Want to know what books I finished in July? In 2019, I’m sharing the books I read each month and what my honest thoughts were on those books. If you love books, you don’t want to miss this post! (You can see all of my book reviews for this year here.)
I set a goal to finish 80 books in 2019 and a second goal that 40 of those books will be books I already own. (You can see which books I picked to read from those I already own here).
By the way, I’m truly loving using GoodReads to track my reading. You all were right! It is really motivational to see my progress! And I’ve been ahead on my goal for the last month!
I finished 7 books in June —- yay! Here’s what I read + my honest thoughts on each of the books:
I am so conflicted on what to say about this book. On the one hand, it was a very well-written story that was pretty captivating, but on the other hand, I struggled to like it.
It’s the unconventional love story of C.S. Lewis and his wife. It was both beautiful and tragic and not at all what I expected.
I wanted to like it, but I just couldn’t.
Some of that was because I think there was too much fiction woven in and I didn’t know what was fact and what was fiction — and that bothered me. Some of it was because I was concerned with Lewis’ relationship with Joy when she was still married. If it were true, from my vantage point, it felt like it crossed some lines of emotional attachment that shouldn’t happen between two people when one of them is married.
If I could tie up this review with a bow, I would. But I can’t. Because I just don’t know what to say or think about this book.
Have you read it? If so, please let me know what you thought of it. And please let me know if you disagree with me and why! I really wish I could be persuaded to like it.
Verdict: 3 stars
This book moved me at a deep level. While I felt like sometimes I wasn’t poetic enough to understand the depths of what was being communicated.
It felt so raw and honest and vulnerable and yet so beautiful and rich and inspiring. I didn’t want it to end.
Two of the quotes that were the most meaningful to me:
“We don’t get to the truth while we’re deeply invested in what’s false.”
“God’s story is a narrative of emancipation.”
Of all the books I read in July, this was my favorite… thus, the 4-star verdict.
Verdict: 4 stars
I wanted to love this book and I did love many parts of it. But I felt like it was hard to slog through at times. Some of the chapters felt really long and drawn out.
And yet, some of the sections were so powerful and so important. For instance, this passage is GOLD:
“Many of us — maybe all of us — don’t live what we say we believe… We say we depend on God, but we act like we’ve got to make it happen on our own. We say we believe God can heal, but we’re walking around with decades-old wounds. We say we believe God is at work, but we’re asleep at the wheel of the one life He’s given us.”
So, despite some of the chapters feeling longer than necessary, this book has some very valuable stuff and is worth the read.
Verdicts: 3 stars
This book had been recommended to me as one to read since I loved The Geurnsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. It’s the love story of a soldier at war and his friend’s sister at home.
They began writing letters just to keep each other company. But slowly, ever so slowly, it morphed into more. It’s a fairly slow-developing story, but there is a lot of history woven throughout and I learned quite a bit about World War I. (I realized I have read a lot about World War II, but very few books about World War I.)
The book is epistolary, which means the story is told through letters and telegrams. I found it fascinating in the afterward to discover that the authors wrote the bones of this book as actual letters back and forth.
Verdicts: 3 stars
Lysa always has a way with words to penetrate your heart and challenge you, while also drawing you in with her funny and authentic story-telling.
For some reason, though, unlike her others books I’ve read, I felt like this book was missing something. I’m not sure if it’s because she wrote it while still very much in the midst of the story that is a big story arc for the book or if it was something else. I couldn’t put a finger on it.
I do feel like the book would be a real encouragement to someone who is going through a difficult time when life feelings overwhelming, hard, and just doesn’t make sense.
Verdict: 3 stars
This is a quick read (or listen) and definitely had some valuable content. However, I have to admit that I was sort of turned off by how the author seemed to often name drop or drop in unnecessary details that just felt kind of prideful.
I hesitate to ever say negative things about authors (because I am one!) and I know that we all come at things differently and only God knows someone’s heart. However, I hadn’t said anything to Jesse about this and was listening to the book when he was in the room and he picked up on this same thing, too.
I think there is a lot of helpful inspiration in this book, I just struggled to love it because I kept getting hung up on the presentation.
Verdict: 3 stars
Monica asked me if I would write an endorsement for her brand-new book. Since I love her work, I said yes!
Here was the endorsement I wrote after reading it:
In Beauty Maker, Monica invites us on a journey to cultivating more beauty — in our surroundings and in our souls. Her words inspired me to prioritize taking time to create more beauty in our home and to prioritize taking time to be a noticer of the beauty that is all around me.
My favorite part of the book? The rich and yet simple photos that showcase how Monica lives out her message in her everyday life.
Verdict: 3 stars
Important & Super Honest Note:
I’m kind of not wanting to hit publish on this post. Why did I ever commit to writing honest reviews of all the books I read anyway?? I want to be truthful, but I also want to be kind and gracious… and I struggled with how to strike that balance well in my reviews today.
I want you to know that I’m not going to sugarcoat my feelings, but I also know that authors are real people who have put so much effort into their books that it’s hard for me to write reviews that feel like they leave toward being negative. Ugh. This is the part of my job that is so hard sometimes.
If you felt I didn’t communicate graciously or you are the author of any of these books and you felt hurt by what I wrote, please let me know. This is an area where I’m still a big work in progress and I don’t want to offend or hurt anyone if I can help it!
What have you been reading recently? Any books you think I really need to read soon? I’d love to know!
