Quarterly Book List and Review (April-June)

Ya'll this excites to me to no end. For real.
There is a condition called Bibliophilia and I am self-diagnosed.

Humor me here, and take this little assessment I am putting together on the spot to see if you, also, suffer from this condition.

1: Do you love to read?
2: Do you have your own personal library and find yourself adding to it almost unconsciously?
3: Do you read one book while dreaming up the next book (or three!) you plan to read?
4: Do you talk in book-hyperbole? *
5: Do you scour the bookshelves of friends the moment you enter their homes?
6: Do you keep a running list of books you might like to read?
7: Do you find yourself following your favorite authors on other platforms just to know more?
8: Do you have more than one book going at a time? (Admittedly, this is new to me. With free apps. such as CloudLibrary, where I can listen to a book audibly, I find that I will have one playing and another book altogether while sitting down to read.)
9: Do you and your friends get stupid-giddy when a favorite author is about to launch a new book?
10: Have you ever been on a book launch team? Or would you like to?
11: Do you still have a favorite book, circa your childhood or teen years?
12: Can you remember key points of 100 books, or quote one book in entirety?
13: Do you draw constant parallels to life with situations you have read about and find yourself wondering how Penny or Marilla would have responded? (Penny was introduced to me in Donald Miller's, Blue Like Jazz- one of my TOP 10 books ever read. Marilla, as in, the older -sometimes crotchety- women from (everyone's favorite carrot-head!) Anne of Green Gables fame, became a superstar in my eyes after reading Marilla of Green Gables and falling head over heels for her.)

                                                     
                                                            

  

      source: asplendidmesslife.com

     

14: Do you know which of your friends have similar tastes in reading as you, and do you confer with one another on a regular basis whenever one of you discovers something new?
15: Do you have a TOP 10 list which you play on repeat in your head or share with your people?

If you have not already amassed from the title of this post or the 15 questions I rattled off the top of my head all rotating around the glory which is book reading, it may surprise you to know that I do all of the above. If you had me pegged at the second punctuation mark, you will likely not be surprised in the least. If you are still reading this, you are likely a Bibliphile as well, and so we are in good company.

After posting about the books I read and listened to in the first quarter of 2020, I was driven to pride by the comments I received making me believe I was something of a marvel and that someone ought to be paying me to read like I do.
har-har

The thing is, I was, admittedly, not interested in seeing many people in January (just in a little funk- the kind which keeps you home and away from your phone- but willingly so), and it helps to read when you are home often and intentionally. (Click here to read my 1st Quarter Book List)

The other thing is, life does not always look so impressive. I have less books this time around and that is alright with me- although I admit that I did count and subsequently, I had to console myself with the rolling of mine own eyes for thinking this something special in the first place.
Pheew.
Self-interest and conceit are exhausting.

Anyway, I do want to share, because if you are reading this, you may actually be interested in what has interested me these past three months. I am forever interested in reading through people's "must read" lists- as well as any bookshelf I can get within 10 feet of.
Many of the photos have sources attached to them in the form of other people's book reviews. I highly recommend reading through them if you may be interested in a particular book on this list.

Without further ado...


A Homemade Life. This was a fantastic read, as Molly is a wonderful author and serves her audience words as yummy and complimentary as the food she writes about! This book reminded me of the feels I had after reading Shauna Niequist's Bread and Wine- which is one of my TOP 10!
Molly shares stories about growing up in a family which cooked and traveled, and prized both as non-negotiables for a life well lived.
As with any good writing, I was encouraged to follow suit and do both: travel to distant lands and prepare my family a meal of all meals. -Well done, Molly!



Anna Karenia. OK, Leo Tolsty, I see you. As a child I watched and re-watched Vada Sultenfuss as she pined over Mr. Bixler and committed loosely to reading War and Peace in an effort to impress him. (My Girl) In the 4th grade, some of my peers informed a naive little me that Vada got her period in the movie and I was wide-eyed with embarrassment and wonder at this detail I didn't previously know. Also, I wore a mood ring just like Vada's for years and crushed so hard on Macaulay Culkin (Thomas J.) that to this day the sight of him gets me giddy with delight.

