Sarah
My husband and I chose books for the other to read - he is now reading the Chronicles of Narnia, and I'm reading the Foundation trilogy. I don't think I would have ever picked up this series on my own, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed reading Asimov's first installment in the trilogy. Initially, I felt intimidated by the technical jargon and quick movement from one character to the next. However, it's incredibly clever how Asimov does not rely on character development or attachment to characters to further the plot. The technical jargon is, of course, fictional and I just told myself not to worry as I was reading and very much enjoyed reading all the more. Clearly I don't read science fiction much, but I look forward to starting the next novel and seeing what comes next.
I first became interested in reading this book after hearing Kat Lee on Jamie Ivey's The Happy Hour podcast. She was passionate about having intentional starts to the day, and that resonated with me. I like to think I'm a morning person, but my mornings don't really reflect that... Anyhow, I love Kat's approach to breaking things down and starting with a 3-minute morning routine. That may sound silly, but isn't that far more achievable than aiming for 30 minutes or more when it's been 0 minutes for basically my whole life? The counselor in me especially loves this approach! Most importantly, I greatly appreciated how Kat connected having a morning routine to pursuing holiness, pursuing God, and spending time with our Creator each and every morning. I'm excited to start my 3-minute mornings!
Jackie Hill Perry has a way with words. I first heard her story on a podcast (“The Happy Hour” with Jamie Ivey) and was drawn to her voice (figuratively and literally) as well as what she was using her voice to confidently proclaim. While I am a half-white, half-Asian heterosexual and married female, I was convicted and encouraged by reading Jackie's story. She is honest but still seeks to convey she is sharing her story to provide an example of how good God is and as our Creator, He wants all of our hearts and minds - not just the bits and pieces we are okay with being exposed.
While I enjoyed reading her story and being reminded of the importance of acknowledging our sin leading to confession and repentance, it was the last few chapters that made quite an impact. She addresses same sex attraction for Christians on a practical level, punctuating how our society (and Christians included) are so quick to emphasize singleness as a curse and marriage as the ultimate means, rather than God Himself.
“Christ has simply come to make us right with God. And in making us right with God, He is satisfying us in God. Our sexuality is not our soul, marriage is not heaven, and singleness is not hell. So may we all preach the news that is good for a reason. For it proclaims to the world that Jesus has come so that all sinners, same-sex-attracted and opposite-sex-attracted, can be forgiven of their sins to love God and enjoy him forever.” (p. 190)
While I liked the eclectic feel of the book, I kept hoping for more substance and for Lauren Graham to share more - more about any one of the topics she touches on throughout the book. Perhaps this was what she was going for, and while it made for an entertaining read, I think the nostalgic factor of watching both Gilmore Girls and Parenthood made this a definite 3-star read for me. I enjoy her writing though and will still look forward to what comes from her next.
This book is a must read. I read this book as part of Jamie Ivey's summer book club themed around racial reconciliation, a theme which instantly drew me in. While I am a half white, half-Asian female, I have been predominantly seen and identified as being white. I don't know what it's like to be unfairly stereotyped because of the color of my skin. My parents didn't have to talk to me at a young age about specific words people might one day use to describe me, words that would express ignorance, hate, or perhaps a mixture of both - because of the color of my skin.
Ganshert states in her Author's Note that she has “stepped into a sensitive space. I am a white girl. I have a black daughter; even so, I'll never truly understand what it's like to be black in America.” Not being able to understand didn't stop her from trying to challenge readers to grow in empathy, have conversations, access resources that challenge biases and prejudices. This book truly did just that for me. I may never know what it's like to be black in America, but I can start asking questions. Have conversations. Have humility to recognize the perhaps even unconscious ways I make assumptions about people based on appearance or the color of their skin. See all the resources available to get out of my comfort zone and try to see the world from a different point of view.
