Books I Read This Month: June

Last updated on: June 30, 2017 at 8:37 am by Melissa Hill

Books I Read This Month: June 2017-06-28T13:46:00-04:00 Melissa Hill

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Long long ago, in a far away land called LiveJournal I used to do a thing. I would write down all the books I had read and talked about how I liked them, or didn’t like them, or thought that really it might be best for everyone if my cat peed on them. It was part of how I coped with my studies for the ADF Clergy Training Program. It had been a while since I had been “assigned” books and it was hard working through some of them.

I thought I’d start up that practice again. Partially because I read weird books and I think you might be interested, Dear Reader, and partially because it’s fun to bitch and record all the books I read. Makes me feel like I’ve accomplished something. Right now I’m ever so slowly working my way through the Initiates Study Program, which is an initiatory tradition within ADF. This month is going to be front loaded with a lot of books because there’s a few I want to share from last month too.

A classical still life painting of scattered books and papers on a desk.

Jan Davidsz. de Heem [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

So without further ado, BOOKS!

(In no particular order)

Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn by Karen McCarthy Brown: I like this one. I’ve had it for years, hanging onto it as a reference. I read it long ago with one of my dearest people. I pulled it out of storage because I’ve been getting a ping from a Vodou goddess recently. This is a rather odd thing for me, and I want to do Her justice, so I am slowly learning. This one is a “spiritual biography” of a Voudou priestess written by an anthropologist. I like that it’s social scienc-y but I really want to find some other books that are written by actual practicioners, though it’s pretty clear the author is sympathetic.
Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization by Logan, King and Fischer-Wright: I totally recommend this to anyone who is in leadership in a pagan group! A group of interested ADF members and priests decided to read this in a book club style and it was useful, based on ten years of solid research, and well written! A lot of leadership books come from only a corporate perspective, but these people went all over the world studying all sorts of groups and actually found useful information to share about how individuals and groups of people evolve through various stages of development, how to leverage people into a better space and how to create an environment of unity and positivity. Good stuff.
The Navigators USA Guidebook: This one is a guidebook for a co-ed form of scouting that formed in 2003. I was a Girl Scout for years and years, I’ve been a Daisy and a Brownie Scout Leader and I’m pretty well versed in scouting. Over the past decade I was frustrated with the lack of focus on outdoor skills and ecology in Girl Scouts, as much as I agree with their politics. I’m working on starting a Navigators Troop in my area and I encourage anyone who is interested in scouting with an egalitarian ecololgical flair to check them out.
Miasma by Robert Parker: I’m reading this one for a personal project of mine. I’m really lucky to have found it, and am slowly digging my way through it. I’m posting my notes on each chapter over on my Patreon account. It’s all about how the Greeks viewed spiritual pollution and cleansing and it’s pretty exciting to find a book all about it. I’m also planning on reading Galina Krasskova’s new book on Miasma (what amazing timing!) It’s waaaay less expensive than the $150.00 tome I got out of interlibrary loan!
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russel: I actually read a fiction book. Yay!! *Clapping for me* I don’t read a lot of fiction these days. For one, I’m super picky. For two, I don’t have a lot of time. For three, I always get this guilty feeling that I ought to be doing something productive. This one is about the first contact with an alien species. The twist? The space mission is run by Jesuit monks. Aw yeah. Religious Space Drama! It was really fascinating for me. As I read I was able to compare my own vocation and interaction with my religion to how the author described the experience of the monks. (So I guess it was sort of on topic. One of these days I’m gonna read a romance novel or something.)
What You Will See Inside a Mosque by Aisha Karen Khan: This one is a kids picture book written by a Muslim. It was given to me by a friend for my kids and I’m going to plan a trip to our local Mosque in the next couple of months. My town was one of the places where there was an “Anti-Sharia Law Protest” and I was super horrified. There is no reason to protest Sharia law. It’s like protesting Kosher. It’s just anti-Muslim sentiment. Education is the best medicine for such things, IMO, and so that’s what I’m working on. I don’t actually know a whole lot about Islam and I want to remedy that. (Because I needed another project, doh! But so worth it and so important.)

Don’t forget, if you’re interested in getting early blog posts and notes, sign up for my Patreon!

Theology, Ethics, Philosophy

Previous Post

June 28, 2017

Collecting the Summer Dew

Next Post

July 4, 2017 How I Found Paganism: The Origin Story of a Druid Priestess

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category animism Cermony and Liturgy Columns Community Dandelion Seeds Health and Wellness History Holidays Magic Nature pagan parenting plant animism Politics Ritual and Practice symbolism and science Theology, Ethics, Philosophy Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 January 2014 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 February 2013 January 2013 July 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was the currency for the temple tax?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Talent Denarius Shekel Mina