Recently Read

The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein)
I have been telling everyone to read this book! If you like dogs at all, you'll love it. It's the story of a dog named Enzo - in his own words. He also recounts the story of his owner, Denny, as his racecar driving career  progresses and he falls in love. Hint: lots of twists. Enzo is a smart and hilarious dog. The day after I finished this book I was yard saling with my mom and we kept seeing dogs and I told her now I know what they're thinking. So there's that.

The Help (Kathryn Stockett)
This one is going on my list of all-time favorite books. WOW. Even though I had already seen and loved the movie, the book was still riveting. It was actually better than the movie, which is typically the case.

 Mercy Triumphs (Beth Moore)
This was my first group study with Beth Moore and I loved it! I learned a ton about James as a person and the book of the Bible he wrote. Beth Moore tells hilarious stories and is so relatable. I was convicted and challenged in many areas, especially about my words and what I say, and passing judgment.

 Culture of Revival (Andy Byrd & Sean Feucht)
Loved it. Each chapter is by a different author, telling amazing stories of what God has done in their life and exhorting you to go where you are called too. It's definitely got lingo that I think could get on a lot of people's nerves (say, people who read the title alone and thought, what the?!) but it is powerful and I was majorly encouraged. It's the kind of book I could re-read because it was so jam packed with goodness.

 One Thousand Gifts (Ann Voskamp)
The message was excellent and there were lots and lots of beautiful quotes, but I struggled to get into her style of writing - a little too poetic for me.

Perfect Chaos: A Daughter's Journey to Survive Bipolar, a Mother's Struggle to Save Her (Linae  Johnson & Cindy Johnson)
I hate to not finish a book, but this book was so terrible that I had to stop. I felt like the girl, who is about my age, was trying to make a story where there wasn't one. The portions by her mom were full of fear and paranoia, and if anything it seemed like having a helicopter mom may have driven the girl to anxiety and a bipolar diagnosis.

 Sisterhood Everlasting (Ann Brashares)
There's nothing like a good sequel. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books were some of my favorites when they came out, and this book told the story of the four girls ten years later in their late twenties. I flew through this book and there were things I could identify with in almost every character - something I think is crucial for a book to be great.