Book Reviews

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess (Great read!)

by Crystal on February 24, 2012

I kept hearing great things about this book called 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess. The title alone was enough to have me intrigued, but the rave reviews convinced me to buy a copy.

And I’m so glad I did. Jen Hatmaker is an engaging, funny, and convicting author. I’ve never read anything by her before, but, after reading this book, I want to read Interrupted and Barefoot Church, as soon as I can get my hands on a copy of them!

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess chronicles her seven month seven-things experiment. Each month, she chose a different area to focus on and then pared down the excess in that area.

For instance, the first month, her focus was food. So she limited herself to just eating seven different things during that 30-day period.

Yes, only seven foods.

The second month she only wore seven items of clothing for the 30-day period.

And so on.

Try to step back and just think for a minute what it would be like to only eat seven things or only wear seven clothing items for 30 days. For more of us, that seems almost impossible to even imagine. And yet, think how many millions of people around the world would consider it a luxury to have a choice of seven different foods each meal or seven different clothing items.

Jen didn’t set out on this experiment just to have great book subject matter; she did this seven month experiment because she wanted to challenge her own long-ingrained entitlement mentality. In this book, she writes candidly about her experiences–victories, failures, and hilarious stories along the way!–in order to challenge others to take a step back and really examine our own hearts when it comes to needs versus wants and what truly matters in life.

The book is thought-provoking, for sure, but it’s not guilt-invoking. And it’s well worth the read.

Other recent good reads: From Dust and Ashes, Symphony in the Dark, Between a Rock and a Grace Place, and Arms of Deliverance.

See all books I’ve read so far in 2012 here.

Have you read any good books recently?

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Good Reads: Blue Like Play Dough, Try Giving Yourself Away, Against All Odds

by Crystal on February 03, 2012

Blue Like Play Dough — I loved Tricia’s candor in this book on motherhood. She doesn’t pretend to have it altogether or to have it all figured out, but just shares encouragement from her own journey from her years as a young single mom to now being a mom of three teens. You’ll be blessed, inspired, challenged, and encouraged through her stories and insights.
Try Giving Yourself Away — My mom picked up this book at a thrift store a number of months ago and loaned it to me awhile back. I finally had a chance to read it yesterday as I was flying back from VA and was so motivated to look for and take advantage of opportunities to bless others in simple, practical ways. Just taking a few minutes to drop an email or pick up the phone or say an encouraging word to someone can often mean a great deal–and you’ll likely find that you’re blessed in seeking to be a blessing!

Against All Odds — While I thought the play-by-plays of martial arts competitions got a little monotonous, overall, this book was an interesting and encouraging read. Chuck has experienced many, many setbacks in life and, instead of being discouraged and disheartened, he’s turned them into comebacks.

Have you read any good books recently?

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Good Reads: Loving the Little Years

by Crystal on January 27, 2012

I really enjoyed Loving the Little Years. It’s not a book with lots of practical, hands-on advice, but it’s a book the deals with the heart issues we moms face.

I didn’t agree with the author on all points (I’m not really sure that I ever do, though!) and think we have to be careful when reading parenting books because what works for one family or one child isn’t necessarily what will or should work for another family or child. That said, I was convicted, and inspired by Loving the Little Years.

It made me really step back and re-examine my own heart and how I am responding to and discipling my children on a daily basis. Sometimes, it’s easier (in the moment) to just slap band-aids and quick fixes onto behavior and attitude issues, instead of really taking the time to deal with the heart issues and struggles our children are facing.

Loving the Little Years challenges moms to really delve down to the heart of the matter. As the author says, “The state of your heart is the state of your home.”

Have you read any good books recently?

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Good Reads: Plan It Don’t Panic, How to Write a Book Proposal, How Do You Kill 11 Million People?

by Crystal on January 21, 2012

Plan It, Don’t Panic — This ebook on menu-planing is a fantastic resource for anyone who really wants to menu-plan but is struggling with how to do it. Written by my friend, Stephanie, it provides the tools, step-by-step help, and practical inspiration you need to successfully plan and follow menus.

Even though I’ve been menu planning for years, this ebook breathed new life into my resolve to menu plan and gave me lots of helpful suggestions and fresh advice. I found some new tips and websites to try out that I’d not heard of before and also found it very helpful to step back and examine if my current method of menu-planning is working well for our family or not.

This ebook covers menu-planning on a budget, eating from the pantry, how to create rotating menu plans, how to incorporate freezer cooking into your menu-planning to make life simpler, and how to serve your family healthful meals without spending hours in the kitchen every day.

