Carrie Dils
I liked this. It's one of those books where you learn some good history and are entertained in the process. I found the politics and culture around prohibition particularly interesting.
It's in the vein of an Erik Larson book, but an easier read.
I just finished reading Stuff Christians Like (a.k.a. SCL). It's along the lines of the blog Stuff White People Like except it's about, well, stuff Christians like (whether said Christians are white or otherwise is beside the point).
I've read some SCL blog posts before and enjoyed the humor, so when Blog Tour Spots announced they were sponsoring a discussion of the book I was IN.
The book is a series of super-short essays calling out some of the funnier (and less-than-Biblical) sides of Christian culture (i.e. Using “Let Me Pray About It” as a Euphemism for “No”, or, Ranking Honeymoon Sex Slightly Higher Than the Second Coming of Christ). Jonathan Acuff writes with a pretty sarcastic bent – and that kind of humor is right up my alley.
It also doesn't hurt that I grew up in a Southern Baptist church (as I suspect Acuff did) and can readily relate to his “pop-culture” references (my favorite being a lyric from Psalty, a musical I sang in somewhere around 3rd grade. As a total side note, I still think of Psalty's girlfriend every time I eat a strawberry Starburst due to their shape and color being so similar. Can I get an “Amen?”). All of that to say, someone coming from a more traditional church background might not chortle as frequently as I did. A non-church type might not even like the book at all (gasp!). But seriously...
Do we, as Christians, take ourselves too seriously? Do we not take God seriously enough? Despite the comical tone of the book, Acuff does a good job of leading the reader to self-reflect. His style is not to pound home The Point, nor does he neatly wrap up every topic with what we should do. Rather, his over-the-top sarcasm reveals just how ridiculous (or insincere) we Christians can sometimes be.
That entire last paragraph could be neatly summed up as: The book was thought-provoking.
I found it particularly thought-provoking in the area of prayer. How many times have I told a friend, “I'll pray for you” or “I'll pray for that situation”? I've always tried not to speak those words idly and do my best to send an immediate shout-out to God, BUT beyond that moment, I find I rarely engage God in true, thoughtful, intercession. Yes, I said it out loud: MY PRAYER LIFE IS SEVERELY LACKING AND YOU SHOULDN'T DEPEND ON ME TO TAKE YOUR PROBLEMS TO GOD WITH ANY REGULARITY.
But, hey, there are “worse sins” out there, right? If you'd like to be privy to my juicier shortcomings, you'll have to start showing up to my small group. Or, skip that altogether and just read the section on CONFESSING SAFE SINS (page 193).
The bottom line: I laughed out loud a lot (1 star), I found the material personally relevant (2 stars), I was challenged when I didn't expect to be (3 stars), I've already recommended it to friends (4 stars), I found the illustrated version of The Side Hug to be a stroke of artistic brilliance (5 stars).
Check out the SCL blog first. If you like it, buy the book.
“Read” this via book on tape over too many weeks, which made the story seem to drag. It's entirely possible the book was draggy on its own. Didn't love the ending.
Not at all sorry I read it, but wouldn't recommend you wreck your car to hurry and get a copy.
What a sweet little book, the kind that's written so well that you don't notice the writing.
Quirky, foreign, and a little reminiscent of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, this book had me laughing out loud. The humor's not for everybody and there's a lot of drier plot pages in between the great ones. Even still, this is a great travel read.
Very cute. You can almost hear the voices of the characters. Great to read with a kid.
Very well written and suspenseful (in a non-scary way). Just so darn sad and not redeeming, hence the 3-star.
I LOVED Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, so it took no convincing for me to pick this one up. The book starts by saying that it's based on a true story, but I guess I didn't read the cover well enough because I didn't realize it was based on Wall's grandmother. It wasn't until the epilogue that I had the delight of recognizing Wall as the descendant of this colorful woman.
The story moseyed along - literally. It could've moved at a much faster clip, but then I'm not sure that would've been at all representative of the story and characters told.
All in all, I enjoyed the story (and the telling from the voice of Lily Casey, Wall's grandmother). Made me want to go back and read Glass Castle through the lens of a more complete family history.
I have loved Mary Karr's previous books and was excited to see this book hit the shelves. I even snatched it up in hardback- NEW (a rare splurge).
This book had to share my “currently reading” stack for awhile, so maybe that contributed to my never getting into it, but it just didn't move me forward through the story like Cherry or Liar's Club did. Her writing is beautiful as always and the story is painfully raw as ever, so I felt bad when I set it aside. But I had to admit defeat and couldn't make it to the end...Sorry, Mary. I'll still buy your next book. In trade paper. :)
This was the perfect book to read as I make my own preparations to hike the Camino. The storytelling is reminiscent of Bill Bryson.
The story was enjoyable, but could have been told in half the pages! Someone told me “back in the day” writers were paid by the word. Not sure if that's true, but if it is, ole Wilkie made a killing off of this one.
I was introduced to the author when she was a guest on We Can Do Hard Things podcast. I've very much enjoyed Enneagram study and the wisdom offered in this book furthered my understanding of myself and people I love.
I'd give it a 3.5 star if I could. Enjoyable little page turner, but nothing ultimately memorable.
I'm a big Paul Holes fan and this didn't disappoint. If you've read Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in the Dark or Billy Jensen's Chase Darkness With Me, you won't want to miss this book.
Just sorta meh. Felt like 95% setup for the payout in the final 5%. I was expecting one final plot reveal that Nick was Mimi's father (after all, Nick would've been having his “birthday experience” at the club about the time of Mimi's mother's/caretaker's daughter's tenure at the club). Alas, no.
Highly recommend the audio version so you can hear Stanely Tucci read it. His descriptions are delightful and his use of alliteration is often humorous. I might buy a physical copy of the book just for the recipes!
Twelve Mighty Orphans: The Inspiring True Story of the Mighty Mites Who Ruled Texas Football
Fantastic read. Being a Fort Worthian, I especially enjoyed the historical references in the book to this area of Texas. Great story!
I feel like I should give this a higher rating for its literary fame. The writing was great. The philosophical aspect was, well, philosophical. But damn, I didn't like the outcome of the story.
A little long-winded, but great story! If you like audiobooks, you'll get a better experience listening to it read than reading it IMHO.
This book is a call to action. Whether you hold a Christian worldview or otherwise, the book discusses our responsibility to the world around us. And what a HUGE impact we can have on people!
Most exciting for me was learning about microloans in third world countries and how I can partner with somebody who, like me, has an entrepreneurial spirit but just lacks the resources. There's definitely a place for literally feeding a hungry woman, but if I can support her in starting a business that enables her to feed her family or even employ others, all the better!
All that to say: I recommend the book. And lending a hand. :)
I love Erik Larson, but I am tapped out on WWII drama. Life is too short to finish books I'm not enjoying.