Linda the Librarian

This book is a yearly read, because I need the regular reminder that God does His part and I need to do my part to grow in Christ-likeness. This is a great read if you need direction for getting out of debt or just a resetting of your attitude toward money.   If you enjoy historical fiction, this may be the book for you. This is the author's idea of what a possible back story for King Hezekiah and Queen Hephzibah might have been.  I enjoyed it from beginning to end.  Because sometimes you need a good picture book. I think we all go through mid-faith crisis at least once - probably more than once in our lives.  I appreciated her honesty and I could see myself in some of her story. I liked the authors' take on cancer prevention and treatment.  They really put a lot of power back into the hands of the patient.  We have more control (for good or for ill) over our own health than we realize, I think. Enjoy!...

Practicing His Presence by Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach This is one of the books I try to read yearly.  I have certainly not perfected keeping Christ in mind every moment of every day, hence the reason this book needs to be read yearly.  I find that different passages stand out to me each time I read this little book (it's only 106 pages).  I thought I'd share the passages that spoke to me this reading. This is the best way to act: talk a great deal to the Lord.  Frank Laubach page 23 We ought not to be discouraged on account of our sins; rather, simply pray for the Lord's grace with perfect confidence, relying upon the infinite mercies of the Lord Jesus Christ.  God has never failed offering us His grace at each action.  I can distinctly perceive that grace, and I am never without a sense of that grace unless it is when my thoughts have wandered from a sense of God's presence or I have forgotten to ask the Lord for His assistance...

Cold Tangerines and Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist Confession time, I actually read Cold Tangerines before the calendar flipped to January 1 and Bittersweet I started December 30 and finished on January 1, but I thought close enough was good enough for this post.  Cold Tangerines and Bittersweet are the second and third books respectively that I've read by Shauna Niequist.  I came across them on another blogger's post on Pinterest of books that helped them when they were struggling with depression.  Both are collections of essays describing times of difficulty and transition in Ms. Niequist's life.   The theme of Cold Tangerines is celebration. I think she was trying to describe how even in times of difficulty and transition we can celebrate God's activity in our lives.  Honestly, I didn't think the book felt celebratory.  I didn't come away with a more hopeful outlook.  The theme of Bittersweet is that even in difficulty and t...

Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I've Loved by Kate Bowler All three of my children have been safely deposited at their respective institutions of higher learning.  That meant a lot of travel for us, which is tiring.  On the upside, that also meant a lot of miles of reading time!  I read three books.  Actually, I read two books beginning to end and I completed a third that I had started before the trip.   I really wasn't sure what to expect when I picked up this book at the library.  I haven't read Ms. Bowler's other book nor had I heard of her before coming across this one.  I was a little afraid that I was in for a whiny "woe is me" book that I'd have to return to the library unread.  I was wrong Ms. Bowler was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer.  She has a husband whom she met as a middle school aged girl and a preschool aged son.  Life should be just starting for her not possibly coming to its co...

Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover Before I share my thoughts on the book itself, I want to speak to two groups of people who may be reading this post.  First if you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Ms. Westover's family is Mormon, she begins her book saying that her story is not about the church or about any faith in particular.  Her story is simply what it is.  I have friends who are part of the LDS church and I know that the Westover family is not representative of who Mormons are.  Second, if you are a homeschooler, this story is not descriptive of your efforts to educate your children.  A fellow librarian read the book before I was able to and I reminded her of this truth; there are only two kinds of homeschool stories you will hear, either the child will be a genius who is admitted into an Ivy League school at the age of 14 or the child is terribly neglected and cannot read.  I homeschooled my children, I kn...