Booking Through Thursday: Recent Serious Read

Here's this week's question:

What’s the most serious book you’ve read recently?

Answer:

I actually have 2--one non-fiction and one fiction.

The serious non-fiction read was called Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall, and let me tell you just what an eye-opener that was. Up to this point, I'd only ever heard about the FLDS from what was told on the news and a handful of TV specials. Most of that is a little bit sugar-coated, and you don't really get the full picture of what life is like for women in particular. I was appalled at what Elissa had to endure on a constant basis, and amazed at what she has done since being able to flee her community.

The serious fiction read was The Veil by Diane Noble, and I have a review posted of it here. I read this one a few weeks after I had read Stolen Innocence simply because I wanted to read more about the history surrounding the Mormon church. This book was not overloaded with historical facts, but it definitely had a few pieces of information that were new to me. I would classify it as a serious read because it is based on the Mountain Meadows Massacre in the mid-1800's.

Book Review: Not Far From the Tree by Ruth Smith Meyer

This month, the CFRB is featuring Not Far From the Tree by Ruth Smith Meyer.

About the book:

Those who lived in the twentieth century saw more rapid changes than any previous century. Born at the beginning of this era, to a family that had already faced dramatic change and challenge, Rina seemed to come into the world with a zest for the revolution the 1900's would bring. Based on the story of a real person, the narrative alternates between the daily activities of a still spunky 99-year-old Rina and her vivid memories as she relives vignettes of her life. The impetuous and sometimes capricious nature of young Rina almost exasperates her parents Jake and Ellie.

When she is barely a grown woman, marriage to an imaginative and sometimes impractical dreamer husband, the arrival of babies, the great depression and life in general take over, moulding her into a strong woman not unlike her parents, proving the apple indeed does not fall far from the tree. The unbelievable twists in the lives of Rina and her beloved David will keep readers fascinated with the indomitable strength of the human spirit when there is a solid foundation of love and faith. Although this is a sequel to Not Easily Broken, it can readily stand on its own.

My thoughts:

Not Far From the Tree is a great book if you're looking for something a little different. It's based on a true story of a family with ten children (yep, you read that one right). Being a mother of so many is a calling that not many women have, but after the first few come along, Rina starts to get the hang of things and is a good example to learn from. What amazes me most about her is her patience. Obviously, raising 10 children could try anyone's patience, but on top of that, she has a husband who, while wonderful, really asks a lot of her. David is definitely a dreamer, and always has to try something new, particularly jobs. This forces the family to move as much as a military family would. Rina's patience is really put to the test when she sees some of the places they'll be living (I think I read it right when I saw "semi-trailer" somewhere along the way).

It is also encouraging to see how much Rina relies on the Lord to see her through trials and difficult circumstances. One of my favorite portions in the book tells the story of Rina being worried sick that there won't be enough money to feed the family until the next paycheck comes in. Rina takes her concerns to God, and depends on Him to see her family through. Not 2 minutes after she utters that prayer she gets an answer....actually 3 answers! My eyes welled up with tears after that because, even though I've never been that poor, I have had my faith shaken to the core that my only hope was that God would hear and answer my prayer. No doubt about it....He still does!

I truly hope that I'll be able to read the book that came before this one (Not Easily Broken) some day. If it's half as good as this one, I know that I won't be disappointed!

4 Stars

Southern?  No
Sass?  No

Check out these other member blogs this week for more info:

Book Review: The Justice Game by Randy Singer/5 Stars

About the book:

After the target of an investigative report storms a Virginia Beach television station, he kills one of the anchors before the SWAT team takes him down. Following the victim’s funeral, her family files a lawsuit against the gun company who manufactured the killer’s weapon of choice. The lawyers for the plaintiff and defendant—Kelly Starling and Jason Noble—are young, charismatic, and successful. They’re also easy blackmail targets, both harboring a personal secret so devastating it could destroy their careers. Millions of dollars—and more than a few lives—are at stake. But as Kelly and Jason battle each other, they discover that the real fight is with unseen forces intent on controlling them both.

