Come to the Table - Book Review

Some books are so lyrical, the prose rains down from the page (Peace Like a River). Some are so well-written you delight in the way the words were put down (Anne of Green Gables). Some books, like Neta Jackson's Come to the Table read more like a movie than a book.

While I admire Jackson once again for tackling issues that are often left untouched (race issues in the church, urban problems, homelessness and food pantries), her writing didn't do it for me. There were just so many details in the book (who was eating what, who was going where, what so-and-so was wearing), and the characters agonized over every conversation they had, meaning we re-hashed it all with them a la high school crushes, that getting to the meat of the story wasn't easy. (Just like getting to the meat of that sentence. Ha.) I found myself just wanting to sit the characters down and say, "You tell him what you want to say. You tell her. Okay. Done deal." Instead I watched them dance around issues, drop hints, and get frustrated that their two-minute conversations were constantly interrupted.

The main character of the book, Kat, is learning about poverty, Jesus and food, feeding the hungry, how to help. All good and necessary topics for Christians to explore. I wish the issues were explored more thoroughly, but at least they opened up areas to think about. (I remember that Jackson's Yada Yada series also brought up good topics). The transformation Kat undergoes seems realistic and easy to follow. But overall, I feel that the book could have just been written better. Harsh, I know. But there it is.

One problem I had with this book was that one of the characters is HIV-positive, and a lot of the information shared about living with someone with HIV is, as I understand it, incorrect. FYI.

If you're looking for an easy read, likable characters, and a straight-forward plot, this book might be for you. If you want really good writing, a story to lose yourself in, and depth, you may want to keep looking.

Note: Booksneeze has provided me with a complementary e-book in exchange for my honest review. The opinions are my own.

Book Review: Simple Secrets to a Happy Life

When I started in on Luci Swindoll's book Simple Secrets to a Happy Life, I admit my hopes were not high. It sounded very simplistic and "don't worry be happy." I hadn't read any of her other books, and really didn't know to expect any different. My first clue that Luci Swindoll is pretty amazing came in the forward by Anne Lamott. She mentioned Swindoll's intelligence, grace, incredible life experiences, faith, and friendliness. As I dug into the book a little deeper, I realized that the title was accurate. Swindoll's secrets to a happy life were simple. But happily, they were not simplistic.

The book is divided into small chapters with topics ranging from not being late to journaling to being grateful to helping others. Sprinkling personal stories, anecdotes, humor, and poignancy into the pages, Luci Swindoll gives the reader her eighty years' worth of valuable life lessons. It feels like sitting at her supper table and listening to her talk--you realize she has a lot of wisdom to share and you'd better take note.

One of the things that stood out most to me in this book was how very often Luci Swindoll pointed back to her mother as the teacher of these life lessons. Her mother was, apparently, a very cheerful, wise, and kind mother. Seems like Luci became a cheerful, wise, and kind woman as a result.

This book was an easy read, comforting in its gentle admonitions, and full of hard-gotten wisdom of a life well lived. I recommend it.

Note: Booksneeze has provided me with a complementary e-book in exchange for my honest review. The opinions are my own.

Book Review - Love You More

It's been a while since I've done a Booksneeze review. This one is worth your time if you're interested in adoption. I was excited when I found that Booksneeze was offering Love You More: the Divine Surprise of Adopting My Daughter by Jennifer Grant because it had been on my "to-read" list for a while. It didn't disappoint.

Written as a memoir about her journey to adopt her daughter from Guatemala, Love You More tells the story of how the family decided to adopt, what the wait was like, and how they learned to know their new daughter. It's funny, interesting, and dives deep into some of the weighty issues around adoption.

One especially interesting and helpful part of the book, to an adoptive mom, is Grant's description of the life book she made for her daughter Mia. She includes the text and describes how she put together the story for her daughter, to tell her her own story. It's a beautiful book and her example is more valuable to me than all the how-to articles I could read.

Grant pays attention to her life, and it is clearly shown through her words. Her humor, insight, and the way she weaves together her story (for example, including emails she wrote to family and friends at certain times) makes this an easy and highly enjoyable read.

Note: Booksneeze has provided me with a complementary copy of this book in exchange for my review. The opinions are my own.

Book Review - Uncle Sam's Plantation by Star Parker

From the title alone, you could surmise that this book has some incendiary ideas and opinions, and you would be right. Uncle Sam's Plantation is a no-nonsense, very conservative look at poverty in America and how the government has responded and is currently responding. The author, Star Parker, pulls no punches in dissecting the welfare system, the reasons for poverty, and how much of the government's actions designed to help the poor are actually hurting them. She tackles issues such as minimum wage, abortion, welfare, and education. Phew! While Parker comes down hard on politicians who don't use common sense, and on those people who work the welfare system because they don't want to get jobs (especially men who mooch off women), her tone changes when she speaks of the poor who need help. She is compassionate and concerned. And she has a great deal of common sense and economic smarts that make her ideas seem doable. Parker talks a lot about personal responsibility, which is a refreshing topic in an age where victim mentality reigns. She has faith that, given the proper tools (including education, religious training and the knowledge of right, wrong and consequences) most people will become decent, productive people.

