Review of Book Girl

I was right, I loved it.

Book Girl was exactly what I thought it would be and exactly what I wanted it to be.

Thanks once again to Netgalley, I was able to read a review copy on my Kindle, but Book Girl is going on my list of printed books that I would like to own. It will be a pleasure to have this on my shelf.

Book Review: The Story Peddler

The Story Peddler is the first novel in The Weaver Trilogy and although it did take a while to really get going, it was an enjoyable read overall.

This is a classic fantasy tale of mystery, of good versus evil, of self-discovery, of friendship, of family and of love. We follow the fierce and determined heroine Tanwen on her perilous journey towards the truth, meeting plenty of other likeable and interesting characters along the way, especially Princess Braith.

It was the unique style of magic that particularly kept me hooked and drew me in. Tanwen’s gift of storytelling is a visible weaving together of colourful, fluid story strands to form a solid crystal image which is wonderful and was intriguing enough to hold my attention until the rest of the plot and the characters developed more fully to keep my fingers turning the pages.The pace of the narrative picks up considerably in the second half of the book until the final confrontation with the enemy when the truth is finally revealed.

Throughout the book, I particularly liked the idea that ‘art has a way of revealing truth’, that the creation of beauty as a means of revealing truth cannot ultimately be suppressed. There is also a recognisable Christian element which is woven very well into the fabric of the story, another subtle strand that helps to create a world and an adventure with meaningful layers.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #GileadPublishing for the review copy of #TheStoryPeddler. I would be happy to recommend this book and look forward to reading the next in the series.

Book Review: Invitation To Retreat, Ruth Haley Barton

Invitation to Retreat - Ruth Haley Barton

The idea of spiritual retreat isn’t an overly familiar one to most of us. It is perhaps particularly alien to those of us within a Protestant church culture.

Despite this, I love the idea of retreat but I’ve yet to figure out a way to do it well which is why I guess, this book appeals to me - it is a source of guidance on a subject that isn’t readily available to me elsewhere. The ‘view notes and marks’ tab for it on my Kindle now contains thirty nine highlighted sentences and paragraphs, so the ink on page equivalent would mean that if it was a print copy, I wouldn’t be lending it to anyone, ever. It would feel like I’m giving too much of myself away and besides, the whole point of retreat is that God is the only one who gets to turn the pages of our inner narrative. It’s a very personal invitation. Trust me, you will want to do plenty of your own underlining and highlighting.

‘Invitation To Retreat’ draws attention to the importance of having extended periods of time alone with God in order to give him our complete attention. It is inviting us to consider the benefit of finding, or rather making the time for retreat because if we do not, in some form or other, it can ultimately be detrimental to our spiritual health.

Us introverts are OK with a fairly high degree of silence and solitude, key aspects of a retreat obviously, although I’d be interested to see what my tolerance level might practically be but no matter how we are wired as people, introverts or extroverts, as Christians we know we need time alone with God and that is not always easy to achieve.

‘How am I supposed to find extra time, extended time what’s more?’ I hear you exclaim.

Yes I do hear you and so does the author Ruth Haley Barton but that’s exactly the point she is making. The introductory sections headed, ‘Strategic Withdrawal’, ‘Just Flop Down’ and ‘The Sources of Our Exhaustion’ point out that there is too much filling the hours of our days - too much activity and too much noise. Following chapters help us consider what retreat means and how to practise it with wisdom and care. We need time for listening, for discernment and prayer, for it is in returning to God that we find rest.

One thing I do know myself from my own limited experience of retreat is that it can be a surprising experience, to say the least. God doesn’t always meet us in ways that we expect and that can be daunting. This book is a great resource, not only for it’s practical advice and gentle wisdom but it can help us find the courage to seek God and be prepared for an encounter with him.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #IVP for the review copy of this book

#InvitationTo Retreat #RuthHaleyBarton 

Book Review: In His Image, Jen Wilkin

Just as I downloaded Jen Wilkin’s new book, ‘In His Image’, from Netgalley onto my Kindle two things happened;

Firstly, my working hours doubled. This sounds much worse than it actually is but nevertheless, it has meant less time for reading.

And secondly, a series of Sunday sermons on the prophet Isaiah began in church.

On reflection, it seems to me that these turned out to be well timed circumstances. Less reading time meant that it has taken longer than usual for me to finish this book but in actual fact that has been a good thing. ‘In His Image’ is not the kind of book that you should read quickly anyway. If you’re familiar with A W Tozer’s classic ‘The Knowledge of the Holy’ then you can expect a similar read. Jen draws from Tozer’s well known work on the attributes of God to help develop her own ideas on the theme and it’s a theme worth spending time on. It’s worth taking the time to read this book slowly and it’s worth spending more time reflecting on the additional Bible verses and questions provided at the end of each chapter, to linger on each individual attribute of God’s character, letting it push the borders of your understanding of him further.

Dovetailing nicely with the sermons, I read the chapter on the holiness of God in the same week as Sunday thoughts on Isaiah’s experience of a dramatic and humbling vision of the holiness of God.

I read of the goodness of God in another chapter as that Sunday in church we read of Isaiah being told by God to comfort his people, to ‘speak tenderly to Jerusalem’ and that they would receive an abundance of good things from the Lord after all their suffering.  (Isaiah 40:1-2)

This is a thoughtfully written, orderly examination of the nature of God. Little personal stories help to illustrate the point being made in each of the ten sections which helps the text from becoming overly scholarly.

