The Optimized Woman: Using Your Menstrual Cycle to Achieve Success and Fulfillment by Miranda Gray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book gave me some great ideas about how to deal with my cycle, allowing myself the rest I need sometimes, and taking advantage of the energy I feel at other times. I loved how there are many specific things to look for, and specific ideas to try. Continue reading
Changes That Heal: The Four Shifts That Make Everything Better…And That Anyone Can Do by Henry Cloud
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book inspired me, gave me spiritual healing, and had incredible insight into why people are broken and how God can heal that brokenness.
I love that each concept starts with an example of brokenness, leads into the spiritual lesson with Biblical text, explains the real reasons behind our behavior, and then gives practical solutions to heal and change for the better.
And it’s not just about being “better”; it’s about being the person God truly created you to be.
The writing has a lot of spiritual depth, but also a common sense approach to applying the spiritual concepts. It’s clear enough that anyone can understand it and relate to it, but also deeply insightful so that you need to stop and think carefully and prayerfully about the ideas presented.
Finding God in the Hobbit by Jim Ware
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I loved this in-depth look at the Christian themes found in the Hobbit! Tolkien is one of my top three favorite authors, so I was hanging on every word.
The author takes various characters, events, dialogue, and plot points from the Hobbit and then uses them to illustrate a Biblical truth. He really brought forth some excellent points that I had never thought of before! I loved how the author worked “around” a principle, and showed you all the facets and different sides, and then hammered it home simply and concisely. I loved the forceful writing style!
I wish that there had been more literary analysis though. It read more like a devotional book with personal stories, nuggets of wisdom, and a “thought for the day” kind of moral at the end of each chapter. I liked that, but I was hoping for more analysis of literary history, fairytale story structures, classical writing influences, Greek philosophy, etc…
In short, I wanted it to be more intellectual than it was.
But the devotional style of the book was good too! I enjoyed reading it so much, and I was even brought to tears a couple of times.
Living as a Christian: Teachings from First Peter by A.W. Tozer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Tozer goes through most of the verses in 1 Peter, giving an overall view of what it means to be a Christian: what the true Christian believes, how the true Christian acts, and how the true Christian lives in a fallen world.
I found some of the writing to be wonderfully deep and insightful, but other parts were almost childish in their simplicity. There’s also a lot of repetition of the same ideas, same words, over again, and that got on my nerves.
The content is excellent with strong doctrine, but the writing is flabby and could use more editing. Continue reading
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