I got off my fiction path with my last review and read another fiction book since then ("The Twelfth Imam"). But I'm not ready to review it.
Today I finished an amazing book: "Because I Can" is the true story of Janet Oberholtzer's path from avid runner/active mom to 3 boys/busy woman, to nearly losing her life/nearly losing her legs/nearly losing her marriage/nearly losing her faith/nearly losing her mind. Her story is touching, riveting, thought provoking, and told from her own perspective with no holds barred.
I admired her candid way of opening her heart to her readers without making disparaging remarks about her family or friends. I cannot imagine all that she has gone through, but her presentation of her circumstances made for very good reading.
Though I usually prefer Christian fiction, I highly recommend this book!
Monday, March 26, 2012
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Double Dipping
Since I got my Kindle, I rarely buy a book. But recently I saw one on Amazon that looked interesting, so since I was ordering something else that would mean free shipping, I decided to get it.
The strange thing is that this must have really sounded intriguing to me because without realizing it, I had already downloaded it onto my Kindle.
The book is Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. Having recently decided that I needed to purge my belongings and really clean out, this sounded like just the ticket for me. We've never lived in a house longer than 5 1/2 years, and we are celebrating 10 years in this house in a few weeks. It has enormous walk-in attic storage (one huge and another very ample), and I find that the more storage I have, the more I "store." It also has lots of closets, bookcases (I'm realizing that I "hoard" books...), drawers, and shelves. And I seem to have filled them all up!
The subtitle of this book is "The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living" so I thought it would be very helpful. Granted, much in it is for families and we are down to just the two of us. I can overlook all those parts. I did find it quite interesting how this family worked toward being able to live abroad (and accomplished it!) Many of the ways they simplified translate to those who just want to simplify without moving. I also like that she redefined "simple living" (so we don't have to ride a bicycle everywhere, which is a relief since we live 9 miles from the closest grocery... or eat only from our garden, because my thumb is only a light shade of green and we'd starve if we had to do that!) She defined it as realistic simple living, which is: 1) More time for people; 2) Improved health; 3) Financial Well-Being; and 4) An Ecological Step in the Right Direction.
There are some really good ideas and points in this book. There are some great templates/charts in the appendix that you can copy and use. There are also some good questions with pros & cons and her "thoughts" on different issues in the appendix, too.
There are great lists of things to have/do, and there are recipes for "home cleaners" & "homemade toiletries" (this is where I jumped off the band wagon... I'll take the drugstore, thank you very much.)
It is a book that you can jump around in which is what I did the first time around. I jumped to the kitchen section first and I have to say that I disagree on the list of "10 basic items that will equip the average home cook with everything he or she needs" ("from a former personal chef and editor of Simple-Bites.net").
1) "a 6 1/2" chef's knife & a small paring knife" - I use a lot more knives than that! 2) "Melamine mixing bowls" - I'll take my glass/pottery bowls. 3) "Large hefty wooden board" - I finally got it about having separate cutting boards for chicken/meat/vegetables! And wooden?! They are the worst offenders at letting bacteria seep into the grain! And they are heavy! 4) "Immersion blender may be a kitchen's most versatile tool after a knife." I don't have one, I don't need one, I don't want one... but don't deny me my mixer or processor! I've loved my processor so much that after 25 years of use I just ordered exactly the same one that I've had and used all those years. (I needed some new blades and they were enough cost that I didn't want to take a chance on the motor going out after purchasing them. So with some "Amazon bucks" saved up, I replaced the whole thing instead.) At the end of the list there are two other appliances that she suggests "can be a huge help if you use them at least once every week or two;" a coffee grinder and a stand mixer. I love my stand mixer, but my hand mixer does nearly as much. And I know some folks are coffee aficionados who only want fresh ground, but not us.
Though I haven't completely read the book cover-to-cover, I've read most of it and since I was alreadyon the warpath ready to purge and simplify, it gave me a good start which I did this week. I now have a cleaned out pantry, bathroom closet, magazine rack, and a good start on the attic. Much more to do, but it had to start somewhere.
I'd say this is a "fun" book and useful, but one I'd watch for on sale or check out from the library. Just my thoughts....
The strange thing is that this must have really sounded intriguing to me because without realizing it, I had already downloaded it onto my Kindle.
The book is Organized Simplicity by Tsh Oxenreider. Having recently decided that I needed to purge my belongings and really clean out, this sounded like just the ticket for me. We've never lived in a house longer than 5 1/2 years, and we are celebrating 10 years in this house in a few weeks. It has enormous walk-in attic storage (one huge and another very ample), and I find that the more storage I have, the more I "store." It also has lots of closets, bookcases (I'm realizing that I "hoard" books...), drawers, and shelves. And I seem to have filled them all up!
The subtitle of this book is "The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living" so I thought it would be very helpful. Granted, much in it is for families and we are down to just the two of us. I can overlook all those parts. I did find it quite interesting how this family worked toward being able to live abroad (and accomplished it!) Many of the ways they simplified translate to those who just want to simplify without moving. I also like that she redefined "simple living" (so we don't have to ride a bicycle everywhere, which is a relief since we live 9 miles from the closest grocery... or eat only from our garden, because my thumb is only a light shade of green and we'd starve if we had to do that!) She defined it as realistic simple living, which is: 1) More time for people; 2) Improved health; 3) Financial Well-Being; and 4) An Ecological Step in the Right Direction.
There are some really good ideas and points in this book. There are some great templates/charts in the appendix that you can copy and use. There are also some good questions with pros & cons and her "thoughts" on different issues in the appendix, too.
