Sarah

Easy and mindless read that went on my “To-Read” list after hearing an interview with the author on a podcast. It was not quite what I was expecting, but I kept reading anyway because I'm one of those people who does not like to leave books unfinished. Initially, I was especially interested because of my background in working events, although I never worked any events close to the extent of what the character works on in this book. I still found some parts relatable, including that rush of working your first big event. This would be a good beach read, as it is semi-predictable, a quick read, and fairly entertaining. I didn't enjoy this book enough to want to read the rest in this series.

I read this book as requested by my operator for my job (Director of Sales & Brand Growth). Definitely an interesting read for anyone involved in marketing - it's full of personal anecdotes from the authors, quotes from myriad symbols and producers of “cool”, and examples of the pursuit of cool gone right and wrong.

One takeaway from this book was avoiding the easy temptation to emulate someone else who is successful, as if there were a cookie cutter approach to cool and success. Take risks. Know your demographic. Be genuine and authentic. Have a vision and follow it, but don't shy away from adjusting that vision along the way.

As a fan of Gilmore Girls and Lauren Graham, this book was just what I wanted it to be. I could see Graham's personality all throughout the book from the quirkiness of the main character to the use of funny notes and scribbles on the pages of Franny's filofax. It was interesting to read about what it may have been like for an actress trying to make it in the 90s without cell phones but instead relying on the home answering machine, fax machines, and pay phones. While some aspects of the book may have been predictable, it was an entertaining read, and I would most certainly be interested to read anything else Graham writes in the future.

While I may not aspire to be preaching and I view the role of pastor/preacher as being exclusive to men in the church, I was encouraged by this book and challenged myself to keep an open mind as to practical application in my own life. Note: this was required reading for a seminary class on bible exposition. Piper punctuates and asserts the relationship that must exist between God's supremacy and preaching, how the “majesty and truth and holiness and righteousness and wisdom and faithfulness and sovereignty and grace” of God is still absolutely relevant and must be evident in preaching today (17). Reading this book and taking this class have increased my respect for those who are in pastoral roles or aspire to be because of the weightiness, the gravity of a role requiring the handling of God's Word rightly and for the glory of God and not self. I am all the more grateful for those who preach at the church I attend and want to be more intentional to pray for them that they would see the link between God's supremacy and preaching, which God uses for the purposes of salvation for the lost and perseverance of the saints.

While the book may appear to be short, it is not lacking in depth, and I found myself rereading sentences, paragraphs, and even chapters to ensure I was grasping the depth of what Piper wrote and at times was not sure of his meaning (e.g., the chapter on concept creation for some reason took me a few reads). I have not read anything by him before, and perhaps this and not having a personal calling to preaching may have been barriers to the writing clicking as easily as other books I have read in seminary so far. However, I did greatly appreciate the frequent references to scripture not only in the “addresses” of the verses but whole verses themselves as well as references to other theologians, preachers, and believers. It was as if Piper was seeking to assert truths he believes to be universal with regard to preaching because of how he understands scripture and God's character rather than wanting to spout off his own thoughts and feelings in a self-important way.

I would highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to better understand the why and what behind biblically-oriented and tethered preaching, especially if pursuing pastoral ministry or any ministry involving preaching.

Interesting approach in that you know the ending up front involving the plane crash and have to read on to find out what exactly led to the crash. You get information about each of the survivors and victims before and leading up to the crash, which in some ways is something I've wondered about when tragedies happen. Who were the people involved? What were their last thoughts? What kind of people were they? Grasping for humanity in the midst of death and something so terrible. Wanting to find out these answers and what happened kept me reading, but I have to say the ending felt rushed and somehow not worth all that led up to it.

It was an entertaining read, but Hawley's writing isn't quite my style, so I'm not likely to read any of his other works. I got this book through Book of the Month and will happily pass this book on to someone else looking for an easy but interesting read.

I anticipated this book to be different from the series by virtue of it being a play, and I'm glad I began reading with this mindset, as I think it allowed me to enjoy the book more. Sure, it's no Goblet of Fire or Half-Blood Prince, but it's familiar because of the characters, spells, and “flashbacks”. It was a funny and easy read (read in one sitting in a few hours), and I'd really love to be able to see the play in London to see the story come to life. I am thankful for another story but also for JK Rowling saying this is it for Harry Potter. In sum, Harry Potter fans will enjoy this read if for no other reason than getting another opportunity to spend time with beloved characters in the beloved non-muggle world.

