alltheradreads's Reviews (1.9k)

If you loved books like The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up or Chasing Slow by @erinloechner or Simple Matters by @readmytealeaves, you’ll love this super practical book all about simple, slow living from @brookemcalary. It’s a super helpful tool to start simplifying and living more intentionally, and if you have no clue where to start living more meaningfully and minimally, it’s a great comprehensive guide to doing so! Also isn’t this cover PERFECT?!

This was an old library book sale grab (aka a totally random one I had never heard about and forgot I even owned) but it caught my eye this week! If you’re a fan of character-focused fiction, dance, sister dynamics, and all the inner workings of one person’s life and mind, you’d enjoy this one. There’s a lot about mental illness and addiction here, and the characters aren’t exactly likable or people I would enjoy being around, but I wanted to see what happened to them... even though not much did. Overall, not a fave for me!

I can’t quite put words around just how much I loved this book from @aaronieq — it spoke right to the heart of what’s been stirring in my heart lately about faith, church, spiritual discipline, and following Jesus wholeheartedly. It’s practical but beautiful, compelling and complex but also so simple and tangible, inspiring and informative. He has lead by example with what these practices look like, and he paints such a rich picture here of what it looks like to diversify our faith to truly become people who swim in the Eternal Current. It’s more than just showing up on a Sunday. It’s more than just a formula. We can instead build toolboxes with these disciplines (coming to the table, liturgies, prayer, service, etc) that equip us to build long-lasting and life-saving faith in God as we build his kingdom here on earth, and it’s a refreshing and real way to live as believers that I think we have lost sight of in our culture today. Gah, I could go on and on about how much this book helped shift my perspective on church culture and daily disciplines, and encouraged me to truly engage with this redemptive work well. An Instagram review doesn’t do it justice. Can’t recommend this one highly enough. Thanks for helping us see a new (yet old) and better (truer) way, @aaronieq.

This one appeared in my library holds and I have no clue how I heard about it or why I reserved it, but it was so good. It started slow and just when I was about to give up, it threw me for a loop and kept me hooked until the very end. It did not play out like I expected at all, and I loved it. It’s slightly a thriller, slightly a mystery, slightly a love story, and overall such a win of a book.

I don’t hide that I’m currently in a roughhhhh season battling severe depression, and when this book was recommended to my by a friend, I dove in hoping to find help and hope. Overall, I’m glad I read it, but i definitely don’t agree with everything or want to follow all of her advice. She’s very anti-Big Pharma (with some solid reasoning, admittedly) and very camped out in the natural/holistic camp (which I can and do appreciate) and while I’m glad for all the new things she got me thinking about, I also found some of her advice condescending and not thoroughly backed up with evidence and research. Reading this has prompted me to get a full workup done with my doctor to see about any vitamin deficiencies or thyroid issues or hormone imbalances that might be a factor in my depression/anxiety (especially as a vegan) so I’m curious to see what results come from that. Definitely a helpful unique perspective, and thought-provoking in many ways, especially if you’re someone who doesn’t just want to pop pills for every problem! Lots to think about in this one, and lots to keep researching on my own to find the best course of action for myself personally.

I could NOT put this one down today. Thankfully I had a totally chill Saturday and could read it cover to cover... it’s SO DAMN GOOD. I absolutely loved The Nightingale and had super high hopes for this one, and it blew me away. If you’re looking for incredibly well written fiction, HERE YOU GO.

I found out about this book from Emily Freeman's post of advent book suggestions here, and I knew I would love it as soon as I saw it. So many of my favorite writers were included in this book (Lewis, Merton, Dillard, etc.) and it was a thoughtful, intentional, not fluffy daily dose of reading that I really enjoyed throughout advent, Christmas, and even after. This is a GOOD one. Highly recommend.