Category: Books

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Book Review: Growing Up Duggar

Growing up DuggarDespite the varying opinions on the Duggars, even among my own friends and acquaintances, their family has been a reliable source of entertainment and encouragement to me. When I got Growing Up Duggar for Christmas, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew from other reviews that it wasn’t an autobiographical account of growing up in the reality TV “mega-family.” It turns out, the book is a lot more practical. I was impressed, encouraged, and challenged by the perspectives and suggestions the oldest four Duggar girls shared for the various relationships in a Christian girl’s life. They covered relationship with ourselves, our parents, our siblings, guys, the culture, our country, and the world. Their advice is grounded in Scripture, backed up personal experience, and presented in a clear manner.

That said, other reviewers mentioned buying it for tween/young teen girls and assuming it would be perfectly safe for younger readers because “the Duggars wrote it.” These buyers were surprised to find the girls spoke about some more mature topics like late-term abortion and the dangers of the internet. The book is aimed towards an older teen audience anyway, and I found the subjects to be handled tastefully, but if a younger person wants to read it, I’d suggest having a parent skim through it first.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone curious about the Duggar family or/or anyone who is looking for encouragement and is willing to be challenged. This book is written to girls, but other readers (especially parents) could enjoy and benefit from Growing Up Duggar as well. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

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Book Review: The Small One

The Small OnePicture books are one of the rarer categories to appear here on Leah’s Bookshelf. Since I have a predominately mid to late teen audience, they don’t really fit. But every once in a while, even teens and adults can enjoy a good picture book. Plus I know a lot of you have younger siblings who probably like being read to and receiving books for birthdays.

The Small One is about a boy and his beloved donkey. Unfortunately, the donkey has become to old and weak to pull his weight in the family business. The boy’s father says Small One must be sold. The boy is devastated, but asks his father for permission to bring Small One into town himself in order to make sure he finds a good home. The father agrees. Unfortunately, there don’t seem to be any kind people in need of a donkey. And then, just when all hope seems lost, someone shows up who needs a donkey to bring his wife to Bethlehem.

Yes, Christmas is over. And this is most definitely a Christmas story. But the story is just as fun and touching after Christmas as before. I pulled it out on New Year’s Eve and enjoyed spending about five minutes reading it (it’s a short picture book). Apparently it’s based on a Disney movie. Has anyone seen it?

What’s your favorite fictional Christmas story?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! Hope both days were wonderful for you. 🙂

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Book Review: Machiavellian

MachiavellianBetween the release of Counted Worthy, working on a new book, and the holiday season, my reading progress has been reduced to a crawl. You’ve probably noticed that the book reviews have been lacking the past few weeks. But, I finally finished something! J. Grace Pennington was kind enough to give me a free copy of her latest release in exchange for an honest review. So here it is.

In this book, Andi’s sympathies from the previous book are dragged into another adventure. When the Surveyor picks up some extra passengers, the get more than they bargained for. The trouble is, the heroes and villains seem as entangled and undecipherable as the motives and goals. As the line between right and wrong seems to blur, Andi struggles to discover the truth before more people get hurt.

This story leaves the humanistic tendencies of science fiction no where to be seen and quite un-missed. The Christian worldviews and morals of the author and her characters weave into the story without ever becoming preachy. This series keeps getting better along with the author’s improving writing prowess. I can’t wait to see what will come next.

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10 Bookish Things I Am Thankful For

Australian1. The Bible. The most powerful book of all.

2. All of the wonderful people who have been reading my book, leaving reviews, and even emailing me to share their thoughts about Counted Worthy. So grateful for all of you!

3. These eyes the Lord blessed us with that we can use to read.

4. The power of fiction. It’s been used to tell some bad stories. I’m not thankful for that. But I am incredibly thankful for fiction’s ability to package truth in such a unique, heart-touching way when handled properly.

5. Writer friends. Creative, crazy, and attached to our fictional people. We have a lot of fun together.

6. Books that have inspired me. Right now I’m thinking especially of Do Hard Things, Safely Home, and Secret Believers.

7. My Kindle! As much as I love the feel and smell and lesser eye strain of “real” books, the cost efficiency of Kindle books is hard to beat.

8. Book editors. Writers come up with the stories, but editors make them readable. Can you image how much less enjoyable our books would be if an editor hadn’t polished them up?

9. Memories that allow us to remember the stories we read and even retain our favorite phrases to quote at opportune moments.

10. Other readers to share stories with and rehash favorite details after we’ve read them.

What bookish things are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

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Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale

Black Friday Sale

Hello everyone! I promise haven’t forgone being thankful in exchange for diving into the crazy, American shopping spree that is Black Friday. However, I do want to make you all aware of some really great sales being hosted by Christian indie authors (myself included) before it’s too late. So I’ll be posting my grateful list tomorrow. In the meantime, check out these Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Some of the sales require coupon codes. Some are built into the price you see. And for some you’ll be able to see the original price and price reduction. The Cyber Monday sales might not be visible or available until Dec 1st (but they’ll be great, so be sure to check back!). Without further ado.

DISCLAIMER: I have not read most of these books. Inclusions of titles in this post does not equal a personal endorsement from me. Read the descriptions and decide for yourselves if they meet your standards.

