Sugar Birds by Cheryl Grey Bostrom

Sometimes a book comes along that, in your mind, becomes a treasured book that you make a deep connection with. It immediately becomes a friend you will visit again and again. This book is that for me. I never anticipated how much I would love this story. I could not stop thinking about it when I had to put it down to do other things. Once I finished reading it still rolled around in my thoughts. Even now I think about little Aggie and Celia and wonder what they are doing in their lives.

The story takes place in the Pacific Northwest in a small urban community in late summer. It is, in essence, about two young girls… Aggie who is 10 and Celia who is 16 and their unlikely friendship that was literally sparked by the burning down of young Aggie’s family’s home. Aggie flees the burning home thinking she has killed her own parents through her carelessness. She escapes to the wooded area around her home to hide from what she thinks she has done. Her brother, who lived elsewhere when the fire occurred, was safe but Aggie could not face him, yet. She goes into hiding and has to rely upon the things her father taught her about nature to survive.

Celia enters the story just as Aggie runs away. She has come to stay her grandmother while her father leaves the country for work. Her parents are divorcing and she is bitter and feeling left alone and abandoned. Celia is drawn into Aggie’s story as she helps the community search for the young girl.

The story is absolutely compelling. The writing is beautiful and lyrically descriptive. The characters draw you into quickly caring for them and what happens to them. Cheryl Grey Bostrom has such a gift for storytelling.

Let me give you a little more background on this book. I found the author when I happened upon her devotional book The View from Goose Ridge: watching nature, seeing life (2001). I went in search of other books she had written when I found Sugar Birds. I actually read Sugar Birds back in 2022 after it was originally published (2021) through an “independent” type publisher. I also listened to it in audio book format this past summer. Tyndale publishing loved the story so much they chose to re-release it under their umbrella and asked the author to continue the story in two more books to follow. You cannot imagine how excited I am to see my friends again in the sequels.

Sugar Birds is actually being re-released on October 17, 2023 (next week). I love the book so much I am choosing to share it with you now and encourage you to preorder if you can. Christianbook.com actually has it available for 29% off and I know some other outlets have it discounted, too.

I am not getting any kickbacks to tell you about this book. I get nothing if you buy it. I don’t get any free books or merchandise to share it. I just love this book so much and I think you will, too. The second book in the series will be coming in 2024. If you want to know more about Cheryl and enjoy some of her beautiful nature photography and lovely words you can check out her blog. If you sign up for her newsletter you will get beautiful photos in your inbox and if you write to her she always writes back. I know… she has written me back several times. 🙂

What I Read in August

Here’s a quick list of the books I read in August…

• Ploductivity by Douglas Wilson – a short little audiobook about the value of doing a little each day to make a big change over time. I highly recommend this book! It is very practical.
• Summer by Edith Wharton – my first Edith Wharton. It was a very interesting read that wound up being an ending I did not expect and a prolife message to boot. I am glad I took the time to read this one.
• Love and Saffron by Kim Fay – this was a book sent to me by a precious friend while I was away at my parents in May. I shared about it in a previous post where I had Dan open the box and read me the card over the phone. LOL He is a good man!
• The CSB New Testament by God – I read this through the summer with the Same Page Summer reading plan.
• Sugar Birds by Cheryl Grey Bostrom – review coming for this one soon

Photo by Jas Min on Unsplash

August/September 2023 Bookstack

I tend to overwhelm myself with reading plans and lists. I have found that just picking a few books and making a small stack help me to stay more focused. I have been a bit distracted this summer and only read two books in July. Several of the books in this stack were started in July and are still in progress. Two of these books, The Christian Life and Becoming C. S. Lewis, have been in progress since the beginning of the year. LOL

Hallowe’en Party is, as I mentioned in a recent post, preparing me for the coming movie (A Haunting in Venice) and Greensleeves by Eloise Jarvis McGraw is a read with a Kindred Spirits Reading Group. I just got it in the mail so I will be a little behind the rest of the group but I will finish it even if not in time for the group meeting.

A Bit of Stalling

I keep putting this last book, To Be Where You Are... of the Mitford series, in my stack but keep putting it off. I have a mental block with finishing this series. I don’t want to leave Mitford, yet. I know that is ridiculous because I could just go back and reread the series but there is just this reluctance I cannot shake. I will finish this book by the beginning of 2024 and I will mourn the end in an appropriate manner… probably with chocolate. I have it on good authority that Jan Karon is writing another book but it is not a Mitford book. When I went through her museum last summer the ladies were sharing that she was currently in Italy and writing something new and not from Mitford. I am so curious to see what she shares.

I am currently reading…

Sugar Birds by Cheryl Grey Bostrom (listening to the audio as I read, too) This book, which has won numerous awards, will be re-released under a new publisher this fall. I am so excited for Cheryl! She also has a second book in the series coming up soon, too. I will share more as I know more.

Becoming C. S. Lewis by Harry Lee Poe

Love and Saffron by Kim Fay (sent to me by a friend in late spring)

The Christian Life by Sinclair Ferguson

I will pick up the other books as I finish the ones I am reading currently. I try to keep a fiction, nonfiction, Christian nonfiction, and biography going most of the time. I happen to have two fiction right now because one is epistolary and the other is uniquely distinctive and also on audio. I won’t have any trouble with confusing the stories as I read.

An Exciting New Theology Adventure

I will be gathering more theology and Christian nonfiction as the autumn and winter seasons are upon us because I am also taking an online course from the Lifeway Women’s Academy starting soon. I am diving into Hermeneutics 101 first. Jen Wilkin and Dr. Katie J. McCoy are two of the fantastic teachers in this series of online classes. I am also looking forward to getting to know more about Julia B. Higgins and Elizabeth Woodson. I am very excited about doing this.

