Stuff I’ve Been Reading

July 8, 2012 by 3 Comments

 

So after doing the Stuff I’ve Been Reading posts for over 2 years, I finally have a graphic! Huge thanks to my friend Linda (RawFaith) for making this for me.

Now on to the actual stuff that I’ve been reading!

  • I loved this piece from Rachel Held Evans about our safe, sanitized Christian bookstores. This post is why my first proposal was soft – I know this is true and as someone who would like to be published, it’s easy to play to the most restrictive idea. I’m grateful to folks like Rachel who are pushing boundaries in their writing.
  • Kim Van Brunt wrote a lovely post about how swimsuit season is helping her embrace herself.
  • Anderson Cooper’s coming out letter was just wonderful.
  • Yet another powerful post from Shawn Smucker. The flip in perspective that perhaps our worst case scenario might be a blessing is one that I really needed.
  • Addie Zierman probably wrote my favorite post for Independence Day. Love her thoughts.
  • I adore Cake Wrecks. That is all.

What have you read/written/watched/listened to this week that moved you? Link up in the comments!

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  • http://shawnsmucker.com/ Shawn Smucker

    Thanks, Alise.

    • http://rawfaithrealworld.wordpress.com/ RawFaith

      Loved your blog post Shawn… as someone who is finding unexpected life in the midst of my worst case for sure.

  • http://rawfaithrealworld.wordpress.com/ RawFaith

    I liked Rachel’s post about the bookstores too. As I commented on her blog, the irony to me is that most Christian publishing companies and music companies are now owned by big secular conglomerates. Probably 90% or more of what we buy in Christian bookstores are produced by Christian companies. Consequently, before when they were owned by Christians, they would sometimes go out on a limb and produce books or music that might be more controversial or might not sell as well because of the ministry value. Now though it’s all about profit margins, and not doing anything that might jeopardize sales in the Christian bookstores…. even though at least one huge Christian Bookstore chain is also owned by a big secular conglomerate. For awhile now I’ve been wanting to do a blog post on the best Christian books and music you’ll probably not find in a Christian bookstore. I find it interesting that the Christian bookstores didn’t want to sell the Shack and no one wanted to publish it until it sold a bizillion copies.