(Real-life photo of my messy nightstand area.)
As you may remember, last fall I fell into a terrible reading rut, and subsequently there has been a conspicuous lack of book posts on this blog. It's time we catch up, isn't it? Even though it took me forever to get out of my rut, I did finish a few book last year, and I thought I'd share those with you today. More recent reads are coming soon in a separate post!
All Thirteen by Christina Soontornvat - This was a fascinating book about the soccer team that got trapped in a cave in Thailand a few years back. This book is an account of the complicated process of rescuing the boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave, and it's full of colorful pictures as well! Really well done book, and I enjoyed it alot.
The Tyranny Of Big Tech by Josh Hawley - I listened to this book last fall on the way to the Ark Encounter, and I learned so much about how Big Tech invades the privacy of ordinary people, and how it uses that data to manipulate the masses. It's actually really creepy. If you are trying to give yourself motivation to take a social media break, listen to this for more reasons to step away!
The Last Year Of The War by Susan Meissner - I finally got around to reading a book by Susan Meissner, and I enjoyed it so much! This is the story of two young girls, one of German descent and one of Japanese descent, who meet in a U. S. internment camp during World War Two, and then are subsequently separated when they are sent back to Germany and Japan with their families. It was a sweet story about friendship, and how unexpected life can be. Her characters were really well done, and the ending was sweet.
The Accidental President by A. J. Baime - Sometime last year I became interested in reading more about Harry Truman, after realizing he was thrust into the position of President of the United States when FDR died, during World War Two, and he had to make a decision about whether to use the atomic bomb almost immediately after he became president. He knew nothing about the bomb before FDR died, because FDR basically picked him to be Vice President in name only. Can you imagine being in that situation? This book was more about how he came to be president in the first place, because it really was almost accidental - he basically was chosen as VP because there were no other candidates that would do. I also learned from this book that corruption and election hijinks have been a thing in the Democrat party for a long time. Yikes.
The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins - This was another book I listened to last fall, and I honestly don't remember it that well, which tells you something about what I thought about this book. This is a retelling of Jane Eyre, set in the modern-day south - except the Jane Eyre character is a kleptomaniac, and the Rochester figure is a creepy cheat. That probably gives you a preview about the morality in this book - it wasn't good. I think there were alot of cuss words and perhaps a racy scene or two that I skipped past, but I mainly hated the ending.
Saving Cinderella by Faith Moore - I wrote a little about this book here - I loved it! This book evaluates the Disney versions of fairytales with fairytale symbolism in mind. I would love to use this book as a "movie study" unit with my girls when they get older, maybe comparing the movie versions to the original fairytales as well. Very interesting! Also note: I, like pretty much everyone in my circles, am pretty upset with Disney, and not planning to see any of their new movies or support them going forward. Their creepy agenda is alarming, and shame on them. But we do own the old princess movies (Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, etc.), and I do think there is some value in those, so we won't be throwing them out at this time. That's my very abbreviated take on all that.
Popes And Feminists by Elise Crapuchettes - This book was an interesting look at the women of the Reformation, and how the Protestant Reformation validated serving Christ through every vocation. The author presents a case about the way women were viewed pre-Reformation, how women were thought little of if they pursued an "ordinary" life path and were expected to leave their families if they wanted to devote their lives to God through a "career" as a nun. The author draws comparisons with how modern feminisms view the value of women working in the home. I don't feel like I'm explaining it well, but this was a very well done and inspiring look at the role of women in the Reformation, and how the view of women in general shifted as people were able to study God's word for themselves. I listened to it, but I would like to go back and read it sometime with highlighter in hand.
There we are, the last few books I read in 2020! I wish I could balance my schedule a little better to make more time for reading, because this is a pretty low book count for a three month period for me. Summer is coming up quick though, and I'm looking forward to a reading reset then!
What have you all been reading lately?
Post a Comment