Book Review: Long Days of Small Things by Catherine McNiel

I was excited about this book because the author seemed so easy to relate to as she shares about herself in the first pages.. She admitted she wasn't the world's greatest mom, not in the "now-everyone-can-relate-to-me" kind of way but in the, "no-really,-I-don't-have-it-together" kinda way. She proceeds with a book full of examples on how to use motherhood as a spiritual discipline.

This is a singular idea and one that should be exposed as much as possible. Think about it. As mom's we are more disciplined then we probably ever have been! We may not get up to run at 5am but we certainly wake up to any little cry in the middle of the night? We budget our time (even if it is just to survive) and we make it through each marathon day. We keep more people than just ourselves alive every day. You don't get much more disciplined than that!

To realize that some of these disciplines can blur over into the spiritual since is wonderful to me!  Each chapter ends with a topic point and an idea to go with it.  This I didn't find helpful for me and wish she would have included more stories but maybe if I used this in a group setting it would be more ideal!

I would totally read more books by this author, Catherine McNiel. She is funny and lighthearted but deep at the same time!

Book Review: Ant Dens by Mary Coley

This book was written by an author in my local area and I thought I'd give it a try. I was able to get the 2nd book this week so I started with that one.

This author is not just talented in her writing but she possesses a complicated ability to create a winding story that twists and turns and gives no hint to the ending.
I believe I would like to start with book one if I had it to do over, but book two did a fine job standing alone. The character struggles with the recent loss of her husband, the moving on with her life and the guilt over seeming to successfully do so.  There would be a lot of ability to relate for anyone who has suffered a loss, even though the book is a suspense novel.  It is also riddled with historical fact and strongly references human sex trafficking in the US.
Even though the plot is good I would give this book a 3.5 out of 5 stars due to the language and references in it. Tactfully written considering the topic it refers to sex trafficking throughout the book language would prevent me from recommending it further.

Murder on the Moor

Murder on the Moor by Julianna Deering

A Drew Farthering Mystery

This is the 5th in the Drew Farthering Mystery series but is a stand alone book that I really enjoyed without needing to read the other books.  There is an enchantingly haunting, but not scary, feel to this book as the hero and his wife wanders the moors and ruins to find the reason behind murders that seem unlinked but must have the same source in the remote village in England.
The book presents a loving husband and wife of two years who dote on each other with their rather piquerist version of marriage, as contrasted by everyone else in the book who seems to have made a rather poor match...making everyone seem guilty and worthy of having some sort of motive, if not a poor one, in the murder on the moor.
The foggy moor and dog footprints make this book seem to have more than one mirror image to Sherlock Holmes as well as the Bronte sister's writings. This is not lost in the book as the characters comment and even quote from these books as well as other classics.
The author does a tactful job using similar cases from other novels to build up suspicion but also adding surprising twists and turns to the book.
It is a pleasant book that brings God into mysteries but doesn't preach at the reader. Characters struggle with worldly issues but nothing too vulgar and Drew always remains upright even when he may suspect some characters because of his past. He confronts the real reason for his harsh judgment, his pride, and deals with it even as he questions the motives behind a person's willingness to commit murder.
The plot thickens as more people become murder suspects and even people thought to be innocent are found to have motives. But who did it and what was the real reason to kill? Is it money or perhaps poor marriage choices?


This book was provided by Bethany House for this review. The opinions are my own.

Book Review: The story Travelers Bible

This review is about The Story Travelers Bible. A book for young kids. It could be a first Bible for a 3rd grade reader or a read to your child. My 5 year old loves it. He looks at the pictures and reads the words he knows.

The text isn't large and you can break it up into stories or pages, rather than chapters.

It is easy and fun to read and I daresay adults will learn from this book.

The stories are put in kid form but don't lose any of the accuracies, something that is hard to do and rare to find in Bibles.

We enjoyed the text, the graphics are entertaining and it is easy to find certain stories if you are looking for something specific.

I would recommend this for a text that is in addition to a Bible. It has entertaining characters that one gets to follow as they read.

This book was provided for my by Tyndale House Publishing for this review. My opinions are my own.

Book Review: befriend

Befriend

A good read, this book touches on the tough subject of friendship.  

It redefines the common friendships of our day, not only true friendships but the more modern Digital Friendships (Screen Friendships), Transactional Friendships (Friendship that treats other people as means to an end), and One-Dimensional Friendship (Same interests). 

The first chapter introduces these friendship ideas & defines them but the rest of the book never really touches on these ideas.Chapters 2-21 share how to befriend specific people, a sort of source book for difficult friendships. 

And it is all there:

Befriend Prodigals and Pharisees, the Wrecked & Restless, Shamed and Ashamed, Ones You Can't Control, True Friends and Significant Others, Sexual Minorities, Dysfunctional Family Members. It seems almost set up so you can find the chapter that effects you and read in detail information that will aid you on your friendships!

Book Reviewing: The scoop.

Y'all may have noticed I've started posting book reviews. I'm finally out of the stage of babies and have a *little* more time to read!
So the library and these book reviews have been a great source for me. From the library I get the books I'm interested and from the book reviews there is a smaller section of books that I chose from that I'm interested in.
I've read book that I would have passed by on shelves that have changed my life. For instance:

I had never heard of Kevin Butcher but that is a preacher who not only loves but can write about how well he loves!

That's pretty awesome.

I wanted to open up this free blogging opportunity to others. The requirements are that you have a blog to post the review on, it has to be an active blog with readers, and you need to be able to post on Amazon or some such place so they get a public store review as well.

Tyndale house publishing

This is the publishing house I use and they have been very good to me.

Worthy Publishing

LiteFuse

BethanyHouse

I hope this inspires others to read more! Free books can do that! 

Book Review: Where does Love Hide

 Where does love Hide is a lift the flap book Written by Mary Simon and illustrated by Hannah Wood

 

It is a delightful story showing that love hides all over.

Each page has a lift the flap on it showing where love hides.

 

My 3 year old enjoyed the book! It was sturdy and has stood up well to a house of 6 kids!

 

 I'd recomend opening the flaps before giving it to a child for the first time or the newness of the book with make it hard to open.

This is a great kid book. In a world where love is misconstrued this title and the whole book is eye opening to the kids of our time.
A simple book, larger than most cardboard books, it is very durable. I have 6 kids and in a month of this book being out it still looks like new.
The flaps are thin but it hasn't been a problem. My one recommendation would be to open the flaps before giving it to a child. They are a little tough the first time, as makes sense due to them never having been opened before!
Book provided by Tyndale house publishing. Opinions are my own. Children's approval is their own=)