Category: Adult Nonfiction Review

REVIEW: I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown

REVIEW: I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown

Posted on by Jaymie

Austin Channing Brown shares her experience as a Black woman in America. From her name – people often assume she is a white man before they meet her –  to her experience in predominantly white environments, Ms. Brown has a lot of experiences to explore. This is part memoir and part discourse on race in America. I enjoyed the writing style and voice all the way through. This reads like a friend talking with you over coffee.

In the midst of that conversational tone, though, there is pointed content. It made me uncomfortable at times – even convicted and ashamed. I like to think there are no racial biases in me, but I think it would be hard to grow up in white America and not have them. My job now is to recognize them and challenge and change them. I was grateful for the faith pieces in the book. They were an anchor for common ground and for hope that we can change – that life for Black folks in America can be different than it is now.

Read this with an open mind and an open heart. If you are a person of faith, ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you fit in Austin Brown’s narrative. Prayerfully consider how her story can change and challenge you.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Convergent Books for the opportunity to read an electronic copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Finish by Jon Acuff

REVIEW: Finish by Jon Acuff

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary and Review

There are a ton of factors that can keep you from accomplishing your goals. When it comes to the factors in your own head, Jon Acuff has some suggestions.

Jon wrote a book called Start several years ago to help people take the first step toward their dreams. Then he noticed that a lot of folks are “chronic starters.” Those folks don’t need a book to help them start things; they are almost too good at that. Where they need help is getting past the perfectionism that keeps them from finishing anything.

Finish addresses the places where perfectionism can get in the way of readers accomplishing their goals – setting goals that are too big and quitting at the first roadblock instead of building on the progress made, knowing what works as an incentive for you, etc..  Each chapter includes questions to help readers apply the insights from the book to their current goals.

For me, every chapter was on target. I’m an only child – of course I have issues with perfectionism! I underlined, starred, and laughed my way through the book and finished with renewed energy for my goals. In fact, this is the first Acuff book I have ever finished. I am something of a “chronic starter” when it comes to nonfiction books. This particular one is a book I’ll keep close by so I can apply it to new goals as time goes on. I anticipate that it will also be a great resource when I get stuck in my journey to accomplish some dreams this year.

I’ve heard great things about the audio book, too. I have it, but haven’t started listening to it yet. If audio is more your style, this is supposed to be a great book to explore in that format.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Make a List by Marilyn McEntyre

REVIEW: Make a List by Marilyn McEntyre

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Section one of this book looks at why people make lists and why some find it enjoyable. There’s a focus on goals and what people want from their lives as well as setting priorities. There are lots of list examples in this section, as well as in the other sections of the book.

Section two examines when lists can be helpful – seeing what things are and aren’t priorities, remembering important things, or developing a call to action, etc..

Section 3 includes lists of lists and more examples of why lists can be helpful.  There’s also an appendix which includes even more list examples.

Review

If you want to make lists, I recommend getting a journal or a planner or even a guided journal (like Listography) and dive right in.

If you want to explore WHY to make lists and how they can be useful for different purposes, give this book a try. You can also get list ideas from the many examples in the book.

I am more of the first sort, so I was looking for list ideas moreso than reasons to list. I love my Literary Listography journal because it provides the prompts and I provide the list. I have kept a bullet journal before and found it a positive experience. I know there are a bunch of guided journals like Listography if you need help figuring out what lists to make. While I found this book to be good in general, the examples of lists were the most interesting part to me. Although I didn’t find a lot of examples that made me want to get out my journal to make my own similar list. I did not find the different sections to be well defined, either. Maybe this would be a better resource for a beginning list-maker or someone who isn’t convinced that listing is a useful practice.

Thanks to Netgalley and the folks at Eerdmans for an electronic review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson

REVIEW: Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary and Review

A 40-day prayer journey by the author of The Circle Maker. Each day’s entry includes stories and personal testimony, an idea for changing or enhancing your prayer life, and a take away/summary statement.

