June Book Reviews

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English Lessons: The Crooked Path of Growing Toward Faith by Andrea Lucado ★★★☆☆ (audiobook)
Andrea's dad is best-selling author Max Lucado. She grew up with him as a pastor of her church and she thought she understood her Christian beliefs. But when she moves from her comfortable Texas hometown to England's Oxford University for graduate studies, she begins to questions things she always assumed were true. This memoir is like peering in a (sometimes disorganized) journal with honest thoughts on her struggle through big questions about her faith, wrestling with doubt, and self-discovery. I love reading books set in Oxford and I had high hopes since I love anything Max Lucado writes. But it was hard to connect with Andrea and I found myself sometimes annoyed with her meandering thoughts and conclusions. The ending  seemed very wishy-washy instead of spoken with conviction, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but still rubbed me the wrong way. Andrea was searching for answers to her faith journey while still faithfully clinging to her belief in God. I respect her for her vulnerability in sharing doubts and struggles, especially since she is from a well-known family and her words can be easily misconstrued or judged. But I kept finding myself comparing it to another memoir of spiritual formation, Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber, and it may have been that Carolyn's story of becoming a Christian from being an atheist was just so much more of a dramatic transformation (since it changed her beliefs about everything in her life) as well as the quality of writing was also more thoughtful and rich, in my opinion.  And of course there is C.S. Lewis' own memoir of his conversion to Christianity, much of which took place at Oxford in the excellent book, Surprised by Joy, that I would highly recommend.


The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare ★★★☆☆  (full-dramatized recording audiobook)
This witty play was chosen for our June  book club so I listened to an audiobook production that was excellently done with multiple actors and sound effects. It made the story come alive. Basically, the Italian town of Padua is the setting for this love story of sorts. The beautiful Bianca has multiple suitors but none are given a chance to prove their adoration until her spitfire older sister Katherine is wed. Fat chance of that happening, is what they basically are thinking. She is brash and often teetering on violent psycho behavior that just isn't too attractive for the softy men of Padua, apparently. Two suitors join forces to help find someone crazy enough to marry her and they find trickster Petruchio who likes the sound of the money he'd inherit by marrying the feisty gal. Hilarity ensues as they meet, though it was a bit difficult to understand all of the  double-meaning and quick wit between their dialogue. There's also a confusing but funny subplot with one of the potential suitors who pretends to be a tutor so he can be with Bianca. Overall it was entertaining, but I struggled with calling this a love story because I felt like Petruchio was a jerk in the ways he treated Katherine, who I felt was misunderstood. There's apparently a lot of controversy about this play due to the chauvinistic personality of Petruchio and him "taming" the fiery Katherine, which is understandable. If its read within the context of Renaissance era, when women were expected to behave a certain way and marry whomever their father agreed to, I guess it can be appreciated overall, but it still rubs me the wrong way when I think about how women were treated more like property than treasures worthy of pursuing and truly loving.


Dear Bob and Sue: One Couple's Journey Through the National Parks by Matt and Karen Smith ★★★★☆ (audiobook)
A hilarious journey through America's fifty national parks, led by a married couple who quit their jobs for the adventure of a lifetime.  The format is interesting; it is written entirely as emails to their friends Bob and Sue, who inspired them to take this trip. They spent at least a few days in each of the parks and usually hiked at least once in each park. Their memoir, full of funny experiences as well as slightly terrifying reminders that national parks include dangerous animals (like angry mama bears protecting their young) was highly entertaining. They are a quirky pair; Matt is  Type A, organized, planning-savvy and a bit OCD and Karen is the complete opposite, so there is a lot of snarky dialogue and plans that get thwarted along the way,  which definitely make this more of a memoir than a rigid, textbook-style  guidebook. I really enjoyed it but I have to admit, somewhere around halfway, a lot of the parks started blending into each other and I couldn't tell them apart. The ones that did sound fascinating included the ones in Hawaii and Alaska as well as the Rocky Mountains, Yosemite, Glacier, Shenandoah (beware of bears!!), and Great Smokey Mountains.  I enjoyed reminiscing my experiences at the few national parks I have visited so far (Crater Lake, Redwoods, and Yellowstone) as I listened to those portions, and daydreamed of the many adventures I hope to have with my husband and future children exploring the natural beauty in the USA.