Thank you Ganshert for promoting a stance of humility and recognition that everyone, everyone has a story. That everyone has struggles. That even in 2018, books like this are needed because racism does still exist. I'm grateful for an opportunity to pause and reflect to consider the injustices those in the black community (and other communities of color) have faced and still face even in the 21st century. May empathy remain even after “the characters and the plot fade away”.
This memoir was a fascinating read, exploring a husband's journey through his wife's mental illness, requiring hospitalization, myriad appointments, various medications, and adaptation to a new normal. I appreciated the author's honesty regarding the frustration, impatience, and uncertainty that often accompanied the ups and downs his family experienced due to his wife's mental illness. He doesn't sugarcoat anything, but readers can also see his commitment to walking with his wife throughout it all when others perhaps would not have wanted to stay the course.
I would recommend this book to mental health professionals who could benefit from reading the firsthand experiences of a caregiver of someone with mental illness. Caregivers in similar positions may also benefit from reading in not feeling as alone and seeing the value of having strong social support like this family does.
Yet another thrilling read with a clever and unexpected ending I've come to know, love, and expect from Agatha Christie. This was more outwardly macabre than her works I've read so far (all featuring Poirot i.e. Roger Ackroyd, Orient Express, & Affair at Styles) but still fascinating and suspenseful all the same. My brain is continuing to process how the book ended... What an imagination Christie had!
I bought this book a year or so ago based on the synopsis, thinking, “One day I'll read this. Probably.” Like so many other books I've bought, I put if off. I wish I had read it sooner though because now I am dating/we're planning to get married before the year's end, and there is a lot in this book that would have been helpful to think through before getting to this point (e.g., stewarding singleness well, pursuing God more and pursuing my self-serving plans less, trusting God and praying more now rather than waiting for a relationship to enjoy a sense of contentment and fulfillment).
However, I'm still thankful for reading this book when I did because of how applicable Segal's challenges are and how relevant the content truly is to everyone and anyone at any stage. I would absolutely recommend this book to single, dating, and married people alike so long as readers are prepared to think through living a life in pursuit of the Lord and His will now, not putting this off until you've found “the one”. No where does Segal promote the idea of finding fulfillment and identity in romantic relationships, putting off boundaries because there will be consequences, or living a passive life not worth deepening because of singleness.
Hope people keep picking this book up to read it and are encouraged as I was to live a God-honoring not-yet-married life now and one that continues to glorify and honor Him when I am married.
This will hopefully be just the first of many of Christie's novels I read - I loved this story. I read this novel in particular after hearing so much about the movie and am in awe of a story and writing that is still as entertaining in 2017 as it was when first written in the 1930s. This was a page turner, as I had to know what other evidence and connections would appear or be made. I didn't guess the ending and was pleasantly surprised with how the story unfolded. Would highly recommend!
Honest and convicting read truly exuding Chan's love for the Lord and for people to know and love the Lord in a genuine way. This would be a great read for any believer wanting to think more deeply through what it means to live out having a crazy love for God. I appreciated Chan's exhortations to avoid complacency and blunt challenges to live a life that actually serves to glorify the Lord and point others to Christ. Some of the theology seemed shaky, which is the only caveat I would give anyone reading this book; however, this book is still a worthy read giving me much to continue thinking through even after finishing it.
Jamie Ivey writes a book telling her story while reminding you how hers, and even each of our stories, are woven into the grand narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. She shares the particulars of how the Lord intervened in her life and saved her not for self-glorification but to normalize brokenness, encourage transparency, facilitate real conversations in real community, and punctuate the significance of godly grief leading to godly sorrow as well as confession and repentance.
Stories are beautiful. A beautiful manifestation of the diverse God we serve and opportunities for vulnerability, begetting vulnerability and reflecting the myriad ways our loving Father's faithfulness, steadfastness, and sovereignty are interwoven throughout the entirety of our lives. Jamie does just this with her story, and I cannot wait for this book to be published, as I'm already thinking about all the people I want to buy this book for.