I would recommend this book because Jen Wilkin helps us to bow just as Isaiah once did before a vision of God that helps us to change our perspective on life and on ourselves.

Surely we have a great need to have a more expansive vision of God - a vision that will lead us to worship him more truly and more deeply. Knowing God better will make it possible for us to know ourselves better, to know our purpose in life, and as this book highlights, to go beyond the choices concerned with exactly what we should do and focus more on who God is making us – always ‘In His Image’.

Thanks to #netgalley and #Crossway for the review copy of this book #InHisImage

Book review: Finding Jesus in Israel, Buck Storm

I’ve never been to Israel but I would love to go some day. In the meantime, I’m happy to read about it and this was a great book to start with. I’ve read other books about Israel in the context of the Jewishness of Jesus and Biblical cultural studies but not one that takes you on a ride through present day Israel with Elvis on the GPS and musician/writer Buck Storm behind the wheel. They’re good company! Buck, (note to self – check out his music some time) possesses a droll humour and a sense of adventure. He seems like a genuine, thoughtful and open-minded guy.

Frequently going off the usual tourist trail and sharing observations as he goes, we hear of places and people that build a strong sense of Israel both modern and ancient as well as plenty  of interesting information and facts - I’ve always wondered what happened to all those prayers stuffed into the Wailing Wall and now I know but this isn’t simply a travel guide. This is a book about looking for God under the weight of immense historical and geographical significance. –

‘At its very foundation, Israel is the story of God’s interaction with mankind.’

You catch a sense of expectancy not only for the experience of Israel but of God. It stirs the heart as well as the imagination. Through the stories you breathe in the beauty and the tension, the ordinary and the remarkable, not just of life in the Holy Land but of life with Jesus.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the review copy. 

I recommend reading #FindingJesusInIsrael by #BuckStorm #worthypub

Book Review: For the Love, Jen Hatmaker

For the Love has been on my TBR list for a while now. This whole time I knew there had to have been a reason why every time I saw the name Jen Hatmaker I remembered, oh yes that’s right I want to read her book. Anyone who makes me laugh this much just by writing words on a page, and I mean full on Julia Roberts laughter, is automatically my book friend and I WILL follow you on Instagram. 

If it’s only chapter two and the laughter tears are already running down my face, it is a dead cert that I will read on right to the end just in case there’s an added extra funny, one final hilarious little yellow minion, although does it get any better than discussing LAP - leggings-as-pants and TAL - tights-as-leggings? Comedy gold. 

For the Love takes a look at ourselves, our families, our friends (and the ones we find hard to call friends) and our church people. It’s about how we can learn to live more freely in the grace of God. Jen not only has a gift for humour but also for truth telling, honesty and vulnerability which is hugely endearing.

Is there any one of us who doesn’t need to hear that it is ok to say no, that we do not have to do everything and be everything to everyone.

Is there a mother anywhere in the world who doesn’t need to hear, ‘hey if you’re doing ‘mostly good’ then go you!’ Parenting is HARD and you know what, as Jen says, ’mostly good’ is later remembered by our kids as ‘loved and safe’.

Turn the pages and keep on reading, about friendship and community being the holy ground on which we love and restore one another, remembering that it takes all sorts - unity is not the same as uniformity and when things get tough, cos they do, grace is imperative! 

As for church, well, it’s a hard conversation. We are a messy, complicated bunch but …love Jesus and love other people. Simple really.

Listen, one friend to another, for the love of all things bookish, go read!

Book Review: Of Mess and Moxie, Jen Hatmaker

Moxie?

You what? 

New to me. I just assumed it was a made up word. I read the whole book before looking it up on my Kindle dictionary and turns out it is an actual (informal) word. I guess you have to be North American to have a clue but it means ‘force of character, determination or nerve.’ 

And there is a whole lot of character in these pages.

If it hadn’t been for the seatbelt I was wearing at the time I may have fallen down laughing as I read. You will laugh... A LOT and that alone is reason enough to pick up this book. 

However, interspersed between the humour laden tales of grocery shopping, (who doesn’t hate it when your grocery buying path means being trapped in the ‘socially awkward prison of repetitive small talk’ with the person matching your trolley route) and Netflix binge watching and exercise and family shenanigans, Jen talks a lot of common sense and cheers us all on as we go about our ordinary, everyday, trying to have faith, lives. 

You are given permission to set down that big ugly bag of guilt you are carrying around with you pretty much everywhere. Set it down says this book, you will hurt yourself! In her own words, Jen is an ‘honest friend in the trenches’ with her readers, encouraging us all to listen to truth, push back fear, live in community and as the book’s subtitle says, wrangle ‘delight out of this wild and glorious life’. 

This is my first Jen Hatmaker book (I kept meaning to read ‘For the Love’ but never got around to it) and it was a pleasure. I would recommend it especially if you’re feeling a little down or a lot down. It’s a pick me up, a real tonic, no gin required, although you could have that too if you liked, book in one hand glass in the other but be warned, you might spill it! 

PS you have full permission and freedom to skip out chapter 16 completely, it is about ‘football’ and you will miss nothing. 

Thanks to #NetGalley for the review copy of this book.