Book Club Roundup

This year I've been a part of a woman's book club called the ABC (appetizers, books, and cocktails) club. What I've enjoyed about the club is the opportunity to mix with people outside of my social circle as well as being introduced to new and interesting literature. I love to read but I've found that having good recommendations and a firm deadline is necessary at this stage in my life. Here are the last six book club books we've read and my personal opinions. We usually focus on recent bestsellers and acclaimed novels.

 

The Book Thief is a novel about pre World War II Germany and a young girl who lives with a Jew hiding in her basement. This book started off oddly, being narrated by 'death' himself, but once you got into the meat of the plot it was a good read. A little too sad for my taste but I'm glad I read it.

Rating: B-

 

 

 

A definite page-turner, I found this book really enjoyable. I was completely loving it until the end, which left much to be desired.

Rating: B

 

 

 

 

This is the true story of a young woman who left America to start her own beauty school in Afghanistan. She takes you deep into the culture of the Afghani women. Written with great humor and insight, this book was a delight.

Rating: A

 

 

 

Call the Midwife is the first of three memoirs of Jennifer Worth, a midwife who worked for a monastery in the slums of London during the 50s. The stories are eye-opening and heartwarming, filled with humor and vivid illustrations. I fell in love with the characters and this book. There is now a PBS series based on it.

Rating: A

 

 

 

I love anything Khaled Hosseini and this book didn't disappoint! I didn't enjoy it as much as I did a Thousand Splendid Suns, and the ending left me feeling a little sad and unsatisfied, but gosh he is such a wonderful storyteller!

Rating: B+

 

 

A novel about a Native American teenage boy who is on a quest to find out who brutally attacked his mother and why. The plot is interesting (I love a mystery) and I enjoyed the glimpse into Native American culture, but I couldn't get over the author's long-windedness and seemingly irrelevant rabbit-trails. She also never utilized quotation marks in her conversations, so it was frustratingly difficult to know when someone was actually speaking.

 

Rating: C-

 

 

This month we are reading The Orphan Train, which I'm excited about! And I will be hosting the meeting which I'm even more excited about!

DVDs

Anna has to get a breathing treatment every day for her Reactive Airway Disease. Often we watch a DVD during that time. I like to get DVDs that are short (30-45 minutes) and pleasant to listen to (rather than commercial-esque obnoxious-ness). Anna is super sensitive so nothing with a lot of scary or sad moments will do. We have found some great ones that everyone enjoys watching! Here they are:

 

This is the most adorable, heart-warming animated short. It makes me cry every time!

 

 

This is a series of 7 shorts (20 minutes or so each) based on the Guess How Much I Love You book. They are a little too cheesy for me to enjoy, but they are perfect length for Anna.

The Snowman is based on the best-selling book. This animated film is set only to music and it's beautiful to listen to and watch! It's a classic Christmas story, but Anna watches it all year long.

 

 

These popular "Tunes for Kids" DVDs are wonderful. They feature Brent Holmes playing on his guitar and lots of real animals. The songs are funny, pleasant, relaxing, and Ben and I actually enjoy listening to them. At first I thought they were a little cheesy but the second and third times I started to love them, and Anna is obsessed with them. Island Tunes is her favorite, then Sea Tunes and Cow Tunes.

 

 

 

 

I bought this DVD at a yard sale for 1.00 and it was a great find. It features six narrated Eric Carle books.

 

 

This book/DVD set was Anna's favorite when she just turned to. It has a Dr. Suess-y feel to it. The DVD is basically an animated version of the book. It's short, only five minutes long.



Our Favorite Kiddo Books

I'm an avid reader and hope Anna will enjoy one of my favorite pastimes herself someday. I remember going to the local library during our family vacations and getting ten Nancy Drew books. By the end of the week I had finished them all (nerd alert). My parents had to make a rule "No reading at the table" or they would find me trying to shovel cereal into my mouth while keeping a book spread at the same time.