The wide range of topics it covers includes:

Find the method of meal planning that will suit you and your family best
Tweak and perfect your meal planning style with unique tips and strategies
Make it easier to work around special/restrictive dietary needs
Become a grocery-shopping ninja and never go to the store without a genius plan in place for maximizing your money
Learn how leftovers can become your best friends in the kitchen
As well as how to store your recipes, easily find your favorites, plan for hectic times, and even what to do when you mess up…

You want to know one of my favorite parts of the ebook? She included full four weeks of meal plans at the back of the ebook. Reading through fully-laid-out menu plans that others have put together always gives me new ideas and suggestions to try at our house. I also loved all of the helpful printable forms and worksheets at the back of the ebook.

If you’re considering purchasing a copy of Plan It Don’t Panic, Stephanie is offering a 20% discount on PDF copies purchased through her site. Just use coupon code MSM20 and you’ll get 20% off, making it just $3.99. This offer is good through January 27, 2012.

Good Reads: A Deeper Kind of Calm & Secret of the Prince’s Tomb

by Crystal on January 13, 2012

I’d read and loved Linda Dillow’s book, Calm My Anxious Heart, last year. So I decided to add two of her other books to this year’s reading list.

This week I finished reading A Deeper Kind of Calm. It’s a short book packed with much to consider and apply in my own life. While it’s a short book (there are only 5 chapters!), I wouldn’t recommend trying to digest it all in one session. In fact, I read one chapter per day and I felt like that was almost too much to chew on.

Linda has a great way of drawing readers in, sharing personal stories of her own struggles and difficulties and sharing testimonies from others who have walked difficult paths, too. While I liked Calm My Anxious Heart more than this book, it was a good read.

We were so excited that Focus on the Family released another book in The Imagination Station series. And, as usual, it didn’t disappoint.

Secret of the Prince’s Tomb is about the Hebrews in Egypt. Jesse read this aloud in the evenings and we all enjoyed it–even if it did end before we were ready for it to be over with.

Have you read any good books recently?

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Good Reads: One Bite At a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler

by Crystal on January 06, 2012

I love, love, love Tsh and her Simple Mom blog. She’s a huge inspiration to me in so many areas.

I’ve seen her ebook, One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, many times and had really wanted to read it–someday. Well, over Christmas break, I decided it was someday (maybe the fact that I found out there was a coupon code for the ebook had something to do with that?!) and so I bought it and dove right in.

This book, as expected, is fabulous. I read it over the course of the past week and a half–in little bits in the morning as I was doing my warm-up and cool down on the treadmill before my morning run. I enjoyed the book so much that I had trouble getting off the treadmill every day because I just wanted to keep reading. As I emailed Tsh earlier this week, I guess that’s not a bad problem.

As you probably well know by now, I love the concept of breaking things down into bite-sized manageable pieces. And Tsh’s ebook does just that. It gives you 52 bite-sized steps you can take to become more efficient, streamlined, and organized.

You know those things you always say you want to do someday? Like planting a garden, switching to natural cleaners, composting, setting up a system for paper clutter, organize your photo collection, learning to cook from scratch, setting up menu plans, planning regular date nights, or regularly turning off technology? Tsh gives you the tools, motivation, and encouragement you need to slowly make those positive changes you’ve hoped to make. And she makes it simple and doable.

Now I have to tell you: Tsh suggests that you pick one project per week for a year–thus the 52 projects. However, I’d suggest to maybe slow the pace down a bit and just pick one project every other week or once a month. That way, you can really take your time and let the changes really sink in before moving onto something else.

One Bite At a Time is available as a PDF, for Nook, or Kindle for $5. If you order the PDF version you can use coupon code HAPPYNEWYEAR and get it for $4. You can download a sample from the book or see the full list of projects covered.

And be sure to check out all the fantastic content from Tsh on her blog, Simple Mom. I promise you’ll be inspired!

Have you read any good books recently?

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My Top 7 Favorite Books Read in 2011

by Crystal on January 02, 2012

Looking for some good books to add to your booklist for 2012? Here are my top seven favorite books from the 60 books I read in 2011:

Calm My Anxious Heart: A Woman’s Guide to Finding Contentment — I loved this book and would whole-heartedly recommend it to any Christian woman who is struggling with anxiety, fear, or worry. Very thought-provoking. I benefited so much from it that I put two of the author’s other books on my 24 books I plan to read in 2012 booklist.

ReWork — Hands down, this is one of the best business books I’ve ever read. I read it in one sitting because I just couldn’t put it down. The premise? Break all the rules of the “experts”. Think way outside the box. Be a teacher: if a business idea works well for you, share your secrets and people will respect you more. Stop worrying about your competition and start being a trend-setter. Keep your company small for as long as you possibly can. Don’t grow until it hurts.

