What I Read and Watched in June

I finished up a busy teaching schedule this month, reading only in snatches (early in the day and late in the evening). In general, though, if I had a free half hour, I watched a bit of a Hallmark mystery on YouTube. The acting is better in some films than others, but the mystery is usually interesting, and the romance takes a back seat, which I appreciate. The two movies that took me by surprise were from the Signed, Sealed, Delivered series. (From Paris with Love, Higher Ground) The premise of the show is that a team of four "postal detectives" try to match up letters from the dead letter office with their intended recipients.

I had tried to watch the series before, but thought the characters were too dorky. I discovered, however, that they grow on you. The acting is good and the characters' personal histories are interesting. (They each have experienced brokenness, which adds a richness to their stories) The music is great and the literary quotes dropped by the straight-laced Oliver O' Toole are a delight. The creator of the series, Martha Williamson, was head writer for the Touched by an Angel series and is not afraid to include elements of faith in the conversations. All in all, this has become a new favorite.

Books that I was able to complete this month were (1) Death at the President's Lodging by Michael Innes, a great mystery that I'll be reviewing next week. (2) Ideas Freely Sown by Anne White, a book about Charlotte Mason's teaching methods, which I read for Cindy Rollins' summer class. (3) So Much Generosity by Michael Greaney (overview of many Catholic novels), (4) Prodigal God by Timothy Keller, which was good but didn't dazzle me like his Meaning of Marriage and Counterfeit Gods. Finally, I read Rod Dreher's fascinating Live Not by Lies (also for Cindy Rollins' class), which I'll be reviewing soon. 

Did you read or watch anything in June that you'd recommend?

Blessings,