Thursday, March 28, 2024

2024 - First Quarterly Review


To assist my blog readers, I summarize my reading four times a year, providing a brief description, the page count, and a grading scale (💖5 thumbs up - highly recommend, 4 thumbs up - enjoyed, 3 thumbs up - good, 2 thumbs up - meh, and 1 thumb down - regret, wishing I could get back the time invested). What a stellar quarter! 5 💖books I highly recommend. Of the rest, all were 4👍 or higher, except for 1 at 3👍. I read the following books during the first quarter of 2024 (links to full reviews can be found in the side-bar, or after 2024, found through the search bar at the right):

You Were Always Mine by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza - A book that brings up so many discussion-worthy topics: race, motherhood, adoption, abuse, and love. True page-turner based on an unusual "what if" premise. 318 pages, 👍👍👍👍

Nineteen Steps by Millie Bobbie Brown (with Kathleen McGurl) - A novel retelling of the largest civilian loss during WWII, a devastating catastrophe of 173 crushed to death after one woman's fall down the stairs to the underground shelter during an air raid. 304 pages, 👍👍👍👍 

Dear Henry, Love Edith by Becca Kinzer - Similar to You've Got Mail, a couple begin corresponding under false impressions. Will love win out? 384 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 8-1/4 hours), 👍👍👍👍

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles - A group of four boys, self-styled musketeers, set off on a journey heading on the Lincoln Highway, bound for California. However, two decide they must first make a trek to New York to retrieve something that belongs to them. With plenty of friction, conflict, and unique characters, the story is riveting and worthwhile. 592 pages (I listened in audio form, 13 CDs, 16-1/2 hours), 👍👍👍👍-1/2

💖Do You Pray? by J. C. Ryle - This powerful treatise on the urgency, power, and purpose of prayer is a must-read for anyone interested in boosting their time in communion with God. It is too important to let slide! 72 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 1-1/4 hours), 👍👍👍👍👍

💖Loving Him Well: Practical Advice on Influencing Your Husband by Gary Thomas - If you want to change your marriage, start by remodeling yourself. Loving your husband well may require sacrifice, but God's goal of honing your holiness is always worth whatever you invest. 288 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 8 hours), 👍👍👍👍👍

💖A Lifelong Love: Discovering How Intimacy With God Breathes Passion into Your Marriage by Gary Thomas - Seek to address the pillars of a good marriage: spiritual intimacy, relational intimacy, and devotional intimacy. 224 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 5-2/3 hours), 👍👍👍👍👍

Reset: Powerful Habits to Own Your Thoughts, Understand Your Feelings & Change Your Life by Debra Fileta, M.A., LPC - 31 suggested practices to change your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and break patterns of dysfunction. 224 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 5-3/4 hours), 👍👍👍👍

💖Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner - A beautiful, though tragic, tale of innocence lost, differences scorned, and lives redeemed. 400 pages, 👍👍👍👍👍

The Ladies' Midnight Swimming Club by Faith Hogan - Amazing how swimming with friends in the Irish Sea can make looming obstacles seem smaller! Loved the camaraderie, the colorful setting, and the interesting characters. 352 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 8-1/3 hours), 👍👍👍👍

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins - This prequel to The Hunger Games series wasn't nearly as riveting or thought-provoking as the rest of the books. Glad to have given it a shot, but will not pick it up again, even if I re-read THG. 528 pages, 👍👍👍

The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page - A debut novel that tugs heartstrings and reminds us that we all have a story to tell. 314 pages, 👍👍👍👍

Authentically, Izzy by Pepper Basham - A lovely epistolary novel about love, loss, and family. 432 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 12-1/4 hours), 👍👍👍👍-1/2

💖If I Were You by Lynn Austin - Best Lynn Austin novel I've read yet! Such a riveting tale of two women whose lives intersect and come to a crossroads when one assumes the identity of the other. 464 pages (I listened on Hoopla, 13-1/2 hours), 👍👍👍👍👍

The Soul of Prayer by P. T. Forsyth - The writing is not easily digestible, but bears consideration. He argues for the power and importunity of prayer! 108 pages, 👍👍👍👍

1 comment:

Gretchen said...



This is always so helpful. I love the variety of books and authors.