All things bookish!
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What I Finished:
Nothing finished this week :( I wanted to get "A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure" finished this past week but, alas, I got sucked into a booktube rabbit hole instead of listening to my book.
If you haven't done so yet, please take this opportunity to join in my 16th Blogiversary Celebration & Giveaway. Click HERE to read the post!
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What I'm Reading/Listening:
This book is the February 2025 selection for the Good for the Soul Women's Book Club over on FB and Instagram. (We're actually reading this book as a read-a-long and chatting about each week's passage on Saturdays.) It is such a great group and we have the best conversations about books through Zoom. There's still time to join in!
Blurb:
Is your quest to love yourself more actually making you miserable?
We're told that the key to happiness is self-love. Instagram influencers, mommy bloggers, self-help gurus, and even Christian teachers promise that if we learn to love ourselves, we'll be successful, secure, and complete. But the promise doesn't deliver. Instead of feeling fulfilled, our pursuit of self-love traps us in an exhausting as we strive for self-acceptance, we become addicted to self-improvement.
The truth is we can't find satisfaction inside ourselves because we are the problem. We struggle with feelings of inadequacy because we are inadequate. Alone, we are not good enough, smart enough, or beautiful enough. We're not enough--period. And that's okay, because God is.
The answer to our insufficiency and insecurity isn't self-love, but God's love. In Jesus, we're offered a way out of our toxic culture of self-love and into a joyful life of relying on him for wisdom, satisfaction, and purpose. We don't have to wonder what it's all about anymore. This is it.
This book isn't about battling your not-enoughness; it's about embracing it. Allie Beth Stuckey, a Christian, conservative new mom, found herself at the dead end of self-love, and she wants to help you combat the false teachings and self-destructive mindsets that got her there. In this book, she uncovers the myths popularized by our culture of trendy narcissism, reveals where they manifest in politics and the church, and dismantles them with biblical truth and practical wisdom.
We're told that the key to happiness is self-love. Instagram influencers, mommy bloggers, self-help gurus, and even Christian teachers promise that if we learn to love ourselves, we'll be successful, secure, and complete. But the promise doesn't deliver. Instead of feeling fulfilled, our pursuit of self-love traps us in an exhausting as we strive for self-acceptance, we become addicted to self-improvement.
The truth is we can't find satisfaction inside ourselves because we are the problem. We struggle with feelings of inadequacy because we are inadequate. Alone, we are not good enough, smart enough, or beautiful enough. We're not enough--period. And that's okay, because God is.
The answer to our insufficiency and insecurity isn't self-love, but God's love. In Jesus, we're offered a way out of our toxic culture of self-love and into a joyful life of relying on him for wisdom, satisfaction, and purpose. We don't have to wonder what it's all about anymore. This is it.
This book isn't about battling your not-enoughness; it's about embracing it. Allie Beth Stuckey, a Christian, conservative new mom, found herself at the dead end of self-love, and she wants to help you combat the false teachings and self-destructive mindsets that got her there. In this book, she uncovers the myths popularized by our culture of trendy narcissism, reveals where they manifest in politics and the church, and dismantles them with biblical truth and practical wisdom.
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I also started listening to "A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure" by Angela Bell. I've finished the first 3 chapters and look forward to listening to more and hopefully finishing this book before next week's post.
Blurb:
Miss Clara Marie Stanton's family may be eccentric, but they certainly aren't insane.
London, England, 1860
When Clara's ex-fiancé begins to spread rumors that her family suffers from hereditary insanity, it's all she can do to protect them from his desperate schemes, society's prejudice, and a lifetime in an asylum. Then Clara's Grandfather Drosselmeyer brings on an apprentice with a mechanical leg, and all pretense of normalcy takes wing.
Theodore Kingsley, a shame-chased vagabond haunted by the war, wants a fresh start far from Kingsley Court and the disappointed father who declared him dead. Upon returning to England, Theodore meets clockmaker Drosselmeyer, who hires him as an apprentice, much to Clara's dismay. When Drosselmeyer spontaneously disappears in his secret flying owl machine, he leaves behind a note for Clara, beseeching her to make her dreams of adventure a reality by joining him on a merry scavenger hunt across Europe. Together, Clara and Theodore set off to follow Drosselmeyer's trail of clues, but they will have to stay one step ahead of a villain who wants the flying machine for himself--at any cost.
London, England, 1860
When Clara's ex-fiancé begins to spread rumors that her family suffers from hereditary insanity, it's all she can do to protect them from his desperate schemes, society's prejudice, and a lifetime in an asylum. Then Clara's Grandfather Drosselmeyer brings on an apprentice with a mechanical leg, and all pretense of normalcy takes wing.
Theodore Kingsley, a shame-chased vagabond haunted by the war, wants a fresh start far from Kingsley Court and the disappointed father who declared him dead. Upon returning to England, Theodore meets clockmaker Drosselmeyer, who hires him as an apprentice, much to Clara's dismay. When Drosselmeyer spontaneously disappears in his secret flying owl machine, he leaves behind a note for Clara, beseeching her to make her dreams of adventure a reality by joining him on a merry scavenger hunt across Europe. Together, Clara and Theodore set off to follow Drosselmeyer's trail of clues, but they will have to stay one step ahead of a villain who wants the flying machine for himself--at any cost.
What I'll (Probably) Read Next:
I love Colleen Coble books and her writing style. I also need to mix up my genres to keep things fresh so I'll probably listen to this audiobook next.
Blurb:
For some people, Alaska is a breathtaking wilderness adventure, full of light and beauty. For Haley, it is a dangerous world of dark dreams and tortured memories. On the surface, she's here to document wildlife activist Kipp Nowak's bear encounters. But her real reason is to unearth the truth about a past murder. The suspense mounts when another body turns up, and Haley beginst to wonder if the tragedies she experienced in the past are connected to the dangers and mysterious incidents of the present. From behind the viewfinder of her camera, Haley observes it all, including Tank Lassiter, the bear biologist who has been forced to lead Kipp and his team into the Alaskan backcountry. As she watches him with his work, she feels a growing attraction. It will take great courage and faith to confront the truth she once ran away from. Before it's over, Haley may be viewing herself from an entirely new angle.
Alaska Twilight is the story of a young woman's emergence from the shadows of past sorrow into the light of forgiveness and grace.
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Book Haul:
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Book Blogger Hop:
Q. Have you ever read a Nicholas Sparks romance novel? If so, what is your opinion on his endings? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)
A. I had to chuckle at this question!
As for my answer...No, I have not. Because...I've seen some of the movies based on Mr. Sparks' novels and they always seem to be tear-jerkers. Up to this point, I prefer reading for the lighthearted, happily ever after effect.
Other than that, in general, if I've seen the movie first, I won't read the book. If I read the book first, I will then watch the movie. Just a quirk of mine.
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Bookishly Yours,
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