Book Reviews

A few weeks ago I figured it was time to take a break from my own life and delve into another. So I took a trip to the local library and checked out a few books that had been recommended. And now I recommend them to you. First, A Woman's Place by Lynn Austin. A novel that explores the lives of four very different women in WWII. It reminds me that we need each other, especially as women, when our worlds seem to crumble, so that we can continue to stand and live with courage. We can make a difference, as we stand for truth and goodness, in our own lives and in the lives of our loved ones.

Next I read Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang which is an memoir of a girl in China during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s. Opened my eyes to struggles of that nation during that particular time period. It was heartbreaking to learn how children were turned against their parents and long-time friends were terrorized into becoming enemies. And in the end how something good was able to survive.

The third book I just finished an hour ago. It came recommended by my sister and was also my ward's book club book last month. It took a bit longer to read but has definitely given me some food for thought. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, is a novel about a missionary family who travels to the Belgian Congo in 1959. The story, narrated by the mother and her four daughters, describes the sharp contrast in lifestyles, morals, and religion that exist in the "untamed" jungles of Africa in comparison to the "all-knowing" United States. During their stay the fight for an independent Congo commences at the same time as an inner struggle for freedom within each family member begins to take form. An eye-opener into the viability of life at the edge of "civilization". Maybe we don't always know best. =o) Also makes me very grateful that my knowledge of God includes the foundation that He is an ever-patient and unconditionally loving Father.

After reading these stories I figure I got off pretty easy considering my life challenges. =o)

And since you can't post without including a picture, I chose three landscape photos that I shot when feeling in awe of the beauty of God's creations.