am to this (loose interpretation as many of these books I listened to on Audible)  I did get a good start last January.  A theme for some of the books I read are books that others got for me.  I say that because in our on demand society, I often would see a book on the Audible app and guilt listen to it.  Some of my guilt listen/reads this year include "Spare" by Prince Harry and I also listened to the Britney Spears autobiography.  I also did read a few inspirational biographies this year, as "No Time like the Future" by Michael J Fox was a bit more substantial than the earlier biographies. I also read a few books about Deadwood and South Dakota this year prior to our trip to the Black Hills.  In fact, if you are looking for a quick read, "Mount Rushmore" by Charles River Editors was an insightful read which pumped me up even more for the grandeur of Mount Rushmore that really doesn't need any more pumping up.


This is one of my favorite memories of our trip to South Dakota this summer.  Its not only one of my favorites, this picture hangs in Hannah's room.

Any who, if you are still reading, you probably think I have questionable judgment in reading materials.  Which would not be wrong.  My wife would agree.  If you asked her to list more of my faults, somewhere between 1-99, she would say that I am a terrible list maker for Christmas.  Which is very true.  See my above need for immediate gratification based upon some of my questionable Audible downloads.

Well, my wife is a thoughtful gift giver, and even though I am lousy at asking for what I want, she came up with some great books to add to my list last year.  A few of the selections were "The Island at the Center of the Earth" by Russell Shorto.  Mandy's parents got me this book for Christmas.  This book about New Amsterdam and its transformation to New York was my first book of 23 and it was great.  I am obviously a history nerd, but it was great.  It also was a little foreshadowing, as we eventually did visit one of the significant buildings mentioned in the book when we visited Trinity Church in November.


We lit a candle for Audrey at Trinity Church.

Another book on Mandy's magnificent list was the "Forgotten 500."  Mandy's parents and my parents got me a copy of this book. (I own 2 copies of this, so please let me know if you are interested and I will forward a copy your way) I also am proud of both of these books, because I old school read these on printed paper.  Maybe because I wasn't ashamed to be spotted reading them in public.  

The "Forgotten 500" is the amazing story of US pilots and servicemen that bailed out in Nazi occupied Serbia which at the time part of Yugoslavia, which was spelled Jugoslavia on my great grandfather's naturalization card.  If you are actually paying attention, you will notice that Cismesia is actually the Americanized version of Cizmesija that was changed when my great grandfather came to Ellis Island (We also visited on our trip to NYC).  This is also significant today, because we booked our summer travel today as we plan on visiting Croatia this summer.

These "500" were the service men who were stuck in Nazi occupied Serbia, and it is the amazing story how the Serbians helped the Americans build a secret runway in the foothills of Serbia without the Nazis knowing it.  Again, I know- history nerd, but it was amazing.  





I read both of these books in January.  Man- it looked like it was going to be a good 2023 for reading for me..... Yeah, not so much, but hope 2024 is different.

Fast forward to August.  I began to get a lot more books offered to me by friends and family.  There were some really relevant books.  Some faith based, some more contemporary, some older.  I read some, some are still on the back burner.  I just picked one up yesterday and am almost done, but I didn't finish that in 23, so maybe I will talk about that one later- also has a connection to our travels.

My friends Ben and Sam sent "When Bad Things Happen to Good People" by Rabbi Harold Kushner.  It is a quick read.  It also isn't new as it was published in 1981.  It has some outdated language but was still relevant as it helped me process some things specifically some of the faith based questions I was asking.


The scripture on the second Sunday after Audrey's celebration of life was Jeremiah 29:11. 



 It was tough because Mandy picked out this shirt for Audrey, and it was one of our favorite shirts.  Kushner's words helped me think about some of the questions I had and it shaped some of my faith life in the past 4 months.


Well, that's it for books in 2023.  Let me know in the comments if there is anything I should read in 24.



Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 19, 2024 at 9:00 PM

    Absolutely you need to read Through the Eyes of a Lion .
    About a young pastor who lost his 5 yr old daughter . This book is an incredible comfort and helped support me immensely. My 18 yr old son went to be with Jesus 22 months ago. Love to you 💙

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jeff CismesiaMarch 20, 2024 at 3:13 PM

    Thank you for the suggestion. I have ordered this off Amazon and will read it. I will let you know what I think.

    ReplyDelete

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