My thoughts:

It is so enjoyable to read books that can be paralleled to real life. Not that reading books as a way of escaping real life is bad, but sometimes, it’s a big help to have things put in real-life perspective. Randy Singer’s newest book, The Justice Game, is such a book. He deals with an issue that I have never before read in any other Christian fiction book—guns. And I don’t mean, someone dies from a gunshot wound and that’s the only place the gun is mentioned. No, this book is all about the gun debate, and it looks at the whole picture.

I was not raised in a home with guns. My husband, on the other hand, was. Growing up, I had an irrational fear to guns simply because I had never been exposed to them. In the last couple of years, thanks to my husband’s patience and teaching, I’ve become more comfortable holding one and firing one. In spite of my personal history, I found myself going back and forth between sides throughout this book. It’s somewhat hard to explain that without giving away something crucial. Even though going after a gun company to seek restitution for a death caused by one of their guns sounds a little crazy, I have to admit that I probably would’ve thought to do something similar. But on the other hand, how in the world can a gun company be held responsible for people’s actions? Mr. Singer explores both possibilities, and he tells the story from both sides of the argument very well.

There is no doubt in my mind that I will be looking for more books by this talented author in the future. I will admit that it was a little slow through the first 100 pages or so, but hold on to your hats for everything else that follows. You will not be able to put this book down!

5 Stars

Southern? Yes
Sass?  No

Book Review: This Side of Heaven by Karen Kingsbury/4 Stars

About the book:

Annie Warren always wanted the best for her son, Josh. But years of failure and bad choices created a heartbreaking distance that has grown far worse since the day Josh was hit by a drunk driver. Now on medical disability, Josh has put his life on hold for years, waiting for the insurance company to send a settlement that never seems to come. Worse, he believes the story of a scheming woman who claims they have a seven-year-old daughter named Savannah.

Despite the unlikelihood and complete lack of evidence, Josh dreams of being a father and is determined to one day claim the child. His family doesn't know the full story. They don't know what happened the night of the accident that was worth the chronic pain Josh suffers every waking minute, or that his is turning his life around. They haven't seen that Savannah's eyes are his, and they don't know how desperately the little girl needs her family.

When the settlement that rightly belongs to Josh is threatened, Annie sets out to defend her son. But she might find a treasure more valuable than money, one she never expected, one that is the greatest gift her son could ever give her...this side of heaven.

My thoughts:

I have very mixed feelings about this book. For one, I've grown a little weary of Karen Kingsbury's lack of new material. Everything she writes anymore seems to be identical. When she wrote the Redemption series with Gary Smalley, I was so impressed that I couldn't stop talking about her books to anyone and everyone. But since then (and I've read all but maybe 5 or 6 of her books), I just get bored. Where it used to only take me a couple of days to read one of her books (I won't leave a book unfinished), it now takes a week or more simply because I lose interest.

But on the other hand, God must have known that I needed to read this book right now. (Stop reading now if you don't want to read any spoilers.) Halfway through this book, the main character, Josh, dies. And it was just so unexpected that I was truly shocked that the story was about to take that turn. The strange thing is that I read that portion of the book a couple of days before my husband's family got a terrible phone call. It turned out that my husband's cousin, Justin, was killed in a car accident. Even more unusual was that Justin and his family had just been up to our town for a visit a week before his death. When I heard the news, all I could think of was that I'd just seen him. Even more heartbreaking is that he leaves behind a precious 5-week-old baby girl, Palyn. Personally, I didn't know him that well, and only got to see him a couple of times a year, but I knew him to be a sweet guy who cherished his family and would do anything he could to help you out.

After all this has happened, and while reading this book at the same time, I have not been able to get over how precious our lives are, and how much that I want to make of the time that I have left on this earth. God has not promised us tomorrow, and even though all of us won't have a "hero" label attached to us like Josh does in this book, we need to do our best to make sure that every day counts. I was so touched by the things that Josh did in this book, things that no one knew about until after his death. He was friends with a neighbor with Down Syndrome, and he bought groceries for an elderly neighbor who was homebound. Reading that just put the urge within me to find ways to make a difference for others. I don't know how I'll do it yet, or what I'll do, but I do know that I don't want to leave this world one day and have regrets.

4 Stars

Southern?  No
Sass?  No