Ideas and challenges include making prayers more specific, persistence and thinking bigger.

It’s hard to describe this book well and really capture it. For me, this was an amazing little book. I enjoyed the writing style, and the prayer stories were inspiring. I looked forward to reading this each day. In fact, I longed to read the whole thing cover to cover and just soak it all in. But I knew if I did that, I wouldn’t get the same take-aways and growth.

This is a book I will keep close at hand and read more than once. In fact, but the time this posts, I will be wrapping up my second journey through this little book. I think any time you feel like your prayer life needs a fresh infusion of faith and energy, this would be the resource to grab. There’s also a study guide and a video series for group use. I liked this so much I put all of Batterson’s books on my TBR list. I can’t recommend this book highly enough. This was one of my top 10 reads from 2017.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEWS: Two Self-Help Winners!

REVIEWS: Two Self-Help Winners!

Posted on by Jaymie

I’ve been having a hard time finding a day for these reviews, but I enjoyed the books so much, I didn’t want to push them off any longer. So today, you get two reviews. Happy Valentine’s Day! Show some love to yourself and check these out.

She’s Still There – Summary

Have you ever found yourself in a moment or at a cross roads and wondered “How did I get here?” And not in a good way! You had these plans, these dreams, these expectations. But nothing in your life looks like you thought it would.

Maybe you drifted. Maybe you took a short cut, lowered a standards, or took your eyes off the path and that changed your course. Maybe you got distracted. That temporary move, temporary job, “short season” of something has become your permanent location. Maybe circumstances outside your control have left you in a place you never intended to be. No matter how you got here, you can find your way back. The person you were once upon a time is still there. And Chrystal Evans Hurst wants to help you find her.

She’s Still There – Review

While this book is targeted to women in the title and in many of the examples, this really works for anyone. The book is broken into 6 sections with multiple chapters. Each chapter has reflection questions and Bible verses to go through. There are practical applications for every point from doing an assessment of your gifts and skills to ways of setting small goals to help you stay on track.

I read the book as part of a study with Proverbs 31. This included videos and Bible study ideas and conference calls. And all of that “bonus” content was great. But the foundation is the book, and it is all you really need to take a long look at your life and your current direction.

I found the book both challenging and encouraging. The writing is approachable. There’s a “me too” feel where the author shares from her own journey. She’s not perfect or an expert. She’s lived this and coaches from her place a few steps ahead of you. Great for personal study or for group study. I highly recommend this.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

 

The Wellness Revelation – Summary

The subtitle for this book is “Lose what weighs you down so you can love God, yourself and others.” For a diet/health/fitness book, this has a HUGE faith component.

There are 8 sections of the book, designed to lead the reader on an 8-week journey. Each chapter has five components, easily broken down for weekday usage if you choose. The first two sections include a chunk of information and encouragement and often an action step or two. There’s a set of Bible study questions in another section, reflection questions in the fourth, and a final “testimony” piece at the end.

The journey is intentionally slow paced. It doesn’t address much with food until week 3, and the exercise kicks in in week 4. This is by design. The author spends two weeks setting a spiritual foundation, encouraging readers to approach food and movement from healthy places. And she reinforces this message in each workout, podcast and Facebook Live posting.

The Wellness Revelation – Review

I loved this whole process from the beginning. I loved the faith pieces that are part of every breath of the program. I read the book as part of an online course through Facebook, and every leader online encouraged participants to seek the Lord and follow His leading on food, on movement, on pacing and on how our past influences our present.

There’s enough material in the book and online (workouts, podcasts, etc) to make this process a full time job. I had to choose to be content to do what I could, to emphasize the parts that were encouraging to me and be okay when I couldn’t keep up with it all. I’ve become a fan of their online workouts at RevWellTV (available for a monthly fee) – there are different types of workouts, different instructors, and different skill/intensity levels. Something for everyone.

