Growing in Gratitude Review

Growing in Gratitude by Mary K Mohler is a Christian non-fiction book on the topic (of course) of gratitude.

This is the exact book that I have been praying to find. It is 5 out of 5 stars and of course I loved it. I really liked her breakdown of what gratitude is and what that means. It was very helpful for her to then address those things that may block our thankfulness and how we might go about changing that. She was concise, clear and helpful in her definitions, examples and practical recommendations. I found her book convicting in a gentle, encouraging, and helpful way. Perhaps it is better to say I found it inspiring.

One thing I was really happy with was her constant reference to Scripture as the foundation of the topic and support for her recommendations. And next to that she made reference to a number of other resources (people and what they have written) that spoke into what she was addressing. The clear evidence of the time, energy and effort she put into the research and writing of this book strengthens my view of what she is saying.

Overall, it was exactly what I have been looking for and a book I think everyone should read.

November Overview

This has been a busy month for me, getting back on track after so much sickness. And hurray, I think I have kept off the slump and am moving back into my regular reading habits. So here are the books I read in November.

Christian Non-Fiction :

Cheers to the Diaper Years by Erin Brown Hollis*

One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp*

The World’s Last Night by C S Lewis>

Grateful by Diana Butler Bass*

Growing in Gratitude by Mary Mohler>

Christian Fiction :

The Warden and the Wolf King by Andrew Peterson (middle grade fantasy)*

Fantasy :

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (young adult)>

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart (children)>

The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting (children)>

Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins (middle grade)>

Gregor and the Code of Claw by Suzanne Collins (middle grade)>

Historical :

Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee (young adult)>

Contemporary :

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West (young adult)>

Picture Books:

ABC Bible Verses for Little Ones by Rebecca Lutzer

Mijn Kleine Eekhoorn by Britta Teckentrup (Dutch)

De Sneeuwbal by Giuliano Ferri (Dutch)

De Mooiste Vis Van de Zee by Marcus Pfister & translated by Nannie Kuiper (Dutch)

Put me in the Zoo by Robert Lopshire

November by Cynthia Rylant and Jill Kastner

Andre Het Astronautje by Andre Kuipers (Dutch)

Ik Wil De Zon by Isabel Arques & Angela Pelaez-Vargas (Dutch)

In Mijn Kleine Hart by Jo Witek & Christine Roussey (Dutch)

Luuk en Lotje: Het is Carnaval by Ruth Wielockx (Dutch)

Top Ten Tuesday: Cozy Winter Reads

This one was really hard for me. I’m not sure I really think of books as generally cozy reads or in a seasonal classification (unless you are going really specific like Christmastime or summertime). I only ended up with 9 recommendations instead of 10, but I did really enjoy the challenge. All books with a review up on my blog will have a *.

1.       A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – How could I talk about favorite winter reads without including this one. It is a classic and for very good reason. This is one I think everybody should read at least once in their lifetime. 

2.       By Your Side by Kasie West – This young adult contemporary was a cozy read for me, sweet and emotional and a book I just wanted to curl up on the couch with and read all the way through. The plot also has the main character accidentally locked in the library over the weekend during a snow storm, and what says winter better than that. *

3.       Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marilier – This is one of my go to cozy day books. When it is bad weather out and you just want to cuddle up with some hot tea or hot chocolate and read a book that fits the general mood of the day, this is it. It is a fantastic retelling of the Dancing Princesses fairytale. 

4.       Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George – This is also a go to cozy read for darker days, and funny enough also a retelling of the Dancing Princesses fairytale. 

5.       Entwined by Heather Dixon Woodwall – This is another fantastic cozy winter day read that is also, have you guessed, a retelling of the Dancing Princesses fairytale.

6.       Beauty by Robin McKinley – For some reason when I think of Beauty and the Beast retellings (are you sensing a theme here?), I almost always think wintertime. I’m not really sure why that is, but this is one of my favorites. You could also check out McKinley’s other Beauty and the Beast retelling: Rose Daughter.

7.       Race Against Time by Gilbert Morris – This is a children time travel story. What makes this such a wintery read is that the main kids in the story travel back to the American Revolutionary War (specifically the winter season of the war). This is actually one of my favorite rereads, even as an adult. 

