Dealing With Guilt

We all make mistakes. Some seem bigger than others. Some remain in our memories longer. Others may be so bad that we block them out but deal with them subconsciously for a long time. In The Devil Walks In Mattingly author Billy Coffey deals with the issues of guilt and shame through a fictional tale of a small, secluded town. The story focuses on the sheriff of the town, whose shame has made him dead inside as he does all he can to maintain a put-together exterior. His wife, blaming herself for the same death as her husband, though neither knows it, tries to make up for her mistake by helping others. In this tale, this couple comes face to face with their past in a way that forces them to divulge the secrets they have tried to keep buried inside.
I enjoy a fiction novel that has a practical point to it. This novel has just that. While there seems to be a lack of clarity on some points about guilt and shame, the author does a good job of demonstrating the importance of honesty, both with yourself and others, particularly when dealing with guilt. The book seemed long and slow in getting to the point, but in a way, that enabled me to share the anxiety and awkwardness the characters felt as they found their way to the truth of the day that had changed their lives years ago.
I would recommend this book as an intriguing tale dealing with guilt. However, I would also add that it is in no way a comprehensive guide to dealing with guilt and shame.
I appreciate BookLook Bloggers for providing this book to me for review.

Something Different

After my previous review, I was looking through the books available for review from BookLook Bloggers and saw several that I thought I might like. I ended up choosing one that I wouldn't normally be interested in but thought might be a good one for my daughter when she gets a little older. I figured it would be an easy book to get through and would offer a change of pace.
The book Riley Mae and the Ready Eddy Rapids by Jill Osborne did end up being a quick read. It follows the adventures of a young spokesperson for a shoe company as she learns the ups and downs of a life of responsibility, a life that takes her away from her home and friends and that involves more thrills than anyone could have been prepared for. Riley seems to be accident prone as people around her continually end up in the hospital. Maybe they aren't just accidents.
The book includes many lessons about growing up and about faith, and I would recommend it for the target audience. If you are a little bit out of the target, like me, you still might be able to get something out of it and maybe even enjoy some or all of it.
I am grateful for BookLook Bloggers for providing this book free for review, and I am interested to see what my daughter will think of it when she learns to read.

Giving

I just finished reading The Happiest Life by Hugh Hewitt, which is a book about giving. The basic premise, as you might guess, is that the best way to live a happy life is to give. Hewitt describes seven gifts that anybody can give. They include intangibles, such as encouragement and energy. The chapters about gifts are followed by descriptions of givers. Basically, he outlines how you can be a giver in various arenas of life based on relationships you have in those arenas.
I appreciate that this book has some great truth about what it actually means to be happy and what are some of the best things to give and best ways to give them. I was able to glean much from the wisdom and experience of the author.
However, at many times, The Happiest Life seems like it should have been written as an autobiography with giving as a major theme throughout Hewitt's life. While I appreciate the stories and examples, I think the book often crossed the line between effectively communicating ideas and merely rambling. At times, I was reminded of the Bible's genealogy sections. While I think those section are important for the complete understanding of God's Word, I don't think they were necessary or helpful for this book. Not only were they not helpful but could often come across as name-dropping.
I would most likely recommend this book to people along with a warning about the amount of unnecessary information.
Thanks to BookSneeze, now BookLook Bloggers, for sending me this free book for review.

Finding

I was recently given the book Dear Mr. Knightley by BookSneeze, for review. For me, the amount of time it takes me to read a book is quite telling. This book I read within a few a days, meaning I enjoyed it and it engaged me.
Katherine Reay's first novel lays out the experiences and feelings of a young woman through letters she writes to a pseudonym attached to the foundation that pays for her Master's education at a prestigious journalism school.
The letters allow Sam to withdraw herself from her books and into the world around her, to be separate from her favorite characters and become herself. Throughout the book, she is faced with challenges to escape the fear, anger and other scars from the past that caused her to hide in the first place and enter a new chapter of life, a life with love and hope.
I appreciate the range of issues the book touches on: foster care, education, career choices, anger, fear, love, hope, God, and others.
I would recommend this book to others, especially those who appreciate reading and/or writing.

A Bleak Future

Jonathan Friesen paints a bleak picture of the future, with the central problem being a lack of fresh water on the earth, in his book Aquifer. Those still alive, are held in constant fear of running out of water. Their only hope is the deliverer, who makes an annual exchange with the creatures who have control of the water source underground. Only the deliverer knows the winding path to reach the "rats" with the light sticks to exchange for another year of fresh water.
Luca, the deliverer's son, faces his future as he matures into adulthood feeling like he has no place in the world, being separate from everybody around him. Growing up, he has little knowledge of his past or the truth about the present. He doesn't even know much about his own father, but a turn of events thrusts him into an adventure during which he learns much about his family and the world and grows into a brave, young man as he searches for hope and a place to fit in.
I really enjoyed the book, not only for the story told but also for the symbolism presented. It is both an entertaining and thought-provoking book.
I appreciate BookSneeze for giving it to me for review.

Wounds

I recently finished reading a book by Anne Graham Lotz, Billy Graham's daughter, called Wounded by God's People. When I first started reading it, I thought it was a pity book, to make you feel good about yourself and entitle you to feel sorry for yourself and to live with wounds and scars. However, I was glad when I continued reading and found out that it does offer some hard truths about forgiveness and doing your part not to wound others.
The book relates ways that we may wound or be wounded to Biblical examples, specifically to Abraham and his family. Lotz provides insight into the ways that each character was involved in wounding, both as wounder and wounded. It made me want to be more conscious of when I have wounded people and do my best to resolve any bitterness that I may have or that others may have towards me.
While it was not written in a style that really appeals to me, I did appreciate the stories and examples that were given, and I think this book could be very helpful to some people.
In fact, it would probably be helpful for me to apply some of the ideas to my own life.
This wasn't an especially memorable book that I would recommend to people, but it was alright to read. I wouldn't recommend against it.
Thanks to BookSneeze for providing this book to me for review.

God Uses The Small For Great Things

What's Your Mark is a collection of snippets about real people and what they are doing to make an impact or "mark" with their lives. The title is a nice play on words, as the book also contains the book of "Mark" from the Bible throughout.
The collection contains a wide variety of people who do a wide variety of things. However, each story is marked by a decision to do something, often something seemingly small, that has become something great. God is very skilled at using the small, seemingly insignificant things and people to make great things happen.
I appreciate Jeremy Cowart for taking the time to put this together. I think it is a neat and inspiring book to have. The photos, though good, are not mind-blowing or breath-taking. The stories, while nice and inspirational, are not sensationally life-changing. This book, though, being small and even seemingly insignificant could definitely be used by God for some great things.

This book was provided free for review by BookSneeze.