C.S. Lewis once said that all good children's books are equally as enjoyable as an adult. I agree. Well-written children's books have a simplicity about them that the adult world typically lacks. In counseling, a well-timed story, be it written or verbal, was a powerful tool for both children and adults.

We don't have a large collection of children's books yet, but we add to them slowly through gifts or special deals. I'm liking the board books right now because they are easier to handle with a baby on your lap. I didn't realize that most classic books come in a board book version. Here are some of our current favorites.

Anna loved the Hungry Caterpillar illustrations so I knew she would be equally as thrilled with Brown Bear. Great book with beautiful pictures. The story is fun for toddlers to follow.

This is a cute book with touchy-feely ladybugs that are fun to play with.

Probably my favorite. Written by the author of Goodnight Moon.

 The Sandra Boynton books are adorable and unique.

Another sweet, sweet one.

I love the Dr. Suess books. We actually don't have this one but it's one of my favorites.

Right now we have some of the small board books.

These stories mesmerized Anna from day one because the pictures are huge and contrasting. She still loves them.

These last ones Anna is too young for, but they are some of my favorites:

An illustration-only book. Powerful message.

We have a credit to My Publisher that has to be used this month, so I'm working on a simple storybook for Anna about her "story". More on that later.

The Good, Bad, and Ugly

I've read a lot of yearly book reviews lately so thought I would jump on board. Here's some of the highlights of what I've read this year- the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Same Kind of Different as Me by Denver Moore and Ron Hall. One of the best books I read this year. A true story about a woman who reached out and changed the life of a homeless man. Inspirational. I couldn't put it down and still think about it. Pushes the envelope of racism and stereotyping within the church, and shows the life changing power of the love of Jesus.

When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin. Great novel- very touching! At first it was diffiult to get through some of the medical descriptions because I'm not into science whatsoever, but once the story got going I couldn't put it down. Wonderful!

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I really wanted to like this book. I expected to. It it very popular right now. I waited for it for two months from the library. Lo and behold, I did not like it! While I appreciated her general attitude of thankfulness, I had trouble getting past her shaky theology (usually that kind of stuff doesn't keep me from enjoying a book but it was hard to overlook in this one). I didn't like her style of writing and felt like it was a chore to finish a chapter. I never finished it. Oh well!

The Baby Book/Christian Parenting by Dr. William and Martha Sears- I'm not too big on following parenting methods- I really believe that each child is unique and has unique needs that don't fit a one-size-fits-all method. But I did want to read a parenting book or two anyway. I was pretty wary of some of the stuff out there but Dr. Sears stood out to me- his reputation in his medical career, family life, and church had an excellent history. I'm not an "attachment parenter" or anyting, and I don't believe his advice is the end-all-be-all, but some of it works for us. I like how he emphasizes finding your own parenting style based on each child and being flexible. For example, he is for co-sleeping only if it works for you and your family (and it is certainly is not for us). Most importantly he emphasizes learning and responding to your baby's cues and needs, not a set of rules to be followed like "do A and C and your child will be sleeping through the night by week X." His medical advice has also been very helpful.

Erasing Hell by Francis Chan- our small group read this book together and I loved it. Such a good read for people contemplating a touchy subject, and very convicting. The first few chapters were a little heavy on the theology, but the rest 2/3 of the book were outstanding. I applaud Francis Chan for not going along with what's popular but saying what is sometimes hard to say.

Bringing up Girls by Dr. James Dobson- Decided to read this after Sarah's review and recommendation. Really enjoyed it. It's not a light read, that's for sure, but it's full of great information on raising girls with values in today's culture.

Movie Recommendation

A family friendly movie recommendation!

(I was pleasantly surprised by the acting, and to find that the actress playing the mother was the talented and beautiful Kimberly Elise from one of my favorite movies, Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

Based on the book (which I also recommend):



5 most life-changing books, according to Lisa

I got to thinking about the question: "what have been the most life-changing books for you?" and decided to share my thoughts. Sometimes you read a book that is not just 'good' (as in moving, enjoyable, or meaningful), but is one that truly changes your life in some way. The following are the top 5 books I've read that fall in this category. Enjoy.

Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn: this book is quite life-changing. If you've ever read a "Christian finance book" (i.e. Dave Ramsey, Suzie Orwell, etc) this book is not one of those; it's not a how-to manage your finances so you're 'set', throwing in a chapter on giving. It's actually quite the opposite. It's an unforgiving look into how our temporary use of money and accumulation of possessions directly relates to eternity, and according to Jesus, why it is one of the most important aspects of our earthly lives. It deals head-on with issues like materialism, debt, prosperity theology, etc. It will challenge you, irritate you and, if you can find the courage, change the way you live your life.

The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun:  an autobioraphy of Brother Yun's experience preaching the gospel throughout China. Remarkable story of God's call and power. I would say this book was life-changing because 1) it opened my eyes to the importance of writing scripture on your heart and 2) it redefined for me what it means for "the word to come alive" and change one's life on a daily basis through the power of the Holy Spirit, as evidenced by Brother Yun's vivid stories. He memorized almost the entire bible, and God used it powerfully throughout his life at key moments. This is probably one of the most incredible stories I've read... other than......

Brutchko by Bruce Olsen: an autobiography about a man who redefined missions and brought the gospel of Jesus to entire people groups in Columbia. It challenges the American Christian mindset that faith must be westernized, and instead shows the raw power of the gospel in reaching other nations when reduced to its simplest tenets of love, sacrifice, peace, joy, faith.

Heaven by Randy Alcorn: this book discusses the often glossed-over topic of heaven, and how indeed the bible has much more to say about eternity than we think, and how God wants us to live and yearn for our true 'home'. You may not agree with everything written, but it's very eye-opening.

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers: a fictional novel that powerfully portrays the unconditional love and redemption of God.

Movie Time

I'm always looking for good movies, and I wanted to share this 'gem' I watched recently- Under the Same Moon, or La Misma Luna. It showed up on my Netflix recommendations, where they list movies they think you will love based on movies you rated highly. It's a heartfelt movie with a strong message that also allows you to appreciate the culture and understand immigrant life in America. It has great acting, is clean, and made me laugh and cry! The movie is all in Spanish but you can put on subtitles and you eventually forget about them. Watching the movie in the language made it much more authentic and real. Best movie I've seen in a long time! Enjoy!

Single mother Rosario leaves her young son Carlitos in the care of his grandmother and illegally crosses the border into the U.S. Though she hopes to eventually make a better life for herself and her son, she toils in a dead-end job as a cleaning lady in Los Angeles. When Carlitos' grandmother passes away some years later, the boy begins a difficult and dangerous journey to join her. (PG-13)

Inspiring Book

I want to make a book recommendation. When Ben and I were in London on route back to India, we stayed with a pastor and his wife, the Halls. Kathy gave us this book she had just finished reading, about an Indian Sikh who, in search of finding his religion's coveted level of peace and truth, was minutes away from committing suicide unless the true God revealed himself. What he experienced next was something he never expected, a dramatic encounter with Jesus Christ similar to Saul on the Damascus road. A changed man, he forsook his family and all that he knew and committed his life to traveling the Asian hills to share the gospel with his people. His biography is one of the best I've read, simple and humble yet thoroughly inspiring.

While the book is a biography and the author, Phyllis Thompson, follows his journey in a simple, succint writing style, she precedes each chapter with a tidbit from one of Singh's own writings. I wanted to share the one I read today:

A Man Must Worship

"You will hardly find men who do not worship God or some power. If atheistic thinkers or scientists, filled with the materialistic outlook, do not worship God, they often tend to worship great men and heroes or some ideal which they have exalted into a Power. Buddha did not teach anything about God. The result was, his follwers began to worship him. In China the people began to worship ancestors, as they were not taught to worship. This desire for worship, from which man cannot get away, has been created in him by his Creator, so that led by this desire, he may have communion with his Creator." -Sundar Singh, Reality and Religion