Star Parker is a black woman who worked her way off welfare after being challenged to do so by her pastor. As a young girl, she was told that she couldn't do certain things (have a good job, make money, etc) because the whites would always keep her down. She proved the naysayers (including her former self) wrong. She is an American success story, and now she is a spokesperson for issues of race and poverty. Her story is inspiring.

I enjoyed the first half of the book most. The chapters where she delves into the history of America (in regards to race and poverty) are fascinating. I would use those parts of the book to round out a course in American History for high schoolers. Eventually, though, when I had read past Parker's personal story, the historical accounts, and the parts where she talks about the different kinds of "poor," reading the book felt like listening to a LOT of conservative talk radio: you know they're right on a lot of stuff, but there's only so long you can listen. I was relived to find myself at the end of the book.

Also, it seemed like Parker spent all her time laying out the problems facing America, and no time offering solutions. Maybe the solution lies in getting her message out to many people? But it seems to me that giving specific actions that everyday people can do to help the poor, to fight Big Government, to make our voices heard on issues of abortion, education, etc, would have strengthened the book a good deal.

There was also the weird part where she repeated, word for word, two and a half pages of text a few chapters later. Was that intentional? :)

Overall, this was a good but exhausting read. I think I would have liked it better if it were shorter. But maybe that's because, as a mother of three small children, I hear a good deal of fussing as it is. Even when the fussing is completely legitimate, it does where on you after a while. Parker's personal story, and the history sections make it worthwhile though. For those sections, I will keep this book around.

Note: Booksneeze has provided me with a complementary copy of this book in exchange for a review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Book Review - The Vertical Self

The Vertical Self, by Mark Sayers

I love sociology and anthropology. This book, which is about how our culture's fascination with media, celebrities, fashion, etc cause us to create horizontal versions of ourselves rather than vertical ones, looked fascinating to me. The horizontal self basically means that one's identity is found in how one relates, compares to, or rates in the eyes of others. Keeping up the horizontal self is obviously impossible. The vertical self refers to finding one's identity in Christ, and walking in holiness and peace because of the security, meaning, and purpose found in Him.

Sounds good. But actually, this book fell far short of my expectations. Sayers' points were very vague and repetitive. While several of his stories were interesting, they didn't really make the points he was aiming for. But I take the most issue with his theological explanations. He talks about how we are created in the image of God and therefore have value, meaning, and purpose. True. But then he talks about how living right with God is asking Him to redeem our desires and living in holiness (which again is attained by having our desires redeemed). No mention of repentance, the Cross, or salvation through Jesus -- or if it was mentioned, it certainly wasn't emphasized.

Sayers talks a lot about evil. Rather than living in strict holiness, we need to find a balance between good and evil. If we were purely good, he says, we'd never be moved to action by anything. We need the tension that our darker desires create in order to act. What?! And then later, he said the opposite when he quoted someone stating that truly evil people are the ones that actively avoid extending themselves on behalf of others. Redeeming our desires, not fighting them, is the way to holiness. And yes, of course that is sometimes true. But we still are imperfect people, and sometimes our desires are truly sinful. Managing sin is not the same as killing it.

Finding our true selves seems to be the goal of life, according to this book. Even though Sayers has us looking at who we are in Christ to find those true selves, he neglects to mention how we get to be who we are in Christ, namely, through Christ. And a life lived "for God," if the purpose of it is really to satisfy our need for purpose, seems narcissistic at best.

At the end of the book, Sayers challenges us to find three "soul friends," teach them what we learned from the book, and have them teach three more friends. Not much in terms of how to live out the vertical self. Lack of clarity, practicality, and most of all, Gospel truth. I'm sorry to say, this book is not one I recommend at all.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Review - Love and Respect

I chose to review this book, The Language of Love and Respect: Cracking the Communication Code with Your Mate, by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs, because of the glowing reviews of his other book.  Specifically, Mrs I, a woman from home whose marriage I admire, has always spoken very highly of Love and Respect.  So I approached this book ready to glean firsthand the wisdom I had heard from others.  

The idea of this book is that women need love, and men need respect.  Not a ground-breaking idea, but one that has not to my knowledge been fleshed out to this depth.  Dr. Eggerichs teaches through this book how to communicate more effectively with your spouse, using the principle that men tend to hear things in context of this is or is not respectful and women in terms of is he loving me or not right now?  

