If you've wanted to change someone or redirect your own future, shove this one into your tote bag when you leave on vacation or into your briefcase if you're going into the waiting room.
Well, here you go. Grab this one for your book club, especially if you have members struggling with chronic illness. It's encouraging, eye-opening, and you'll turn the last page with a smile. The questions will lead you to a deeper understanding of the author's intentions as well.
Why not do a day of chair yoga instead? The simple exercises are explained and well-illustrated. From how to choose your seat to how much effort to invest, you'll gain flexibility, balance, and confidence - whether you're an out-of-shape 40-something or a senior trying to get more fit.
I liked that I could choose a topic - an emotion, action, or idea - and work through it at my own pace. I'm stingy at giving 5-star reviews but this has been useful all year. And I plan to go back to it next year and in the coming years.
If you're stuck, trying to get to the next level in goal-setting and self-understanding ... or if you're doing practical get-in-motion counseling to encourage your employees, grown kids, or friends to take the next step, grab a copy.
This story of finding a home and finding a heart-companion is a tale of second (and third?) chances.
If you struggle to trust, to rebuilt a broken past, and want a good story to create hope and open your heart to possibility, read this one. Good for a girls-only book club, too.
This book gives step by step instruction for looking, seeing, and making marks. You'll be amazed at what you create - with this DIY handbook.
Takes drawing to the next level for beginner and intermediate artists.
This book is full of characters you want to meet and get to know. You'll experience their emotions, their consideration of how to act and think, and their realization that life goes on but memories remain forever.
I struggled through it because the background was dark - but what I read was a story I'd take on a commute or shove in my tote bag for a day away. You'll get absorbed in the romance and possibilities.
If you are an armchair traveler, a lover of history, or enjoy a deep dive into the cultural background of where you hope to go, you'll enjoy Posteguillo's book on Julius Caesar.
Key historical figures shape entire countries, and this book explores why Caesar made a lasting impact on a city, a country, and the Mediterranean region. I enjoyed the creative non-fiction, the descriptions, and the possibilities of what life may have been like around this towering man.
Well-researched and interesting.
For those who have no family history or wide-spread tribe of relatives, connection can be difficult. Throw in adulthood in the military for a sense of disconnection and homelessness. I enjoyed this and hoped for the surprise outcome that landed on the last pages.
Recommended for a commute, the beach, or a seat by the fireplace.
There were many place where I had to pause to take in the emotion of anticipation or satisfaction. Mikheyev captures the drama and the passion of love in a beautiful and heart-filling way.
Highly recommended. Read it aloud with your lover?
Would you choose to confront evil or close your eyes to what's going on? Do you care if you're overlooked or become a hero? Would you do what's right, one step at a time, regardless of consequences?
Could an accountant who understands the flow of economics - the links between money and values - change the world? A gripping tale of war and espionage, culture and economy, and what happens in the dark.
If you like a thriller tangled up in WWII history, don't miss this one.
It's part horror, part hope, with a lot of religious activity between. I won't read it again though it was a cult favorite when first published in the 1990s.
How do you deal with what you can't change? Is it possible to move on without keeping your victim status intact? Do you even want to?
Maybe you wonder if God cares about your future when he's allowed the past to be marked with suffering. Is he able to restore your heart, your compassion, and your trust?
If you want to heal, if you want a clear path forward, please get this.
I wish I'd had this book instead. What if I could draft and customize clothing to my mood and figure without patterns?
Well I can - and so can you with the help of this book. Have fun with it. Buy wild fabrics, leave your sewing machine out, and open to the one of sixteen projects that gets your mind buzzing.
Recommended for beginner and advancing creators.
Now you need a book on how to groom your pet yourself. Here you go! Pictures. Reasons and methods. Customization and options. Remember that hair and nails are renewable resources - and have fun as you bond and trim your family addition.
I found this an interesting volume - and want to explore it more closely, lamp by lamp, canvas by canvas, easel by easel, and sofa by sofa. Have fun with this one. It's like being invited in or going on a trip ... while you're sitting in your comfy chair.
Here's your manual for publishing - whether you pursue a traditional route or want to publish your own books. Well-researched options, clear instructions, and vocabulary are all here.
Plunge in, and we'll see you on the other side of your book, whether it's your first or the latest in your collection.
