Book Reviews

The Way Back by Phil Cooke and Jonathan Bock

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The Way Back: How Christians Blew Our Credibility and How We Get It Back by [Phil, Cooke, Bock, Jonathan]

Four Stars

My church’s leadership recommended this book as a way to get back on course. I decided to read it to gain greater understanding about the current concerns our congregation is facing. What I appreciate is that this book reflects what I have long believed to be true.

My grandmother told me often as I was growing up and in my faith to “be God’s person.” This was her daily prayer for her children and grandchildren. Her personal daily prayer was that God would direct her to the person(s) He wanted her to meet that day. She was one of the most gifted evangelists I have had the privilege to know because she looked for opportunities to share her faith in relational, inoffensive ways. This book reflects that ideal. Be God’s person. See opportunities to share faith in personal and tangible ways. That is the way back to living out a credible Christian life.

Book Reviews

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

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What Alice Forgot by [Moriarty, Liane]

Four Stars

I read this one for research as I am considering a sequel for my novel, The Forget-Me-Nots. My novel also delves into selective-amnesia, and I wanted to see how Moriarty wrote about this phenomenon. I found the book to be readable and page-turning. I wish I had liked the characters more. But, it is a good pick for a book club. There is definitely much to discuss!

Book Reviews

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

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Two Stars

This book is so far my least-favorite read this year. I get it…and yet I don’t. Given the shock value it most likely caused when it was published in 1945, I can understand (sort of) why discussing anti-establishment and personal angst in 1960s classrooms would seem relevant at the time. I would like my twenty-one-year-old to read it to get his opinion of what I suspect is a continuing mind-set. But, personally, I’m just checking it off my to-read list…with great relief.

Book Reviews

The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera

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The Awakening of Miss Prim: A Novel by [Fenollera, Natalia Sanmartin]

Four Stars

If you want to escape to a village where a modern-age Jane Austen would set a story, you will enjoy Natalia Sanmartin Fenollera’s The Awakening of Miss Prim. Here you will find characters with Victorian-era ideals whose match-making interferes with the independent Prudencia Prim. This is a story that will not leave you.