If you feel like now is the time to invest in your health, I can’t recommend this book and the people behind it highly enough.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

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REVIEW: The Sacred Slow by Alicia Britt Chole

REVIEW: The Sacred Slow by Alicia Britt Chole

Posted on by Jaymie

“A holy departure from fast faith.” That is the sub-title for The Sacred Slow, new from Thomas Nelson Publishers.

“Fast faith” is defined on page 4 as “a restless spirituality that often craves what is new and what is next in the recycled hope that the latest ‘it’ can satisfy an ache that can only be described as timeless.” The material is broken into 12 sections, and the content within each can be completed in a week. Readers who really want to embrace the “sacred slow” could work through one experience a week, stretching the content through one full year, really digging deeply into each experience.

Every experience has a reading and a “guided response.” The reader can decide to complete a guided response that is internal (thought-based) or external (an exercise or action step to complete). Obviously, you can also do both, especially if you are working through one per week. The author suggests just choosing one based on your time and opportunities. Exercises sometimes build on what was completed on an earlier step. For example, the first several exercises walk the reader through the completion of a “Life Scroll,” a worksheet included in the book.

The book includes a facilitator’s guide, a blank Life Scroll, and some personal inventory pages. The exercises are intended to be done prayerfully, listening for God’s input throughout the process. If you walk through these steps in your own mind and power, you will miss the point.

This would make a great study for an individual or for a group. I love the idea of one exercise per week to really take the material in slowly and dig deeply into what God would say to you through each one. With a new year almost here, this would be an fantastic resource to add to your quiet time in 2018.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson Publishers and the folks at Handlebar for a review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

BONUS REVIEW: A Moment to Breathe by The (in)courage Community

BONUS REVIEW: A Moment to Breathe by The (in)courage Community

Posted on by Jaymie

(In)courage is a website that offers encouragement for women of faith. They have daily devotional posts, a shop for mugs and stationery and such from Dayspring, book clubs, and other opportunities for connection.

A Moment to Breathe is the latest book from the folks at (in)courage. It includes 365 daily devotions written by a variety of (in)courage contributors. Each devotional includes a scripture reference, the devotional, and an encouraging thought about taking a moment to breathe and reflect. A Moment to Breathe releases today. And I enjoyed it so much, I am posting this bonus review today – when I usually just talk about books for kids on Tuesdays – because I don’t want to wait to get the word out about this book.

Before publication, (in)courage made the first ten devotionals available to the public to sample the pieces in the book. I loved what I read in the sampler, and I was fortunate to be chosen for the Launch Team. I received a copy of the full book for review purposes and found it full of excellent encouragement and opportunities for growth.

When I first read the sampler, I tried to pin down a “favorite” from the first ten. But my favorite changed regularly; there were so many good pieces in just that small taste of the larger book. When I received the book, I was determined to jump around, sampling entries from all over the book. I was pleased to see the quality was consistent from start to finish. In fact, I could apply every entry I chose to something going on in my life.

I have bought bunches of devotionals in my life, and they usually end up on a shelf within 30 days. I get out of the habit of reading it, and it starts to gather dust. That won’t be the case with this one. This is the kind of devotional that I will use. I have been dog-earring pages and underlining passages and posting pictures since I started reading it. I look forward to digging in, seeing what each day has in store for me, and journaling or praying about what I read.

This book would make an excellent gift – for yourself and your spiritual life or for a friend or family member. I highly recommend it.

Thanks to the folks at (in)courage for the review copy and the opportunity to be part of the Launch Team and an early reader of this meaningful devotional.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Al Franken, Giant of the Senate by Al Franken

REVIEW: Al Franken, Giant of the Senate by Al Franken

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Al Franken is currently a Democratic US Senator for Minnesota. He’s well known for his comedic work, including many years on Saturday Night Live.

This book chronicles Franken’s life from childhood to the present. The book references the 2017 Inauguration and some of the Senate hearings for President Trump’s cabinet, so the book is quite current considering how long books take to publish. Included in the book are family stories, campaign stories, information on political procedures, and criticisms of politicians who lie to achieve their goals. Throughout, Franken focuses on the privilege of serving Americans – and specifically the folks in Minnesota – in the US Senate.

