Saturday, February 9, 2013

Perks of Being a Wallflower


I really enjoyed this book. It helped me remember what high school was like... dealing with issues that were important to us, hanging out with friends (and the entire drama that can unfold within friend groups), and struggling to be understood by parents.

I really liked the style of writing. It was written as journal entries from a boy named Charlie. Charlie is very much an introvert, so it was great to read an insight into his world.

It is amazing the power of friendship within the loneliness of high school. This was simply a beautiful book I picked up at the library. It was written as if it was 1992, so the world was a different place back then. It seems that it would have been edgy for the time, but it is not as much today because some of the things within the book are more accepted now than they were then.

With my ten year high school reunion coming up, it was a great reminder of high school. I mainly read the book so I could see the movie...

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

I Am Not But I Know I AM



Louie Giglio is a great speaker, and as it turns out, a great author. This is my first book that I have read by him. Giglio constantly reminds us about how small we are compared to our great God. It is humbling to read his book and remember that truth.

From the start, Giglio is unapologetic in confronting "two of the archenemies of the heart... stress and meaninglessness" (4). "To both stress and meaninglessness, this book says, "Enough!" (5).

"... if you're at a place in life where weariness and strain are more commonplace than rest and wonder, this book has found you at just the right time" (20-21).

In the book, Louie goes through a Bible study method that I have yet to put into practice but want to. It's called the One Word Bible Study Method (explained in detail in Appendix A). Basically it is going through one sentence of the Bible, one word a day, to really soak up the entire meaning of that sentence. It may seem slower than our usual read a chapter a day methods, but when you read the book, you'll see how valuable it can be.

"Just because you are small, never confuse that with being insignificant to God.... You are little. But you are intensely loved" (67).

The most convicting chapters were "Be Still" and "Furious Rest", which were about the Sabbath.

I highly recommend this book.

I reviewed this book for Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers Blogging for Books. I received this book for free in exchange for a review of the book.

Friday, February 1, 2013

stack o' book

Last year I posted a stack of books that I wanted to read through in 2012. I made it through about half of them. I got distracted by books from the library, free books that came from Blogging for Books/Multnomah Publishing, and just an overall busy season of life.

Here's my current stack of books:


I have read two of the books before (Faith in the City and Walking with God), but I feel like I could benefit from reading them again (something I rarely do -- I think I have read Messy Spirituality 2-3 times -- the most of any book).

January has been slow for me since I wanted to try to read Les Mis before seeing the movie (I got to 27% on my kindle before seeing it with a friend). So I am still working my way through it. In addition to the books pictured, I want to read through the Lord of the Rings series. I have a college prof who is creating a class on Tolkien's works and we are having an online discussion via Facebook so he can work out what he wants to teach this fall. So super excited. Except I JUST read The Hobbit and I'll have to do it again. Oh well. Time well spent to continue learning from this man, Charlie Starr. I took his class on C.S. Lewis and it was by far one of my favorite college classes! 

Here's to reading in 2013!