I received this book for free as part of a pre-launch team. I was not compensated in any way for my review, and my rating and all opinions expressed are of my own volition.
Guthrie's book is truly a must-read for anyone wanting to know how to love and engage others well in the midst of grief. I've experienced loss but not to the extent of some friends and loved ones around me, and it was incredibly helpful to hear from Guthrie and many others she quotes as to what is helpful and what is not when engaging those who are grieving. She explores topics such as heaven, using Scripture, helpful things to say, hurtful things to say, normalization of grief, and others all the while avoiding overgeneralization and recognizing the personal nature of grief. There are examples of intentional questions to ask those who are grieving as well as encouragement to acknowledge the person's loss rather than pulling away for fear of saying the wrong thing.
This book may even be helpful for those who are grieving to give to friends and loved ones wanting to lean in and learn what really helps and what really hurts, as the title suggests.
What a fantastic devotional - one every woman should read! In fact, I could tell it was going to be a valuable read the first week in and ordered a copy for several friends without having finished it. The Lord used Brownback's words and scripture to peel back the layers of anxiety and lack of trust in the Lord in my life, reminding me continuously of who God is first and what that means for who I am secondly. Looking forward to reading the other devotional she's written!
This book was a definite page turner, not because of a mystery needing to be solved but rather to see what would happen next and get closer to some sort of resolution. I was rooting for the main character, and the way the author goes between the past and present gives more understanding to the life she lives and punctuates her dismay and the urgency for resolution. I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone but will leave it at that. This book was intriguing enough for me to want to read more by this author!
An interesting and clever read, in the John-Green kind of way. Although it's not really my favorite genre (i.e. young adult fiction), it was an entertaining distraction during a tougher week. I think after 3 of John Green's books, I'm okay with not being as compelled to read the rest of his works but particularly appreciated the anagrams, random trivia, and quirky humor.
Don't let the size or the cover of the book fool you - while small and seemingly simple, Gilbert uses this book to encourage Christians to recognize why we can and should trust the Bible. I was challenged to think through why I trust the Bible rather than simply saying something to the effect of, “I have faith it's true” or “I go to a church that tells me it's true”. I probably would benefit from reading this book again and will keep it handy as a reference and even see it as a beneficial recommendation for nonbelievers interested in understanding the Bible as trustworthy or not (as Gilbert addresses). The recommended resources at the end are also helpful. I further appreciated he had a specific goal in mind for this book, focused on it despite how this book could have easily been ten times as long, and provided other works that already have sought out to address other aspects he references.
Excellent discussion on a topic absolutely deserving of further understanding for any and all Christians. Grateful there is a succinct, biblically-based, and practical book on discipleship available. I'm sure I will be recommending this book to others and will be reading other books in the 9Marks series.
What an excellent read. Packer does an excellent job of connecting, as the title suggests, the sovereignty of God and evangelism. I won't attempt to summarize the book but rather will encourage anyone wanting to challenge their understanding of evangelism in light of who God is to read this great book. After reading this book, I feel encouraged to pray more, develop more meaningful relationships with others without such fear around sharing the gospel, and having patience in knowing salvation is in God's hands and not my own.
Such an interesting read. This book was required reading for a mission trip to London where we will be working with Muslim women.
Reading about Muslim culture (with emphasis on how it may differ nationally and regionally) challenged assumptions I had and opened my eyes to the many merits and fascinating aspects to such a rich and diverse culture. I am in awe of the degree of hospitality and kindness valued in these cultures, some ways the collectivistic mindset is demonstrated, and the weight of relationships.
Christine Mallouhi has written a book full of anecdotes, personal and otherwise, encapsulating 30+ years of living missionally amongst Muslims as an evangelical Christian. As Mallouhi states toward the end of the book, “These stories are not giving you the solutions. They are simply alerting you to the main issue I have chosen from among many, to address.”
In this way, this book is by no means exhaustive but is a great starter for anyone interested in learning more about Muslim culture from the perspective of an evangelical Christian and what it may look like “to live honorably among Muslims for Christ's sake”.
