Reading · Asheritah's Substack

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Hello fellow book friends!

We’re halfway through the summer, which means I’m bringing you a BIG update on my writing project, some new book recs from my bookshelf, a bit of bookish humor, and of course another giveaway—a bundle of books from my own shelves.

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Let’s dive in!

Writing Corner: A HUGE Milestone! 🥳

Well, my friends, rejoice with me! I just finished writing the first draft of my next book—a message burning in my heart that I can’t wait to share with you!

Praise the King! 🙌🏼

Not gonna lie—I was blasting this song and singing at the top of my lungs when I got in my car after typing “The End.” It’s just such a relief to finally get all these thoughts out of my head and into a narrative that builds logically and theologically into a beautiful vision of womanhood rooted in Christ and in our First Commission in the Garden of Eden.

This is by far my most personal book—and likely to be my most controversial too. (See the “piercing” prayer in the next section.) I’ve shed quite a few tears along the way. But I wrote every single word bathed in a spirit of prayer, pleading with God that His Spirit may bring healing, wholeness, and restoration to all who read it.

Now that the first draft is finished, it’s time to start editing. I need to delete about 15,000 words (yikes!), which means A LOT of condensing, rewording, and painful cuts. But I’m trimming away, confident that every sentence cut will make the final message more clear.

The editing process reminds me of this meme from a few years back:

Pray for me as I ruthlessly slash these thousands of words I labored so much to write? May every sentence point readers to the goodness of Jesus.

Following along on this writing journey? I’d love to have you here. I share monthly book recs, behind-the-scenes updates from my writing desk, and encouragement to delight in Jesus.

From My Bookshelf

Galahad and the Grail: Last December, I stumbled upon Malcolm Guite’s poetry in his Advent devotional Waiting on the Word (read in his charming voice inside the Dwell Bible app) and his lyrical sonnets wooed me back to a love of poetry again. (Four years of literary analysis in college had sucked that delight straight out of me, so it’s no surprise that it took fifteen years and a masterful storyteller to rekindle that spark.)

I listened to his Lenten series as well (Word in the Wilderness), and just couldn’t get enough of his sonnets, so when I saw that he was publishing a modern translation of the Arthurian legends for today’s readers, I preordered that book faster than any other. Then I listened to this interview with Sarah Mackenzie on baptizing our imaginations and this interview with Russell Moore on re-enchanting a disenchanted world—and compulsively kept checking delivery updates because I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. (Dramatic, I know, but this is a radical conversion to loving poetry again, and it does weird things to a person.)

And friends, we were not disappointed. Galahad and the Grail is slow, lyrical, and captivating—drawing you in with story upon layered story. My kids (7-12) sat enraptured as I read to them, and we had such rich conversations for days after. In full transparency, we started the book as soon as it was delivered, but we have yet to finish it because of a busy writing schedule this summer. But I can’t wait to get back to this once we settle back down in the fall. (Look at that cover! And you should see the interior artwork.) If you order one book from this email, it should be this one. Seriously. I can’t say enough good things about it.

Almost By Design: I met Jenny at a writer’s conference a few years back, so when she sent me an advance copy of her newest novel, it felt kind of like watching a friend’s dream come to life. So excited for all the great stories that are coming into the world! What a time to be a reader.

Two people focused on their careers get a second chance at falling in love in this fake dating romance that features rich cultural heritage and strong family bonds. I took this book with me on errands to sneak a few more pages every chance I got. As an Alabama-born author of Nigerian descent who’s married to her Icelandic husband, Jenny brings that first-hand cultural appreciation into this story. That’s one of my favorite things about this book. While this is in many ways a typical contemporary rom-com, I found myself drawn into the immersive Nigerian culture that makes up the MMC’s background and the deep American South that’s tangible on every page, and I appreciated the role that extended family played in both their character developments. The story also thoughtfully explores how relating to parents as an adult child can be both a source of comfort and consternation, which is an angle I’ve rarely seen treated with such honor.

The fake-dating trope isn’t usually my favorite, so the romance itself didn’t grab me as much as Kenya’s personal journey. But I found myself lingering for the family dynamics, the Nigerian culture, and the neurodivergent representation. I actually hope to see more neurodivergent representation and normalization in Christian fiction, and I’d happily read another novel from Jenny tomorrow.

Walking on Water: I’m reading this one with a couple author friends, book club style, and I appreciate Madeleine L’Engle’s take on the false sacred-secular divide, the importance of listening and obeying in our creative endeavors, and the incarnational aspect of all creative work. Here are a couple favorite quotes:

“In a very real sense not one of us is qualified, but it seems that God continually chooses the most unqualified to do his work, to bear his glory. If we are qualified, we tend to think that we have done the job ourselves. If we are forced to accept our evident lack of qualification, then there’s no danger that we will confuse God’s work with our own, or God’s glory with our own.”

“We don't want to feel less when we have finished a book; we want to feel that new possibilities of being have been opened to us. We don't want to close a book with a sense that life is totally unfair and that there is no light in the darkness; we want to feel that we have been given illumination.”

and last but not least:

“The discipline of creation, be it to paint, compose, write, is an effort towards wholeness.”