Kendra E. Ardnek
The Ankuluen: Cyber Monday
Saffron’s Big Plan and Other Stories: Cyber Monday
Do You Take This Quest?: Cyber Monday

Faith Blum
A Mighty Fortress: Black Friday and Cyber Monday)
Be Thou My Vision: Black Friday [7626YZAK — 20%] and Cyber Monday

Sarah Brown
The Prodigal Pup: Black Friday
Learning Lessons from Furry Friends: Black Friday

Kelsey Bryant
Family Reunion: Black Friday [YFY84GHU — 20%]

Elizabeth Ender
Ransomed: Black Friday [GNE6VUXY — 30%]

J.J. Francesco
Blood Chain: Cyber Monday

Julie Gilbert
Nadia’s Tears: Cyber Monday

Leah Good
Counted Worthy: Black Friday [K7CVNEER — 40%] and Cyber Monday

Melody Grubb
The Land of Calais: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
The Warmth of His Eyes: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Send Me, Lord Jesus: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Therese Heckenkamp
Past Suspicion: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Frozen Footprints: Black Friday

Rachel Heffington
Anon, Sir, Anon: Black Friday [9MTYHSX3 — 25%] and Cyber Monday

Rebekah Jones
Journeys of Four: Cyber Monday
Grandmother’s Letters: Cyber Monday
A Year with the Potters: Cyber Monday

Jaye L. Knight
Resistance: Black Friday [Q45HN6G9 — 25%] and Cyber Monday

Tina M. Neely
Diamond Hair Princess: Black Friday

Joel A. Parisi
Shadow Play: Cyber Monday

J. Grace Pennington
Radialloy: Black Friday [Y2XHGYDN — 25%] and Cyber Monday
In His Image: Black Friday [KXNZ7PYN — 25%] and Cyber Monday
Machiavellian: Black Friday [UFXGUYMM — 25%] and Cyber Monday

Jennifer Sauer
Why Rodney Never Should’ve Gone to the NAPIC: Black Friday [F76DDR7S — 45%] and Cyber Monday

Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer
Touch My Tears: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Third Side of the Coin: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Cara Simmons
The Haven: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
The Leviathan: Black Friday and Cyber Monday
The Champion: Black Friday and Cyber Monday

Jordan Smith
Finding the Core of Your Story: Black Friday [NL4NJXWS — 30%]

Melanie D. Snitker
Calming the Storm: Cyber Monday

Rachel Starr Thomson
Reap the Whirlwind: Cyber Monday
Lady Moon: Cyber Monday
Angel in the Woods: Cyber Monday

Aren’t there a lot of books? I’m thrilled with how many people participated. Let me know if you purchase any of them and what you think of them when you’re finished reading.

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Radio Interview

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you all know that I’m going to be on the radio talking about Counted Worthy at 8AM EST time tomorrow (Monday, Nov 24th). If you want to tune in, you can do so online. I’m so excited and grateful for this opportunity! Can’t wait to see how it goes. 🙂

While I’m here and talking about Counted Worthy, check out this delightful poem a fan sent me today. She did a great job with it. It’s like a synopsis of the story in poem form. Thanks so much, Amanda!

Poem by Beth Beguerie

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Book Review: God’s Smuggler

Gods SmugglerGod’s Smuggler was one of my favorite books of 2013. We’re now nearing the end of 2014, and I realized I never posted my review of this Brother Andrew classic. Oops! But, actually, that’s a good thing, because I didn’t have a chance to finish a book this week, so I’m happy to have such a good book to tell you about! Before I share my review, though, I’ll let the book talk for itself. God’s Smuggler has some fantastic quotes.

Whenever, wherever, however You want me, I’ll go. And I’ll begin this very minute. Lord, as I stand up from this place, and as I take my first step forward, will You consider this is a step toward complete obedience to You? I’ll call it the step of yes.

The enemy is fierce and he would like for you to think that he has on. Don’t believe his lie.

Why are we worried!” Rolf said suddenly. “This is God’s work. He’ll make a way for us.

Persecution is an enemy the Church has met and mastered many times. Indifference could prove to be a far more dangerous foe.

I have heard about this book for most of my life and, while I didn’t doubt the quality of the content, I expected it to be hard to read. After deciding to tackle it, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was easy to read and extremely engaging. Funny stories throughout the book made me laugh and people’s poignant desire for God’s word brought tears to my eyes on several occasions. Written in a style similar to The Hiding Place, I highly recommend this powerful story of a life of service, adventure and faith.

Have you read God’s Smuggler? If not, do you plan on adding it to your to-read list now? You should!

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Book Review: Sacred Singleness

Sacred SinglenessBeing single is not something I personally struggle with. At this season of my life, I’m thankful God has blessed me with contentment for where He has me and willingness to wait and see what He has next. However, like most people my age, I have occasional questions about what God wants me to use this time for. I also have plenty of friends who struggle with singleness more than I do.

This book has been sitting on a shelf in our house for almost a year. I’d forgotten about it. But last week I read a blog post by a young woman serving as a foster mom to eleven special needs orphans in India. She expressed that one of the hardest things about being a foster mother was still being single. As I read the post, I thought to myself that I wished I had a book to recommend to friends and acquaintances struggling with being single. So I dug up this book by Leslie Ludy and started reading.

Sacred Singleness lays out the power and beauty of single years that are surrendered to Christ. It points out that while popular “wisdom” tells us to make ourselves available and “help God out” by seeking and attracting the attention of potential marriage partners, God tells us to be single-minded in His service and to wait for His timing. I loved the way Leslie casts a vision for being fully satisfied in our relationship with Christ and putting Him above all else.

Announcements!

Check out the final stop on the Counted Worthy blog tour. Lisbeth of Dancing in His Reign wrote a delightful Counted Worthy Book Review.

Also, don’t forget to RSVP for the Counted Worthy Facebook launch party! We’ll be having a bunch of giveaways, including a “grand prize” set of books that includes Counted Worthy, Do Hard Things, and Start Here!