{"id":10533,"date":"2017-01-01T22:57:19","date_gmt":"2017-01-02T03:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/?p=10533"},"modified":"2017-01-01T22:57:19","modified_gmt":"2017-01-02T03:57:19","slug":"books-from-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/meganstrange.com\/?p=10533","title":{"rendered":"Books From 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

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One of my favorite things to do at the beginning of a new year is to look back over the past year and reflect on all the books that I was privileged to read. \u00a0As I\u2019ve shared before, my mom instilled a love of reading in all three of her children and to this day\u2026my brother, sister, and I all love reading. \u00a0I pray that will be true of all of our kids as well! \u00a0As a child, being a voracious reader offered me the opportunity to travel to far off lands in my mind and dream about what it would be like to visit those places one day. \u00a0Reading gave me a glimpse into history and cultures that created in me a deep desire and longing to learn more about people and to travel the world. \u00a0One of the main things that made reading accessible to our family at that time was simply that reading was not expensive. \u00a0I was home visiting my family last week for Christmas and we were driving around town. We passed the public library that our family used to frequent when I was a kid. \u00a0With much fondness, we reminded ourselves of how much we looked forward to those library trips where we would all emerge with armloads of books that we were ready to dive into! \u00a0As a child, if I was in need of correction, my mom would often have to take away my books. \u00a0That was the best way to get my attention! \u00a0As an educator, it thrills me to see students who are challenging themselves to read beyond what is required in order to stretch themselves and think deeply.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The last several years, I\u2019ve taken the opportunity to post a list of all the books I read in the past calendar year. \u00a0This is mostly a chance for me to reflect and remember the things that I\u2019ve learned and the fantastic stories that the Lord is using to shape my life. \u00a0This past year, I dove back into fiction a little as I read the Harry Potter series. \u00a0For the most part, I tend to stick to non-fiction\u2026mostly to embarrass my little sister when we are at the beach and I am highlighting while reading. \u00a0But this year, I chose to read Harry Potter in order to remember my dear friend John-Michael Ritchey<\/a>. \u00a0JM was a voracious reader as well and he and I had lots of similar interests\u2026John Piper, Timothy Keller, Russell Moore, etc. \u00a0However, I always missed out when he was making Harry Potter references we were in conversation with other friends. \u00a0After he passed away in September of 2015, I knew that reading those books would be soon on my list! \u00a0I\u2019m so grateful for the gift of reading those fantastic stories and journeying with Harry, Hermoine, Ron, Dumbledore, and so many others. \u00a0I was sad when I finished the books! \u00a0But grateful to fill in the gaps of so many conversations with JM and other dear friends who have joined in the Potter adventures as well. \u00a0That\u2019s already got my mind churning as to what fiction books will find their way on to my list this year!<\/span><\/div>\n
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I typically try to highlight a few favorites to share in the blog…<\/span><\/div>\n
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