Book Review: Wild in the Hollows

With the lyrical talent of a trained poet, Amber Haines tells a fantastic (and familiar) story of redemption in each of her lowest moments in life.

I want to believe this book is truth, I really do. I want to believe that there are people out there who live these lives where they see and feel God so intensely and obviously. But this story sounds like the same one I've heard time and again at the tent revivals of my childhood. Each person's story is different but has the same keynote: They were at rock bottom, and God appeared miraculously to them - and hasn't stopped doing so since then - but instead of having the power to overcome (as those from the Bible who witnessed God miraculously), they're stuck in the same old patterns.

This book is worded beautifully, though the flowery language does make it difficult to understand what the author is really trying to say sometimes. It tells a fantastical story that - if true - is wonderful. It also ends abruptly, with no clear point or 'moral of the story' ... it's almost as if a stranger walked into my house, told me their story, and then left.

Despite its flaws and being so fantastical that it hovers on unbelievable, it's a pleasant read and only took me an evening to get through - a nice one to pick up if you're looking for an extraordinary story to boost your faith in God's promises.

Book Review: It's Good to be Queen

Ever wondered what it must have been like for the Queen of Sheba to approach Solomon? What traits did she have to possess to gain the favor of such a wealthy and wise king?

Liz Curtis Higgs has, and she decided to write a book about what might have been.

In It's Good to be Queen, Higgs takes the account of Sheba's visit to Solomon - one of the shortest stories in the whole Bible - and turns it into a book by combining historic account, the different word combinations used in various Bible translations, and a heavy dose of imagination. She then uses this imaginary story filled with imaginary detail to tell women how they should behave.

Her points are good, suggesting that we should pursue generosity, openness, and wisdom (among other things).

If you're looking for a Bible-based lesson on how to be a powerful woman, this is not the place to look. However, if you're looking for an entertaining story and some good tips about being a good person, this is a great book. It's an easy read - easy to get into, and easy to put down when something else comes up - and it has great entertainment value. Higgs possesses a wonderful imagination and has beautifully crafted a detailed picture from the framework of general historic knowledge.

I received my copy of It's Good to be Queen for review from Blogging For Books. For more information, visit the It's Good to Be Queen webpage.

Book Review: Everyday Detox

After 5 years of struggling to understand the complicated environment of my husband's digestive process following a major surgery, I'm excited to see more and more books on the market attempting to address the all-important gut.

Everyday Detox by Megan Gilmore seemed to be just the book I needed! It promised recipes to heal the digestive process and - added bonus - help you lose weight! The intro sounded promising, with phrases like "crowd-pleasing" and the familiar reassurance that you don't have to live a life of deprivation to be healthy.

This book may well prove to be the solution for someone. And if so, I'm happy for them! Unfortunately, I'm not one of those people. I don't know what crowds Gilmore is feeding with these "crowd pleasing" recipes, but they aren't the crowds I know. In addition to that, some of the advice sounds sketchy (only eat from one food group per meal?) and definitely wouldn't work for my husband (the last time I tried to feed him fruit for breakfast, we got in a fight 20 minutes later that didn't resolve until he flopped onto the couch and admitted his real problem: "I'm SO HUNGRY!") Other advice in the intro contradicts everything I've learned about my husband's gut in the last five years through a combination of trial/error and research. I haven't gone through the program Gilmore received her certification for, but I know what doesn't work for my mister - eating lots of high-fiber or high-sulfur veggies like cauliflower, for example - and this book contains most of it.

I feel like I wasn't able to give this book a fair shake because I was hoping so much for it to be a piece in the solution puzzle, and it turned out to be such a disappointing collection of things I've already tried and set aside.

The book is written well from a technical standpoint; it flows well, reads simply so it's understandable, and the recipes seem easy to follow. Even though the author is asking for a big change - switch totally off dairy, processed foods, refined sugars, and most meat - it's possible that someone who's already more used to these changes will find this book to be a great resource for healthy meal recipes. I personally didn't receive any such benefit, making me glad that this book was sent to me for review by Blogging for Books - and that I didn't waste any money on it.

Book Review: Better Than Before

Have you ever looked around and thought "Why can't I get organized?"

Or maybe, "Why am I always late?"

Or even, "Why can't I stop snacking?"

