Christmas is always a bit of blur. There are so many parties, so much festivity, so much doing.
Sometimes in our desire to show love to others, we buy so much stuff, wrap it in fancy paper, sing carols, drink hot cocoa, untangle long strings of lights, and on and on and on until we forget that Christmas is God gifting God to us.
This Christmas - this day that will dawn in a short forty-five days - I don't want to forget that. I want to let Jesus gift Himself to me the way He always wants to gift Himself to every single one of us.
"Great goal. But how are you going to manage to do that?"
I'll let you all in on a little secret: I'm not doing it alone.
This Advent, I'm going to take full and complete advantage of a devotional from the beautiful Ann Voskamp, entitled "The Greatest Gift: Unwrapping the Full Love Story of Christmas."
It's a twenty-five day commitment - one short Scripture passage, one small meditation, one act of kindness, one moment of reflective questioning a day - to remember to breathe during the ever-accelerating blur of Christmas preparations.
I need to remember to breathe.
To take a break from the doing for God and start being with God.
I'd like to invite you to join me in this journey, a journey from darkness to light, from loss to abundance. Set aside your loneliness and put on your belovedness.
Isn't a book purchase from Amazon worth it when it can open your heart & allow God to come in and love you?
We all should have the best Christmas, the Christmas where God gifts Himself to you.
Showing posts with label Book Review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book Review. Show all posts
10 November 2014
29 May 2014
What I'm Reading
Hello, friends!
As many (most? all?) of you know, I love to read. In many ways, I don't read books. The action is more similar to inhaling. I read excessively quickly.
I thoroughly enjoy perusing other people's reading lists. I've never methodically read the entire library given by an individual, but I've found a few gems here and there. I'm hoping this little post might do something similar for you!
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Not the sort of book I normally read. In all honesty, I found it rather boring until about 60% of the way through. I just didn't care. I didn't care about the characters, I didn't care for the writing style, it was just sorta... meh. I kept reading it because I was stuck on a train. It did really pick up at about the 60% mark, however. I was actually invested from then on. Big caveat: this book is not easy to read. It describes some really awful, violent, disgusting things in detail. It's brutal and honest. Not for the sensitive ladies in my life.
The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells
Maybe I shouldn't have started with a book that I felt so apathetic about. It might give you the impression that I don't get emotionally involved in books. That impression would be wrong. Because this book? This book I loved. I started it yesterday at about nine thirty at night. I read it straight through. Hello, one thirty in the morning. I laughed, I cried, I dropped it in surprise. I enjoyed this book more than any book I've read in a long time. This book had so many jewel-like sentences. I want to read it again just to sit and savor those statements. To mull them over and, perhaps, write them down somewhere, so that I might be further edified by them later.
On the Musically Beautiful
Non-fiction, not new, not pretty. If I had to describe it in two words, I'd choose these: German Rant. If you have an opinion about what music is or ought to be, you might enjoy this book. I found it to be a page-turner. It was a bit redundant, but that's forgivable since it's interesting and so short. Again, rather rant-like, but I don't mind rants sometimes. I especially enjoy written rants by people who are long-dead. This is probably weird, but I feel at liberty to giggle about their strong, enthusiastic language & uncompromising views.
Doctor Who and Philosophy
This isn't a book as much as a collection of pseudo-academic papers concerning the philosophy of Doctor Who. Not much is explicitly stated in the cult-classic show about the writers' philosophical beliefs, but these papers explore the various prevalent theories and explore their ramifications (both within the show and in our real world). It's a very speculative, wondering, and wandering. Just what this TAC nerd ordered.
Attachments
Equal parts interesting and fluffy. The major this question raised in my mind (which, to be fair, had nothing to do specifically with this book, but happened to pop into my head when I was reading it) was "How accurate could a book about a man falling in love, written from the man's perspective, be if it's actually written by a woman?" Seriously, this can't be a very helpful portrait of how a man's mind works. This book, overall, was the epitome of a summer novel. It had funny parts, frustrating parts, etc... it isn't a book that will change my life or that I will ever read again. I was content to read it, though.
