So I started this rereading project and then… promptly did not blog about it for two days. But what can I say? It was the weekend and I found that I wasn’t on my computer and I didn’t want to have the habit of opening my computer all the time so I decided to just go with the flow. And it turned out to be the right move – I get distracted when I’m in front of the computer so without it, I have more time to do other things.

Like play Breath of the Wild. This is actually also a replay because my save file was deleted and the next Zelda game is coming out so I decided to just try and finish the game on my own (I managed to finish the Vah Medoh quest woohoo!).

I also managed to finish three books, so I’m pretty happy about that.

The first book I reread was PreachersNSneakers, which I remember recommending to a bunch of Church friends when it came out. I wanted to reread this in light of all the other books that I’ve read which call out other aspects of the American Church scene.

One thing I realised is that most of the people who are calling out certain Church leaders/denominations are also very willing to publicly discuss their past actions and “call out” themselves if they held certain positions in the past. The author of PreachersNSneakers often discusses things that he does that he’s not sure if he agrees with, and I remember Sheila Gregoire has also corrected certain things that she used to teach. There is definitely this idea of continually learning and growing.

I also found one interesting-looking book while reading PreachersNSneakers that is going onto my TBR list. It’s called Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger and the book excerpted some of the guidelines for people who felt they were too consumed with stuff and status:

1. Pursue a lifestyle that could be maintained over a long period of time if it were shared by the entire world
2. Fight against the urge to confuse luxuries with necessities
3. Examine your reasons for spending/buying, and whether or not they are legitimate
4. Maintain suspicion of your desires to buy into fads. Pursuing hobbies is one thing, but be wary of the desire to jump all-in on the latest craze
5. Fight to understand the difference between the “occasional celebration” and “day-to-day indulgence”
6. Understand that the amount you earn doesn’t equally dictate what you can buy
7. Find a balance between short-term, immediate relief giving versus giving to fix long-term, structural issues (E.g. giving after a natural disaster vs giving to help a village develop their infrastructure)
8. Give to missionaries and churches but also to organisations that are meeting basic human needs

Love these guidelines!

After this, I reread Rabbits while munching on some earl grey brownies (I had some earl grey and butter left and decided to make something quick and simple). I briefly considered rereading Grit but the next Rabbits book is coming out later this year and I felt it was time for a reread so I can decide if I’m getting the next book. Rabbits is a fun, very twisty mystery involving ARGs and possibly the multiverse. This time, parts of it reminded me of the sci-fi novel Recursion.

I enjoyed the novel, even without trying to solve the larger ARG (the book actually came with a game!) and I’m tempted to get the sequel novel now when it comes out.

Today, I finished Three Basic Teas & How to Enjoy Them. I initially wanted to read this at home and take notes but I found myself outside with time to kill so finished the book while sipping on some peppermint tisane. This is a more scientific approach to tea, exploring why tea tastes the way it does and how we can pair tea with foods to enhance their good qualities or hide their flaws.

I was reading it because I want to write some sort of tea 101 book, though I’m not sure what form it should take! But I did realise that while this was accessible for a scientific book, it’s still not super readable for the layman who might not be ready to hear about chemistry. So I’m thinking there might be a market for a practical approach to tea? Or perhaps I should just be writing about my tea journey and seeing if there’s anything there, the way Infused did (which, I should definitely reread).