This month, I’m linking up with Kristin and Rachel for their first ever Book by Book Link Up. It’s a way to share all the books we’ve read and get new ideas for new books to add to our lists. Below, you’ll find the books I’ve read in the last couple months and what I thought about them.
★★★★★ – All time favorite, there aren’t many of these in the world.
★★★★☆ – Loved this book, held my attention and made me want to keep reading.
★★★☆☆ – Good book, I liked it.
★★☆☆☆ – It was fine, definitely won’t be recommending it to my friends.
★☆☆☆☆ – I finished it, but it wasn’t that great.
☆☆☆☆☆ – Didn’t bother finishing it. There are too many books on the shelf to finish one that isn’t grabbing my attention.
Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living
by Shauna Niequist
Non Fiction – Christian/Self Help | ★★★☆☆
Written in Shauna’s warm and vulnerable style, this collection of essays focuses on the most important transformation in her life, and maybe yours too: leaving behind busyness and frantic living and rediscovering the person you were made to be. Present Over Perfect is a hand reaching out, pulling you free from the constant pressure to perform faster, push harder, and produce more, all while maintaining an exhausting image of perfection. Shauna offers an honest account of what led her to begin this journey, and a compelling vision for an entirely new way to live: soaked in grace, rest, silence, simplicity, prayer, and connection with the people that matter most to us.
Present Over Perfect was one of those books that has been bouncing around GoodReads and blogs I follow, always receiving high reviews. I put it on my to-read list a while back but, wanted to wait for it to become available on my library’s audiobook app so that I could listen to it. I’m a podcast kind of gal so listening to a self-help style book like this was a no brainer. This book was appealing to me because the title alone resonates with the season of life a lot of us seem to be in, rushing and constantly consuming, unable to say “no”. There were quite a few good nuggets of information and though I couldn’t relate to a lot of the examples, I appreciated Shauna’s transparency. There were a couple times that I felt that Biblical truths were watered down or made to seem more appealing to those who are newer to their faith journey or wanting something a little more New Age/Yoga feeling. This book really made me think more deeply about prayer and is one of the reasons I chose to focus on it as one of my goals for 2018.
Favorite quote: “Prayer is the safest, most nurturing activity I practice, almost like sitting in the sun, face tilted up, or imagining yourself as a child, crawling up into the lap of a treasured trusted grandparent.”
The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit
by Michael Finkel
Non Fiction – Biography | ★★☆☆☆
In 1986, a shy and intelligent twenty-year-old named Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the forest. He would not have a conversation with another human being until nearly three decades later, when he was arrested for stealing food. Living in a tent even through brutal winters, he had survived by his wits and courage, developing ingenious ways to store edibles and water, and to avoid freezing to death. He broke into nearby cottages for food, clothing, reading material, and other provisions, taking only what he needed but terrifying a community never able to solve the mysterious burglaries. Based on extensive interviews with Knight himself, this is a vividly detailed account of his secluded life—why did he leave? what did he learn?—as well as the challenges he has faced since returning to the world. It is a gripping story of survival that asks fundamental questions about solitude, community, and what makes a good life, and a deeply moving portrait of a man who was determined to live his own way, and succeeded.
The Stranger in the Woods was a small group discussion book agreed upon by my team at work and it brought about some really interesting questions beyond just regurgitating the book. We chose to read just a couple chapters a week and it was plenty to discuss even when the reading felt sparse. Each week, I struggled to pick the book back up – maybe because i couldn’t relate and maybe because I was partially jealous of a person living his life in the gray, non-rule abiding area. I’m glad I stuck it out because there were some surprises here and there and it was way out of the realm of what I typically pick up.
Scarlett
by Alexandra Ripley
Fiction – Historical | ★★★★★
As the classic story, first told over half a century ago, moves forward, the greatest love affair in all fiction is reignited; amidst heartbreak and joy, the endless, consuming passion between Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler reaches its startling culmination. Rich with surprises at every turn and new emotional, breathtaking adventures, Scarlett satisfies our longing to reenter the world of Gone With the Wind. Like its predecessor, Scarlett will find an eternal place in our hearts.
This is a biased review because Gone with the Wind is my all time favorite book and I’m fairly certain any sequel or spin off of it will be on my list of five star reads. At least I’m telling you up front.