The Rosie Project
Do you enjoy "Big Bang Theory?" If so, read this book. It's stitch-in-your-side funny. If you hate Sheldon and couldn't stand to be in his head, rooting for him to find a wife, then you'll hate this book. I read it in a few hours and laughed so hard. This is one I will probably go back to for a second helping.
Someday, Someday, Maybe
Meh. Funny, but not engrossing. Again, I read it because I was on a train. It wasn't a book I would choose over a marathon of "House, M.D." The enjoyment I did take from it came in the form of what I found familiar: a young woman struggling to achieve her dream of becoming a successful actress in New York. No, no, not that I want to be an actress, but I live close enough to LA to have heard many stories and seen many people in the midst of that very battle. The tongue-in-cheek, but also slightly desperate, tone was familiar, yet charming somehow.
Summer at Tiffany
Memoir, diary, autobiography? All of the above, really. It's the story of a college coed & her summer employment at Tiffany's in New York. Light, non-dramatic, not a proper story with "a hero, struggling against an obstacle, to achieve a goal," but still an enjoyable story. It was like stepping back in time to the 1940s. What was it like to come from a small town in search of summer employment? To have a beau preparing to leave for the European theater of WWII? To spot celebrities and handle their jewelry that cost more than your college education? Reading this book felt like visiting an old lady in her dining room, sitting primly in a chair, sipping properly prepared tea, while you listened to stories from her youth. It was a prettily packaged, highly fascinating, history lesson.
That's all for now... what are you reading?
As many (most? all?) of you know, I love to read. In many ways, I don't read books. The action is more similar to inhaling. I read excessively quickly.
I thoroughly enjoy perusing other people's reading lists. I've never methodically read the entire library given by an individual, but I've found a few gems here and there. I'm hoping this little post might do something similar for you!
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Not the sort of book I normally read. In all honesty, I found it rather boring until about 60% of the way through. I just didn't care. I didn't care about the characters, I didn't care for the writing style, it was just sorta... meh. I kept reading it because I was stuck on a train. It did really pick up at about the 60% mark, however. I was actually invested from then on. Big caveat: this book is not easy to read. It describes some really awful, violent, disgusting things in detail. It's brutal and honest. Not for the sensitive ladies in my life.
The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells
Maybe I shouldn't have started with a book that I felt so apathetic about. It might give you the impression that I don't get emotionally involved in books. That impression would be wrong. Because this book? This book I loved. I started it yesterday at about nine thirty at night. I read it straight through. Hello, one thirty in the morning. I laughed, I cried, I dropped it in surprise. I enjoyed this book more than any book I've read in a long time. This book had so many jewel-like sentences. I want to read it again just to sit and savor those statements. To mull them over and, perhaps, write them down somewhere, so that I might be further edified by them later.
On the Musically Beautiful
Non-fiction, not new, not pretty. If I had to describe it in two words, I'd choose these: German Rant. If you have an opinion about what music is or ought to be, you might enjoy this book. I found it to be a page-turner. It was a bit redundant, but that's forgivable since it's interesting and so short. Again, rather rant-like, but I don't mind rants sometimes. I especially enjoy written rants by people who are long-dead. This is probably weird, but I feel at liberty to giggle about their strong, enthusiastic language & uncompromising views.
Doctor Who and Philosophy
This isn't a book as much as a collection of pseudo-academic papers concerning the philosophy of Doctor Who. Not much is explicitly stated in the cult-classic show about the writers' philosophical beliefs, but these papers explore the various prevalent theories and explore their ramifications (both within the show and in our real world). It's a very speculative, wondering, and wandering. Just what this TAC nerd ordered.
Attachments
Equal parts interesting and fluffy. The major this question raised in my mind (which, to be fair, had nothing to do specifically with this book, but happened to pop into my head when I was reading it) was "How accurate could a book about a man falling in love, written from the man's perspective, be if it's actually written by a woman?" Seriously, this can't be a very helpful portrait of how a man's mind works. This book, overall, was the epitome of a summer novel. It had funny parts, frustrating parts, etc... it isn't a book that will change my life or that I will ever read again. I was content to read it, though.
