Thursday, May 1, 2014

April Book Report


So much good reading this month! There's something so exciting about having a stack of gems like these on your nightstand, wondering which to read first.


This was a re-read for me, but I loved it as much as I did the first time. Peterson has such a genuine, peaceful faith; gospel-centered and full of love. This memoir recounts some of his early memories of ministry, each one an intricately weaved tale; often surprisingly funny. This is one of those books I want to read over and over because his life, ministry, walk with God is one worth emulating.


I am not a foodie, but I love food writing. I'm a walking contradiction. So when this came highly recommended, I dashed to library and snatched up a copy. It is well-written, the stories bizarrely entertaining. I'm glad I read it, but it wasn't quite what I expected. I think I prefer my food memoirs lush and excquisitely European (a la Julia Child's My Life in France) as opposed to the 1960s California scene. But that's just me.


I was so darn tickled when my friend let me borrow this book - I've been dying to read it since it came out. And it didn't dissapoint. I was happily surprised to find that this didn't read like a "how-to" book. It wasn't an elongated blog post or a set of points, it was pure story. Oxendreider chronicles her and her family's ongoing quest for simplicity and a slower lifestyle - something they've been working at for years, as opposed to a random "Hey, I bet I could write a book about this!" experiment. There's nothing revolutionary about this family's lifestyle, and that's what I love about it. It's descriptive rather than prescriptive. I have to admit, some of the chapters were hard for me to relate to, as the bulk of this bulk is about motherhood. But overall it is a beautiful book, well-written and quietly inspiring.


I like Annie Dillard. I couldn't read her for hours and hours on end, but I like her. It's kind of funny that her Pulitzer Prize-winning classic is the last of her books I've read, but I'm glad I saved it for this quiet, rainy spring. While I've always heard so much about it, I never realized that it was such a profound spiritual work; though she's talking bugs and parasites half the time, it's really all about the Gospel. Some parts of it dragged on a little, but just as I was thinking, "Is she seriously talking about muskrats again?" she went and blew my mind with some deep spiritual truth. Read it, you won't regret it. 



I think I am the only person on the planet who did not love this book. Don't hate me. To be fair, I am not the biggest fan of young adult literature; witty, snaryky teenagers falling in love with other witty, snarky teenagers just isn't my thing. There were a lot of things that I appreciated about the book, including the way Green handles the characters' cancer. Realistic, not overly dramatized. But by the time I finished the last page I was left wondering what all the fuss was about. It's worth picking up if you're looking for a quick read or something to talk about with your thirteen-year-old niece.



Happy reading, friends!








4 comments:

  1. So glad to hear a review that did not favour The Fault in Our Stars! I'm with you on that one.

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  2. I loved this review of The Fault in Our Stars http://theartinlife.wordpress.com/2014/01/17/the-beauty-of-ordinariness/

    And I liked the book because to me, it was more about Hazel's relationship with her parents than her relationship with Gus. Being with Gus made her realize that she wasn't a time bomb - that it was a gift just knowing her at all. It gave her peace about dying. That her parents would rather have a sick Hazel than no Hazel at all. Yeah, it was cheesy at times, but I think it dealt with young death in a delicate and insightful way.

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  3. if you like food writing, you have to read A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenburg. She is the author of the amazing blog, Orangette. AND her new book comes out this weeK!!!

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  4. I've been considering reading the Oxenreider book, but had the same reservations as you. Glad to hear it's not a how-to book!

    I haven't read FIOS yet because I have a feeling I'm not going to like it either! My husband is reading it very slowly and said it's better taking it in small doses. I'm a read-a-book-in-one-afternoon type of gal, so I don't think that will work for me :)

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