Reminded me of: A Walk in the Woods the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Rating: PG to PG-13 due to  some language


The Red Notebook by Antoine Lorain (translated from French by Jane Aitken) ★★★★☆ (audiobook)
A cute  French novella about a bookseller who finds an abandoned purse filled with items he knows must be precious to someone. He tries to track down the owner of the purse when he happens to snoop in her red notebook and is intrigued by this mystery woman because of what he finds written inside. The other part of the story is from the perspective of the woman who owned the purse and how she ended up losing it. It's set in Paris, so obviously there is a romantic feel to it. It was a creative plot and enjoyable overall but I felt like the ending was rushed and not quite believable.

Rating: PG to PG 13 (a few subtle sexual references and a few cuss words)





Things Fall Apart by China Achebe (audiobook) ★★★☆☆
The story of Okonkwo, a Nigerian man in the late nineteenth century known in his village of Igo for his strength, leadership, and hard work ethic, which is the image he strives to portray after being humiliated by his father's lazy, debt-ridden legacy. After a tragic mistake, he is banished from the tribe and has to rebuild his life amongst distant relatives in a different village until he can return after seven years, which is necessary to cleanse him of his wrongdoing. When he returns, he is stunned by the change in his beloved village when British missionaries arrive and try to convert the villagers from their deeply spiritual lifestyle and customs to the Christian faith. It's an interesting story and Achebe has a way with writing sparsely but packing depth and importance in each well-crafted word. That said, I missed the emotional aspect that I definitely like in books. I felt like it was a play-by-play of what was happening to Okonkwo rather than digging into character development or inner dialogue. He was a cold character that at times (especially in relation to his three wives and children) was callous and violent, so I was not cheering him on at all, which makes it hard for me to like a book when I find the main character unlikable. And it is just hard for me to connect to male protagonists as easily as I naturally do to women protagonists. I enjoyed reading about pre-colonial Nigerian tribes and their customs, but was not riveted by the actual plot. For those who want to read a book around the same time period (set in Ghana, not Nigeria), I would highly recommend Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi instead of this.

Rating: PG (a few references to violence)

Kid Lit!

Night Night Bible Stories: 30 Stories for Bedtime 

Written by Amy Parker; illustrated by Virginia Allyn

Reading Bible stories at bedtime is a meaningful and intentional way for Christian parents to fill their child's heart and mind with the timeless truth of the Bible as they lay their heads down to fall asleep. This Bible storybook is a  wonderful resource for parents of young children, particularly preschoolers and kindergartners since the stories are a few pages long and might require too much attention for infants and toddlers. The narration is easy to understand and each story finishes with a rhyming takeaway message as well as a prayer, and the illustrations are colorful and sweet. The thirty Bible stories are from both the Old and New Testament and are many of the more known Bible stories, from Creation and the First Sin to the Easter story and the Great Commission. 

Disclaimer: Thanks to Book Look Bloggers for a free copy of this book that I received in exchange for an honest review, which I have provided here.

Why God? Big Answers About God and Why We Believe in Him

Written by Dan Dewitt; illustrated by Christine Grove 

Two siblings ask their mom why they believe in God, which leads to other questions like why bad things happen in the world. This is a sweet story with great dialogue for kindergarteners and grade-school children to grasp Christian truths through age-appropriate language and a little humor thrown in. It can be a great tool to encourage children to ask questions and explore the evidence of God. On the last page, there is a Parent Connection section that has a devotional and discussion questions to dig deeper with children into the theology discussed in the book. 

Disclaimer: Thanks to B&H/Lifeway Blogger Team for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, which I have provided here.