Review

I’ve known of Al Franken since his SNL days, specifically his character, Stuart Smalley. But more recently he caught my attention during the confirmation hearings for Education Secretary DeVos. Because of that, I was curious about this book. My intention was to get it from the library and skim it. I ended up reading it word for word, and then buying a copy for my family to read.

I consider myself an Independent when it comes to politics. There are pieces of liberal and conservative agendas that appeal to me. If I was more conservative politically, I might not have enjoyed this as much. But I appreciate Franken’s emphasis on truth, humor and service in politics. I might not agree with all of his statements or his politics, but I learned a bunch from reading this. And I laughed often.

Be prepared to be offended, especially if you are a conservative and you read this. Even liberal voters may disagree at times. There’s some language, although many times he chooses to censor himself with a milder term like “nincompoopery” with a “USS” notation that he cleaned things up since he’s a senator. The footnotes are particularly enjoyable (although in my e-book version they were all collected at the end of the book which was obnoxious to navigate.).

Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Fervent by Priscilla Shirer

REVIEW: Fervent by Priscilla Shirer

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Author, Bible teacher, and star of the movie War Room, Schirer puts together a book of prayer strategies. She focuses on ten ways Satan attacks believers to keep them from being effective for God. For example, believers may struggle to understand who they are in Christ (Identity) or to embrace forgiveness and live free (Your Past). Shirer outlines each area with personal examples and scriptures. Readers are encouraged to apply each one to their lives and then to write out prayers and scriptures to address them. The book includes tear out index-type cards to record scriptures and prayers.

Review

This was a great prayer resource! I really connected strongly to several of the chapters. This also encouraged me to spend time in my Bible, noting passages that applied to what I was reading.

I did this online with a handful of friends. We tackled two strategies each week. For me, that was a good pace when one of the two chapters didn’t click. At others times, though, a month would not have been long enough to dig into certain strategies.

Personally, I needed the accountability of a group to keep moving forward and not get stuck on one strategy. I am horrible about finishing non-fiction books. If there’s no story to draw me all the way to the end, I can get easily pulled off track. Because I finished the book, I have a starting place for each topic and a plan for digging deeper on the ones that are really key for me right now.

I enjoyed the writing style. It’s direct but relational. Like hearing from a true friend with your best interests at heart. She offers Bible verses to get you started and examples from her own life. She’s not an expert, dictating how you respond, but a friend a little farther along on the same journey.

This is a book I will revisit and keep working through.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: For the Love by Jen Hatmaker

REVIEW: For the Love by Jen Hatmaker

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

A series of essays for Christian women. Some are designed to get readers to think about their lives and consider making changes – finding balance, dealing with difficult people, and taking a look at how we do short term missions.

Some essays are about accepting and embracing the life you have.  That includes the rowdiness of your family, the changes that come from getting older, and the quirks in your personality.

Some essays are just for laughs – like Thank You Notes à la Jimmy Fallon.

There’s something for everyone in this collection of thoughts on Christian living. The central message is be who you are and love who you are. Good words for all of us.

Review

I am a huge Jen Hatmaker fan. I enjoy her honesty, transparency and self-deprecating humor. If you enjoy her on social media, she has much the same tone in her essays.

I’ve read this twice, once on my own and once for a discussion group with a few friends. The book works for both purposes. Early on with the group I tried to come up with discussion questions. It worked just as well, though, to ask what stood out to the other readers. We let the conversation go from there.

As with any author, Hatmaker’s personal biases drive the essays. She’s big on relationships, loves cooking for her family, and has strong opinions on how Christians should engage in the world. I might not agree with her on everything – especially the cooking parts – but I had plenty to think about and plenty to chuckle at as I read this.

Her new book, Of Mess and Moxie, will release later this summer.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