alltheradreads's Reviews (1.9k)

Okay. You all know I ADORE Lamott. She's my sassy, blunt, fabulous writer crush. Everything I've read from her just makes me laugh and fall in love and appreciate honesty so much. She's great. But this book wasn't. Every writer obsesses over this one, and I just don't know why. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't great. I've been stuck in the middle of it for far too long and finally forced myself to finish it this week just to get that bookmark out, but I didn't love it at all. Maybe it's because I don't write fiction, so a lot of it didn't necessarily apply to me? I really don't know, I just couldn't connect to it like I could with everything else I've read from her, faith-based, non-fiction, fiction or on Facebook. Oh well. Read it if you want, but you could do so much better when it comes to Lamott.

I don't think I've ever loved a memoir this much. Scratch that, I know I haven't. THIS BOOK... I don't even have adequate words for how much I loved it. I couldn't put it down. I devoured it in less than 24 hours, reading it during every spare second, and immediately wanted to read it again once I finished. It's an incredible story of coming to faith, it reads like fast-paced and fantastic fiction, it's lovely, it's about England (where I spent a summer and therefore can't get enough of), it paints amazing pictures of all the layers of questions and seeking and belief that faith holds... it's the best kind of love story, the kind about a girl finding her true self and coming fully alive in a relationship with her Creator and Father. READ THIS RIGHT NOW. Buy it for yourself and all of your friends and read it and savor it and love it like I do.

This book has brought me to my knees and brought me to tears more times than I can count. When I first opened it, I started reading the first prayer aloud to myself, and I was stunned by how much it moved me. Reading Nouwen's incredibly honest and real prayers has been powerful and humbling and I have loved reading through this one. Each page is underlined and starred and I keep rereading lines over and over because I love the way they flow and beckon me to pour my heart out to my Father.

I read this one during my lunch breaks at work and really enjoyed it. It was fascinating to look at creativity and habits through the lens of dance and choreography, especially since I know NOTHING about that world. There was much in this book that applied to my own creative endeavors, and I loved her style of writing. Creatives, grab this one! It's good stuff.

It's no secret I love C.S. Lewis. I grabbed this one to get to the free shipping amount on Amazon (no shame) but it didn't blow me away, considering how it was all excerpts from other books he's written. I always think I'm going to like books like this, and I do in the sense that it's quick and easy to read a chunk over breakfast or on the go, but I really just love getting into the full books instead and getting the complete context. If you want a taste of Lewis and his writings broken down more by topic, this is a great place to start!

This book IS PURE GOLD. Let me shout that from the rooftops and get your attention so you'll buy it IMMEDIATELY. It is so good. Her podcast is equally amazing.

Okay. So Rob Bell. He's a controversial guy in the Christian world. I know that. I've heard the arguments from both sides (he's gone off the deep end / he's actually right on and everyone's just afraid of him, etc). I've never given him a chance, so I decided it was about time I did. The verdict? I'm not a fan. I liked parts of this book, I'll admit. Some of it was refreshingly real. Most of it was a little wacky to me, and there were some parts that actually made me angry because I disagreed with them so strongly. All in all? I won't read more from him, I feel like I have a clearer picture of who he is and what he stands for, and it just isn't my style or my same belief system. I do strongly believe in reading things you don't agree with though, so I'm glad I put myself up to this challenge.

Kidd is the one who wrote bestsellers like The Secret Life of Bees, but this book is something totally different from her. It's deeply personal, journeying through a phase in her life characterized by much waiting and change and evolving and growth. I read this one slowly, picking it up periodically and always finding that what I read resonated with me in that moment. This book is probably more geared toward middle-aged or older women (as that was Kidd's age when writing through it) but I found it to be just as relevant to my life as a younger twenty-something still. The metaphor of a cocoon repeats throughout the book and there are many other images and parallels she describes that have still stuck with me in poignant ways. This one is a really good one if you feel like you're in any in-between, waiting season at all.

So, I've never read anything from Hatmaker before. I've seen some of her posts on FB (they're very popular) and usually I don't like them...but I kept seeing people post about this book and how much they loved it. Eventually, I decided to give it a shot. Overall, it was okay. I liked bits and pieces, and got a few good nuggets out of it...but I just don't love her writing style. The humor and snark is okay in some places, but it usually just annoys me. Since it's more of a collection of essays than anything else, there wasn't a whole lot to really keep me super engaged or interested, but it was a quick read, a light read, and good for a Saturday in a coffeeshop, so I can't really complain. Girl's got a massive following, so other people must just love her style a whole lot!

I'm basically the biggest fan of Brene Brown that there is. (Probably not true at all because everyone I know who has read her loves her...but anyway.) I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one, and it did not disappoint. After reading Daring Greatly, I loved how this book took her thoughts to a deeper and richer place and added more richness and research to the conversations around shame and vulnerability and courage and owning our stories. The cover says "If we are brave enough, often enough, we will fall. This is a book about what it takes to get back up." We all fall and we all we fail and really, we just all need to read this book and rise stronger together. I can't recommend it enough. I would buy it for everyone and their dogs if I could.