Recent Reads // October

{ H E L L O ! }

Not sure if I already announced this or not, but I am currently in the final stages of moving to a new state. As a result, there has been very little posting going on for me. Hopefully things will settle down a bit soon. I'm looking forward to posting photography of new places I visit!

For now, I wanted to drop in to review a few of the books I have read recently!

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

amazon // goodreads

I'd read a different book by Laurie Halse Anderson before (Fever 1793), which I rather liked, so I turned to the Seeds of America Trilogy. This one had some darker themes, as it is based on slavery. I finished Chains, but I don't think I'll be reading the rest of the trilogy. 

Everybody Always by Bob Goff

amazon // goodreads

This book had lots of inspiring and interesting stories. It is well written, although it wasn't super deep it was relatively thought provoking. 

A Summer to Die by Lois Lowry

amazon // goodreads

Since I rather like The Giver, I wanted to explore other books by Lois Lowry. A Summer to Die was actually her first novel. It follows the story of two sisters. It is VERY sad, but I really loved the relationship between Meg and her older neighbor.

 Miracle for Jen by Linda Barrick with John Perry

amazon // goodreads

I heard about this book after reading an article on TheRebelution. This book was sad, painful, and amazing. The writing was kind of repetitive sometimes, but I read all the way to the end. It tells the dramatic true story of 17-year-old Jen Barrick. After getting hit by a drunk driver on the way home from a church choir performance, Jen's family encounters miracles, pleading prayers, and heavy struggles. God answers Jen's prayers in the most astounding way through her accident. After I read the book, I looked up Jen Barrick on YouTube and was amazed. 

Called to Create by Jordan Raynor

amazon // goodreads

This book was recommended to me by a friend, and although it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, there were some good insights in it. It focused more on being an entrepeneur, rather than an artist. But I especially liked the section on how we will use our creating gifts in heaven. It also presented ideas about God as a creator, and how we being an artist is a gift from God, because it is one of his own characteristics.

The Unexpected Adventure by Lee Strobel and Mark Mittelberg

amazon // goodreads

Since this is basically a devotional, I wasn't sure what to expect. Sometimes I find that devotionals don't dedicate enough time to just one point or story. This book, however, was very engaging, interesting, and inspiring. There were great stories about how the authors have stumbled across sharing their faith, and then Bible verses and important points after the story. I recommend!

Thanks for reading! Have a great week!

Recent Reads 3 // Words and Such

I haven't done a recent reads post since December 19th! Well, anyway, here are the books I've read since then....

Heavenly Crowns by Heather Whitestone McCallum and Angela Hunt

Written by Miss America 1995, this book was pretty good. It talked about how God will give us crowns when we get to Heaven. The main point was that when we get the crowns, we will lay them at His feet because everything we do for His Glory in life is for Him alone. At least, that's what I understood. Along the way, there were many stories and examples. I would've liked more personal stories from the authors life, but I still learned through the examples that were used.

The People of Sparks by Jeanne DePrau

This book is the sequel to City of Ember. I appreciate when sequels pick up right where the previous book left off, like The People of Sparks did. The book's tone was very similar to the first one. I thought it was quite odd though that Lina (the main girl) was taken aback by the cluttered homes in the city of Sparks. I recall from City of Ember, the detailed descriptions of the homes that were floor to ceiling odds and ends families had collected over generations. Despite this mild, brief indiscrepancy, this was a good book. I have to say my favorite character was Maddy, a young, wise, and kind roamer. I plan to read the fourth book in the series, The Diamond of Darkhold, next, as the third books seems to be an oddly placed prequel to the entire series??

The Blackgaard Chronicles: Pawn's Play by Phil Lollar

Based on an Adventures in Odyssey radio drama saga, this book really fleshes out what you only hear on the radio drama. You get an idea of how people look, what the characters think of each other, and how they feel inside. This is great! As for the book itself, it's an easy read that follows two main stories. You get to see different sides of the stories from different characters' points of view. It was never confusing for me, probably because I am familiar with the audio drama series. I would definitely recommend reading the first book in the series before this one if at all possible. The book is clearly also meant to be followed by another... I don't think another has been announced yet though so I'll have to wait :)

not a fan. daily devotional by Kyle Idleman

I got this book for Christmas, and have already read not a fan. by Kyle Idleman, of which this is the devotional version. I didn't read one a day, I just sort of read it in spurts. Several devotionals were quite similar to points made in the book, but I didn't really mind. I enjoyed the practical applications after each lesson, and each lesson used a Bible verse and a real life story. 

Shouting Won't Help by Katherine Bouton

I came across this book because it popped in my library's "related" sidebar of a book I was looking at. This book is basically a look at psychological implications of losing your hearing later in life and the science of cochlear implants and hearing aids. This book was really interesting to me. It went so far as to describe what happens during a cochlear implant surgery. The angle of the drill and all. I learned a lot that I didn't know and found this book really interesting.

Thanks for stopping by! What have you been reading recently?

Recent Reads 2 // Words and Such

It's been a little over a month since I first did a "Recent Reads" post and I feel like I've been doing a lot of reading lately. Thus, here we have the second edition of what I've been reading! I seem to be in a inspirational/autobiography/Christian phase. I'm not sure what that genre is called... I'm enjoying it, but if you have any ideas of novels, tell me in the comments!

