May Books-The Rest

You can find Part I of my May books here. Below are the rest.



This book is perfectly the same as the previous book (Building Better Families) I read by Matthew Kelly. He even used some of the same stories and examples. I’m quite disappointed. Since I have both of these books as audio selections and not as physical books, it’s hard to quantify how much is duplicated but it still comes down to his underlying principle of becoming the best version of yourself, but he talks a lot about being yourself or rooting out the fundamental flaws in yourself. I think is a message that has to be taken carefully. Too many people seem to think in order to be your best, you need to be what they think is best and that is dangerous. I didn’t finish this book and don’t plan to read another Matthew Kelly title.



I always appreciate it when Christian people admit that the problems they had as a single person can and most likely will follow them into marriage and need to be dealt with within the marriage unit. Both my fiancé and I are bringing abuses into our relationship and I am so happy to say that we have been able to discuss everything with no shame or blame. We do plan to use our experience in our shared couple ministry. I encourage everyone to be honest in your marriage. You can’t hide your past. It is there whether you acknowledge it or not.



This book really took me by surprise. The author has a way of weaving the story leaving out just enough to have you thinking one thing and then surprising you to know that all was accounted for. Does that make sense? If you find yourself yelling at the book after the first few chapters, keep reading. It starts to come together and gets quite interesting.



I started this book quite some time ago and I’m glad to have finally finished it. Even though I will be reading it again soon enough. This is the kind of reference book that I think should be revisited annually or at least before a work goes into the editing process. I was hit with so many ideas while reading and I’m looking forward to really working through them and getting into something more solid. Some of my favorite authors contributed stories and advice for this book so I felt a little bit more connected with the material. I recommend this for anyone writing for women, even if you won’t technically be in the chick lit genre.



This was an okay book, but it just didn’t grab me. Maybe I should watch a couple of episodes of the tv show and see if it changes my mind. For now, I can say I won’t be looking into other books of the series.



This is a great summer read. I really appreciate that the author explored the happiness option that resulted from finding oneself rather than finding a rescue-man. It has a lovely ending and lovely message that ties in with the title.



I started this book some time ago and I’m happy to finally have had the time to finish it. This is truly a story of courage and sisterly love and bonding. I’ve been following Lisa Ling since I was in high school and she was on Channel One. It is no surprise that her sister’s life is just as fascinating in terms of the travel and news stories that they do and produce. I remember the dread I felt when I heard she and a coworker had been captured but that was greatly eclipsed by the joy of Bill Clinton helping to get back home. I went back and watched some of the YouTube videos available of their return and I was brought to tears all over again. Euna Lee has also written a book on her ordeal in North Korea. I have that on my wish list as well. Since Laura and Euna were held apart during captivity, I’m sure their stories are quite different. And even though both ladies were married, Euna is the one that had a daughter at home. I am grateful they made it home.