book review – Page 9 – Leah E. Good

June 20, 2014

3 Books on Godly Masculinity: A List for Guys

I’ve been mentioning for the past few weeks that I hoped to get my brother to do a review for the guys. Well, that hasn’t quite happened. But he did give me the titles of his favorite books in between projects. So I thought I’d share those with you today. The first two books are the ones he gave me and the bottom one I tacked on for good measure. If any of you girls have brothers who don’t follow this blog, you might want to pass the list on to them. These books teach guys how to be gentlemen, and who doesn’t want a gentlemanly brother?

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God’s Gift to Women: Discovering the Lost Greatness of Masculinity:
My brother laughed just reading the author’s note at the front of this book. Mr. Ludy kicks everything off by saying,

I wonder how many people will pick up this book, turn it over and look at my face, and mutter, “If that is God’s gift to women, then I feel sorry for femininity.”

But he goes on to also explain the true purpose of this book,

We live in a generation of burpin’-and-scratchin’ male mediocrity. Most modern-day examples of manhood are self-serving, perverted, and depraved. And we are accepting this second-rate version of masculinity into our marriages, our families, and our lives. I believe we need a new standard of masculinity–a standard that is not shaped by our culture, but by the very person of Jesus Christ. That standard is the core of this book’s message.

Stepping Up: A Call to Courageous Manhood:
This book was lent to my brother by a friend. Apparently it was a good recommendation. According to the Goodreads blurb,

In Dennis Rainey’s newest book, Stepping Up, he tackles head-on the call to living, breathing manhood, offering a simple yet powerful vision for what it means to be a man who truly conquers and wins.Insights include: Six nonnegotiables for training teenage young men; the temptation men face to step down; three qualities of men who finish well.

The Mark of a Man:
Amazon blurb,

In a world where men and women are encouraged to reject traditional gender roles, Elisabeth Elliot candidly reminds men why the genders are not equal and interchangeable. Written as personal advice to her nephew, The Mark of a Man reveals the glory and purpose of true masculinity. With Christ as the example of the ultimate man, this classic take on understanding a man’s role in life and relationships, romantic or otherwise, helps men define their own masculinity in a positive way.

June 13, 2014

Relationship Books: To-Read List

In lieu of a book review this week, I’d like to share my list of relationship books I hope to read in the future. I had planned to ask my brother to review a book for the guys this week, but he’s been so busy I didn’t even bother to bring it up. Besides that, this blog is home to lots of recommendations drawn from my last six years of reading. I’ve also done plenty of “real time” reviews of books as I read them. But I’ve never shared which books I plan or hope to read. So, since this month’s theme is relationship non-fiction, here are four books from that category that I hope to read.

Growing Up Duggar: According to an interview the Duggar girls did, this book is “all about relationships.” Not just romantic ones. As a long standing Duggar fan, just knowing the older girls wrote a book was enough to make me want to read it. It just happens to be about relationships, which makes it a perfect fit for this list. I know a lot of people panic when they hear how many children the Duggars have (19 if you didn’t know), but I love it! Can’t wait to see what the girls have to say in this book.

I Kissed Dating Goodbye: I’ve been borrowing this book from a friend for far too long, so it should probably be the first book on this list that I read. Having heard Mr. Harris (the author’s father) speak at a homeschool conference and loving Do Hard Things (written by the author’s brothers), putting this on my to-read list was a logical course of action. I read Boy Meets Girl a while ago, and it didn’t really keep my attention well. Friends of mine love both books, so I’m curious to see what I’ll think of this one.

Redefining Beautiful:I don’t really know much about this one. I found it at a used curriculum sale hosted by our state homeschool association. It looked pretty good (and it wasn’t very expensive), so I grabbed it. From what I can tell, this one only sort-of-kind-of fits this category. From the back cover, “Jenna reveals a foundational beauty secret: a father’s love. And whether a girl comes from a home with a devoted father, a home where that is only a dream, Jenna brings hope as she helps girls discover that they already have the perfect dad.”

When Sinners Say “I Do”: This is a grab from last year’s used curriculum sale. Same story as with Redefining Beautiful, only I’d noticed this book several times in the CBD catalog. According to the back cover, “When Sinners Say ‘I Do’ is about encountering the life-transforming power of the gospel in the unpredictable journey of marriage.

