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Seriously though, the best.

My friend Katie loaned me this about a year ago and it sat on a table in my living room for a year. She loved it and said I needed to read it (she was right, but we'll get to that). I didn't have much time to read in 2014 (read: I didn't make it a priority) so for 2015 I added it as my pick for our church book club. I've had a bad habit of not reading the book club books and I'm trying to get better with that, plus it was MY pick! The other issue is that in the past when I've picked a book that I haven't read prior to picking it, well, it's flopped. So I was hopeful that this one would be better.

It was.

A lot.

Long story short, Jen Hatmaker is awesome and you should read it.

Okay, maybe a bit longer... Basically a few years ago Jen realized all the excess in her life and decided to do an experiment to alleviate some of this excess. She committed to seven months reducing (or changing) seven things in her life: food, clothing, media, possessions, waste, stress, and spending. These are things I think we can all relate to, so a bit more convicting than others.

I loved it from the first chapter: food. I was so inspired I decided to do try the food challenge for Holy Week. You can read more about that here (coming soon!).

Overall reading about her challenges and how she became a better person and a better Christian through this really inspired me. She is funny, witty, smart, and honest. I really can't say enough great things about how incredible this book is. Just go buy it. And read it. Now. Go on...look you can even click here and get it on Amazon!

Hunger Games

I was not supposed to like these books, at all. In fact I only read them because my youth group kids were so excited about them and the movie was coming out. When Kali said they were about kids killing each other I truly wanted nothing to do with them, but wanted to know what the kids were reading, so I grabbed the first one and took it on vacation with me. I also saw a youth group series that a friend of mine was doing called the Hunger and Thirst Games and it was kind of necessary to read the books so I knew what the heck the series was talking about.

It took the first section before I got hooked and then I couldn't put it down. The same followed with the second one and not as much with the third, but I had to know how it ended. After reading all three and watching the first movie, which I hear the screenplay was written by Suzanne Collins, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed them. I have a political science degree, though I forget, so the political chaos that runs through the book got me. I also have a natural rebellious spirit, so that kind of grabbed me too. And who doesn't love a love triangle? It was interesting, I must say, that I read these as I finished rewatching Dawson's Creek (the complete series) and some of the parallels between the characters in both with people in my own life. Kind of gave me some closure actually. Very interesting.

The three books are easy reads (literally two days max for each). I enjoyed the second one the best. The ending was pretty much what I expected. I am super excited for the next two movies because I think they are great accompaniments to the books. Overall, go read them and learn what the hype is about!

Mere Christianity

Oh C.S. Lewis, you and I are just not friends. This book made me angry more than it made me happy. Honestly I didn't finish it. We were working on it for our small group and we threw in the towel and gave up. It was a recommendation from someone and I just couldn't handle it. Lewis is very black and white in this and in my world there is a lot of color. I have been told to read his other works because they are a lot better, but it's going to take some time before I want to try Mr. Lewis again.

I Heart New York

I have a habit (bad for my wallet) of going to the bookstore and just roaming the shelves until something jumps out at me. That's how I found this jewel. Clearly this was going to be a perfect book for me because in fact I do heart New York very, very much. What I didn't realize is how much I would actually relate to the book. First off it starts with a girl at her best friend's wedding who finds out that her fiance was cheating on her (catches him in the act during the reception actually) and then finds out that her best friend knew about it the whole time. Now that's not exactly my story, but it was close enough to have me enthralled. The next day after a good cry (and peeing in his toiletry bag) she hops on a plane and goes to NYC knowing no one. I threatened to do this many, many times following my own wedding being cancelled, but never got the balls to do it. I got to live out what I wished I had done through this. She ends up making friends with the concierge at the hotel she stays in, meetings beautiful men and has fun dates (after a fabulous makeover). It was kind of cathartic to read this having been through something similar (minus the dating, but we'll get to that). Overall it was wonderful, it was set in the best city in the world, it was fun to imagine all the places that I have been to countless times, and I just loved it. Absolutely a must read.

A Bump in the Road

When I was in Tulsa for a class several months ago we stopped at a Borders that was going out of business (silly bankruptcy, bad for them, but good for me!). I grabbed this one and one called "Not Ready for Mom Jeans" which just happened to be the sequel to this one!

