An Open Book: December 2025 Reads

 Happy New Year! I'm linking up with An Open Book to share about the books that I read at the end of 2025. Last month, I read three books, all very different and fascinating. Let's dive in!

An Open Book: November 2025 Reads

Happy Feast of St. Francis Xavier! With a new month beginning, it's time to link up with An Open Book to chat about what I read last month. November was a bit of a handful in many aspects of my life, so I only read three books-but they were all quite different from each other and very enjoyable. Let's dive in! 

Four Delightful Ducklings: A Tale of Mastitis

I stood at the kitchen sink and gently washed altar linens for my parish as I listened to the quacks of four ducklings who played in their brooder nearby. A jar of sourdough starter bubbled on the counter, and a two-layered sari wrap skirt swished around my knees as I hung purificators and finger towels on a drying rack. 

I grinned and shook my head in disbelief. This moment was yet another occasion of "things I never had imagined would be part of my life." My sourdough starter, which I began last winter, is miraculously still alive (for now!). After a years-long process, I was eventually able to get on the schedule for church altar linens a few years ago. And now, we have four rapidly growing ducklings. 

I have mastitis to (partially) thank for the quacking and wood shavings that fill the garage. 

An Open Book: October 2025 Reads

Another month is here (how is it already November???) and I am so excited to share about the books I read last month. I wound up reading way more than I anticipated and it was a fabulous mix of fiction and nonfiction, books geared towards adults and those geared towards children. As always, I'm linking up with An Open Book-make sure to check that out for even more book recommendations! 

A Literary Feast: The Story of a Reading Life

I grinned as an elderly woman spread an array of food across the round table: a platter of gochujang-spiced tteokbokki, a plate of crispy egg rolls, and little plates with kimchi, sweetened potatoes, crispy Korean coleslaw, and little pieces of fish cake. Steaming silver bowls of rice stood tall and proud in the sea of little white plates, and large platters of thinly sliced beef, pork, and chicken soon joined them. I passed my plastic mug around the table, sharing sips of a simple soup, crafted from wakame seaweed, fresh mushrooms, and hot water. 

This meal, this spontaneous Saturday evening feast at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant, offered a visual representation of how I approach literature.  

People often comment about the number of books I read, and I struggle to express my reading habits in a succinct manner. I often mention that well, I read lots of genres, or I really just love to read, and let the conversation rest with those points. However, as I mull over my approach to reading, I realize that the answer goes beyond these statements. 

Over the years, my literary diet has become similar to the Korean dinner I recently enjoyed with my husband and children: a feast of flavors and textures, both nourishing and adventurous. 

An Open Book: September 2025 Reads

I am finally coming up for air after a whirlwind of a September, and I'm excited to link up with An Open Book to share about the books that I read over the month! I read way more than I anticipated, so I'm going to do a rapid-fire recap. Onto the books! 

And Jesus Wept: A tale of two statues (and how they challenge us)

There's a statue in downtown Oklahoma City that countless people walk by each year.

Aptly titled And Jesus Wept, this statue depicts the grief of Jesus that we read about in Scripture (see Jn 11:35). Placed across the street from the Oklahoma City National Memorial, this statue reminds us that Jesus knows what it means to grieve. He is with us in our pain, and he mourns as we mourn. We remember the 168 people who were killed in the April 1995 bombing and the countless other people whose lives were upended by this act of violence. When we look at this statue, we remember that in our grief and pain, Christ is present and full of love and compassion; he suffers with us. 

An Open Book: August 2025 Reads

August flew by, and it was a really fun reading month. I'm linking up with An Open Book to share what I read. There were some children's books, a historical fiction novel for adults, and I also finished a couple of nonfiction books that I had been working on for a while. Let's dive in!  

An Open Book: July 2025 Reads

Happy Feast of the Transfiguration! I'm linking up with An Open Book to discuss what I read last month; it was a fun mix of fiction and nonfiction. Let's dive in! 

Glancing back, moving forward: 10 years in Oklahoma

When I first moved to Oklahoma, I never imagined that I would drive down the highway, a Carmelite nun in my passenger seat, after attending Mass at a shrine dedicated to a modern martyr. I never imagined that five young children would also be in that van, three of whom were born at home. I never imagined that I would eagerly be pursuing self-publishing. 

Yet, there I was on a recent afternoon, chatting with a nun as I drove us from Mass at the Blessed Stanley Rother shrine to a local home for the dying. A book manuscript sat on my laptop at home, waiting to be sent to a freelance editor. My five young kids filled the van with their happy chatter, and I grinned in disbelief. I was living an ordinary day, and the gifts of the moment were incredible. 

Ten years ago, when my husband and I moved to Oklahoma in an unusually rainy summer, I did foresee any of these blessings. 

I hoped to find a good community, grow as a writer, and welcome children into my home. I hoped to have fun adventures with my husband and make good memories. When we drove down to the Oklahoma City metro, all of our belongings (aside from two boxes of books that didn't fit and had to be mailed) packed into a sedan, I had dreams for the future--but no idea how they would be fulfilled. I did not foresee the incredible blessings God pours into the ordinary days of my ordinary life.

 

I had no idea how this new adventure would challenge me, either. 

I could not imagine the deeply difficult experiences I would undergo physically, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. God has used countless moments and experiences to expand my love, sacrifice, and trust. He has poured down mercy and grace and love again and again. 

He has brought incredible people into my life; some of whom I don't see often anymore, some of whom I've grown close with over time, some of whom I see more frequently in some seasons than others. I've discovered delightful communities and places across the Oklahoma City metro area. My husband and I have grown in and through a beautiful marriage movement that we never even knew existed until we had lived here for a few years.  

An Open Book: June 2025 Reads

Somehow, it's July. Where did June go???

Last month was packed with many wonderful things, including a large reading stack! I mostly read fiction in June, which was a great way to relax and unwind. I'm linking up with An Open Book as I review my recent reading adventures. Let's dive in!