Back to Anna. I saw her on the cover with Vronsky and picked it up, interested. Admittedly, I saw the 800+ pages and placed the book back on the shelf. After lingering for a moment, I picked it up again and read the back cover. This time I took it in my arms and decided to just jump in. And I am glad to have done so.
Although Karenina is dated and there is much I did not understand in regards to the politics of the time, the story line is intriguing, bittersweet, and when not painstaking, hopeful. It is a sad read, as it was intended. Tolstoy wanted his readers to like Anna. To root for her.
And I did. I was there, cheering her on.
(Have you read or seen Anna Karenina? I would be very interested in knowing you if were "for" or "against" Anna. Although I was so understandable of her desire for love and passion, it needs to be said that this is not the book to read if you are struggling in your marriage.)

source:annvoskamp.com

Your Blue Flame. This book was the first I listened to audibly. Jennifer reads her own words and her voice is deep, deep, deep. It took me a moment to not focus on that so that I could hear her words and appreciate her work.  Your Blue Flame walks the reader through what it looks like to live your life and actually life. The Blue Flame being the call on your live, or the beat that keeps you moving, or all of the above.

FUN FACT: Jennifer is friend's with Jeannie Gaffigan, (author of When Life Gives You Pears, cancer survivor, mother of five, and wife of comedian Jim Gaffigan -of "Hot Pockets" fame. Jeannie is name-dropped in Flame where she shares a story of how following her BLUE flame saved her life. Interestingly enough, Macaulay Culkin STARRED as a barista at Cafe Citane in Jim Gaffigan's hit show, The Jim Gaffigan Show.

Yes, Dave, that IS Macaulay Cukin. 

Source: bluntscissorsbookreviews.com

Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire. Jen's latest book.
Once upon a time I fan-girled for Jen. I fan-girled for Jen so hard. As I noted to a friend (a fellow Bibliophile) just last week, "I loved her (Jen) for what she wrote, and I loved her well. I followed her and subscribed to all the things before I realized that, like her as I may, I am not a "Disciple of Jen", and I don't need to follow, subscribe, and live by every word she utters. I can like her without giving up myself in the process. I don't think it was Jen trying to draw me to her unchecked, I think it was me, allowing someone else's words to ring higher than my own. And when I stopped nodding my head to absolutely everything she said, I realized I had stopped for a reason. I can (and do!) love her- from a distance."

Without a doubt, I really do like Jen. I enjoy her sarcasm and her bleeding heart.
Girl's got conviction, depth, and a great way with words.
Fierce, as she so simply nicknamed her latest, is a powerful book about standing your ground, standing for something bigger than you, and helping everyone around you to stand higher as well.
This is a powerful message and a worthy one as well!

DISCLAIMER:

Jen's bent toward the marginalized and the minority is, in my opinion, a double-edged sword. 

It is needed and wanted and good. 

And yet, it demonizes the white man. Literally, white men.

Although she is married to one, and birthed two, 

you could almost make a case for her dislike of them.

As a Christian person, I hope it is said of me that I am FOR PEOPLE. 

I am also, absolutely, 100% against feminism as our culture knows it. 

Yes, women can do just about everything men can, 

but men, also, can do just about everything women can.

 I do not see a need that either gender should be superior. 

Nor, as a white women, do I feel a taxing need to feel bad about having white sons 

(three of them).

While I truly believe Jen's heart is for all people of all races and whatever it is that make us different, she leans so hard to the left that I listened to this book feeling like she had to "prove" herself to her audience. And in proving herself, she had to put down specific sects of people in order to elevate others- which is counter to the freedom she is trying to stress in Fierce. 

Source: rainydaybooks.com

Small Victories. Referring back to Jen, I think it was because of her that I recognized Anne's name and decided to give this book a-go. I am glad I did.
Anne is a riot! She is a firecracker, a loud-mouthed writer, mother, and friend, and she is a great storyteller. Caution: there is much cursing and some swearing within the pages of Small Victories. Anne, who I just had to look-up and see online, is an older, liberal, white women with dreadlocks! (The exclamation point is expressive of my delight in her!)