Dr. Eggerichs gives some very useful advice on communication, as well as a load of specific situational advice (what to do if your spouse isn't responding well, what to do with an addicted or abusive spouse, how to handle marriage to a spouse who doesn't care to try, how to handle the day-to-day small communication issues).  These parts of the book were helpful, practical, and doable.  The concept of men needing respect from their wives, and women needing love was also valuable.  For the concepts it presents, I give this book five stars.

Stylistically, this was a tough book to read.  I found Dr. Eggerichs' writing to be repetitive and vapid.  The book could have been much more powerful were it about half the length, because every time Dr. Eggerichs made an observation about men, he made the exact same observation about women, only with the appropriate words substituted.  I got the idea.  Really.  It also bothered me how very many acronyms, illustrations, and titles he had (T-U-F-T-S, Crazy Cycle, Air Hoses, The Jesus Way of Talking, C-H-A-I-R-S, etc).  Drove me a bit insane.  And it was hard to keep track of what he was talking about sometimes.  The other bone I had to pick with him was that it seemed that every time he gave a personal example, he made his wife look bad and himself simply look bumbling.

The best parts of the book were the letters and emails he printed by real people who were using the techniques of Love and Respect and finding that they work.  And Dr. Eggerichs does a good job of insisting that he didn't invent these principles; he merely explained them.  And he made a point of saying that you must not practice the principles of this book in order to manipulate your spouse into taking care of you better, but because it is what God wants you to do.

Overall, this is a worthwhile book to read.  Grin and bear the writing itself, and glean the really helpful and practical relationship help Dr. Eggerichs offers.  You won't be sorry.

Note: Thomas Nelson has provided me with a complementary copy of this book to review.

Chew on This

" 'Whether therefore ye eat, or drink ... do all to the glory of God.' St. Paul had recognized even the common things.  Of course, I knew that; I had heard sermons on it.  But I saw now that if my task was far smaller in terms of the effect it was to produce, it was far larger in terms of my own life involvement.  If there were times when I must be willing to pay any price for what was called the 'advancement of the Kingdom; there were also times when I must let such a price - climbing a mountain for example, in rain and mud and darkness - be paid in vain.  This, too, was a place to glorify God.  This must have been what Lynn meant, I thought as I set the table. 'Jesus told us to do what is true.' " --Elisabeth Elliot, in her only novel "No Graven Image."

If you haven't read this book, you should.  And be ready to think.  And maybe get mad.  And definitely be challenged.

Book Review - The Sweet By and By

The Sweet By and By, by Sara Evans

I must say, although I didn't have high hopes for this book when I started (a novel written by a "Multi-Platinum Recording Artist" says the cover), I was pleasantly surprised.  The Sweet By and By tells the story of a woman approaching her wedding day, but trapped in a painful past.  As she digs up and retells her secrets, she searches for healing, and the Healing One searches for her.  

Often I am disappointed by Christian Fiction.  Sometimes it comes across as poorly-written and sappy, and generally predictable.  The Sweet By and By was, for the most part, predictable, but in a relaxed, comforting way, and there were enough plot twists to hold my interest.  The book flits backward and forward along the story line, and even among some of the characters, but it does so well.  

The characters were developed and realistic, and I found myself thinking about them when I wasn't reading - a good sign for me that they hold my interest!  And the climax, when Jade finally catches a glimpse of the Truth... it was good.  I won't spoil it for you, but it was good.

Although I can't say this book will ever make the canon of literature, I enjoyed my trip through its pages.  For an uplifting, relaxing read, try The Sweet By and By.

Fast & Frugal Cookbook Book Review

I want to feed my family healthy foods.  I am on a budget.  And I don't have an hour a day to spend on dinner.  It seems that these three factors - health, money, and time - always play against each other.  You can have quick and cheap, but it won't be healthy.  Or you can have healthy and from scratch (therefore cheap), but it will take a while.  It's hard to find a good book that gives you all three.  Dawn Hall's Busy People's Fast and Frugal Cookbook tries hard to do a stellar job with all three categories, and ends up doing passably well.  Which is often good enough for me.

The cookbook is arranged into chapters like any other cookbook: Breakfast and Brunch, Salads, Main Meals, etc.  But what I really liked about it is that each chapter is sub-divided into parts, arranged by how long each thing takes to cook, start to finish: 10 minutes or less, 15 minutes or less, 20 minutes or less, 30 minutes or less.  Brilliant!  Each meal (or dish) also only has seven or fewer ingredients, and they are all normal things that normal people have already or can easily find.  Again, brilliant.

Most of the dishes I made from this cookbook earned 1.5 to 2 thumbs up.  By far the winner was the Chicken and White Bean Chowder, which was so good it was would be worth buying the book for.  Yum!