Which of these books most interests you? Have you read any of them? Do you have a recommendation for which you think I should read first or will enjoy most?

While you’re here, don’t forget to take a moment and help me name a character in my next book. If you cast a vote, be sure to leave a comment saying which name you picked. I’m trying to come up with a fun surprise for the people who participate.

June 7, 2014

Book Review: Set-Apart Femininity

Just as lasting and fulfilling romance is not found in the place that most of us search for it, neither is feminine beauty found in the place that most of us seek it.

Set-Apart Femininity could just as easily be titled “Counter-cultural Femininity”. As Mrs. Ludy mentions in this book, today’s culture tends to mock “all things pure, innocent, and uncorrupted.” Some girls, like me, haven’t had to face the full force of this moral decay yet, but someday we will. And many, many more already have. I’ll never forget the day I struggled to define modesty to a girl on my swim team because she honestly didn’t know what I was talking about. Yet even while our culture scorns and degrades purity, God continues to value it. And we, as Christians, should too. This book is a call to honor and pursue God’s standards rather than allowing ourselves to be dragged down by the world’s.

Because this book written to encourage young women caught in the middle of negative pressures, the writing is occasionally more graphic than I needed it to be. For this reason, I don’t recommend this book for younger girls to automatically pick up and read. For younger readers (tweens and young teens), have mom read it first. If you’re looking for something that doesn’t bring up all the junk in order to help you dig your way out of it, I’d highly recommend Before You Meet Prince Charming.) For older readers, this book definitely contributed to shaping the way I think of femininity. The concepts presented have helped me feel confident in my position when people have questioned my beliefs on the subject. I wish more girls would take this message to heart.

Have you faced challenges or mocking as a young woman seeking to live in purity before God? In what ways do you think Christians, especially Christian girls, should be different from cultural standards?

May 30, 2014May 30, 2014

Book Review: Created to be a Help Meet

Wow. No book review last Friday and I totally forgot about the Guess a Quote this week. Blame it on Memorial Day. Actually, you may have to excuse me if I go absent without leave once in a while over the next month or so. My mom has been diagnosed with breast cancer (she said she was okay with me sharing that with you guys) so we’ve been in a flurry of doctor’s visits and phone calls. In addition, my brother graduates from high school today, and he and I are preparing for a missions trip in July. So prayers and grace on skipped posts would be appreciated. And if any of you would be willing to write some book reviews for me, that would be lovely. Thanks so much!

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I remember seeing my mom reading Created to be a Help Meet when I was younger. At that time I’m sure I lumped it in with all the other excitements and ideas my parents brought back from homeschool conferences. When I got a little older, though, she produced this book for me. After she pre-read it, she decided it would be best for us to work through together at first. I loved (okay, I still do love on occasion) keeping my poor, early morning mom up late at night with incessant deep questions. If she was offering to read a book with me at nighttime, I was all for it! Preparing to be a Help Meet really grew me in a lot of ways. A meek and quiet spirit does not, unfortunately, come naturally to me. This book helped me to think about and desire to someday be a good help-meet. This book and several others I read around the same time gave me an understanding and respect for not simply being satisfied with who I was at the time. We human being are works in progress. Our tendency is to say things like, “Oh, well, that’s just the way I am.” But a lot of times the way we are is not necessarily the way God wants us to be. This book was one of the ones that made me realize that it’s never too soon to cooperate with God as he works on molding us into the people we will one day be.

I will say that mom and I read it together because she knew some of the content might concern me. For example, author Debbie Pearl and her husband got married just eight days after their engagement. Mom wanted to be able to gauge my reaction and make sure I knew she didn’t think that was necessarily the best way to go about things!

Have any of you read this book? What did you think? What points did you agree/disagree on?

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If time allows, I think I’m going to try to do a theme on “Marriage Prep” books. I’m not sure that’s really the right term for them, but you probably know what I mean. I may even try to rope my brother into doing one or two for the guys in the audience.

Also, what did you think of this review? My normal style is a lost more factual and less personal. This week I read a post on writing creative book reviews that encouraged bloggers to incorporate personal stories in their reviews and let people read the synopsis on Amazon if they’re interested. Which style do you prefer?

