Book Worm: My latest reads

"The Hunger Games Trilogy" by Suzanne Collins

I was fortunate enough to have a friend from church borrow me all three books.  Once they were in my hands I HAD to start reading them.  While I have always enjoyed reading and especially looked forward to reading in bed before sleep, I have never been so immersed within a series.  As a lot of you know I am quite fond of the Lemony Snicket, Series of Unfortunate Events- but when I read the Hunger Games it was with MUCH greater intensity.  It is true on what you hear that they will completely suck you in until you have finished them all.  The end of each chapter leaves you HUNGRY for more that it is impossible to set them down without thinking, "what could possibly happen next?!"  I know some may be turned off by the nature of the story- children killing each other to keep "order" among the districts- but really as you become more familiar with the storyline it doesn't seem that much different than the things we hear about in the news.  

Any moment I had throughout the day I would find myself picking up the book to read just a little bit more.  Granted I won't really discuss much of story because I would not want to be the one to give something away.  There was only one person I talked to about the books while I was reading the trilogy in fear that someone might spill the beans!  haha- I made it through and am eagerly awaiting the movies.

"7" by Jen Hatmaker    

I recently started reading the book “7” written by Jen Hatmaker.  I had heard about this book from my good friend Brittany and purchased it for my husband for his birthday this year.  The sub title and basic explanation of the book is, “an experimental mutiny against excess”.  For 7 months, Jen and her family tackle 7 different areas of excess in someway involving the number 7.  The months include: food, clothes, possessions, media, waste, spending and stress.  This book has been such an easy enjoyable read because of Jen’s witty writing ability and funny stories- but also for the concept of her experiment.  I think I am drawn to the idea of giving something up/not doing something/doing something etc. for a certain amount of time.  It’s a personal challenge to exercise self discipline, which is I feel is totally me.  Also if we are being honest here, the ability to say, “yeah I did that” has its appeal.  

After each month I wrote a reaction in my journal on how I would like to mimic some of the months.  Overall Jen’s experiment could be seen as a type of fast.  She speaks about fasting in the book and put a new light on it all for me.  She gave a message at a women’s conference on Isaiah 58

Jen puts it well in saying, “…God’s idea of a fast is less about what we’re against and more about what we are for…When we hear “fast,” we put on a yoke of self-denial.  When God said “fast,” He meant to take off the yoke of oppression.”  She urges us to read Isaiah 58 and see that we should fast from self-obsession, greed, apathy and elitism.  Not focusing on the things we have given up or even ourselves and how great we are with self-denial.  We should focus on the marginalized, the poor, the hungry, the hurting…the ones we have been charged to serve.      

"Radical" by David Platt

This book was given to Josh and I from a very dear friend, actually the same friend who introduced me to “7”...she has good taste in books!  The tag line for this book is “Taking back your faith from the American Dream.”  It was easy for me to get defensive at the start of reading this book.  I felt that everything was over generalized- therefore including myself in the mix of it all feeling condemned.  But really that is just me throwing myself into the book in such a way that I feel personally attacked.  Really, I should be doing that with this book so that I take it seriously in my own life.  So after I realized all that- I eased into the book and saw my defensiveness is from the fact there are areas I need to be transformed.  Platt addressed basic issues that American Christians tend to not take seriously, which can be detrimental to our faith.  It is a book that really makes you think about the kind of Christian Christ CALLED us to be- not what kind of Christian America says we CAN be.  The one thing that really stands out in my mind from the whole book is when Platt said something to the effect of that reading the book of Leviticus IS more beneficial and impact-ful than any Christian book because it is the Word of God.  Wow- let us not belittle the great relationship with have been given to have with the Creator.