Welcome to my FIRST QUARTER BOOKSHELF- 2021 Edition.
January-March, in April.
I love to read and found this to be a great way to interact with others who love the same.
The biggest difference to anyone who has read through my previous bookshelves (take a gander here and here) is that there are noticeably less books this time around. Which speaks to the fact that some of these sat on my shelf for WAY TOO LONG and they took WAY TOO LONG for me to complete. Some I just didn't love. Others were just, well, DEEP. There were others still, which I thought read so well and were either entertaining, informative, or a good motivational kick in the pants.
I challenged myself to READ A BOOK OFF MY BOOKSHELF EACH MONTH BEFORE READING SOMETHING NEW. My intention of finally clearing out the mass accumulation of books I have and deciding if they were worth keeping or not.
Here goes:
Emotionally Healthy Spirituality
I started the year off with this gem. It was a deep dive. Very rich, informative, and psychologically and spiritually interesting. It is also a heavy-hitter, so I felt like each chapter required a new strength or amount of time to digest. Particularly interesting is the chapter referring to "THE WALL" we all come to at some point in our lives. The chapter goes on to teach us why the wall is there, as well as what it means to go through it versus not, and it gives us the tools to do so. FASCINATING! (I decided to keep this one as a reference tool.)
This book came to me almost by happenstance. As I learned about Ms. Mimi I became very interested in learning her back story. Although she forewarned me that the book may be sketchy (a language and time barrier). I didn't experience that at all and, in fact, really enjoyed her writing style. Mimi writes vulnerably and doesn't hide or hinder her experiences. Rather, she shares to offer a hurting world some Christian perspective about a God who does not tie every loose string into a bow, but Who is constantly in pursuit of us regardless.
(This was a obvious keeper for me.)
She's Still There: Rescuing the Girl in You
After hearing Crystal speak on a podcast a few years back, I knew I wanted to read this book. But it sat, untouched, until February. Here's the thing, Crystal is lovely, It is evident in her heart, evident in her story, evident in her life. Her writing...not my favorite. I felt as though she was unpolished and repetitive. I love storytelling, but taking four pages to get a simple point across is just too much for me. This book took me forever because I had to psych myself up just to keep opening it. (I decided to donate this one and gift someone else the opportunity to love it.)
This one surprised me. I purchased it a few years ago and kept looking past it on my bookshelf. It was just never a book which jumped out at me as the "read me now" type. Surprise, Surprise, it read so easily, it entertained, and it did this incredible job of taking historical accounts and adding detailed aspects to the story, making it appear to come alive in greater detail and by-way, a greater understanding of Biblical accounts in a modern world. In essence, it is a handful of Biblical stories, told in 21st Century understanding. (Although I enjoyed this read, I decided to donate this as well, feeling that it was a "once and done" read for me.)
Back to the Girl books. I feel as though this one has the most passion behind it- people love it and people love to hate it. (You can read a negative review of it by clicking on the picture.)I still love it. It reads as motivational, informative, relatable, and ALWAYS re-ignites that fire in me. EVERY TIME.I wrote a post about this book a few years ago.Girl, Wash Your Face is like a heart-to-heart with an Enneagram 8:It hurts so good.Rachel has a fantastic way of story-telling and shares story after story of a lie she once believed and what that lie looks like now, after scrutiny and a new perspective. (This was an audio book, but I own the hard cover and it continues to keep it's place on my shelf.)
The male perspective to Rachel, Dave Hollis (her husband-turned-ex-husband) offered his own counter/accompaniment-book in Get Out of Your Own Way. Many thoughts here.
First off, it was a good read. Not brilliant, not incredible, but good. I enjoyed hearing his perspective on growth and mindset as well as his backstory and perception throughout his marriage to Rachel (of which, she shared plenty in GWYF).
Dave's writing is not polished, but this was also his first book, so, bravo.
One part in particular which felt strained was when Dave references a night of passion and *eh* some stuff that didn't work out as he had hoped. I read this and thought, "he is trying to be open, but I can tell there is so much more here and he isn't yet comfortable baring it all". For better or worse, this was a huge step for him but what came across the page was uncertainty in his story, storytelling, or comfort. Maybe all three.
As I was reading this, I couldn't help but wonder if it grates on Rachel some that Dave used the same structure to pen his book as she had in hers. I wondered if their marriage was already falling apart behind the scenes, of which he mentions exactly zero times. I wonder if it is very difficult for him to be riding on Rachel's coat-strings, and if, ultimately, their "Brand" isn't what destroyed their marriage. No hate here, I honest wish them both the best. (This book was borrowed from the library-and returned.)
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