8.       The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C S Lewis – The land cursed to always be in winter and the children who stubble into it. A classis Christian children story that I think everyone should read. 

9.       The Hawk and the Jewel by Lori Wick – This isn’t a specifically “winter” read, but it is one of those books that I think of during the winter season. It is one of my favorite Christian historical romances to curl up with and reread. It is a sweet and heartwarming story that gets me every time.

December TBR

This is the perfect month to go by theme, that being of course “Christmas” or “winter”. How could I focus on anything else for December. So I will still be branching many genres, just pulling from books set during the season or about the season. Since I have only ever read (I think) 2 books with this theme before, I am super excited. I am also doing the “tis the seasonathon” from Dec. 3 – Dec. 9 held by booktuber “Bookables” and will include my TBR for that.

Tis the Seasonathon TBR :

Good Tidings of Great Joy by Charles Spurgeon (Christian Non-fiction) – book with red or green on the cover

When Christmas Comes by Debbie Macomber (Christian Fiction) – a warm & fuzzy read

Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens (Classic) – a short book

Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, & Lauren Myracle (Young Adult Contemporary) – holiday themed book

Rest of the month :

Christian Non-fiction :

Devotions for Christmas by Zondervan

Christian Fiction :

The Max Lucado Christmas Collection

Non-fiction :

Stories Behind the Best Loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins

Classic :

The Chimes by Charles Dickens

Contemporary :

What Light by Jay Asher (Young Adult)

Retelling :

The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand (A Christmas Carol)

Poetry :

Amazing Peace by Maya Angelou

Grateful Review

Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks by Diana Butler Bass is a Christian non-fiction book on the topic of gratitude. Bass claims it to be intended for all people, not just Christians, but her use of Christian faith and scripture is so heavily present and used to define gratitude as well as a common element in the stories and examples presented that it really can't be classified as anything else.

I only gave this book 2 out of 5 stars. I was very disappointed with it and downright didn’t like it. I did like how in-depth she defined gratitude. Sharing many aspect of what it looks like as well as the benefits of it. Her four part model of gratitude (me/we and emotions/ethics) was very fascinating, but I didn’t feel that she elaborated enough on it.

The first half of the book was interesting and I could see so much potential for it being a really profound, helpful and practical book. However, it just went down-hill from there. My first issue is that she uses the “we” portion of the book to push her political platform. She seems to be using the book to emotionally deal with the results of the 2016 US election. I didn’t feel like she was still talking about gratitude, I didn’t see the connection and it didn’t even appear that she was practicing gratitude amidst what were trying times for her.

Secondly, she seems to have a habit of impressing her view and ideas onto what she reads, making them say what she wants them too. One example is her use of the book Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She has impressed her view of gratitude over the story to make it say and teach what she wanted us to learn. I’m not saying that her ideas about the book are necessarily wrong (there may be some truth to them), but she puts it forward as obviously the case no doubt about it when I have never heard anything like it in an analysis of the book. Furthermore she does make at least one completely incorrect statement about the book.

What was even worse is that she treated scripture the same way. She took the story of Zacchaeus and put her own spin on it to say and teach what she wanted in complete disregard for all past exegesis on the passage. Again, there may be some historical truth to her interpretation, but not in disregard to what is being directly said. It is always dangerous to look at a piece of scripture with our own views in mind first (looking to prove our theory correct instead of looking to see what God is saying). We need to first look and see what it says, who it is speaking to and in what context it is speaking, etc. and then we can extrapolate from that basis. But that is very clearly not what she did.

Furthermore, she would randomly pull individual scripture verses out of context to use as support for a point she was making in other parts of the book. But she never addressed any scriptures that very clearly say the opposite of the idea she was putting forward. All this was just too much for me. With it I felt she lost all credibility and reliability, let alone any authority to speak into the topic. This was just a bad book. I don’t hate it, but nor would I ever recommend it.