This was another page-turner, like the former, and had an ending I did not expect. I found myself wanting to continue on the adventure alongside Strike to figure out who did it, learn more about each of the potential suspects, and see if there would be more opportunities for Robin to play a larger role. In essence, I enjoyed it and was gratified upon finishing the novel, although it did happen quickly and felt somewhat rushed. All that being said, I give this book 3 stars in part due to the aforementioned rushed ending as well as the language and some of the graphic subject matter because it's frankly not my cup of tea. I don't plan on re-reading or keeping my copy of the book either for this reason. I recognize the rawness and details such as what may be found in the book (particularly regarding Bombyx Mori) may draw many a reader further into the mystery or others may not think twice about it, but it's not what I prefer in what I read. I'd like to see how the story moves forward and may end up reading the next novel, but we shall see. Perhaps it is naive of me to expect writing for the same audience as the HP series when Rowling used a pen name and appears to want to separate this work from HP, but I think it's also fair for readers to have their own preferences when it comes to reading anyhow.
“There's something comforting about the sight of strangers safe at home” (p. 2). Paula Hawkins starts the novel off with reflections from a character that prove to hold more weight and irony than serving as merely one of Rachel's many reflections while riding the train and observing strangers living their lives in their homes alongside the tracks. Hawkins uses Rachel and perspectives from other characters to unfold a story of intrigue involving a missing person and the brokenness that lies behind what may seem to be even the most seamless of veneers to an outside observer, such as the girl on the train.
This book was a page turner, revealing more and more about and from each character, unraveling a tangled web, providing context for how and why each character is as broken as he or she is, and revealing there are consequences for the things we do, whether these repercussions catch up to us now or later.
Ready to watch the movie now that I've read the book and am hoping to see the same amount of suspense, overlapping of stories, and complexity of characters that made this such an interesting read.
What a great read. I got this as a Book of the Month selection (i.e., a monthly book subscription service) and can comfortably say it was the best one by far out of the 6 or 7 books I got and read as a subscriber. This is not a book I would have picked on my own and would encourage those who feel hesitant to give it a try. Why? A few bullet points:
1. The writing is interesting, detailed, and engaging. This was what initially struck me when I started reading this book.
2. The characters. I am a big fan of Count Rostov. He is a fascinating character - humble, witty, sharp, intelligent, rational, and complex. You get to see his story unfold as well as that of those around him throughout the hotel. The characters are all so different yet together create a complete work. His relationships with these other characters reveal a lot as well, and as his fondness for others grows, so does the reader's.
3. The subject matter. I know little to nothing about Russian history or culture and believe this book provides a peek into the transformation Russia went through in the early to mid-20th century.
While the length of the book may be intimidating to some, the content and quality of what lies within is worth setting aside any hesitations. I am interested to read anything else by this author simply because of how much I enjoyed this work! It was a nice alternative to the nonfiction books I was reading around the same time.
I am grateful to have been assigned this book as required reading for Dr. Reid's Evangelism: Practice and Nature class. Like Dr. Reid, his book exudes a passion and zeal for sharing the gospel with others, encouraging others to challenge whatever obstacles may get in the way of them living out the Great Commission. There are funny moments, plenty of interesting anecdotes, myriad nuggets of practical application, and the structure of the book is easy to follow. In no way does he condemn or attempt to guilt people who may not view themselves as equipped, ready, or proficient at sharing the gospel. Each of the eight principles he addresses made a lot of sense and helped me rethink how I view evangelism and what it means to live a lifestyle of evangelism. Especially thankful for the prayer he challenges readers to pray daily, “God, give me today (1) an opportunity to speak with someone about Jesus; (2) the wisdom to see it; and (3) the courage to take it.”
This book is a great read for individuals wanting to grow in sharing the gospel as well as groups wanting to study evangelism together, especially in light of the 8-week study outline available at the end of the book.