Entertaining read compiled in an interesting way - through emails, letters, an article, and even a fax or two providing different perspectives, with remaining parts of the book told through the perspective of Bee, Bernadette's daughter. It's definitely quirky and not what I expected, although I don't know what I was expecting. I enjoyed it for the most part. Not a book I can't wait to recommend to others but not one I'd encourage others to pass on either. Would probably make a great beach read.

I enjoyed Paul Miller's integration of stories and anecdotes all throughout this book, facilitating a relatable exploration of what it means to have a praying life - not just on a theoretical level but on a real-life, practical application level as well.

Reading this book challenged me to consider how I get in my own way of having a richer praying life because of my pride in self-sufficiency and wrongfully wanting to rest in independence from God and others. To recognize a praying life ought not to be contingent on my life's circumstances going the way I want them to and remembering the important of prayer when there is struggle, hurt, uncertainty, and confusion. To see a praying life as providing opportunities to slow down and refocus on God and what He is teaching me, what remains true about His character despite what is going on around me, and integrating scripture to meditate and reflect on.

Reading this book was a much needed humbling experience pointing me to pray and read God's Word, and I definitely would highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to read more and think more about what it means to have a praying life.

Enjoyed the 80s music references, the quirkiness of the characters, and the ability to relate thinking back to my own high school experiences (though it was the 2000s). Would be interesting to see this book made into a movie!

Definitely a page turner with some unexpected twists - also aptly described as a psychological thriller. I'm interested to read other novels by Mackintosh, as there is something to say about an author who can write a book you do not want to put down to find out what happens next. At times, it was not an easy read because of the content for me, hence the 3 stars, but I would be willing to read other books of hers.

I was compelled to read this book after learning of the author whose passion for foster children and partnering with organizations advocating for these children was alluring, especially after hearing her share about her experiences at a conference. After finishing the book, I am left with mixed emotions and am uncertain what has me stuck the most.

Having worked in mental health for almost two years now, I have interacted with youth who have had such unstable and troubled pasts and truly struggle to make decisions that will lead them down a different path because of the toll this past has taken, with and without family and natural supports. In this way, I caution myself from judging Victoria's character too harshly because she was abused, mistreated, shuffled from one placement to the next, and learned to guard and protect herself after essentially having to be in survival mode all of her life.

The reality of the world is that there are broken people like this who have been hurt, are hurting, and hurt others because they do not know how else to interact with the world around them. These broken people end up in situations that can be beyond frustrating such as ending up homeless, quitting a stable job, refusing love and support from others, and getting pregnant and having a child despite not knowing the first thing about being a parent. Life can be so messy, and I think this is something the author did not want to shy away from, especially in the life of a foster-child-now-“adult”.

I can most certainly appreciate these things and hope the book opens more people's eyes to the realities of the foster care system and the children who come out of this system as adults. However, even with the “happy” ending, I still did not feel satisfied with the ending and how the story progressed. Perhaps I need to avoid books that hit too close to home with work or maybe this just isn't my preferred style of writing or story.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I can most certainly see the mass appeal the story has - the budding romance between Lou and Will really had my hopes up that Will would change his mind, and it was exciting to see them both changing as a result of their unexpected but growing relationship. However, I really had difficulty wrapping my head around the ending and found myself thinking a LOT after finishing this book. (After I got over the whole crying-because-of-the-ending thing.) So many questions. What if he had chosen to live? Why couldn't the author have allowed someone to have found a cure? Why couldn't Lou's love for
Will been enough?

I suppose I can appreciate that the ending wasn't the typical-romance-story-puppies-and-rainbows type deal, but I don't know what I think about assisted suicide. I am pro-life when it comes to unborn children and supporting adoption and foster care especially for women who have opted for that route rather than abortion, but am I pro-life when it comes to assisted suicide? I don't know.

This story presented an exploration of someone's journey through a disability that made this a bit more of a grey area for me. I do not know what it is like to struggle with a disability involving paralysis from the waist down, constant pain, inability to use my arms, and no longer even being able to use the bathroom on my own. This is what has come to define Will's life in the book, and in such a debilitating way that he has attempted to take his life prior to the main character Lou entering the picture. What is that truly like? I don't know and can only begin to imagine.