Nevermoor Review

Nevermoor : The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend is a middle grade fantasy book, first in the Nevermoor duology (with possible future books to come?). It is about Morrigan, a young girl who was one of the “cursed children” who were to die at the end of the age, which happened to be on their 11^th birthday. However, a mysterious man arrives on the eve of her “death” to whisk her away to the magical land of Nevermoor and sets her on a path of trials to join the lands most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. It was such a fun and fascinating read. The writing style flowed well and was enjoyable. I found the characters delightful and cleverly done. They fairly jumped off the page and made the journey a pleasant one. Even the bad characters were a pleasure to read (made you dislike them or cringe, etc. in just the right way). Morrigan was a wonderful person to live the story with, she was very “real” and “honest” and relatable as a person. There were so many characters with such differing personalities, that I liked for different reasons, that I couldn’t possible mention them all here.

The plot was wonderfully done and interesting. I was eager to continue reading and see what would happen next, or what mystery would be resolved. The “big reveal” came as no surprise, but that made it no less enjoyable. There is only one hole in the story that I wish she had cleared up before the end (or at least at the end of this book).

Overall this was a lovely read and I look forward to the next book. The only hitch being that the next book doesn’t come out until later this month and I won’t be able to dive right in to see what happens next now.

Top Ten Tuesday: Platonic Relationships

I thought it might be fun to try the top ten Tuesday weekly post. I don’t know if I will do this every week, but I might just throw one out there now and then. All of the books that I am including in this list (and of course any future lists) got at least 4 stars. So todays topic is some of my favorite platonic relationships in books. 

1.       Candle in the Darkness by Lynn Austen – The main character, Caroline, has a pseudo-paternal relationship with an older black servant, Eli, that is so beautiful read. Their relationship influences her in so many ways and affects the decisions that she makes as we move through the story. (Christian historical fiction)

2.       Unshaken: Ruth by Francine Rivers – This was such a beautiful retelling of the Biblical story of Ruth. I love how she fleshed out the relationship between Ruth and Naomi, her mother-in-law.  (Christian Biblical retelling)

3.       Nightmare Academy by Frank Peretti – This book follows teenage twin brother and sister, Elijah and Elisha, who end up in a dangerous situation with no one else to help them. The way they rely on each other and stick by each other to make it out is very fun to read. (Christian young adult thriller)

4.       The Beautiful Pretender by Melanie Dickerson – Here the main character, Avelina, a servant sent to masquerade as a nobleman’s daughter forms an unlikely friendship with Lady Magdalen. How they connect and become so dear to each other (as well as what they do for each other) is so sweet. (Christian fairytale retelling)

5.       Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay – In this book is a lovely relationship between the main character, Samantha, and a young boy, Kevin. They form this unique friendship based on mutual experience where they are able to help each other deal with the traumas of their respective pasts and move forward into better things. (Christian contemporary)

6.       The Hawk and the Jewel by Lori Wick – I love the relationship between Sunny and her niece Holly and nephew Miles. Because they are all around the same age, they are able to form a type of relationship that is closer than just friends, but  not quite siblings. How they relate to each other and interact with each other is fascinating and fun. I also really liked looking at the brother / sister relationship she had as her brother was old enough to be her father, but of course he isn’t. (Christian historical romance)

7.       Entwined by Heather Dixon – The main character, Azalea, is part of a large family of girls who have a distant and slightly dysfunctional relationship with their father. I love seeing how they learn to understand each other and relate to each other in a loving and health way. Of course we also get to see the sibling dynamic with sisters both close in age and where there is a large age gap. (Young adult fairytale retelling)

8.       Winter by Marissa Meyer – This is the final book in the Lunar Chronicles and has a fantastic group of friends dynamic. These people are all very different, in personality and background, but they bond together to accomplish their goal and become truly wonderful friends. They complement each other in the best way and it is because of their uniting together that they succeed. (Young adult sci-fi)

9.       The Host by Stephanie Meyer – I love the relationship of the main character, the parasitic alien Wanderer, and the human host, Melanie. This is such a unique relationship to look at and I found it fascinating and cleverly done. (Young adult fantasy/ sci-fi)

10.   P. S. I Like You by Kasie West – Lily, the main character, and her best friend have such a strong relationship. I loved seeing how they grew closer to each other and learned the value of their friendship. It was also really nice to see them go through something that could have torn them apart, but to rise above it and stick together. (Young adult contemporary)