If you’re a creative in any capacity, this classic will be a friendly companion on your path.

Journals of Emma M. Lion: Friends, you were right. It took me a little while to get into the diary style of writing, but I’m about halfway through the first audiobook and it’s giving strong Jane Austen vibes with just a bit of a modern twist. And after watching The Other Bennet Sister with my sisters-in-law and nieces, it’s felt whimsical to escape to Victorian England for a spell. I’m excited there are six volumes out already, so plenty to keep me busy. Have you read this yet? Let me know in the comments what you thought of it.

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How to Love Your Morning: I have a love-hate relationship with my mornings. Some days they’re beautiful and filled with all my favorite things, and other days I feel like I’m trying to cram a bazillion tasks into the precious moments before my household wakes up—and I end up resenting the dawn hours. Still other days, I stay up late into the night reading a book (ahem), which means mornings find me groggy and whiney before I’ve even left my bed.

So if anyone needs this book, it’s me. From the opening lines, my dear friend Jen has proven a gracious guide on this path. (It helps that we’ve spent time together IRL and I can almost hear her voice as I read her words.) Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

“As long as we are alive, God gives us new mornings, every day. New do-overs, every day. New chances to move forward, every day. New opportunities to make reparations, to seek restoration, to rebuild what was broken. Every single day.”

“I have complete confidence that God, who does not sleep and who never presses the snooze button, is working while our eyes are closed.”

“Mornings are a series of little births, little resurrections. Every spin of earth’s axis is another genesis, tinted with hope. There’s nothing more beautiful than the loveliness of the eastern horizon, just before the sun domes above that mesmerizing line of land.”

Doesn’t that make you want to start your mornings with more intention and more joy? Here’s How to Love Your Mornings to help. Thanks, Jen.

Kinda Judgy: On the Myers-Briggs personality test, I’m about as “J” as they come. So when I saw my friend Shannon’s new book, I knew this one’s for me. I actually got to read an early copy and offer an endorsement and—fun fact!—we’re getting together next week for a writing retreat. (Pray for us?)

Shannon walks through well-known biblical stories like Noah, Rahab, Jonah, and the second thief to help us meet the merciful Judge, find mercy to quiet our own shame and blame, and fix our eyes on Jesus. If you’re looking for a biblical perspective on passing judgment, paired with a hope-filled encouragement to look to Jesus as our kind Judge, this is one you’ll want to add to your shelf.

Every Moment Holy—Writers and Poets: It’s often hard to center myself in God’s presence when a writing deadline looms over me. I don’t want to write from a place of hustle—or worse, from my own fleshly strength—but for years I’ve lacked a pre-writing ritual that helps.

This little collection of liturgies for creatives is literally an answer to prayer. I’m starting the habit of beginning my writing sessions with a few lines from one of these prayers, and the words help me rest in God’s presence and also fill me with hope and lyrical joy that I get to do this work of writing in collaboration with God’s Spirit. I wish I had this little collection ten years ago when I started my writing career, but I’m so grateful to have it now.

Here are a few lines to inspire your own creative endeavors:

O Word through whom the world was made,
Word in whom all words are graced,
I thank you for speaking me into being,
and I thank you that, made in your image,
I am privileged with the gift
of speech and language,
allowed by you to be a word-bearer.
…
Lord, if I am called in this writing
not only to bless but to challenge,
not only to create but to critique,
then give me deftness, discretion, compassion.
The Scriptures you have given us
both blesses and pierces,
sharper than a two-edged sword,
to the division of joint and marrow.
If you call on me to pierce,
to pierce through illusion or falsehood,
to pierce through hardened
or blunted conscience,
then may I always pierce with your sword
and not with mine,
for where you pierce you always heal,
and where you cast down
there you intend to build.
(“A Liturgy Before Writing,” emphasis added)

Isn’t that beautiful? Those words bring tears to my eyes every time, and they’ve become the murmuring prayer of my soul every time I sit to write. This current manuscript has required more piercing than anything I’ve written before, and this prayer has given me words to pray that the sword of God’s Spirit would both pierce and heal, and that I may write with compassion and a heart set on unity. (More on my work-in-progress in the first section.)

Moonleapers: I’ve been fascinated lately by time travel in middle grade stories, and this one was such a fun twist on the alternate universe theory. My 12-year-old especially loved that it featured a protagonist who gets her first phone—only to be pulled into a secretive group of history-changers who speak in nursery-rhymes. Be aware that there’s some deception necessary to the plot, so you may want to read it with your child, but overall I appreciated the theme of familial love and the influence of maternal figures in a young woman’s life.

Bookshelf Chat

If we were wandering through a bookstore together, what’s the first book you’d pull off the shelf and insist I read?

I’d genuinely love to know. Some of my favorite books have come from your recommendations over the years, and I’m always looking for my next great read.

📚 The books I can't stop recommending this summer

Writing Corner: A HUGE Milestone! 🥳

From My Bookshelf

Bookshelf Chat

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