To Be Perfectly Honest Book Review

Well, it's been a while since I posted a review for the Blogging for Books program! The last couple of months have been so busy that I just never got around to requesting my next book, so a few weeks ago I logged back on and picked my next book.

When I was looking for my next book to read, "To Be Perfectly Honest" by Phil Callaway caught my eye. The description sounded very interesting to me - a guy decides to tell the honest truth for an entire year. As one of Callaway's friends says in the opening chapter, for a Christian "Isn't that a bit like giving up arson for Lent?"

His friend makes a point, since we should all work to live honestly anyway - but as Callaway began his "truth vow", it's apparent that there are many small ways where we may not be acting in an honest way without really realizing it.

The book is written in a journal format, with Callaway telling relevant stories from each day of his truth vow (sometimes he succeeds in being honest, and sometimes he doesn't). Callaway is a "humorist" and the stories are told in a funny (and honest) way. He pokes fun at different people he encounters in day-to-day life throughout the year - not in a mean way, but you should be aware that no one is safe.

There were a couple points where I wasn't sure I agreed with something Callaway said, but I could appreciate the humor in his observations. It takes alot for me to laugh out loud at something I read, and I found myself chuckling many times while reading this book.

The value in the book lies mostly in entertainment, but there were many lessons woven into his stories as well. I was especially struck by some of the creative ways he found to witness to others.

I also really appreciated how honest he was in writing about his thought life - those secret sins that aren't really put on display, such as pride, envy, critical thoughts, being judgemental, etc. I saw my own struggles in alot of the situations he described. He sums up the lessons he learned personally in the epilogue, and extends the truth vow deadline for another fifty years.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It was humorous and light-hearted, even while dealing with some heavy subjects. I came away from the book feeling cheerful, and that's always a bonus to me!

Note: I was given a copy of this book for free by Waterbrook Multonomah Publishing Group for this review. This is my honest opinion of the book.

By the way, you should all go over and rank my review on the Blogging For Books website - mostly so they can see I'm doing my job and give me more options for books to review. And if you blog and want to recieve free books, take a look around their site while you're there!