I love this one! Long story short: newlywed couple with no desire to have kids at this point in their lives gets pregnant (for real, antibiotics make birth control ineffective). I couldn't help but think about my dear friend Brittany and her surprise with baby Chase! It was really, really funny. I can't wait to read the sequel, which I will start tomorrow!

PS There was a nice little surprise at the end! Loved it!

Soft Spots

Okay generally I don't write about books I read for school. Right, right, mainly because I don't generally read for class, I skim. Well this one I actually read. I'm taking post traumatic stress right now and I took the class because I don't know that much about it. I'm three weeks in and I still don't really know that much, but I read this book and I really enjoyed it. This was a first hand experience with PTSD and with combat experience, both of which were new to me. I was very much educated by this book, plus it was very well written and extremely easy to follow. If you have questions about PTSD or what all is going on in Iraq I would suggest checking this out. I realize this is only one man's experience and it doesn't tell the entire story of the war, but it was really good.

It only gets four out of five because it was for school. :)

Baby Proof

Love, love, loved this one! I love everything Emily Giffin writes, well except the last one, wasn't a huge fan of that one. I skipped this one initially because I didn't think I could possibly like this one because it is about a woman who DOESN'T want kids which is totally opposite from me. I really liked it though! There was a cameo from a character from Something Borrowed and Blue. Since I read Love the One You're With before I read this one I'm wondering if I missed a cameo, so I have to reread it now. Overall it was good, there was a happy ending, though I wasn't sure at first. It was set in NYC, so that always makes me happy. Great book! Now they need to make a movie!

Holly Would Dream

I am so excited to be at a break from school and be able to read for fun again. I read through school, but not nearly as much I would have liked to. I have rediscovered my bathtub and I am patiently waiting for the new pool liner to be installed so I can float and tan and read; that is pure heaven on earth.

I just finished Holly Would Dream. I randomly found this when I was with Haley and Brennan at Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago. Haley was buying a graduation gift for one of their roommates and as she was picking it up I happened upon this book on the bargain rack for $5. The title intrigued me and frankly anything that has a basis around Audrey Hepburn and is set in NYC (and then on a cruise in the Mediterranean) is going to appeal to me.

Honestly I really did enjoy this book. It was a little over 400 pages, but the chapters were pretty short, so it was good for quick reading sessions and overall read pretty quickly. I read it in about two and a half weeks and that included being in Ardmore for two days, sleeping for an entire day (literally until 6:00 pm last Saturday!) and being at UMC Annual Conference for four days.

The story, once you got the general jest of it, was pretty predictable. I don't really like surprises so that was pretty much okay with me. I generally read books that could happen and this one was completely unrealistic, however I did like the story. There was a pretty racy chapter that rivaled Whitney at Fairytale Beginning (but I honestly think Whitney's descriptions are better, probably because they are true!).

Overall I would recommend reading it, however I have several books I would recommend over it.

Mating Rituals of the North American WASP

I started this book at the beginning of March and finished it today. Keep in mind that in that time I also did the majority of the work for 9 hours of grad school, so I get a little bit of a pass. Now that we are to summer and I'm only taking one online class I should be reading a lot more frequently (especially once the pool is open!).

As for this book, even though I was busy it did take me quite awhile to get into it. It is not written in first person, which was a negative for me because I prefer first person. It is partially set in New York, which is a bonus (most books I read tend to be set in NYC). The storyline caught my attention:

Girl goes to Vegas for a bachelorette party. Guy goes to party for business. Girl and guy get drunk and wake up next to each other the next morning. Girl bolts. Guy calls a few days later and informs her that they are married. She lives in NYC running a business, he lives in Connecticut as the quintessential WASP managing the lacking family portfolio. A business arrangement is made between the two as a way make some money. Girl is "engaged to be engaged" to someone else. A relationship of sorts starts with the girl going to Connecticut to play WASP wife on the weekends for a year.

Overall once I got into it I really enjoyed it. I would recommend reading it, but beware it is a little slow at first!

Book Reviews!

I'm going to start something new! Book reviews! No stars or anything like that, just my opinion of the books I finish (and I'll go back and do the ones I've read recently). Generally speaking I don't read anything of great literary value, usually just stuff that catches my eye, so if you are into great literature don't read these reviews! If you like fun easy to read books and chick lit then this is for you!