I am grateful for the opportunity to be challenged in what I believe but find it difficult to read a story like this and not come back to my faith as a landing pad after navigating through the thoughts and questions this book brought to mind. What do I wish? (Call it naive and simplistic if you would like, but this is what comes to mind for me and is how I am reacting to this book.) That Will knew he had value and worth as a human being created in the image of God even before his accident or perhaps even as a result of it. That someone entered his life and explained the gospel and how we are called to view suffering in light of the gospel (e.g., James 1:2-4) and having a changed heart (e.g., Ezekiel 36:26-27). That what happens in life does not always make sense, but nothing is too terrible or too big for God to redeem and restore, whether we can see and understand this on this side of heaven or not.

I probably thought way too much about this book. It's just a book, after all. A fictional story about fictional characters. I also recognize real life is messy, and there aren't always the picture perfect happy endings we expect and perhaps feel entitled to at the end of the story, fictional or not. Maybe I'm just one of those people who is unable to compartmentalize enough to enjoy fiction for what it is and leave it at that and should not be writing reviews of books like this - especially late at night when I'm tired - which I am just fine with, if that is the case.

I am one of the many, I'm sure, who read this book primarily because JK Rowling wrote it. Nonetheless, I was intrigued to see Rowling aka Galbraith write a crime/mystery novel because of how much I enjoyed the Harry Potter novels. This mystery was hard to put down because I really wanted to know what happened next, even if some aspects of the novel were not to my taste or preference (e.g., cursing, sexual content), hence the 3 stars. Still, I appreciated that the ending was not obvious, hasty, or expected (at least for me). I also liked how much unfolded through dialogue, with commentary on body language, tone, and facial expressions coming together to discern motives, truths, lies, and what roles people did or did not play in the suicide or murder. I'm interested in reading more about Strike, such an unexpected protagonist who does not need fancy gadgets or doodads to solve mysteries, instead relying on the art of sleuthing, interviewing, and studying people to get the job done.

I am so glad there are more books to come. It has been a while since I have felt as interested by a series and would perhaps compare this one to A Series of Unfortunate Events because of how the main character is a child but the content is just as interesting for adults (if not more appropriate for them too). Flavia de Luce is a fascinating character, and I look forward to reading more about her and her (mis)adventures.

This book may have been difficult to read at times, but I can most certainly appreciate the author's willingness to present her life story in such an honest way - highs, and lows, and everything in-between. It is hard to imagine myself in her shoes, growing up in the environment she did, and yet this was her reality. There are children who grew up in homes full of abuse, neglect, and disappointment, are growing up in these homes, and will be as long as we are living this side of heaven. All the same, the author does not ask the reader for pity and often reminds you of the love she had for her father, regardless of all the ways he hurt and failed her throughout the entirety of her life. It is always so interesting to learn the back stories of people who you would never guess have the upbringing and childhood experiences they did, and this is one such example. I would recommend this book but would say this is not the book to read if you're expecting puppies and rainbows or are looking for a mindless, feel-good read.

Another witty installment in the series. A great beach read that is entertaining and also has you trying to solve the mystery along with Flavia. I enjoyed Flavia's insight, obsession with death and poison, and tenacity at stopping at nothing to figure out who did it. Definitely not a book for children despite the main character being a child because of some of the macabre themes but a great read for adults unlike anything else I've read before.

This book made me cry - the good kind of tears feeling the weight of Kara's suffering and yet the freedom that grace and embracing gospel truths provides as well. Her story is a beautiful one, not because she seems to love her family well, not because she inserts thought-provoking and relevant quotes and verses throughout the book, and certainly not because she writes to glorify herself and how she has persevered through her struggles. Rather, her story is beautiful because it reflects the gospel and what it means to lean in and trust God even when life does not end up the way you hoped or planned it would.

Kara's story points to a God who is with us during our moments of weakness, sadness, hurt, sickness, suffering, illness, disease, cancer. A God who sent His Son to die a painful death as the propitiation for our sins so that we might know true love, forgiveness, and grace in a broken world and one day see His glory and goodness face to face.

A truly wonderful read for anyone who has ever suffered (i.e. everyone) full of such encouragement and needed reminders of the greatness and love of God, no matter what our life circumstances may be.

I am a fan of Matt Chandler's preaching and was excited to see he wrote a book about marriage, especially after The Village Church did a sermon series last year on God's design for men and women (“A Beautiful Design”).

As a single person, I found this book to be encouraging of what is to come as well as a good reminder of how marriage is not the answer to finding wholeness or completion.

As a counselor, I appreciated the biblical exploration of romantic relationships from dating to courtship to engagement to marriage with plenty of insights applicable to relationships in general, romantic or not. This last point was particularly salient for me because ultimately, it is not about us anyway.

