Reading Positivity

As I greeted folks on the way out of the service this last Sunday, a parishioner asked a question. I'd referenced two books in the sermon, one a dystopia and the other a grim recounting of the inescapability of climate change. "So...do you ever read anything happy or uplifting?" she asked.

To which I said...uh...um...er. Hmmm. Do I? Huh. Nothing popped to mind.

It was a telling and very legit question. The stories that we hear do have this tendency to shape our souls. So I went back to my Goodreads account, and checked on the 35 books I've read so far this year.

Eleven of them are generally positive, hopeful, and/or uplifting in tone.

Of those, the best were:

BORN A CRIME, Trevor Noah's memoir, which was a tale of striving, resilience, and a respectful, warm love letter to his mom.
THE MONK OF MOHKA, by Dave Eggers, the true story of a Yemeni immigrant who overcame amazing odds to succeed in life.
THE GOOD SHEPHERD, by C.S. Forester, about the captain of a destroyer trying to protect a convoy from U-Boat attack.
THREE WAYS TO CAPSIZE A BOAT, a wacky, funny true story about learning to sail, written by the first drummer of the band Genesis.
TAKING ON DIVERSITY, by Dr. Rupert Nacoste, a professor at NC State who's hopeful about racial dialogue and healing;
MEDITATIONS OF THE HEART, by Howard Thurman, the mystic teacher who guided MLK.

It's good not to focus on the negative. So...what hopeful things are you reading?