And all the recipes took the amount of time she says they will take.  One of my favorite parts of this cookbook is that she gives meal ideas with times.  For example, on the Ham with Honeydew Chutney, the page reads: 20 min before the meal, make the cheesy triangles according to the directions, but do not bake.  10 min before the meal, make the green beans and potatoes according to the directions.  5 min before the meal, bake the cheesy triangles...  You get the idea.  It's a nice play-by-play.  And it includes grocery lists (which I never use, but some people do, I guess).

Now the downside: I'm not sure I'd call the meals particularly healthy.  Better than convenience food, sure.  Better than fat-full recipes, yes.  But much of the food called for is canned rather than fresh, cooked in the microwave, etc.  And all (I think) of the desserts call for the use of Splenda instead of sugar, which isn't healthy either.  You can substitute for healthier options, but then you add more time and expense.  It's a vicious cycle.  One final downer: there are no indications with each recipe as to how many people it serves.  You just have to guess, or make it yourself and write that in the margins.

Overall, this cookbook is handy to have.  Lots of quick meal ideas, and very tasty ones mixed in with passable ones.  Does it live up to its promises?  Not exactly.  I give it three and a half stars. 

Names

Iain and his creative "bee-nocu-lers"

Iain's choices for names for his new little sister: Cat Girl, Bear Girl, and my favorite, Moon Chip Brannon

Name of our book giveaway winner: Shannon!  (Thanks for sharing your great story!  But it was a random drawing, not based on the merit of the story, like I promised.)  Thanks everyone who entered, and especially those who shared a story!

Congratulations, Shannon!  I'll be getting that book to you soon!

Any other baby name ideas?  We can't really name her Moon Chip, right?

Really?

No one wants to win the book?  How about if you leave any kind of comment of any sort on this post, and I'll enter you to win.  Really - it's a good book!

:)

Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

After reading the first few pages of Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, I was skeptical.  It was the first book by Miller that I had read, and I was expecting great things.  But a few pages in, well, it wasn’t catching my attention.

But.  The more I read of this book, the more I loved it.  The book says it is about how Donald Miller used the lessons he learned, while editing his life into a movie, to move himself from a meaningless, boring existence to one of wonder.  And yes, it is about that.  But even more, this book is about story.  What makes a great story.  Why we love a great story.  And most importantly, how to live a great story.

There are only a few books I would call life-changing: A Severe Mercy, The Four Loves, Making Room for Life… and A Million Miles in a Thousand Years.  I have seriously been thinking about this book and its message for weeks and I think I need to go re-read it.

I must say, I don’t like the writing style (seems to me like Miller is trying too hard to maintain his tone – and I don’t really like his tone!).  In places, it is simplistic (not simple, which to me is positive, but like he's trying to be a cute kid when he's a grown man), and in places, it is too... modern, perhaps? for my taste.  But I hear that all his books are like this, and so if you like his writing style, you'll really love this book.

Be the writing as it may, the content of the book is solidly good.  I especially liked the stories about Bob and his family, and about the man who changed his daughter's story.  The message of this book is important - too important to miss.

Now for some fun news: When I agreed to read and review this book for Thomas Nelson, they sent me an extra copy - so I get to do a blog giveaway!  If you would like to win this book, leave a comment telling me a great story that you've lived.  Be creative - make it an everyday story (no wedding day or child's birth stories!).  

(I won't pick the winner based on the best story - so no pressure!  It'll be a random drawing.)

Book Review - Voices of the Faithful Book 2, Compiled by Kim P. Davis

I've started reviewing books for Thomas Nelson Publishing, as part of their blogger book review program. What follows is my first review.

Voices of the Faithful, Book 2 is a daily devotional reading, a compilation of short testimonies written by missionaries currently serving around the world. Each day begins with a Scripture verse, includes a few paragraphs written by a missionary that keeps with the month's theme ("Prayer, the Priority," and "Making Him Known" for example), and ends with a prayer.

I have to say, though I loved the idea for this book, I didn't care for the execution. My main complaint was that, because each missionary had such a limited space in which to tell his story, it was sometimes hard to follow what was going on. And it was definitely hard to be invested in it. Sometimes huge chunks of information was left out for the sake of brevity. I understand the need for brevity sometimes, but I feel that this book was trying to say too much too fast.

On the positive side, there are some gems in there. My favorite story, called The Unburned Bible, is nearly worth the whole book right there. I could see using this book as a family read-aloud (good conversations would be had!), but again, there would be some glaring gaps in the stories. The most encouraging thing about the book is that the reader is hearing the voices of 365 different missionaries, a fact that showcases God's glory in its numbers. Although I didn't care for this book, Book 1 was a bestseller, so maybe it's just me!