Tag: nonfiction

Book Review: The Courage to Change, by Joyce Meyer   

Image belongs to FaithWorks.

Title: The Courage to Change
Author: Joyce Meyer       
Genre: Christian   
Rating: 5 out of 5

We can’t keep change from coming, but we can manage our reaction to it and even come to welcome it through the transformative power of God’s Word.

Do you feel like you are constantly battling changes that make your life feel unsteady? Many things in life jobs, relationships, social norms, responsibilities, people’s expectations. Changes impact our lives in big, small, positive and negative ways. But even in our ever-changing world, we have hope and assurance because our God never changes.

#1 New York Times bestselling author and beloved Bible teacher Joyce Meyer wants us to know that even when we feel like everything around us shakes and changes, we can stand on the promise of God’s Word that He will see us through. No matter what we are going through, we have been given everything we need to embrace the changes we face. Not only that, but we can trust that God works in all changes for good in our lives, even the most painful and difficult ones.

The Courage to Change shows us the importance of changing our mindset, maintaining a positive attitude toward change, and handling our emotions in ways that will help us manage the shifts in our lives through the strength from God.

You don’t have to live another day dreading the challenges of change!

I really enjoyed this read! Joyce Meyer’s style is straightforward and matter of fact, making her books easy to read. It’s the application that will get you! I like all the examples she gives from her life, making the book feel relatable. This book isn’t full of difficult to understand theological concepts. Instead, it’s full of examples from the author’s life and Biblical wisdom.

Joyce Meyer is a bestselling author. The Courage to Change is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of FaithWords in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review:   Writing on Empty, by Natalie Goldberg

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: Writing on Empty  
Author: Natalie Goldberg        
Genre:  Nonfiction
Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Natalie Goldberg has been writing for the past fifty years. But at the beginning of the pandemic, she suddenly wasn’t able to write anymore. Her imaginative wellspring had dried up, and she was forced to ask herself: what do I do when what has always worked for me doesn’t work anymore?

In this beautifully written, inspiring personal account, Natalie shares her harrowing journey out of creative paralysis and back onto the page. When all of her tried and true methods – meditation, sitting still, writing practice – stopped working, she had to take drastic action. She got into her car and left New Mexico in search of a new inventive source. In her journey through the western states, she visited famous literary sites, searching for the spark that would reignite her ability to write.

If you’re looking for something to inspire you to write, this isn’t it. If you’re looking for something about fear, whining, and lots of self-absorption, you’re in luck. There were no tips to get you past a creative block, just…yeah, whining. Sorry, this was beyond a disappointing read to me.

Natalie Goldberg is a bestselling author. Writing on Empty is her newest book.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Way of the Hermit, by Ken Smith

Image belongs to Hanover Square Press.

Title: The Way of the Hermit
Author:  Ken Smith        
Genre: Biography/Memoir     
Rating: 4 out of 5   

Subconsciously, I pressed myself into the loch’s banks as that summer inched forward. We’d got off to a rocky beginning, but I started to see Treig in a different way. There was something about this land that told me just to hold on a while longer. It might’ve been just a whisper at the time, but I knew it was definitely worth heeding. I just knew that was it. This was the place.

Seventy-four-year-old Ken Smith has spent the past four decades in the Scottish Highlands. His home is a log cabin nestled near Loch Treig, known as “the lonely loch,” where he lives off the land. He fishes for his supper, chops his own wood and even brews his own tipple. He is, in the truest sense of the word, a hermit.

From his working-class origins in Derbyshire, Ken always sensed that there was more to life than an empty nine to five. Then one day in 1974, an attack from a group of drunken men left him for dead. Determined to change his prospects, Ken quit his job and spent his formative years traveling in the Yukon. It was here, in the vast wilderness of northwestern Canada, that he honed his survival skills and grew closer to nature. Returning to Britain, he continued his nomadic lifestyle, wandering north and living in huts until he finally reached Loch Treig. Ken decided to lay his roots amongst the dense woodland and Highland air, and has lived there ever since.

This was a fascinating read! Despite having approximately zero interest in roughing it or surviving off the land, I was engrossed in reading about Ken’s adventures in the wilderness. The storms he survived sounded terrifying! His descriptions brought the Scottish Highlands to life, and I have nothing but admiration for this man and his life choices.

Ken Smith has lived off-grid in the Scottish Highlands for 40+ years. The Way of the Hermit is his story.

(Galley courtesy of Hanover Square Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Sundays are for Writing #265

This was an excellent writing week! I wrote four book reviews: The Framed Women of Ardemore House, by Brandy Schillace, When Grumpy Met Sunshine, by Charlotte Stein, One Night In A Thousand Years, by Craig Cunningham, and Why We Read, by Shannon Reed.

