Sisters Reading Books

 This was recommended me to by Jes and I loved it so much. I finished this one in only several days.  It follows a woman who is a witch, but doesn't want to use magic in her life. Enter a vampire, they fall madly in love, and that's when the roller coaster starts, involving three different type of "creatures" besides just humans.  This story had so much happen in what seemed like such a small amount of time, yet the book is almost 500 pages. It did not feel like a long read at all, I wanted it to keep going (good thing this is a trilogy). Harkness was definitely subtle in her writing sometimes, where something important would happen in only a couple of words and I would have to go reread it to understand what just happened and the importance.  She also brought in history as well, highlighting important events that have happened in the past 700 years. I'm definitely excited for the next book in the series.  I also loved the shoutouts to many Central New York loca...

I realized I had never read this classic novella, short story, whatever it is and read it on my flight back to Ohio from Arizona. This book also included other short stories by Stevenson which I also read.  The Strange Case is such a fascinating tale with the multiple perspectives, stated facts, and different way of life. Compared to the other stories in it, it seems that Stevenson commonly wrote on the topic of death, and in most instances, very unusual ways of death. I think his focus on death largely had to do with his own personal life, but also think that death was looked very different in the time period in which he wrote. This book contained a timeline of other stories/books written during that time, and their theme on death is definitely presented similarly.  I enjoy reading books from different eras because the way that they are written is so different than from the current writing style. For some reason, it almost feels familiar language and setting wise to read book...

While I have read this many years ago and fell in love with it then, we read it for the D'Anna lady book club for February. Again, it charmed me with her wonderful story telling ability because even simple everyday events were beautiful and fascinating through her use of imagery and bluntness. This story follows the childhood into young adulthood of Francie Nolan as she grows up in Brooklyn as a poor older sister.  This story reminded me again of how well off I have it. Her lack of money was a constant worry for her and her family and they were expected to pull their weight as soon as they could walk. From the living situation to the lack of food and scrappy clothes, Francie never stopped working as hard as she could. She pushed herself in her academics so that she could "make something of herself someday." I also found the story of the immigrant mindset in living in America a fascinating subject.  Glad to have this one on my bookshelf to pass down and on to others.  5/5 ...

 This book was loaned to me by Lauren and I now also own When I Don't Desire God by Piper as well.  This was my first book by Piper and wow he is unlike any other Christian author I've ever read. His paragraphs are so densely packed with amazing truths, I often found myself having to reread sentences to fully grasp what was saying. This book presented his argument on Christian Hedonism and its' importance in the Christian walk.  His chapters basically broke down each important aspect of the Christian life, i.e., missions, marriage, prayer, etc., and how Christian Hedonism relates and promotes each.  I learned a lot while reading this book, even though it took me quite some time to read it because I got a little stuck sometimes. This was one of the first books where I struggled to always understand exactly what was being said, which makes me want to read difficult things more to push my mind.  5/5 stars.  Finished February 11, 2021

 This was recommended to me by mom and I loved it so much. It is definitely a bookshelf book for me.  She does a wonderful job discovering why ordinary things can create extraordinary happiness, and I thought she specifically did that in the home that you create. From gardens to light to shape and color, she dissects the feelings with multiple examples to get her point across. She attended many different wonders around the world to discover why humans are drawn to it and fully immersed herself into it. I added several places that in the Continental US that I want to go to because of her wonderful descriptions.  This book feels essential to me to use when I'm decorating or redecorating a space or room in my home, because our environment, specifically our home, plays a huge role in our happiness. There were so many things that I never thought about and while some of them I still did unconsciously, most of them never crossed my mind before.  This book also opened up my ...

 To save time and space (I have 7 books staring back at me to be reviewed right now), I am going to combine the final two books into one post. This was recommended to me by Jes and then as I was reading it, I found out Mary had just recently read this as well. I raced through all three books, the last one I finished while flew to AZ (flying is just the prefect time to read).  I enjoyed this series thoroughly. It follows a historian, who is also a witch, as she meets her mate aka vampire and follows their journey searching for why there are different creatures and what is actually different about them. The story was very gripping because it takes basically 1500 pages to finally get the answer, but I never felt like the story was dragging or a book was too long.  Her use of historical facts and events sprinkled throughout the story just made me want to know more about the refenced time period. She also made you fall in love the protagonists' relationship and feel their pain...

    I would give this book a 6 our of 5 stars. It pointed out to me many things about life that I have come close to in learning about Buddhism but really shed a light on so many aspects of spiritual health. I would really recommend this to anyone. He includes stuff from Christianity that Jesus said, Buddhism, and other religions. There are many points made in this book, but it mostly speaks on how our ego creates our suffering, and how a meditative state, being, and not thinking, is the way to be because it allows you to actually live life in the moment, rather than past/future/or in your ego state, which has nothing to do with the present moment or you, the true life source. The language is almost a little unusual at first but keep reading and it will make sense.   

    I loved this book, probably more than Dracula, but they reminded me of each other. It's really sad though. Haunting, at the end I would say. The reason the author wrote this was because of her dysfunctional relationship with her husband, and she wrote this in response to that.  I don't understand why Victor doesn't make another being for the monster he created, a woman mate. He is concerned about them killing, maiming, destroying, but the least he could do is create companionship for him and in that way take responsibility for what he did.  He is not a very likeable character but you do feel bad for him. There's a lot of themes or issues that could even be relevant to today probably, I wonder how much the author was trying to convey or was this just a reflection of the tragedy in her own life.   5/5 stars. 

My second book by Ayn Rand did not disappoint one bit. Again, I got hooked quick and couldn't put it down.  It follows a young woman in Communist Russia in the early 1900s as she struggles to fulfill her dreams and follow her heart through the tyranny and hypocrisy of communism. This story is sad, very few mountain peaks of joy. As a young woman myself, I would never been able to endure what she had to endure.  Rand describes the life under the regime of communism as very terrible, which I'm sure it's accurate. This book was so perspective shifting in how privilaged of a life I have and how different a capitalistic society operates.  I give this 4/5 stars because I enjoyed the read thoroughly but the sadness made me ding a point.  Finished January 28, 2021. 

 This book was lent to me by Lauren and I loved it so much. The chapters were only several pages long, making it easy to get through and low commitment.  He states how this book is for a first time Christian or been one for many years, which I whole heartedly agree with. With the 16 verses, you get a brief overview of the Bible and the ultimate plan that God has laid out for humanity and earth. I appreciate succinct information on theology like this because I often feel like I am missing some of the basic tenets of Christianity.  Bruno did an amazing job using different analogies to help explain complex terms and ideas. This is a great book for my bookshelf.  5/5 stars.  Finished January 31, 2021. 

 This is my second or third book by Lisa See and she never fails to deliver a compelling story while educating me about the complexity of Chinese culture.  This story follows nearly the whole life of a girl who grows up in the late 1980s - early 1990s in a remote tea village in the mountains of China. She gives birth to a girl in Communist China and out of wedlock leading her to drop her off at an orphanage. Her life then takes quite the turns involving tea and being a women.  This story is full of difficulty and uphill battles, making it feel very realistic and relatable. I learned so much about Chinese culture under the Communist regime while also falling even more in love with tea.  I love the way she had two stories going on at the same time which made you never be able to put down the book. Using the first person for main character makes it feel so much more personal and connected to her.  5/5 stars.  Finish January 25, 2021.