Now, do note that this is not packed with specific step-by-step ideas for starting a business. It’s moreso an outside-the-box business book to challenge the status quo. And since I tend to be a very independent thinker, I loved that. Other people, like my friend Catherine, didn’t find the book as helpful (read her review here).

(Note: There is a quite a bit of language in the book and I was disappointed because it somewhat hampered my excitement about the book. And I know some disagree with me, but I always find four letter words in books bothersome because I feel like they are unnecessary and crude.)

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed By a Relentless God — If you’re a Christian, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If there’s one book outside the Bible that you read this year, read Crazy Love. It challenged me to pull out of my complacency as a follower of Christ. I’ve stayed in my comfort zone for a long time out of fear — fear of failure, fear of what others would think of me, and fear of stepping out in faith and doing what God has been calling me to do.

I read one chapter each morning for two weeks and then would spend time reflecting and praying about it during my morning run. There was much I processed during those times — and I will be processing it for many weeks and months to come. God used this book to change my outlook on many things and to light a fire of love in my heart to live a life sold out for God. I want to follow where He leads, at any cost.

Eat That Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time — This book is jam packed with practical ideas for prioritizing your time and life so that you make the most of your days. One of my biggest takeaways from the book was the challenge to start the day out by doing the things you like least first, you’ll get them out of the way so you can enjoy your day more and be more productive and fulfilled. Read more about some of the things I gleaned from this book here.

Today Matters: 12 Daily Practices to Achieve Tomorrow’s Success — If you want to make the most of your days, Today Matters will give you practical, step-by-step help and inspiration. The author makes a case for why today is your key to success and outlines 12 decisions and disciplines you should implement into your life and work toward mastering in order to achieve greater fulfillment and success in life.

168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think — We all have exactly the same amount of time: 24 hours in each day, 168 hours in each week. We all get to choose how we’re going to use those hours — whether wisely or frivolously. Laura Vanderkam’s book, 168 Hours, is based upon the premise that, if we were to step back and look at our week as a whole, we have more time than we realize. And we are probably squandering more time than we think.

This book gives real-life, practical examples for becoming a better manager of your time. It profiles a number of different individuals in different situations and shows how they are using their time well or specific ways they could improve their time usage. This book is not about stuffing our lives more full with longer to-do lists and more responsibilities, but about focusing on a life well lived. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who wants to better steward their time or find more fulfillment in how they spend their 168 hours.

Kisses from Katie — This book rocked my world and left me profoundly moved and challenged. It has caused me to step back and examine how I’m living my life and whether I’m truly giving in a way that costs me something dear. I’m still processing much of what I read and praying about specifically what I am supposed to do in response to the burden it placed upon my heart, but I am left forever touched. If you want to be motivated to live a life out of your comfort zone, read this book.

What were your top reads in 2011? I’d love know!

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Good Reads: Getting Things Done by David Allen

by Crystal on December 31, 2011

Getting Things Done was on my booklist to read in 2011, and, considering the name, I figured I actually better finish reading it this year.

I was expecting to be overwhelmed with guilt by the book–feeling like I had to set up all these new processes and procedures in order to get my life in order. However, I was really encouraged to realize that I’ve unintentionally set up processes and procedures for many areas of my life that are working quite well.

Everything in my office has a place and everything in it serves a specific purpose. I have a process for mail, a process for email, and a process for dealing with paper clutter and stuff clutter.

So I was excited to realize that there’s no need to overhaul something that’s already working well most of the time. Instead, I just need to work on tweaking and refining these processes so that they serve me even better.

That said, reading this book helped me to realize very clearly that my paper planner system is no longer working well for me and that’s likely one of the reasons my head has been spinning so much recently. My home management binder has been great for a daily to-do list and overview, but, with the increased business responsibilities on my plate in the last few months, I need to be able to have a running to-do list of business projects and I also need to be able to schedule out projects, to-do’s, and reminders days, weeks, and months ahead of time.

Since my husband manages a busy law firm and has to schedule out and keep on top of all sorts of client stuff and court appearances, he’s been helping me think through what would work best for me. I think I’m going to try a paperless system using a combination of Google Calendars and the Reminders app and To-Do app.

I’ve resisted the paperless approach for so long, as I’m such a visual, write-it-down-on-paper gal, but I think perhaps the time has come to break out of my rut and go paperless. I’m at least going to try and will let you know how it ends up going!

Two Key Points I Picked Up From the Book:

Write Everything Down

I think one of the biggest reasons I’ve felt like my brain is overloaded recently is because I’ve not been dumping enough information out of it. I’ll think of something I need to remember and, instead of writing it down on my to-do list, I’ll tell myself, “Don’t forget that.”