Gretchen Rubin set out to discover why we have the habits we have, and what we can do to change them, after a conversation with a friend who just couldn't seem to "get into the habit" of exercise. The result of her research is this gem of a book that will always hold a treasured spot on my shelf.

I wrote in the margins, I lost track of time, I jabbered on to my husband about it until he almost knew the book better than me. Better than Before, Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives may well be the catalyst you've been looking for. To me, it was like putting on a pair of glasses: All the things I thought I was seeing before suddenly became radically clearer.

I received this book for review from Blogging for Books. If you'd like to get your own copy, click here.

Book Review: A Simple Change

It has been at least four years since I sat down and read a book cover to cover in just one day. I couldn't put this one down!

Apparently the second book in a series (which I just now discovered when I was searching for the cover image), A Simple Change is the beautiful story of a girl learning to live in a world that is at once simpler and more complex than the one she's used to.

What I liked most about this book was that the themes of morality are carried throughout. Y'all have heard me gripe before about the "follow your heart and damn the consequences" message that was so prevalent in my childhood. This book is exactly the kind of story I've been looking for: one where smart decisions play a key role and consideration for how your choices affect other people is strongly encouraged.

Despite the moral and religious themes, this book lacks nothing in entertainment. The story moves quickly, the characters are developed well, and there's just the right amount of description - not enough to be burdensome, but not so little that you can't imagine the picture being painted.

Even though this was the second book in the series, I don't feel like I came into the middle of a story. It had a very clear beginning point and a great wrap up - with room for me to wonder "and then what happened?" so I'll probably be grabbing the rest of the series pretty soon here.

I love finding an historic romance novel that isn't just a bunch of contrived scenarios with sex scenes thrown in! (For those wanting to avoid it, this book actually doesn't have any sex. They don't even kiss until the last few chapters, it's all very wholesome). The story is well thought out and realistic, and I truly enjoyed myself.

I could say more, but I'll stop here and have you guys check out the Amazon listing for this if you're interested in finding out more.

*disclaimer: I received this book from a friend, who did not ask me to review it. This review is in no way associated with Amazon.

Book Review: Life on the Family Farm

Have you ever gone to a friend's family holiday event, sat uncomfortably on the floor, and listened to one of their relatives you'd never met before ramble on about how things used to be?

Me neither, but that's the picture I got in my mind each time I tried to read Life on the Family Farm by Tom Heck.

In all fairness, I'm sure loads of people enjoyed this book. People who, for example, lived on a family farm. It's full of quirky little stories about gophers and pulling rocks out of the fields and mending fences.

I think I really could have enjoyed this book, if it were just written a little differently. 30 pages in, I still had no idea why I should give a hoot about this dude or his farm (with its gophers and fences). I was having trouble keeping his kids names straight - probably because he was throwing them out willy-nilly without any context to make me care or anchor me to the person he was describing. I had no reason to care, no context to anchor to, nothing to really get me into the stories. 30 pages in, and I was done listening to my friend's grandpa tell discordant, rambling tales about the good ol' days when you put in a hard day's work and enjoyed fishing down by the creek in the evening.

For those of you who do enjoy this sort of thing, the chapters are small and easy to get through. You could even take it one quirky story at a time as you have your five or ten minute breaks throughout the day. It might even be relaxing to read a story that finishes off with a description of the big, beautiful, open skies at the end of a long and productive day.

If you're interested in checking out this book for yourself (or learning more about the author and what some people who actually enjoyed this book have to say), you can find all of that and more here.

*disclaimer: I received this book from a friend and was not specifically asked to review it. Amazon is not in any way affiliated with this review.

Book Review: Infuse

I love, love, love this book!

Not really being a person who drinks, about a third of it is almost totally useless to me. I mean, I might gift something infused to a family member for fun, but it's not going to become something I refer back to often. Despite that, I still love this book!

There's a great mixture of stories in with the recipes and instructions, and - oh my word - the pictures are amazing! Artistic and informative, the pictures accompanying these recipes are so beautiful I could just stare at them.

I didn't realize I was such an amateur infuser (I've been tossing fruit slices into a plastic pitcher of water for a day or two, nothing like this). I'm excited to try the recipes, which seem easy to follow -- and have I mentioned the pictures? Overall, I'm really happy that this book is now a member of my kitchen. And I'm really looking forward to upping my infusing game!

I received this book from Blogging For Books for review - and I'm so glad! For more information, visit the author's bio page here (and order your own copy!).