The Rosie Project
Do you enjoy "Big Bang Theory?" If so, read this book. It's stitch-in-your-side funny. If you hate Sheldon and couldn't stand to be in his head, rooting for him to find a wife, then you'll hate this book. I read it in a few hours and laughed so hard. This is one I will probably go back to for a second helping.
Someday, Someday, Maybe
Meh. Funny, but not engrossing. Again, I read it because I was on a train. It wasn't a book I would choose over a marathon of "House, M.D." The enjoyment I did take from it came in the form of what I found familiar: a young woman struggling to achieve her dream of becoming a successful actress in New York. No, no, not that I want to be an actress, but I live close enough to LA to have heard many stories and seen many people in the midst of that very battle. The tongue-in-cheek, but also slightly desperate, tone was familiar, yet charming somehow.
Summer at Tiffany
Memoir, diary, autobiography? All of the above, really. It's the story of a college coed & her summer employment at Tiffany's in New York. Light, non-dramatic, not a proper story with "a hero, struggling against an obstacle, to achieve a goal," but still an enjoyable story. It was like stepping back in time to the 1940s. What was it like to come from a small town in search of summer employment? To have a beau preparing to leave for the European theater of WWII? To spot celebrities and handle their jewelry that cost more than your college education? Reading this book felt like visiting an old lady in her dining room, sitting primly in a chair, sipping properly prepared tea, while you listened to stories from her youth. It was a prettily packaged, highly fascinating, history lesson.
That's all for now... what are you reading?
09 June 2013
Let's Pretend That Wasn't A Bad Word | Book Review
So I just finished a HILARIOUS BOOK. It's called "Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)" by Jenny Lawson.
It was awesome. I spent days literally laughing out loud. I don't do that over many things, but this book was awesome. It was so, so, so, so, soooooo funny. Seriously. I haven't laughed that hard over anything in my life (ok, that probably isn't true. i just don't remember laughing that hard about anything. but my memory isn't perfect).
Buuuuuut... I can't recommend it to the majority of you because it has a lot of bad words. And anatomical words that should be saved for OB/GYN visits or anatomy classes. That doesn't mean I didn't think it was funny. Because it was. I just don't know if you all - non-rebellious, way-more-sheltered-than-me, good kids - would find it funny. I think you all might get stuck on the bad words and miss out on the over-the-top, hysterical, bizarre and FUNNY STORIES contained in this book.
Omigoodness, it's perfection.
On the chance that I've misjudged you - something I've been known to do - it's a book that I would heartily recommend if you want a good laugh. I know I said this several times already, but this book is awesome. This woman is awesome. Her book is AWESOME.
It was awesome. I spent days literally laughing out loud. I don't do that over many things, but this book was awesome. It was so, so, so, so, soooooo funny. Seriously. I haven't laughed that hard over anything in my life (ok, that probably isn't true. i just don't remember laughing that hard about anything. but my memory isn't perfect).
Buuuuuut... I can't recommend it to the majority of you because it has a lot of bad words. And anatomical words that should be saved for OB/GYN visits or anatomy classes. That doesn't mean I didn't think it was funny. Because it was. I just don't know if you all - non-rebellious, way-more-sheltered-than-me, good kids - would find it funny. I think you all might get stuck on the bad words and miss out on the over-the-top, hysterical, bizarre and FUNNY STORIES contained in this book.
Omigoodness, it's perfection.
On the chance that I've misjudged you - something I've been known to do - it's a book that I would heartily recommend if you want a good laugh. I know I said this several times already, but this book is awesome. This woman is awesome. Her book is AWESOME.
18 July 2012
The Girl Code: (not quite) 100% Good Advice
Diane Farr wrote a book in 2001, several years before she met and married the Giant Korean (see her book Kissing Outside the Lines for that story), which was her effort to write down the secrets of female society in one place. Everything from common terms to etiquette guidelines.
(yes, the book has the s-e-x word on it. don't freak out.)
My Italian Mama purchased this book after reading Diane Farr's other work mentioned above. We had laughed so hard at the first one that she figured we couldn't go wrong with another book by the same author.