Getting Things Done strongly encourages you to get stuff out of your brain and onto paper or your computer or handheld device. If you capture and store the information in a trusted system, it not only guarantees that you won’t forget it, but it also frees up brain space! Plus, instead of having to remind yourself ten times about something you need to remember, you can just write it down once and forget about it until you need to deal with it.

Follow the 2-Minute Rule

As I’ve confessed before, I tend to be a procrastinator. Getting Things Done encourages you to immediately do any project that can be done in less than two minutes.

Instead of thinking repeatedly about how you need to make that appointment, just pick up the phone and make the appointment. Rather than leaving an email in your inbox and looking at it multiple times, just answer it as soon as it comes in.

I know that following this rule would help me keep on top of all those little jobs much more efficiently and effectively. Instead of continuously putting off little jobs or writing them down onto my to-do list, I should just do the job and get it done.

I thought some parts of Getting Things Done felt overly complicated and some parts I felt like the pace of the book was dragging along too slowly. In addition, since my copy was the 2001 version, the technology referred to was outdated (anyone remember Palm Pilots?), but overall I felt this book is well worth reading if you are struggling with feeling overwhelmed with life–especially if you are a professional or own your own business.

Also read this week: Benjamin Rush by David Barton and Personal Investing: The Missing Manual.

And I’m excited because I ended up finishing my entire 2011 booklist and reading a total of 60 books in 2011, plus reading through the Chronological Bible Plan. Now onto my 2012 booklist!

Have you read any good books recently?

(Note: The Amazon.com links in this post are affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.)

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Customizable Printable Reading List

by Crystal on December 28, 2011

If you were considering making your own list of books you want to read after I posted my list of 24 books I plan to read in 2012 yesterday, you can download a customizable printable Books I Plan to Read list.

Type in the books you want to read, save the file, and then you can print it. Or, just print it blank and hand write your list. It would be fun to then save this list at the end of the year to refer back to in a few years from now to see what you were reading and what interested you in 2012.

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24 Books I Plan to Read in 2012

by Crystal on December 27, 2011

At the beginning of 2011, I made a list of 24 books I wanted to read this past year. I broke the list down by month and chose two books to read per month.

This plan worked very well for me, and while I didn’t follow it exactly, it motivated me to read more and read some great books that I likely wouldn’t have picked up and read had they not been on my list. I still have 2.5 books on the list to finish before the year ends, but I’m hopeful I’ll actually be able to cross all of them off my list by December 31!

I also finished quite a few books that were not on my list. All in all, I ended up reading 56 books in 2011 (see the full list here), plus the books I read aloud to the children (see the full list of books we read aloud in 2011 here). It’s amazing how committing to read at least a chapter or two each day personally as well as a few chapters per weekday aloud to the children really adds up over time!

Since the 24 book list idea worked so well, I decided to stick with it again this year. After surveying my bookshelf of books I really want to read (yes, I have three entire shelves of books on a bookshelf in our basement with books I haven’t read yet and really want to read!), I narrowed the stack down to 24 books.

Here’s my list of 24 books I plan to read in 2012:

January:

How to Write a Book Proposal

A Deeper Kind of Calm: Steadfast Faith in the Midst of Adversity

February:

Loving the Little Years: Motherhood in the Trenches

Rekindling the Romance: Loving the Love of Your Life

March:

Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero

Leadership as an Identity: The Four Traits of Those Who Wield Lasting Influence

April:

The Three R’s

Between a Rock and a Grace Place: Divine Surprises in the Tight Spots of Life

May:

One of Us Must Be Crazy. . .and I’m Pretty Sure It’s You: Making Sense of the Differences That Divide Us

The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself

June:

Grace for the Good Girl: Letting Go of the Try-Hard Life

Without a Word: How a Boy’s Unspoken Love Changed Everything

July:

The Simplicity of Homeschooling: Discover the Freedom of Learning Through Living

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

August:

Satisfy My Thirsty Soul: For I Am Desperate for Your Presence

Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

September:

The Husband Project: 21 Days of Loving Your Man–on Purpose and with a Plan

The Heavenly Man: The Remarkable True Story of Chinese Christian Brother Yun

October:

Erasing Hell: What God said about eternity, and the things we made up

Read for the Heart: Whole Books for WholeHearted Families

November:

Whispers of His Power

Pocketful of Pinecones

December:

The Shelter of God’s Promises

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You

Later this week, I’ll be sharing a downloadable list you can print and fill out with the books you want to read this year. I’ll also be sharing a list of audiobooks I’m planning to listen to and my top five favorite books I read this past year.

What books are you hoping to read in 2012? I’d love to hear!