May 16, 2014

Book Review: The Door in the Dragon’s Throat

Join Jay and Lyla, twins with an archaeologist father who brings them with him on all his adventures. In The Door in the Dragon’s Throat, book one of the Cooper Kid Adventures, the Coopers land in Napur, a country with an ancient legend. Natives give a cavern in the desert a wide berth. According to ancient legend, anyone who tries to open the door in “The Dragon’s Throat” will die. The Coopers are curious, and they know their God is stronger than anything in the cavern. What truth lies behind the legend?

I have a soft spot for middle grade books that remain interesting as I get older. The Cooper Kid Adventures hold a secure position in that soft spot. They no longer infuse me with the same heart palpitating suspense as they did when I first read them, but they still offer exciting adventures that doesn’t take to long to read. Because they are written for a younger audience, the spiritual warfare aspect in The Door in the Dragon’s Throat is not as central or intense as it is in Peretti’s adult books.

May 9, 2014

Book Review: This Present Darkness

I forgot to mention this last week, but this month’s theme is spiritual warfare. Talk about an intense genre! Today’s review comes complements of my brother. I wanted to include This Present Darkness, but didn’t have time to read it. Thankfully he did, and he was willing to review it. Enjoy!

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A small town pastor attempts to hold a struggling church together while the town’s newspaper man tries to figure out mysterious happenings at the local college. Both men are unaware of the supernatural battle taking place in their families and neighborhoods. Tal, a mighty angel captain, struggles to get the Christians to provide the prayer cover he needs to do his work as he battles an ancient foe. Can the newspaper man and pastor hold the town together and can Tal defeat his demonic counterpart?

Peretti’s book is fascinating and exciting from the first pages. He makes the spiritual battle seem real, and it makes you think of just how little we really can see and understand of what is happening around us, and how effective prayer is. This is definitely a very intense book that is probably best for readers over age fourteen.

May 2, 2014

Book Review: Cloak of the Light

Cloak of the Light is one of those “impossible to categorize” books. It’s not quite sci-fi, not fantasy, not allegory. My brother purchased this at a homeschool conference last weekend, devoured it in a day, and declared it one of the best books he ever read. He described it as Spider Man meets Frank Peretti.

Life has thrown Drew plenty of curveballs, starting when he lost his father at age twelve. He doesn’t believe in God. He doesn’t believe his best friend’s conviction about the potential of alien life either. Not until he sees an other-earthly invader with his own eyes. In an experiment goes wrong, Drew gets zapped with the equipment used to see into the other realm and soon discovers that he can now see into it without a machine. He finds himself observing a battle between dark and light invaders. Who are these mysterious beings that are invisible to all eyes but his own? What do they want? And what can one young man do against a force of evil that can affect the hearts of men?

I found the start of this book a little slow, but my brother said it drew him in from page one, so I’m guessing it’s a matter of personal preference and level of criticalness. If you’re like me, just view the first few chapters as an extended prologue and rest assured it will pick up soon. Chuck Black makes it clear in the afterword that this book is not intended to be an interpretation of actual spiritual warfare, but rather an imaginative, gripping story to help readers think about spiritual warfare as they might not have otherwise. I fully enjoyed the story and look forward to book two!

April 24, 2014

Book Review and Giveaway: The Big Field

“Yeah,” Hutch said, not looking up at either one of them. “My Dad sure knows his baseball.”

Baseball runs in Hutch’s blood, and no position feels like home as much as shortstop. His father played shortstop during his baseball days, but those ended a long time ago. Now his dad struggles to hold down a job and rarely shows up to watch Hutch play baseball. When superstar shortstop Darryl Williams shows up to play on Hutch’s team, Hutch gets moved to second base. Hutch resigns himself to be a good team player and accepts the move, but when his consistently MIA dad starts showing up to coach Darryl, the situation gets more and more bitter. The biggest game ever for their team is coming up fast, but Hutch’s patience is running out.

I’ve yet to read a book by Mike Lupica that I didn’t like. My mom and brother enjoyed this one with me when we listened to it as an audio book. I love his down-to-earth, humble main characters. They’re not perfect kids, but they aspire to standards that make them worthy role models for young readers. And the feel-good stories are equally heart warming for older readers as well.

TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY simply leave a comment explaining why you’d like to read this book. Due to shipping costs the giveaway is only open to residents of the continental United States. The winner will be announced on April 30th.