Monday, February 27, 2017

The February Book Review

Books, books, and more books!
I was so occupied with the Whole30 on my blog in January that I forgot to do a wrap up post for the books I read in January.
Most of those books are included in the #BoutOfBooks post that you can find here. The first two books on this list are actually from the end of January!

The lineup for the end of January/all of February:


  • Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (End of January) 328 pages
  • Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari (End of January) 288 pages
  • All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (February) 530 pages
  • You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott (February) 345 pages
  • The Gifts of Imperfection: Letting Go of Who You Used to Be and Embracing Who You Are by Brene Brown (February) 138 pages


Total Page Count: 1,629
Page Count for 2017 (so far): 3,007

And the winner is….nonfiction this time!

My favorite book out of those above was Brene Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection: Letting Go of Who You Used to Be and Embracing Who You Are.
I truly believe that everyone should read this book. I read it with a group of friends as part of a book club, and I can honestly say that each one of us, in all of our personality and background differences, stopped and reflected on why we feel the way we do about ourselves and our relationships with others.
Being perfect and pleasing everyone is impossible. We all know that.
That’s why “nobody’s perfect” is a common saying, and we strive to live our lives as inoffensively as possible. This book outlines feelings and emotions such as shame, regret, and guilt and explains why we feel them so that we can take those emotions captive and control the way we view life and, ultimately, ourselves.

One of the things I love about Brene Brown is that the whole book is actually quite biblical, even though she isn’t labeled as a Christian author.
In our group, we talked about how if you take most of her points one step further, they are based on the principles that are outlined for us in the Bible.
Example: We don’t need to allow guilt and shame to control our view of ourselves...because God has already taken that guilt and shame, and we are free in Christ.
It was a really interesting read that caused me to take a deep look inside myself and realize that I don’t have to be perfect or please everyone.

Especially as a Christian...my life should be offensive to some people. That isn’t saying that I am to be rude or that I rub my Christianity in others’ faces and shove it disrespectfully down their throats. I am saying that my life should reflect Christ, and that others should be able to see Christ through my life.
And...well...Jesus was kind of offensive sometimes! He lived in complete opposition to His own culture, and He challenged others to do the same. He challenges US to do the same! 

I can’t compromise who I am...and Whose I am...just to make someone else happy.

All of that to say...here is the book cover. You should go get it and read it now. It is wonderful, challenging, and totally changed my perspective on how I view myself.



Currently Reading:
Jesus Is by Judah Smith
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Nature by Ralph Waldo Emerson
I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Next Up:
Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey
The Wangs vs. The World by Jade Chang

PS: I’ll be writing a blog sometime this year about the intersection of Feminism and Christianity. If anyone has any resources to throw my way, please let me know!

Until next week!

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