I love a good book. In 2012 I read 28 of them. They ranged from best-selling novels to business books to memoirs and biographies. Some were more impactful than others. Those books shown above with a red star were my favorites. For those of you who also love a good read, I thought I'd share a little review of a few of them with you.
The Fault in our Stars by John Green
I haven't simultaneously laughed and cried while reading a book in a long time. Until I read this one. I'm in love with this book and the characters in it. It was so funny and fresh and at the same time brought me into the world of childhood cancer in an enlightening way. Well done John Green!
Kisses From Katie by Katie J. Davis & Beth Clark
This book is written by, and follows the journey of, a 19 year old girl who went to live in a village in Uganda after graduating high school in a Tennessee suburb. She is now 23 and has 14 adopted daughters and a full-fledge non-profit that helps feed, clothe, educate and give hope to poor children who live in destitute conditions. Talk about using your life to make a difference! I want to make a difference with my life SO BADLY and this young girl is smoking me! I really enjoyed this book and God used it in big ways to challenge me -- particularly in the areas of my finances, storing up treasure in Heaven, and being willing to go to the hard places.
It's so easy in America, to pretend like people aren't suffering all over the world from things like hunger and diseases that are preventable and easily treatable.
Katie writes this, and it's sobering: "The truth is that the 143 million orphaned children and the 11 million who starve to death or die from preventable diseases and the 8.5 million who work as child slaves, prostitutes, or under other horrific conditions and the 2.3 million who live with HIV add up to 164.8 million needy children. And though at first glance that looks like a big number, 2.1 billion people on this earth proclaim to be Christians.
The truth is that if only 8 percent of the Christians would care for one more child, there would not be any statistics left."
Wow. I pretend the suffering doesn't exist. I get overwhelmed by the need and feel helpless to make a dent in it. But Katie is making a dent. And has challenged me to do the same.
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
This book is about the life of a president who I formerly knew very little about. But it's about more than that. The author expertly weaves together story lines about Alexander Graham Bell's inventions of the time, and the state of the medical industry, to give readers a real sense of the time and place in which he lived and died. James Garfield was elected to the presidency without seeking the office -- which is mind-blowing. And he was only able to serve for a few short months before he was assassinated. Today, he would have easily lived after the bullet wounds he sustained, but unfortunately, because of the ignorance and ultimate pride of his doctors, he died as a result of infection.
I loved the insight this book gave into the office of the presidency at that time. I can't believe they were expected to keep office hours where anyone in the country could come and make appeals to them. Also, there was no secret service and presidents just travelled and walked the streets like common men. President Garfield was such a gem and a truly lovable man. I only wish our nation could have been blessed with his leadership and presence much longer.
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
This biography reads like fiction and is such a fascinating story, that at times, it's difficult to absorb the fact that it all actually happened to one man. Kinda Forrest-Gumpish :). I'm blown away by this book and enjoyed every moment of reading it. I learned so much about the Pacific side of WWII. I could go on, but click here to read my friend Gail's more comprehensive review that led me to pick up this amazing read. Thanks Gail!
If you're interested in seeing how I rated some of the other books I read or reading my reviews of them, look me up on Goodreads! And if you have any good recommendations of your own, feel free to share them in the comments! Just no books with any dogs dying, please :).
The Fault in our Stars by John Green
I haven't simultaneously laughed and cried while reading a book in a long time. Until I read this one. I'm in love with this book and the characters in it. It was so funny and fresh and at the same time brought me into the world of childhood cancer in an enlightening way. Well done John Green!
Kisses From Katie by Katie J. Davis & Beth Clark
This book is written by, and follows the journey of, a 19 year old girl who went to live in a village in Uganda after graduating high school in a Tennessee suburb. She is now 23 and has 14 adopted daughters and a full-fledge non-profit that helps feed, clothe, educate and give hope to poor children who live in destitute conditions. Talk about using your life to make a difference! I want to make a difference with my life SO BADLY and this young girl is smoking me! I really enjoyed this book and God used it in big ways to challenge me -- particularly in the areas of my finances, storing up treasure in Heaven, and being willing to go to the hard places.
It's so easy in America, to pretend like people aren't suffering all over the world from things like hunger and diseases that are preventable and easily treatable.
Katie writes this, and it's sobering: "The truth is that the 143 million orphaned children and the 11 million who starve to death or die from preventable diseases and the 8.5 million who work as child slaves, prostitutes, or under other horrific conditions and the 2.3 million who live with HIV add up to 164.8 million needy children. And though at first glance that looks like a big number, 2.1 billion people on this earth proclaim to be Christians.
The truth is that if only 8 percent of the Christians would care for one more child, there would not be any statistics left."
Wow. I pretend the suffering doesn't exist. I get overwhelmed by the need and feel helpless to make a dent in it. But Katie is making a dent. And has challenged me to do the same.
Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard
This book is about the life of a president who I formerly knew very little about. But it's about more than that. The author expertly weaves together story lines about Alexander Graham Bell's inventions of the time, and the state of the medical industry, to give readers a real sense of the time and place in which he lived and died. James Garfield was elected to the presidency without seeking the office -- which is mind-blowing. And he was only able to serve for a few short months before he was assassinated. Today, he would have easily lived after the bullet wounds he sustained, but unfortunately, because of the ignorance and ultimate pride of his doctors, he died as a result of infection.
I loved the insight this book gave into the office of the presidency at that time. I can't believe they were expected to keep office hours where anyone in the country could come and make appeals to them. Also, there was no secret service and presidents just travelled and walked the streets like common men. President Garfield was such a gem and a truly lovable man. I only wish our nation could have been blessed with his leadership and presence much longer.
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
This biography reads like fiction and is such a fascinating story, that at times, it's difficult to absorb the fact that it all actually happened to one man. Kinda Forrest-Gumpish :). I'm blown away by this book and enjoyed every moment of reading it. I learned so much about the Pacific side of WWII. I could go on, but click here to read my friend Gail's more comprehensive review that led me to pick up this amazing read. Thanks Gail!
If you're interested in seeing how I rated some of the other books I read or reading my reviews of them, look me up on Goodreads! And if you have any good recommendations of your own, feel free to share them in the comments! Just no books with any dogs dying, please :).
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