As Chandler ends the book, “May we be people who know God and love him. And may our knowledge and love for him lead to ongoing repentance, confession, and the seeking out of healthy, vibrant, strong relationships. May we pursue one another often for the glory of his name and to reflect all the more the beauty of his romantic pursuit of us as his covenant people.

In love, dating, courtship, marriage, and sex - as in all things - Christ is all.”

A helpful and encouraging exploration of why it is important for women to pursue Bible literacy. Wilkin addresses the value of studying the Bible with both our hearts and minds to grow to love God more - not simply to increase our knowledge of Him. She provides some practical tips as to how to achieve this through the 5 P's (purpose, perspective, patience, process, and prayer) without being cheesy or trying to "feminize" scripture in efforts to relate more so to women either. This book definitely increased my desire to read God's Word more intentionally to better know and love Him. I would recommend this book for any woman wanting to dig into scripture regardless of stage of life or degree of experience with reading the Bible!

I loved this book. Timothy Keller diligently explores arguments people have against Christianity and why these arguments do not hold up. He then walks through the reasons for faith using scripture with many a reference to works from the likes of C. S. Lewis and Jonathan Edwards.

I believe in God, and I believe in the gospel - that God sent His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross in our place as an ultimate act of love so that we may be forgiven and live radically changed lives as a result of this love. I believe that we exist to glorify God and make disciples of all nations, displaying His light and love for all to see. I believe I am called to repent of my sins and am forgiven because God is just and right to forgive and where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more; an active and not passive grace that with the indwelling Holy Spirit has changed my heart to become more like His.

Reading this book affirmed this all the more for me, pointing me to God, His greatness, and the Bible as trustworthy and authoritative. This is a book I would happily share with those who are believers and those who are not, those who are seeking to better understand hang ups people have with Christianity and what faith is, what the gospel is. I think this book can further encourage believers to dig in to their faith, understand what they believe, and how to communicate that to others.

Very helpful supplement to the Financial Peace University classes. As someone with little to no understanding of financial matters prior to taking the classes, the book was easy to understand and likely will serve as a good reference as I move through the baby steps.

This was required reading for my job with Youth Villages, and I'm glad to have had such an in-depth and helpful exploration of multi-systemic therapy (MST). This book reads like one of my grad school textbooks but gives great case examples and interventions to help apply what you're reading. I would not suggest this book for someone looking for a fun read, but if you are looking for a better understanding of MST as a clinician, this is your go-to book! It's been helpful as a reference with treatment planning and thinking of where to go next with families and I'm sure I'll continue to reference back to it in the future.

This is one of the best devotionals I have ever read. Myers has a wonderful way of presenting gospel truths from scripture in a relatable and still challenging way. The book lives up to its title and encourages the reader all throughout to work out what it means to have a satisfied heart - that is, a heart satisfied in God and God alone.

I appreciated the encouragement at the end of each chapter to meditate on scripture allowing for further reflection on who God is and what His “words of love” for us are. I also enjoyed the supplemental quotes, poems, and lyrics throughout the book from the likes of C. S. Lewis and A. W. Tozer, among others.

Overall, excellent read whether you're looking for an every day kind of devotional or one that you can pick up and put down at any time. I received this as a gift and want to be able to pass on the encouragement to others as well because of how much I enjoyed this devotional.

Excellent overview of important topics, just as the title suggests. It is only recently that I have begun to understand theology and have a desire to more deeply understand what I believe and why. I enjoyed how the book is set up with short chapters and review questions at the end of each chapter. I see myself likely reading this book again or at least flipping back to as a reference in sharing my faith with someone or as a reminder to myself of these beliefs along with supporting scripture.

This is a great devotional that was helpful for me to read through in coming to better understand my identity in Christ (which all always be a work in progress) and challenging wrongful ideas I have about myself and about who God is (e.g., God is a punisher, thinking too low and too high of myself). The devotional consists of 3 different parts: 1)Who you really are... at first, 2)Your life is Christ, and 3)Three pillars of your new identity to be read through in 40 days. (Per usual, it took me almost a year to get through it.) Each day consists of questions and scripture to facilitate further reflection. While I was not crazy that Myers used a number of different versions of the Bible when referencing scripture, I like that she uses God's word as the ultimate place we should turn to in digging deeper into who we are and whose we are. I could see this particular devotional appealing more to women than men, but Myers does not explicitly orient the text to men or women. It will be interesting to come back to this devotional in a few years and see what stands out, what is most challenging, and what is most affirming at that time.