This book is in an entirely different style. While funny, it's almost like a dictionary. A term is in bold at the top of a page, followed by it's definition. Following this are the terms, conditions, and qualifiers under which this is applicable or appropriate. Finally, it's used in an example sentence to show it's uses: as an excuse, a noun, a cry for attention, etc. I know, I know, this is a terrible description that doesn't really explain anything. You should just read it yourself. At least if you're a girl. Boys... you don't want to know. More importantly, though, is that we don't want you to know. Ignorance is bliss for you and advantageous for us.
The reason I can recommend this book is not because I thought it was perfect. She has a very different set of morals that I do. I am not going to encourage (read: strongly discourage) several of the practices mentioned in her book. The reason I can recommend this book is that it is mostly good advice.
She and I don't see eye to eye. I would dissuade a young woman from a one-night stand on moral grounds. She discourages it on different grounds. "You know the guilt that accompanies excessive drinking?," she writes, "Multiply it times ten, and now you know what to expect the day after a one-night stand. P.S. This hangover doesn't go away as fast as the drinking kind." In laying ground rules for this kind of encounter, a recurrent theme is: it's not worth it. You won't get a meaningful relationship out of it. It isn't going to fulfill you. If you were friends, well, honey, you can kiss that goodbye. If he's just around for the sex, why would you want him around anyway?
Premarital sex is a non-issue for her. Of course you'll sleep with people. Funny to think that so much of what she says about a one-nighter could be applied to a six-monther. Or any sort of not-for-the-rest-of-your-lifer. Why buy the cow if he's getting the milk for free?
Explicitly sexual issues aside, her book is solid. It covers everything from how to decide if a guy is a keeper (The Tests: Waitress Test, Car Door Test, Family Test) to how to let go of one who's not (He's Out of The Car, On the Curb, you have Raw Cookie Dough Time). She covers the rules of a girls' night out (Never Leave Your Wingman) and the importance of being loyal to your girlfriends above all else (Don't Shop In Other People's Closets).
I'll leave you with this final bit of wisdom: "Men are like buses... you sit at the stop long enough and another one comes along - but girlfriends are like Maseratis: few and far between."
(yes, the book has the s-e-x word on it. don't freak out.)
My Italian Mama purchased this book after reading Diane Farr's other work mentioned above. We had laughed so hard at the first one that she figured we couldn't go wrong with another book by the same author.
This book is in an entirely different style. While funny, it's almost like a dictionary. A term is in bold at the top of a page, followed by it's definition. Following this are the terms, conditions, and qualifiers under which this is applicable or appropriate. Finally, it's used in an example sentence to show it's uses: as an excuse, a noun, a cry for attention, etc. I know, I know, this is a terrible description that doesn't really explain anything. You should just read it yourself. At least if you're a girl. Boys... you don't want to know. More importantly, though, is that we don't want you to know. Ignorance is bliss for you and advantageous for us.
The reason I can recommend this book is not because I thought it was perfect. She has a very different set of morals that I do. I am not going to encourage (read: strongly discourage) several of the practices mentioned in her book. The reason I can recommend this book is that it is mostly good advice.
She and I don't see eye to eye. I would dissuade a young woman from a one-night stand on moral grounds. She discourages it on different grounds. "You know the guilt that accompanies excessive drinking?," she writes, "Multiply it times ten, and now you know what to expect the day after a one-night stand. P.S. This hangover doesn't go away as fast as the drinking kind." In laying ground rules for this kind of encounter, a recurrent theme is: it's not worth it. You won't get a meaningful relationship out of it. It isn't going to fulfill you. If you were friends, well, honey, you can kiss that goodbye. If he's just around for the sex, why would you want him around anyway?
Premarital sex is a non-issue for her. Of course you'll sleep with people. Funny to think that so much of what she says about a one-nighter could be applied to a six-monther. Or any sort of not-for-the-rest-of-your-lifer. Why buy the cow if he's getting the milk for free?
