Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler
2. Only With Your Love by Lisa Kleypas
3. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
4. A World of Curiosities by John Oldale
5. Gabby by Gabrielle Giffords
6. Ketchup is a Vegetable by Robin O’Bryant
7. The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary by Andrew Westoll
8. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
9. Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong
10. Night by Elie Wiesel

Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. Rainshadow Road by Lisa Kleypas
2. Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong
3. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
4. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
5. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
6. Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner
7. What I Did For Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
8. The Intellectual Devotional by David Kidder
9. Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie
10. Captive Queen by Alison Weir

Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

I am trying something new this week. As this blog grows, old recommendations seems to get lost in the shuffle. Therefore, I’m going to post a random list of 10 books each Monday. Each book on this list will be one that I have read and enjoyed enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase. As you have most likely deduced, my taste is quite varied, so there should be something for everyone.

Be bold and just choose randomly! Or stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

Let me know what you think!!

This weeks 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1.      Fun for the health conscious food lover: Eat This, Not That by David Zinczenko (several variations of this book)

2.      An emotional, contemporary romance: Dream a Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

3.      An inspiring memoir: Gabby by Gabrielle Giffords

4.      Surprisingly insightful and wrenching: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

5.      Beautiful read for animal lovers: The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary by Andrew Westoll

6.      Thoughtful and spiritual: Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong

7.      For the historian: At Home by Bill Bryson

8.      Genre bending: The Green Mile by Stephen King

9.      Historical, character based romance series: The Hathaway Series by Lisa Kleypas (First book is Mine Till Midnight) 

10. Hilarious. Just hilarious. READ this before going to the movie that just premiered! Hurry!!!!: This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper

Holy War

Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today’s World by Karen Armstrong

I love to read religious philosophy, so I expected to love this book. But…it is too overwhelming. Armstrong tries to cover too much ground. I also didn’t feel that she always portrayed facts, I could sense some bias.

I read it, enjoyed parts, but wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.

Through the Narrow Gate

Through the Narrow Gate: A Memoir of Spiritual Discover by Karen Armstrong

Spiritual/religious texts are always on my go-to list. This is Karen Armstrong’s memoir of the seven years she spent in a Catholic convent. I have read other books by Armstrong, so was interested in how she started on her spiritual journey.

I enjoy Armstrong's clear and honest voice about her spiritual pursuits. She has a deep connection to God and is willing to share that with the world. I will continue to read her work.

 

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life

Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life by Karen Armstrong

Description from Amazon:

“In this important and thought-provoking work, Karen Armstrong—one of the most original thinkers on the role of religion in the modern world—provides an impassioned and practical guide to helping us make the world a more compassionate place.The twelve steps she suggests begin with “Learn About Compassion,” and close with “Love Your Enemies.” In between, she takes up self-love, mindfulness, suffering, sympathetic joy, the limits of our knowledge of others, and “concern for everybody.” She shares concrete methods to help us cultivate and expand our capacity for compassion, and provides a reading list to encourage us to “hear one another’s narratives.” Armstrong teaches us that becoming a compassionate human being is a lifelong project and a journey filled with rewards.”

What I thought: 

Loved this book! I am so grateful when I find a book that speaks to the way I try to live my life. Daily, I see so many things that could be solved by more compassion in the world. These things sadden me. The things Armstrong talks about should be part of every person’s moral base.

This book helped me put into perspective the lessons I’m trying to learn and the differences I want to make for others. I highly recommend it to the spiritually oriented.