Why buy it? It will hold your interest in short time periods. Take it on your commute. Take it on a plane and nap between chapters. And consider what it means to live a world away from where you are now.
As a student of intercultural issues, the topic interested me in its scope of theology and worldview. Seekers of truth and meaning will find much to discuss in Moes and Riek's book. It encourages honest exploration of personal history, needs - met and unmet, and trends in psychology that can help or damage faith.
Its summaries of psychological trends and how they relate to theology are particularly useful. I recommend it to faculty and students, Christian and not, for its perspectives on various approaches to understanding and healing the mind and psyche can benefit self and others.
Honest in its emotions and strong in passion, the book allows the reader to explore unmet needs and disappointments. It names our biases and unhealthy responses. And it offers healthier ways of dealing with pain, abandonment, and rejection.
Read it. Be affirmed in faith. Be affirmed in personhood. And risk trying on the ideas in daily life. Miller offers tips and tools to move forward and live life to the fullest - especially when it's not all that you dreamed it would be.
It's a feast of background that makes reading more enjoyable. It offers a book group discussion points and suggests how to contribute to causes championed by the author/s.
Worth picking up if you're starting a book club, if your group is stumped or deteriorating into gossip, or if you just want more information about a great book you're reading.
The description of this book begins with: "This searing memoir tells the story of a young doctor and activist who ran an underground hospital in Damascus, humanizing the enduring crisis in Syria." Sounds like it's worth your time, doesn't it?
So what is NetGalley? It's a space for publishers to reach bookish people who write reviews. And the journal keeps track of book club selections, books that you review, and other things you read.
You can upload covers, stickers, and other graphics into your journal as well. It's not useful for me since this blog is my review journal. But you might like it if you don't have another place to park your thoughts and comments on what you read.
Filled with examples, information about how a workplace becomes toxic, and practical strategies to help you avoid being derailed, this is a worthwhile addition to your library.
Whether you're teaching business classes, hard at work without making progress, or curious about helping someone else, get a copy.
I was reminded of the historical and idealistic Grace Livingstone Hill novels of the past. When all is lost, how does God bring good and healing? You'll like Abigail and hope the best for her and her chaperone.
It's not heavy reading but an interesting and romantic tale. Good for a commute, a night in, or when you have a few hours that should have a happy ending.
In this look at the time between Good Friday and Resurrection Day, Herberger offers comfort and hope. My friends and I have been talking about the hardest time - when there's a promise ahead but we're waiting for God to appear, to open a door, or to release us from discomfort and death.
Whether you are grieving, waiting for a new season, or stuck in silence, this book offers ways to adjust and rest through such times - and offers confidence that you are neither forgotten nor abandoned.
As a gift or solace for yourself, this is worth reading.
Villodas goes back to the teaching of Jesus to draw out universal principles of a good life - counter to the world's values and advice. Some of his insights will be familiar. Others will make you pause and take inventory of your own expectations.
Well worth considering - where you are and where you long to be. Take this one along on a day or more of retreat and reflection.
You'll like the characters, find yourself cheering for a happy ending, and enjoy the descriptions. It offers the reader a chance to consider the effects of rushing to judgment and condemnation of others. In Ephraim and Birdie's relationship, there's joy and growth - and yes, that happy ending.
Good for passing time in a quiet week, as a bedtime novel, or speeding along your commute.
It's a reminder of one's "place" in society in years gone by, and how inventive a woman had to be to live larger than constraints. You'll fall in love with Poppy and the women she pulls into her orbit.
Enjoy this bit of history and culture, along with the descriptions of places - and the adventures that turn up.
I recommend it as a staple for business courses, entrepreneurs, and the curious who want to know what sets excellence apart from the ordinary.
Highly recommended. I don't give a lot of 5-star reviews. Just saying.
It's more than caricature, more than cartoon. The step-by-step instructions and projects will show you how to create lively sketches of places in which you and others live.
I like this book as a traveler who sees homes and offices that are unique to their country or special in construction. Until now, I haven't known how to capture that essence.
Whether you're an experienced artist exploring a new genre, whether you're an observer or tourist, or whether you're a new artist, have fun with this one.
Robinson is TikTok famous for little sketches of life around him. You'll be charmed and challenged by his process in this volume. Enjoy it, whether you have never held a paintbrush or you're expanding your repertoire of possibilities.
If you like a historical she-can-do-it-despite-the-odds story about a women with brass and courage, you'll have fun with this one.