This was an interesting read because unlike most sequels, this book was written by a different author. Because of the way GWTW ended, the author had a lot of choices on where to take Scarlett, and to be honest, I didn’t see this coming. That being said, the characters that I know and love still maintained their integrity and personalities exactly and there were times that I forgot this wasn’t written by Margaret Mitchell herself. This book is a continued account of Scarlett’s journey of being stubborn and hard-headed. I was happy to see this book follow Scarlett through an emergence of new life and understanding of herself, which helped spin a more mature definition into Scarlett’s character.
All The Leader You Can Be: The Science of Achieving Extraordinary Executive Presence
by Suzanne Bates
Business and Leadership | ★★★★☆
The book that cracks the code on executive presence: what it is, why it matters, and how you can achieve it. You know it when you see it. That rare combination of qualities that makes a truly great leader. Until now, executive presence has been hard to define and even harder to develop. But after years of extensive research, executive coach and bestselling author Suzanne Bates and her team have identified the 15 traits you need to be all the leader you can be. Using the research-based, scientifically-grounded Bates Executive Presence Index―Bates ExPI™―you can assess your ability to influence results and maximize your impact, scientifically and systematically.
Wow, this book really packed a hard punch. I got this book for Christmas and it took me quite some time to pick up due to my extensive reading list last year. Once I did, though, I really enjoyed it. While this book is probably for a leader more developed in their role and in more of a formal environment than I currently am, I feel like there were still so many take aways for me! I loved looking at the different aspects of the Bates ExPI and trying to determine on my own where I fall short and where I excel. I think it really helped me to reflect on my role and how I can do a better job as a leader in general. I would only recommend this book if you are super into scientific research and case studies, because this one is chalk full of them!
Unoffendable: How Just One Change Can Make All of Life Better
by Brant Hansen
Non-Fiction – Christian/Self-Help | ★★★☆☆
Not entitled to get angry? Really? It’s a radical, provocative idea: We’re not entitled to get offended or stay angry. The idea of our own “righteous anger” is a myth. It is the number one problem in our societies today and, as Dallas Willard says, Christians have not been taught out of it. As it turns out, giving up our “right” to be offended can be one of the most freeing, healthy, simplifying, relaxing, refreshing, stress-relieving, encouraging things we can do. In Unoffendable readers will find something of immeasurable value—a concrete, practical way to live life with less stress. They’ll adjust their expectations to fit human nature and replace perpetual anger with refreshing humility and gratitude. The book offers a unique viewpoint, challenging the idea that Christians can ever harbor “righteous anger” or that there evenis such a thing for believers. Few other books exist with such a radical, provocative proposal to consider. We have no right to anger. We are to get rid of it, period. Completely. And it is possible to choose to be “unoffendable.”
The longer it’s been from the time of reading this book, the more positive I feel about it. It felt a bit amateur in construction and writing however the overall theme and message to live our lives outside of anger so relevant to our culture right now, and I’m even willing to admit falling into the trap of what I like to think of as “righteous anger” and being prideful. I liked examples and it was interesting to hear how this topic plays out in Brant’s life. I appreciate that he talks a lot about how being offended is taking up our heart space and and the room in our lives that could be used up for loving people.
Grit: Passion, Perseverance, and the Science of Success
by Angela Duckworth
Non Fiction – Self Help | ★★★★☆
In this instant New York Times bestseller, pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed—be it parents, students, educators, athletes, or business people—that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.” Drawing on her own powerful story as the daughter of a scientist who frequently noted her lack of “genius,” Duckworth, now a celebrated researcher and professor, describes her early eye-opening stints in teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience, which led to the hypothesis that what really drives success is not “genius” but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance.
I’m a self-help junkie to begin with, but I really loved this book about perseverance. This book was really well rounded and well researched as Angela has basically spent her life learning and studying how to persevere and how to teach perseverance. It was particularly interesting to hear her specific examples and get to really dig in to her research without having to wade through scientific jargon. At the end of this book, a group of us who were reading it together decided to do a “Hard Thing Challenge” where each of us decided on one challenging thing to do every day for a month. The only were rules, which were outlined in the book, were that we had to choose it and that it had to be challenging. I chose to get my DSLR camera out each day. Based on my results, I’m not sure how much grit I actually have (ha!), but it was a fun challenge for me to try.