(all images from Google Images)

Stomping out the Darkness by Neil T. Anderson and Dave Park

Written for teens, this book was about who you are in Christ as a born-again Christian. It offers a lot of help on how to become more Christ-like. One small thing I didn't especially like was that the authors switched off writing and would have to articulate who was talking in parenthesis. Other than that, I liked this book and recommend it.

 

 Keep it Shut by Karen Ehman

I got this book from the library. It had ideas about what to say in certain situations and how not to engage in gossip, flattery, etc. It was supported by Bible verses to encourage you to speak Godly and honoring words in real life, and on the internet.

Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung

This was an interesting, thought-provoking book about God's will. Although I don't necessarily believe all the theories the author presents about God's will (such as, God doesn't care if you move or take a new job as long as you pray about it and make a good decision) there were parts that were really thought-provoking.

Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are by Alex & Brett Harris

I'm glad I finally bought and read this sequel! It had lots of stories of what teens have done in their communities, and tips on how to stay connected with God and grow your relationship with him even when you are super busy doing a "hard thing".

image from Christianbook.com

Listening with My Heart  by Heather Whitestone

This book is about the woman who is Miss America 1995. I really liked this book! The first half of the book (which I favored) was about her growing up in a hearing world, the challenge of learning orally as a deaf person, how hard she worked to achieve her dream, and how she found her relationship with Christ. The second half was about the good things and the bad things about her year as Miss America. Although the timeline for her story jumped around a bit, I was able to understand it and saw why she was telling the story out of sequence. Overall, I learned a lot from this book. I really want to read Heavenly Crowns next.

I think I'll wrap up this post! Do you like to hear about what I'm reading? Are you excited for Christmas?

Merry Christmas!

Recent Reads // Words and Such

I actually wanted to make this a post about my TBR books, but I'm reading them too fast. So instead, I'll talk about/mini review the books I've read recently! Judging by the books in this post, I read a lot of nonfiction, but that's partly because I need to find new material and a niche for fiction (I prefer historical fiction). 

These books are in order of when I read them, with the most recent at the end of the post. Also, these are just my opinions of the books and what they were about from what I understood while reading them.

(all images are from amazon.com unless otherwise stated.)

Nobody's Perfect by Marlee Matlin and Doug Cooney

This is a fiction book about a fifth grade girl who thinks the new girl at school is mistreating her because she is Deaf. I found this book interesting (even though it is more for young children) because I want to have a Deaf character in the story I am writing, and thought it would be beneficial to read a book with a Deaf character that was written by a Deaf woman. I recommend this book, especially if you want to learn about Deaf Culture, which is completely and totally unique. It may give you some insight on how to interact with Deaf people you may come across in your life.

 

Do Hard Things by Alex & Brett Harris

I actually discovered this book after reading about it on Allison's blog. I totally recommend this book! If you're a teen (or whatever age you are) and need encouragement and inspiration to do "hard things" every day in order to fulfill your God-given potential despite the various expectations of society, you should definitely read this book. I'm currently reading (well, technically listening since it's an audio book 😁) the follow-up book called Start Here: Doing Hard Things Right Where You Are.

 

All In by Mark Batterson

This book is thought provoking. However, I feel like it focused on money. I felt that one of the main messages I took away was if you give or are willing to give up all of your money/possessions, then you are a completely committed follower of Jesus. While Jesus should absolutely be first in your life as a Christian, I think more examples of other kinds could have been used in the book. That being said, I'm really glad I read it and it was definitely worth my time! It's a popular book, and I can see why.




not a fan. by Kyle Idleman

Of the books in this post, this one is my favorite. It talks about the costs that come with being a follower of Jesus, as opposed to an interested and adoring fan. The author says that following Jesus means saying no to a lot of things that society may want or push us to do, and making sacrifices. It says that followers "Die Daily" in the world, and sacrifice their worldly life for their eternal life in heaven. I thought it was interesting, because some of the same Bible stories/verses were used in both All In and not a fan.. However, they were used to justify and explain different points. I enjoyed contrasting the two books. There is also a teen version of the book.

photo from simonandschuster.com

Sensing the Rhythm by Mandy Harvey and Mark Atteberry

  

I first heard of Mandy Harvey, the jazz singer, a few months before she was on America's Got Talent. I'd wanted to read her book ever since it came out, and finally got it from the library last week. It's an inspirational type book. She mentions her faith and talks about the trials she's faced. I was interested to read about how she feels vibrations of music through her body in order to stay with the musicians in the band. If you didn't know, she is Deaf. Overall, this was a good book. I will most likely read it again in the future. (I'm a re-reader) I'm looking forward to seeing her perform in person next year.

In summation....

These were my thoughts and opinions of the books I read. I enjoyed writing out these mini reviews. If you've also read these books, you may or may not agree with my thoughts, but that's totally fine! I'm thinking of doing this type of post every two weeks, depending on how many books I read.

So... What's next on my TBR list?

Inside Deaf Culture by Carol Padden and Tom Humphries

This book is used in college courses I guess, but reviews of it suggest that it isn't dry and it is a good informative book about the history of Deaf Culture and American Sign Language. I picked it up at the library and think I will learn a lot while reading it.

What book did you finish reading most recently?