I really enjoyed Why We Read and found the author’s voice very appealing—and of course the subject matter was great. One Night in a Thousand Years was a short audio book and a fascinating coming-of-age tale. I thought Grumpy was funny—but it didn’t quite click for me. And Framed Women was a very solid read.

I also got in five fiction-writing sessions, and have come to the realization that this has to be dystopian of sorts, not fantasy, but I’m going to keep writing and not worry about revising the first bit right now.

Happy writing!

Book Review: Why We Read, by Shannon Reed

Image belongs to Harlequin Trade Publishing.

Title: Why We Read    
Author: Shannon Reed   
Genre:  Nonfiction    
Rating:  4.2 out of 5

We read to escape, to learn, to find love, to feel seen. We read to encounter new worlds, to discover new recipes, to find connection across difference, or simply to pass a rainy afternoon. No matter the reason, books have the power to keep us safe, to challenge us, and perhaps most importantly, to make us more fully human.

Shannon Reed, a longtime teacher, lifelong reader, and New Yorker contributor, gets it. With one simple goal in mind, she makes the case that we should read for pleasure above all else. In this whip-smart, laugh-out-loud-funny collection, Reed shares surprising stories from her life as a reader and the poignant ways in which books have impacted her students. From the varied novels she cherishes ( Gone Girl , Their Eyes Were Watching God ) to the ones she didn’t ( Tess of the d’Urbervilles ), Reed takes us on a rollicking tour through the comforting world of literature, celebrating the books we love, the readers who love them, and the surprising ways in which literature can transform us for the better.

I enjoyed this book! Nonfiction can be hit or miss for me, but this was definitely a hit. I loved the class anecdotes from the author’s teaching career, and all of the tidbits about her own reading life. She even made The Great Gatsby sound fascinating—and I don’t care for that read at all. This book encourages readers to try something new—and to think about old favorites in a new way.

Shannon Reed grew up in Pennsylvania. Why We Read is her newest book.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin Trade Publishing in exchange for an honest review.)

What I Read in July (2023)

Books Read in July: 19
Books Read for the Year:  117/225
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:

Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe, by Heather Webber (TBR). This was such a lovely Southern fiction read!
The Light Over London, by Julia Kelly (TBR). An excellent historical fiction!
The London House, by Katherine Reay (TBR). I enjoyed this a lot.
Gospel Wakefulness, by Jared C. Wilson (spiritual).
Blue Ridge Sunrise by Denise Hunter (TBR). I enjoyed this second-chance romance.
Demons of Good and Evil, by Kim Harrison (TBR). Loved this, as always.

For Review:

Hotel Laguna, by Nicola Harrison. I enjoyed this historical read! There’s a bit of mystery mixed into this post-World War read, and the characters are vivid and realistic.

And Then There Was You, by Nancy Naigle. This was such a sweet romance. It opens with a woman discovering she’s been the victim of an elaborate con and turns into a small-town romance with the detective working her case. I love how faith is woven throughout the narrative subtly and pervasively.

The Last Exchange, by Charles Martin (review forthcoming). This book. Y’all. Charles Martin is my absolute favorite author, and I was thrilled when I got the chance to read it four months before release day! I’ll be buying this in hardback when it hits shelves. Martin writes such believable, larger-than-life characters, and I fell in love with Maybe Joe and Pockets almost immediately. This book touched my heart on a deep level, and the theme, “A life laid down is better than one picked up,” is still resonating with me days after finishing this.

What Happens After Midnight, by K. L. Walther. This was a fun YA read, although bits of it felt a little bit too-good-to-be-true. (Their relationships with the adults in the story, for example. And the freedom they had at a boarding school.)

Hello Stranger, by Katherine Center. This read was great fun! It was interesting, reading about facial blindness. I can’t imagine how terrible that must be!

Thief Liar Lady, by D. L. Soria. This was a re-telling of Cinderella. Sort of. I enjoyed it, and the main character, a lot.

Ladies of the Lake, by Cathy Gohlke. I loved this historical fiction read! The characters were so much fun to read (except Dorothy, who I didn’t really like.) I listened to the audio book, and thought it was very well done.

Ghosted, by Amanda Quain. This was a decent YA read, as long as you’re not really expecting a re-telling of Northanger Abbey.

The Keeper of Hidden Books, by Madeline Martin (review forthcoming). This is a wonderful historical fiction read! I was invested from the first page, and soon found myself engrossed enough to go without sleep.

The Bone Hacker, by Kathy Reichs (review forthcoming). Another solid thrill read in the Temperance Brennan series.

The Secret Recipe of Ella Dove, by Karen Hawkins (review forthcoming). I enjoyed this book in the Dove Pond series, although I disliked Angela and Jules immensely.