Recommended when you ned an engaging story about possibilities and hope in the midst of life's challenges. Figure it out with Theo and Lexie on your commute, during a quiet night, or just before Christmas.
I like a good thriller and story as much as anyone else. You'll root for Clay and those willing to help him like I did. Enjoy this to the last page when you need a little zip and a lot of mystery.
Three very different women track their journey and their friendship over 10 years, through grief, celebration, and surprising revelations that we learn about each other as life unfolds. You'll love this for a beach read, on the commute, or when you need to be reminded that old friends can remain Friends of the heart.
This one, supposing that a woman wrote works attributed to Shakespeare, builds on speculations of literary historians. It's interesting, engaging, and made me say, hmmm.
If you like the speculation of creative non-fiction and the back and forth of history and current day, you may love this one. As always, Picoult is a wonderful storyteller of possibilities.
This made me think of sinking, swimming, floating, and skimming across experiences many of us encounter. The experience of his craft makes Collins a delight.
Recommended for poets, aspiring poets, and those who like a new way of looking around them Enjoy.
★★★★ ☐ The publisher has provided a copy for review.
If you've ever been captured by an idea that has reshaped your life, you'll love this tale of pursuit. I liked the now-and-then exploration of life in Hugo's time. The genre of creative non-fiction allows for musings between what we actually can prove and what might or could have been. Bostridge combines facts and speculations in an engaging and interesting way.
Recommended for history buffs, for literature and Victor Hugo fans, and for the curious. Useful for academics as well as literary bystanders. Enjoy this unusual and engaging book (complete with photos.)
Where you're exploring what it means to have Jesus as "the Way," whether you are seeking "the Truth," or living in abundance in him as "the Life," there's something here for you. There are reminders of what you know, what you haven't thought of, and ways to live out your commitment to God.
Recommended for those seeking spiritual direction, teaching or growing in spiritual formation, and those who are considering the path of faith in Jesus.
I liked the stories of how God has spoken to others. It gave me ideas of ways God has whispered to me in the past and brought life and light to my journey. It's a tale of progress in the faith, of understanding how ordinary life unfolds day to day. Sometimes we see the steps we are taking. Other times, we look back in wonder at how far we've come.
If you aren't certain that God is a speaking and interacting One, if you think God is far away and uninterested in you, read this book. It will help you look at the voice and the voices around you - how the Living Word is present in and through you.
I came late to the Christian calendar, growing up in a low-Protestant environment where liturgy and church feasts were suspect. This book reconciles the human need for connection and being a conduit for living water with the reality of a broken world.
Smith makes personal the idea of having hope amid distractions and disappointments. She offers stories and pathways to see life as abundant and glorious even in seasons of pain. She invites the reader to connect to the life of Christ and the life of others: of "joining" this unfolding of the Kingdom of God.
I enjoyed it. I recommend it to spiritual seekers, those distrustful of Christ's community of faith, and to those maturing and opening their hearts to the joy offered in the Body of Christ.
There are twists and turns at many points of history that open our understanding to what is there. There are dead ends and rabbit trails. I found the travels through thousands of years of mathematics fascinating. And, since I didn't stand in God's math line (but instead in his art and story line), you might really enjoy this as well.
Recommended for the curious and explorers.
Contrasting the perceptions and realities of an unloving, not-serving Body of Christ with the hopefulness and possibilities of Christ's nature, Dominguez opens the possibilities of a collective reflection, repentance and restoration of what Jesus intended.
Each chapter starts with a quote, a verse and a story or observation on how things are. And it ends with reflections in meditations, questions, and scripture. Well worth picking up. Because the concepts are worth pursuing wherever God has placed you in this world of hurt and hopelessness.
Be the body! I'm recommending this for spiritual formation, ministry leadership, and ministry team members - so that through you will flow living water as you reach and teach others in the same.
This book highlights the mysteries of our faith: the beauty of art, the thoughtfulness of writing, the history in orthodoxy and orthopraxy. I was fascinated by the threads of care- and carefulness related to Christian beliefs and praxis.
If you are teaching, experiencing, or considering a spiritual director or spiritual formation, I recommend that you ponder these explorations and exercises. Caution is advised: stay close to the scriptures and examine what you read as you open your heart to experiencing God-with-us-in-Christ in new ways.