There are great lists of things to have/do, and there are recipes for "home cleaners" & "homemade toiletries" (this is where I jumped off the band wagon... I'll take the drugstore, thank you very much.)
It is a book that you can jump around in which is what I did the first time around. I jumped to the kitchen section first and I have to say that I disagree on the list of "10 basic items that will equip the average home cook with everything he or she needs" ("from a former personal chef and editor of Simple-Bites.net").
1) "a 6 1/2" chef's knife & a small paring knife" - I use a lot more knives than that! 2) "Melamine mixing bowls" - I'll take my glass/pottery bowls. 3) "Large hefty wooden board" - I finally got it about having separate cutting boards for chicken/meat/vegetables! And wooden?! They are the worst offenders at letting bacteria seep into the grain! And they are heavy! 4) "Immersion blender may be a kitchen's most versatile tool after a knife." I don't have one, I don't need one, I don't want one... but don't deny me my mixer or processor! I've loved my processor so much that after 25 years of use I just ordered exactly the same one that I've had and used all those years. (I needed some new blades and they were enough cost that I didn't want to take a chance on the motor going out after purchasing them. So with some "Amazon bucks" saved up, I replaced the whole thing instead.) At the end of the list there are two other appliances that she suggests "can be a huge help if you use them at least once every week or two;" a coffee grinder and a stand mixer. I love my stand mixer, but my hand mixer does nearly as much. And I know some folks are coffee aficionados who only want fresh ground, but not us.
Though I haven't completely read the book cover-to-cover, I've read most of it and since I was already
I'd say this is a "fun" book and useful, but one I'd watch for on sale or check out from the library. Just my thoughts....
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Keep Reading...
Well, this hasn't worked so well because I've been doing more reading than blogging....
I won't even tell you how many books I've read... (keep in mind, that I read very fast, but I retain very little.)
But recently I read one that I got free for my Kindle that I would recommend if you like action, intrigue, nothing nasty, & a little romance. Dead Reckoning by Roni Kendig was so riveting that I think it would make a good movie. Many of the free books from www.inspiredreads.com are fairly short (& don't last long for me since I read so fast.) But this one lasted me a few days & I wasn't ready for it to end.
Another that I recently read and enjoyed (and learned so much from!) was Out of Mormonism: A Woman's True Story by Judy Robertson. This one is a true story about a family.
Code Blue by Richard Mabry is a medical mystery that held my attention very well. I've read other books by this author (Diagnosis Death & Medical Error) & this one didn't disappoint.
You might notice that many of the books I recommend are fiction... That's because that is relaxing to me & what I do instead of TV most evenings. But I do have several non-fiction books on my Kindle and hope to "review" some of these when I get them read. One non-fiction I have on it is THE best book ever: The Bible! It's the only book I've read more than once and every time I read it I see something new. Gonna keep reading that one!
I won't even tell you how many books I've read... (keep in mind, that I read very fast, but I retain very little.)
But recently I read one that I got free for my Kindle that I would recommend if you like action, intrigue, nothing nasty, & a little romance. Dead Reckoning by Roni Kendig was so riveting that I think it would make a good movie. Many of the free books from www.inspiredreads.com are fairly short (& don't last long for me since I read so fast.) But this one lasted me a few days & I wasn't ready for it to end.
Another that I recently read and enjoyed (and learned so much from!) was Out of Mormonism: A Woman's True Story by Judy Robertson. This one is a true story about a family.
Code Blue by Richard Mabry is a medical mystery that held my attention very well. I've read other books by this author (Diagnosis Death & Medical Error) & this one didn't disappoint.
You might notice that many of the books I recommend are fiction... That's because that is relaxing to me & what I do instead of TV most evenings. But I do have several non-fiction books on my Kindle and hope to "review" some of these when I get them read. One non-fiction I have on it is THE best book ever: The Bible! It's the only book I've read more than once and every time I read it I see something new. Gonna keep reading that one!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Today's "Find"
Sorry I've been AWOL again... But before I go any further, let me share with you today's "find":
www.inspiredreads.com/christian-kindle-book-sale-choosing-to-see-a-journey-of-struggle-and-hope-by-mary-beth-chapman/
This is a book that I read last fall and intended to review on here as a wonderful book. When I saw it offered today (only) for $2.99 I had to get on here quickly and share it with you so you could take advantage of it.
The true story of this family inspires, makes you laugh, makes you cry, and gives great encouragement of God's sovereignty and grace. Rather than give you a "review" here, I suggest you go to the InspiredReads website where they have a great description of the book. But don't hesitate since this deal is only for today. ( I do not receive any compensation whatsoever for recommending this... I just get lots of free books from them for my Kindle... just like you, too can do!)
If you don't use Kindle, this book is available from the library and I highly recommend it!
Enjoy reading....
www.inspiredreads.com/christian-kindle-book-sale-choosing-to-see-a-journey-of-struggle-and-hope-by-mary-beth-chapman/
This is a book that I read last fall and intended to review on here as a wonderful book. When I saw it offered today (only) for $2.99 I had to get on here quickly and share it with you so you could take advantage of it.
The true story of this family inspires, makes you laugh, makes you cry, and gives great encouragement of God's sovereignty and grace. Rather than give you a "review" here, I suggest you go to the InspiredReads website where they have a great description of the book. But don't hesitate since this deal is only for today. ( I do not receive any compensation whatsoever for recommending this... I just get lots of free books from them for my Kindle... just like you, too can do!)
If you don't use Kindle, this book is available from the library and I highly recommend it!
Enjoy reading....
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