You will also notice Jan Karon’s Bathed in Prayer book of collected quotes and passages. A friend reminded me that I had this one and it is a great one to keep at arm’s length for encouragement. I try to have a “devotional” type book going in addition to my daily Bible reading and study. I am working through the Same Page Summer plan right now. I believe I mentioned that recently. They will begin a new reading plan the first Monday of September. I will share that when I have more information for you. And lastly, I have Memorizing Scripture in the stack. I shared about that this week in more detail.

Do you have a fantastic book you want to share? Are you preparing for “back to school” or Autumn reading right now? Do you have a book you are looking forward to reading? I would love to hear about any and/or all of it!

You are all greatly appreciated!

~Leann

Books I Read in May and June

I have been a little MIA. On May 12th my Dad had his 3rd stroke since 2010 and I boarded a plane and went to be with my Mom. He is doing well and is currently in a rehab center to help him prepare to go back home to live soon. He is getting stronger each day.

This meant that my mind and time were spent somewhere besides the blog and social media. I am now back home temporarily. I will make the trip back once he is ready to come home. Reading in the cracks of my days has helped me move through this time with some connection… first to God’s Word and then to some nonfiction thinking and a bit of fiction distraction, too. A little distraction can be good as long as I am not escaping completely to avoid reality. LOL

I thought I would take a few minutes just to update what I have been reading here for you. Here is the list from May 1st to June 30th.

The Long March Home (May) by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee – I shared a full review for this one here so I won’t rereview it here other than to say that it was a remarkable book.

ESV Journaling Psalter (May) from Crossway Publishing – I have completed this one before. It is one I read a few times a year. It is the Book of Psalms with space to journal/write my thoughts and notes. I highly recommend that everyone have a copy of the Psalms. It is easy to pop in my bag and I did take it with me when I traveled to my parents in May. It has been a great comfort for me to have this resource.

In June I reviewed In the Shadow of the River by Ann H. Gabhart and you can access that review here. I really enjoyed this one, too.

During my time away Dan and I took a few days to escape to New Orleans, Louisiana for the SBC Pastor’s Conference and Annual Meeting. We had a lot of car time for that trip and our trip back to El Paso. We enjoyed 3 audiobooks during that drive time.

At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie was enjoyed as a part of the Agatha Christie website challenge (for me). It is a Miss Marple story. It was read by Stephanie Cole. I had seen the BBC versions of this a few times but it was still a bit different and I loved hearing it in it’s original form.

Return of the Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett (2 of the shorter stories made for movie production) was read by a varied cast of characters. It was more like listening to a play with stage direction. It was interesting but enjoyable. We have the full DVD set of the Thin Man series and have enjoyed the first three now. They are very close to the writings of Hammett.

The Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman was the third of our audiobooks. Hillerman was a modern mystery writer who wrote about the desert southwest… mainly New Mexico and Arizona. We are very familiar with the places he has written about and enjoy his stories very much. His stories are typically tribal with the main detectives being Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn. His daughter has taken up the pen to continue his stories and they are quite good as well. Many of these stories are read by George Guidall. He is fantastic! They are great trip listens if you are a western/mystery fan.

The last three books I finished up in June are all nonfiction.

But Then She Remembered by Katie Westenberg – This is a newly published book for 2023 and it is focused on ways to keep our minds on the things of Christ in a social media/distraction age. It was a beautiful reminder of ways to put Christ front and center in our days and in our minds. It is important to remember the things of God daily. It had some very specific ways and there were pages with Bible study opportunities to dive deeper if you choose to do so. It is definitely a favorite for this year so far.

Can’t Make This Stuff Up by Susannah B. Lewis (WhoaSusannah) – I have a paperback copy of this book but the audiobook went on sale for a few dollars about 2 months ago so I bought it, too. If I have a book and also the audio version I tend to read and listen at the same time. I find that very helpful with engaging more deeply with a book. Some books are fine to just listen to but sometimes a deeper dive is helpful. This one was made better by having the author read it to me. She is a southern woman with a southern drawl and I connected very personally with many of her stories. We have a lot in common… not everything, but my southern experience was a large part of her southern experience, too. I really enjoyed this memoir/testimony of how God met her at every turn. Her story is beautiful and hilarious all at once. I laughed… I cried…. I enjoyed every page. I already have her second nonfiction in my sights for August.

A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller – I was really surprised by this book. Miller has done ministry in several different venues throughout his life. He currently runs a global discipleship ministry called “See Jesus.” Miller shares personal experiences from many years of putting prayer into practice in his own life. He shares a lot about his family and the ways he has prayed for his children over the years. He focuses specifically on his daughter Kim throughout the book. Kim has had several physical and mental disabilities since birth. God has used her to teach the author many things about trusting God and praying for his family. The last section of the book is super practical. Miller walks us through how he built his own praying strategy for a daily prayer time. He is pretty thorough with what he uses to keep him in prayer constantly. It may be the most practical prayer book I have ever read.

So, that is where I landed for the end of June. I have a new stack I am building for the next two months. You know me… I will deviate from it and I won’t get it all done but I will try to put a stack up for you for July and August. I am not much of a “Summer Beach Reader” but I have a few summer themed books in the stack along with a list of nonfiction. I have a few audiobooks I am lining up, too.

What is on your summer reading list this year?

Do you have any recommendations for me and my readers?

If you just feel like saying hello or chatting feel free to leave a comment below and I will respond.

Your continued prayers for our family are appreciated as my Daddy is working hard to come home again. God has been so faithful to us through all of this. He is a God who sees and knows what we need!

Thank you so much for sticking with me here and reading when I post.

You all are so appreciated!

Until the next post,

May your days be cooler, your drinks be chilled, and your reading be abundant!

~Leann

Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash