Book Review: Uneasy Street

Uneasy Street, by Becky Wade, was the first book selection for the Christian Fiction Reading Challenge. Many individuals balked because it is the 3rd in the Sons of Scandal trilogy. While I prefer to read books in order, I had no difficulty reading this as a stand-alone novel. It was a wholesome romance that follows two wounded people from friendship to alienation to tolerance to love.

Sloane Madison has had a troubled upbringing. One bright spot is her deceased sister's daughter, Ivy. When Ivy's adoptive parents go away for a house-swap trip, they leave Ivy in Sloane's charge and put them up in the guest house on a wealthy property. It seems like a horrid trick when Sloane discovers the owner of the property is none other than her former business partner, Max Cirillo. Max wants closure but Sloane wants nothing to do with him. His lack of concern and spiteful retaliation in the past require forgiveness Sloane cannot muster.

Forgiveness is a key theme in this book. From neglect to misunderstandings to adulterous mistresses, there's lots of forgiveness fodder. Ivy has her own sub-plot as she searches for her biological father and discovers an unexpected wrinkle in her adoption story. I loved Ivy and her rats. I even liked Sloane, in spite of her constant bristle with Max. Max was physically swoony, but I struggled to feel as drawn to him as the others. 

Each character comes with baggage and that baggage is steadily unpacked throughout the story. I loved the concept of giving to others what you need for yourself. So Sloane is learning to seek to meet the needs in others that she wishes her family had met for her in her childhood. Although I was unable to make the Zoom call interview with the author, I did watch it at a later point in time. My favorite part of that interview was when Becky articulated the truth that everyone experiences a novel differently because we come at the story with different histories, perspectives, and needs. I think this is also why you can read a novel at one point and then later, in reading again, experience it in a whole different way. If you are interested in watching that interview (including reader questions), click here.

I will happily try another Becky Wade book at some point, but I've too many books on my stack to seek the first and second in this trilogy. Indeed, before I even read this book, I had taken this screen shot of the author's declaration that all of her books are written without AI. In this day and age, that's a promise I want to bank on in books I read.

Mid-month Mention #3: Spring Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt

I so enjoyed last year's scavenger hunt that I wanted to help publicize this year's opportunity. It provides a great way to meet new authors and find books of interest. Jump on it now, because it kicked off yesterday at noon. There's still time to participate, seek prizes, and meet authors.

Lisa Tawn Bergren posted this on her Facebook page:

Over $1800 in books and prizes FROM 30 AUTHORS! It's a whopper! And it begins on Thursday afternoon... https://lisatawnbergren.com/.../spring-scavenger-hunt.../

You can start at the first stop here. Suzanne Woods Fisher is one of the authors highlighted. I've already encouraged readers to visit her website and join her newsletter. I think my favorite cover posted (first on the bottom row) is the one for To Love a Lady. Which is your favorite cover?

Mid-month Mention #2: Recent Articles Worth Reading

Transported Curiosity

I now have another place to put on a larger bucket list (not my small local one). I would love to visit Lake Havasu City, Arizona. This is the site of something very cool. Did you know that London Bridge was transported to Arizona in 1968? Seriously! What a random and highly unlikely fact! Naomi Xu Elegant writes a fascinating explanation of it in her piece, "The Ideal City." It contains photos of the transporting process and all that went into creating a river to run under the bridge. The whole article is so delightful that I immediately sent the link to my brother (just promoted to Senior Construction Field Representative for the architectural firm where he works, so I knew it would interest him).

Content Caution

My smaller bucket list lost one item after I read this scathing article, by Sarah Reardon, about the modern take on Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Sarah's essay, "We're Being Shaped by Smut," is one I agree with wholeheartedly. It is utterly depressing. What depths our society has sunken to! I despair when modern books constantly sanction immorality by inserting it ad naseum into almost every book published. How disheartening that you cannot go to see a movie depicting a literary classic without being assaulted by trash and smut! If, like me, you had wanted to view that movie, I highly suggest seeking an older, cleaner version. Emily Bronte, a clergyman's daughter, must be shuddering in the grave! I'm so glad I didn't attempt to go see this current presentation. It would have made me uncomfortable enough to walk out.

Sitting with Suffering

Speaking of being uncomfortable. Lent is a time leading up to the cross. We say we want to sit with Christ and share in His suffering, but so often it makes us uncomfortable. We squirm and would rather get to Sunday, to the moment of redemption. With Tony Campolo (who I heard speak when I was at Wheaton), we say, "It's Friday, but Sunday's a'comin'!"

I stumbled upon this excellent article by Zeke Smith, The Armchair Chaplain. It is titled, "Ilia Malinin: Is This What You Wanted?" In the article, he discusses Ilia's Olympic performance and the reaction of the press. They hounded Ilia after his failures and pushed him to look to 2030. At the end, Ilia presented a flawless performance in the exhibition gala, when there were no judges, no points, and no pressure. You can view that performance here. It is set to a tune I'd never heard, "Fear," by NF. It immediately made me think of my son because apparently it was written at a time in the artist's life when he suffered a relapse. As far as I know, my son hasn't relapsed, but we're still sitting in the suffering and the struggle. We still would love to see the redemption at the end of this road.

Zeke Smith shifts from the question of the song, "Is This What You Wanted?," to a story about Derek Redmond's emotional Olympic injury. Apparently, after breaking a hamstring, his father broke from the stands to help him cross the finish line (a beautiful picture of a father's love). Smith writes, "None of us want to be known for our worst moments, even when our worst moments are the ones that make us most recognizably human.... The truth is, none of us want the path of the cross. We're not good at sitting with suffering." When people are suffering, we must be willing to sit in the suffering with them, rather than pushing them to the purpose, the redemption that is not quite there yet. These are great words. It is an article well worth reading.

Motivational Mantra

I also found these incredibly motivating lines in Alice Lemee's article, "A Love Letter from Thailand." 

"Everybody wants to get to heaven, but nobody wants to die to get there. Morbidly, I want to engrave this into my brain. It is the ultimate motivator. Forget the Pomodoro or Eat the Frog. One day, you will die. Are you juicing every drop from our sun? Or are you postponing yourself?"

Mid-month Mention: Call-a-Boomer

I've cast my net wider, following Christian authors and their newsletters. One author I follow is Suzanne Woods Fisher. I have not yet read one of her books (great intentions, just humongous to-read pile). Her newsletters are fantastic! In a recent newsletter, she highlighted the Call-a-Boomer experiment being run by an organization called Matter Neuroscience (a bio-tech company seeking to improve human happiness). This is fascinating! I'm so glad I learned of it from her. I highly recommend visiting her website and joining her newsletter.

Here is a news article from The Cape Cod Times. Apparently they have established a FREE payphone (oxymoron, sorry) near Boston University. Their idea encourages young people to pick up the phone and have a spontaneous conversation with an older individual at a senior center in Reno, Nevada. Although they aim to connect Gen Zers with Baby Boomers, anyone can pick up the phone and initiate a conversation. Those two generations are grappling with high percentages of loneliness. What a clever and interesting social experiment. I'd love to pick up a phone and chat with a Baby Boomer I don't know.

If you'd rather watch a video about this experiment (running this month), you can click here. I hope this experiment reaps outstanding results. As I mentioned in last month's mid-month mention, on addiction, connection is vitally important!

Book Review: Reconnected

Last year, something I read suggested fasting from your phone. I tried it, with little success. Plus, I didn't continue. It is amazing how integral phones seem. Heading somewhere? Use maps. Waiting on news from a child? Don't turn off the device. While I'm not addicted to my phone (2 hours per day average), I would love to use it less.

Carlos Whittaker was using his phone almost 7-1/2 hours each day. When he stopped to do the math, he realized how much of his life was frittered away on his device. Now, for Carlos, it is understandable. He is a content creator and has a popular Instagram (I've never heard of him, but it sounds like it is popular). Still, he felt convicted enough to set in motion a phone fast. I didn't even last a full day. Whittaker went 7 weeks without his phone. He spent the first 2 weeks with monks and the second 2 with Amish farmers. Then, the final three, he spent at home.

His book, Reconnected, shares what he learned from this experiment. I should also note that he had a brain scan at the start of the experiment, and again at the end. This was fascinating. With the monks, he learned to move at "Godspeed" (this is something I first read of in Mark Buchanan's excellent book, God Walk). Carlos spent time noticing, wondering, and beholding. Instead of distracting himself, he learned to lean into boredom. With the Amish, his eyes were opened to the imporance of valuing community, sharing meals, and getting lost. 

Honestly, even if you aren't totally addicted to your phone, the insights in this book apply to everyone. We have lost much in our technological advancements. Yet, we can reclaim the imporant things if we are intentional. Reading this book made me want to visit a monastery and an Amish farm. It made me want to slow down my already sometimes-glacial life. I can't imagine how convicting it might be to those whose lives are drowning in busyness and technological interaction.

Book Review: Every Hour Until Then

Every Hour Until Then had a lengthy hold list at my library. How amusing that it came available just after I read about Michael J. Fox's forays into time travel. This is my first Gabrielle Meyer book. I've been noting recommendations. It takes a clever author to weave a time-travel book well.

Every Hour Until Then is billed as an inspirational Victorian and WWII-era time-travel romance. I wasn't aware it is the fifth in her Timeless series. I decided to plunge ahead anyway because I've always been interested in Victorian England. Meyer poses a fascinating premise. Characters in her time-travel series live in two separate eras (alternating between the two with each sleep) and must finally decide which path they wish to remain in permanently. For this novel, Kathryn uses what she learns in 1938 London to foil Jack the Ripper's deadly intentions for her 1888 sister, Mary Jane.

I'm intrigued by the idea that the Ripper was undetected because he was protected by the brotherhood of Freemasons. This sounds like a plausible theory. While the book didn't suck me in as much as I'd hoped, the two time periods were interesting when paired together. In 1888, Kathryn is the daughter of an eminent doctor with Freemason ties. In 1938, she is in London on assignment to help put together a display on Jack the Ripper's reign of terror. The rules of time travel in the novel add danger to Kathryn's desires to intervene to save her sister from becoming the fifth and final victim.

I'm not sure I will backtrack and begin at the start of this series. I'm quite interested in Victorian London, but not as interested in other time periods and places. The time-travel element sometimes felt clunky. Plus, the inspirational elements were stroked more than seemed necessary. Still, it is currently ranked 18 in Christian Historical Fiction books. It was an interesting story, if you're a big fan of time-travel novels. Moreover, the subject of the Ripper might make for lively discussion in a book club setting.

Book Review: When Life Feels Empty - Highly Recommend

I can't remember who recommended Isaac Serrano's book, When Life Feels Empty. Perhaps it was someone in the Rabbit Room Chinwag group on Facebook. They recommend excellent books. I needed the content of this book to remind me where to plug into the source of power and hope. This was another book I listened to in audio form and then accessed in ebook form, so I could take notes.

We live in a world ruled by a materialistic worldview. As such, we are influenced by that mindset. We cannot get away from this lens that assumes the physical is all that exists. Without telos (life purpose and meaning), we feel empty. With excellent structure, Serrano outlines why we feel empty, 7 practices to address this, and why those practices work to shape us into who we were meant to be.

From the book of Ecclesiastes, we explore the idea that "everything is vanity (hevel)." If our gaze is horizontal, we will feel that way. Only when we fix our gaze vertically, do we grasp the telos necessary for enduring this life. We were meant to be trees, growing vertically. Instead, we waste time in emptiness and addictions. Serrano emphasizes that "belief must be embodied." The seven practices he outlines seek to help us do just that.

The first practice stunned me. I realized if I had incorporated this practice into my weekly fasting, I would have left my prayer times impressed instead of distressed. The first of seven beneficial practices is song. Singing releases oxytocin. Even heartbeats sync when singing together. Singing of God's mercy and love roots us in those promises. I intend to pursue this practice far more.

Serrano explains the next two practices. Baptism is storytelling with our body, a physical manifestation of the new life we receive in Christ. Communion roots us in time. We celebrate the past (Christ's body broken), the present (the new covenant through His blood), and the future (His return). Another way he puts it: baptism is the wedding and communion is the wedding ring.

The fourth practice is another one I intend to hone in on more. Serrano demonstrates that God's will is for us to express thanksgiving. He recommends we even face the east (the position of Christ's return) while we do so. I have implemented prayer far more in the past several years, but have I sufficiently incorporated thanksgiving in those prayer times?

The final three practices? Read the Bible (so essential for fixing our gaze vertically instead of horizontally). Attend church (we were meant for community - indeed, isolation destroys health and longevity and even breeds addiction). Pray the Lord's Prayer (there is a reason Christ gave this as an example. Why don't we use it more regularly?). 

The last section is equally instructive as he outlines why we should not be "conformed to the spirit of the age." God is a sculptor, forming us into a masterpiece. Following these ancient spiritual practices lends meaning to our lives and works with God instead of against Him. I highly recommend this deeper consideration of well-known practices that are proven essential. What a great book! I intend to visit this one again in the future.