I was at one point driven to near-tears as she asks in her adult years what her childhood self so wished to have had the ability to ask, "Why couldn't they just put those masks away?"
Of her great dislike of President George H. W. Bush, and the one time she felt him redeemable- until she changed her mind. (Of this I have no true opinion- I simply did not know him nor his character well enough to care as a child when he was in office. As an adult who has had the privilege of voting for the past 19 years, I rather like the man and want to believe that he did well for the US and its citizens.) 
And when she writes of Tammy... Oh, Tammy. We all know her and snark at her. We all have felt belittled by her and wished her to get her period in public or have a boogie hanging from her nose unbeknownst to her and most certainly while she was entertaining and thinking so mightily of herself. Of Tammy, well, Anne, we have all met her, and not a single one of us likes her much.

source: leckybang.com

Body Love. Mentioned in my previous book list, I read this book about how to eat healthier and understand the science behind how our diet affects our disposition. This book was informative and an easy read- scientific mumbo-jumbo aside. I particularly enjoyed learning about Kelly's Fab Four and how including these into every morning and most-every meal helps to set a well-balanced and nutritionally dense meal before us.
Fab Four in a nutshell:
Fiber
Protein
Greens
Healthy Fats

Beautiful Outlaw. 15 years ago I read my first John Eldredge book (funny how you can recall a song, a scent, or even a book from a specific moment in time).
 Wild at Heart was a game changer for me, as I has worked with young men and women during that time. Learning how to best approach the former and in doing so encourage their manhood and the honor in masculinity. I never forgot John's three principles:
All men need a...
...Battle to Fight
...Adventure to Live
...Beauty to Rescue
This was mind-blowing to so many, myself included.
As a mother and wife, this is still powerful information for me to behold.

In Outlaw, John writes about how witty, funny, and even sarcastic Jesus was, as told in the Gospels and the book of Acts.
Before one thinks this blasphemy, John offers example after example of Jesus being playful and human. These are examples written in the Bible, and uncovered by John in what I consider to be John's love language. How he percieves Jesus, and maybe, how you do as well.
This book came highly recommended by two friends of mine who have promised me that it is a stand-up book to read.
And it is.




Roar, similar to Body Love, Roar explains the science behind what our diet does to and with our bodies.

Roar goes much deeper, explaining how everything from diet to sleep and stress, 

hormones and age, activity and so much more all interact with one another 

and how to work with our bodies to obtain peak performance and health. 

Author Stacey Sims, PhD., keeps a steady mantra of, "Women are Not Small Men", and so everything female in nature is discussed, addressed, and supported with science, stories, and action plans.
For anyone who is active, female, and aging -or any combination of the three- I would recommend this as a great read for understanding your body better and aiding in a healthier you.

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                        source: marmaladeandmustardseed.com


A Gentleman in Moscow. Remember my list of assessments listed above? Number 6 asked if you keep a running list of books you might like to read (or listen to), and that is how Gentleman made it to this post.
Having stumbled across this in the Indianapolis International Airport a year ago, the book caught my attention and, upon seeing it in my audio-library, I ever-so-quickly selected it and am currently listening to it whilst doing dishes and taking walks.
Gentleman follows the life of Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov  and begins where he is being summoned to spend the remainder of his days in the Hotel Metropol. During his many years within it's walls, Alexander's life includes friends, new and old, a love interest, and an unexpected gift.
For those in the know, Sophia is currently 13 and the Count is wondering about her uncanny ability to be everywhere at all times....

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And that's all for me! What are you reading, listening to, or interested in getting your hands on during this next quarter of 2020?
Have you read any of the above or have any on your "to read" list?
What did you think? What have you loved...or not loved at all?
I would love to read your opinions and book suggestions!

All the best in reading and getting lost in other worlds,