Explicitly sexual issues aside, her book is solid. It covers everything from how to decide if a guy is a keeper (The Tests: Waitress Test, Car Door Test, Family Test) to how to let go of one who's not (He's Out of The Car, On the Curb, you have Raw Cookie Dough Time). She covers the rules of a girls' night out (Never Leave Your Wingman) and the importance of being loyal to your girlfriends above all else (Don't Shop In Other People's Closets).
I'll leave you with this final bit of wisdom: "Men are like buses... you sit at the stop long enough and another one comes along - but girlfriends are like Maseratis: few and far between."
11 July 2012
Gone Girl: A Review of the Disappointment
I was recently inspired to read a novel. It was praised as "one of the best books I've read in a LONG time." Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn. I can agree to a point: Stephanie's choice of the verb "devoured" is absolutely fitting to the way in which I read that book. It's a page turner (or, since I got it on kindle, a button pusher). I read it in about three days, which is pretty typical for me. The last day I read over half of it. I could not put it down. So yes, I agree on that. It's a book to be devoured.
My opinion diverges after that. Yes, it was well written. It was gripping. It kept you guessing. It was a bona fide "thriller." But no, it was not one of the best books I've read in a LONG time. Not even without the capital letters. Here's why.
First (and this is arguably a non-point), there are about ten f-words per page. Seriously. Used literally and as a cuss word. The other oft-appearing word rhymes with "witch." I'm worried I'm going to randomly say something really naughty. How embarrassing.
Second, the ending is disappointing. (spoilers here) The bad guy wins. In order to not give away everything, I have to not give away anything more than that. (yes, the plot is that complex). But that just about sums it up. The bad guy wins.
Ugh.
Excuse me while I go bang my head against the wall.
...
Ok, I'm back. This bothers me. It does. Really. The bad guy ought not to win. (weird sentence there...) This raises another question: does the end ruin the whole thing? No. The book is riveting throughout. All the way to the last sentence of the last page. You wait and wait and wait and then... there's no happy ending. There's a kind of heroic sacrifice involved... I think. These characters are so complex.
It's a book that leaves you wishing things were different. Wishing for a different ending. Wanting the sociopath, psychotic, messed up people to go away. To be punished. And it doesn't happen, darn it. Instead of being led to things true, good, and beautiful, you are left running from things false, bad, and ugly. Which, I suppose, could be argued to have a value. You end up in the same place... maybe. You run, not because you love the beautiful, but because you're so freaking scared of the ugly. Sketchy, at best.
My solution? I picked up Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery this morning. A happy book. Happy endings. Good people. Not crazy loonies getting twisted "happy endings" that make you want to puke.
My opinion diverges after that. Yes, it was well written. It was gripping. It kept you guessing. It was a bona fide "thriller." But no, it was not one of the best books I've read in a LONG time. Not even without the capital letters. Here's why.
First (and this is arguably a non-point), there are about ten f-words per page. Seriously. Used literally and as a cuss word. The other oft-appearing word rhymes with "witch." I'm worried I'm going to randomly say something really naughty. How embarrassing.
Second, the ending is disappointing. (spoilers here) The bad guy wins. In order to not give away everything, I have to not give away anything more than that. (yes, the plot is that complex). But that just about sums it up. The bad guy wins.
Ugh.
Excuse me while I go bang my head against the wall.
...
Ok, I'm back. This bothers me. It does. Really. The bad guy ought not to win. (weird sentence there...) This raises another question: does the end ruin the whole thing? No. The book is riveting throughout. All the way to the last sentence of the last page. You wait and wait and wait and then... there's no happy ending. There's a kind of heroic sacrifice involved... I think. These characters are so complex.
It's a book that leaves you wishing things were different. Wishing for a different ending. Wanting the sociopath, psychotic, messed up people to go away. To be punished. And it doesn't happen, darn it. Instead of being led to things true, good, and beautiful, you are left running from things false, bad, and ugly. Which, I suppose, could be argued to have a value. You end up in the same place... maybe. You run, not because you love the beautiful, but because you're so freaking scared of the ugly. Sketchy, at best.
My solution? I picked up Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery this morning. A happy book. Happy endings. Good people. Not crazy loonies getting twisted "happy endings" that make you want to puke.
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