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3 Books I Finished Recently

In 2023, I set a goal to finish one book per week. I’m aiming to listen to 30 minutes of an audiobook per day (while cooking, cleaning, and/or driving) and read 10 minutes of a book. By doing this, I hope to fairly easily be able to finish one book per week.

You can follow along on GoodReads to see what I’m reading, what books I finish, and the star rating I give each of them.

Here are the three books I finished recently:

The Dead Don’t Dance

I started this audiobook a long time ago, but I didn’t finish it before it needed to be returned to the library (through the Libby app).

I love Charles Martin’s books and this one had some really beautiful words and sections in it. However, I felt like some of it felt so unbelievable or a little scattered that I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed some of his other books.

Verdict: 3 stars

Listen to Your Day

This was one of those books that I immediately loved from the get-go. It drew me in, challenged me, and made me really analyze my life and choices.

The premise of the book is that we live in such a distracted world that it’s hurting our lives and keeping us from paying attention to what matters most. I loved the examples the author shared — especially in the first few chapters — to challenge us to make small changes to live less distracted lives. I resonated with it so much and appreciated how counter-cultural it was.

I felt like the first 5-6 chapters were the best. The second half of the book wasn’t quite as good (still valuable, I just didn’t resonate with it as much!) and there were a few parts that felt a little cheesy/cringey (like him talking about writing from the bathtub, etc.)

Since I loved the first section so much and felt like the book’s message is so needed in this day and age, I asked the author to record a podcast episode with me. Look for that coming soon!

Verdict: 4 stars

Raised to Stay

I loved this book so much! As someone who has experienced church hurt and disappointment, it moved me deeply. I appreciated how the author shared her journey in such a way that it challenged you to move to a more healed, wholehearted place instead of staying stuck in a hurt place.

The book is filled with personal stories, wisdom from Scripture, and both practical and inspirational content for anyone who has struggled with church hurt and/or disappointment or who is in leadership in a church.

If you want to get a little idea of what the book is about, be sure to listen to my conversation on the podcast with the author. It’s worth the 30 minutes of your time — especially if you have walked through any sort of church hurt or disappointment.

Verdict: 4 stars