Just Because:
A Year with C.S. Lewis. I enjoyed this devotional so much!

Chasing Fireflies, by Charles Martin (audio). This was such a good read! Martin has a way of creating such quirky and believable characters who are just fascinating. I do wish we’d found out what happened to jack, though.

Left Unfinished:
Forever Hold Your Peace, by Liz Fenton. I didn’t really care for the characters, so I didn’t make it very far into reading this.

Good Fortune, by C.K. Chau. I wanted to like this, but I found the opening messy and chaotic and I didn’t care for the characters.

Clementine and Danny Save the World, by Livia Blackburne. I read about 40% of this before realizing my attention kept wandering and I just didn’t care about these characters and what they were up to, despite my enjoyment of the tea theme.

Tastes Like Shakkar, by Nisha Sharma. I couldn’t stand the male MC in the opening scene and I don’t care for insta-anything.

A Fatal Groove, by Olivia Blacke. I found the first 10% boring. The characters didn’t catch my attention at all.

Guardians of Dawn: Zhara, by S. Jae-Jones. DN\Fed because of the incessant giggling of the MC…she even called it the Good Looking Giggle. Please, spare me from ridiculous YA characters.

You’re An Animal, by Jardine Libaire. Made it 10% into this, but didn’t like any of the characters.

The One That Got Away, by Charlotte Rixon. I read 10% of this, but was just bored. And, frankly, anything that opens in the POV of a suicide bomber probably isn’t for me.

What I Read in March (2023)

Books Read in March: 21
Books Read for the Year:  54/225
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:

West with Giraffes, by Lynda Rutledge (audio book/TBR). This was such a good read! I enjoyed the narrator, but the story was absolutely wonderful.

Look Up!, by Jimmy Evans (TBR, spiritual).

The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien (re-read).

Little White Lies, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (re-read). This sucked me right in! Again.

Arcana Rising, by Kresley Cole (re-read). I had forgotten so much about this series!

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis (re-read). Loved this.

The Silver Chair, by C.S. Lewis (re-read).

The Dark Calling, by Kresley Cole (re-read)…only a few more weeks until the final book in the series….

For Review:

Off the Map, by Trish Doller. I loved this read, just like I’ve loved the others in this linked standalone series. Highly recommend! I was ready to leave for Ireland immediately.

The Lost English Girl, by Julia Kelly. I didn’t enjoy this quite as much s I have other books by this author, but it was a good read. Hard, in places, but good.

Whistleblower, by Kate Marchant. This was a solid read, but I reel like it tried to hard to be inclusive—instead of just being inclusive.

A Novel Proposal, by Denise Hunter. This was a sweet read. Sadie was a little—a lot—to extroverted for me, but I loved the beach town setting and all the secondary characters.

You Wouldn’t Dare, by Samantha Markum. The friendships in this book were fantastic! Juniper was very self-centered and self-absorbed, not to mention overly dramatic, but she was a (mostly) fun character to read.

Hotel of Secrets, by Diana Biller. I really enjoyed this! The setting was something I hadn’t read before, and, while the family drama was a bit much for me, I loved the characters. Plus, the cover is gorgeous!

Yours Truly, the Duke, by Amelia Grey. I very much enjoyed this! I liked how the characters grew and changed, and the children added a lot of fun to the story.

When You Wish Upon a Star, by Elizabeth Lim (forthcoming). I enjoyed the narrator of this audio book very much! Loved the relationship between the sisters a lot—even if I didn’t care for Ilaria at all.

Please, Sorry, Thanks, by Mark Batterson. This was a thought-provoking read. Such a simple concept, yet so impactful.

Five Fortunes, by Barbara Venkataraman. A quick, fun read about a group of five friends.

Once We Were Home, by Jennifer Rosner. This was a deep and emotional book. Difficult to read because of the subject matter, and I feel like it really left one of the characters unresolved.

Zora Books Her Happy Ever After, by Taj McCoy (forthcoming). The first third of this read was solid: I liked the characters, the family dynamic was awesome, and I was invested in what was going on. Then it became obvious that the characters were very hypocritical, neither of the two male leads was really a good guy, and the big “secret” was about as hidden as Mount Rushmore. So, no, I do not recommend this. I enjoyed the author’s previous book, but this one wasn’t for me.

Oxford Star, by Laura Bradbury (forthcoming). This was a cute, fun read. I loved all the members of the skulk!

Left Unfinished:
When in Rome, by Liam Callanan. The premise of this absolutely intrigued me, but Claire got on my very last nerve with her indecisiveness and let-life-happen-to-me attitude instead of taking some initiative herself, so I stopped reading at 15%. I wasn’t willing to be annoyed for the other 85% of the book.

Beyond That, the Sea, by Laura Spence-Ash. Solid writing in this and interesting premise, but in the end, the multiple POV characters and leisurely pacing just didn’t hold my attention. Not a good fit for me at this time.

The London Seance Society, by Sarah Penner. I made it to 20% because I loved The Last Apothecary, but this felt disjointed and erratic, and the content wasn’t what I expected.

The Best Books I Read in February (2023)

In February, I read 16 books, bringing my total for the year to 33 books read. I also DNFed two books. Of those 16 books, three of them were really excellent.

The Record Keeper, by Charles Martin. Y’all. If you haven’t discovered Charles Martin’s books yet, please do yourself a favor and pick one up. This one is the last in a trilogy that started with The Water Keeper, and I inhaled these books. I do not even have words to describe how much I loved these books and these characters. I will automatically buy—in hardcover—anything this author writes. Even his nonfiction is phenomenal.

When the Moon Turns Blue, by Pamela Terry. I love Southern fiction, but I enjoyed this and The Sweet Taste of Muscadines, the author’s previous book, so, so much. The characters in this are just wonderful. I highly recommend.

My most surprising read of the month was Bibi: My Story, by Benjamin Netanyahu. I almost never read biographies (I’ve maybe read two in my entire life), don’t care for politics, and the military also isn’t my thing, yet this autobiography from a world leader who was in the military kept me riveted to the page. And I thought there was drama in the United States’ political system!

Book Review and Blog Tour: The Last Nomad, by Shugri Said Salh

Image belongs to Algonquin Books.
  • Title:  The Last Nomad
  • Author:  Shugri Said Salh
  • Genre:  Nonfiction
  • Rating:  4 out of 5

Born in Somalia, a spare daughter in a large family, Shugri Said Salh was sent at age six to live with her nomadic grandmother in the desert. The last of her family to learn this once-common way of life, Salh found herself chasing warthogs, climbing termite hills, herding goats, and moving constantly in search of water and grazing lands with her nomadic family. For Salh, though the desert was a harsh place threatened by drought, predators, and enemy clans, it also held beauty, innovation, centuries of tradition, and a way for a young Sufi girl to learn courage and independence from a fearless group of relatives. Salh grew to love the freedom of roaming with her animals and the powerful feeling of community found in nomadic rituals and the oral storytelling of her ancestors.

As she came of age, though, both she and her beloved Somalia were forced to confront change, violence, and instability. Salh writes with engaging frankness and a fierce feminism of trying to break free of the patriarchal beliefs of her culture, of her forced female genital mutilation, of the loss of her mother, and of her growing need for independence. Taken from the desert by her strict father and then displaced along with millions of others by the Somali Civil War, Salh fled first to a refugee camp on the Kenyan border and ultimately to North America to learn yet another way of life.

This was a fascinating read! I don’t know much about Somalia, so that was pretty much all new to me. Parts of this were extremely difficult to read—the explanation on FGM and how it was accepted and sought after, the way Shugri was abused by her sister when she got to Canada—but it was a powerful, moving read with a lot of hope on its pages.

Shugri said Salh was born in Somalia but now lives in California. The Last Nomad is her story.

(Galley courtesy of Algonquin Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review and Blog Tour: Girlhood: Teens around the World in Their Own Voices, by Masuma Ahuja

Image belongs to Algonquin Young Readers.

Title:  Girlhood: Teens around the World in Their Own Voices
Author:  Masuma Ahuja
Genre:  Nonfiction
Rating:  5.0 out of 5

All around the world, girls are going to school, working, creating, living as sisters, daughters, friends. Yet we know so little about their daily lives. We hear about a few exceptional girls who make headlines, and we hear about headline-making struggles and catastrophes. But since the health, education, and success of girls so often determines the future of a community, why don’t we know more about what life is like for the ordinary girls, the ones living outside the headlines? From the Americas to Europe to Africa to Asia to the South Pacific, the thirty-one teens from twenty-nine countries in Girlhood Around the World share their own stories of growing up through diary entries and photographs. They invite us into their day-to-day lives, through their eyes and in their voices, in a full-color, exuberantly designed scrapbook-like volume.

This was a fascinating read! The author gives a brief overview of each girl’s life and cultural/national customs and experiences, asks each girl a few questions, and includes pictures and journal entries written by the girls themselves. Glimpsing each of the girls’ worlds through their own eyes is compelling, as is reading their story—not just the glossy and social media-ready version, but the reality of their day-to-day existence. This book is a powerful experience.

Images belong to the author/publisher. Used with permission for blog tour.

Masuma Ahuja has worked all over the world as a journalist. Girlhood is her new book, chronicling the lives of girls across the globe.

(Galley courtesy of Algonquin Young Readers in exchange for an honest review.)