Book Review: The Giver

 

5 Moving Stars for The Giver by Lois Lowry. Maybe it's only as adults we can look back with wise eyes and understand the required reading of our pasts. My oldest has been assigned The Giver for school, due in January with a book report. He told me after being about 1/4 of the way in that I needed to read it. Recommendations from a middle schooler? OK. This is something I can get behind. It must be REALLY good. I ordered myself a copy. Started it at 9pm Saturday night. I was introduced to the world of Jonas. I slept and had vivid dreams about the book. By noon on Sunday, I was finished with the book. Reeling. My son has a few chapters left. I ordered the rest of the books in the series. THERE IS A SERIES. I'm glad it's required reading. I can't help but think how different the world would be if everyone read it as adults. It's futuristic, it's scary in the way that Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale is scary. Only, everything is perfect. There is no pain. The world is colorless. It's mind-blowing. If you're looking for some required reading to dig up, with some perspective that will have you looking at the autumn leaves and winter snow with new eyes, The Giver is just the book for you. #5stars  #bookreview #thegiver #requiredreading #canwemandatebooks #mandatoryread #eyeopening #lovebooks #loislowry @loislowrywriter

Book Review: It Ends With Us

 

5 Stars for It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover! A page-turner! This was my second book by Colleen Hoover and although completely different than the previous book I read by her, it was just as good! It Ends With Us was powerful, jarring, and extremely eye-opening. I gained new insights about what it is like for women who are abused and why they continue to stay. Told with honesty, integrity, and grippingly suspenseful details, Colleen wraps us up in her characters in the way that only she knows how to do. I cheered for the victim, I was full of hope for the villain. This may be one of the best books I've read this year and is for sure one to discuss in small groups, instaworld, and even with strangers on the bus that may be reading it. It's that good. #colleenhoover #itendswithus #gripping #5stars #quickread #instabook #bookreviews #readgoodbooks #behindonreviews #readtoescape #bookfortravel #flightread #pageturner @colleenhoover

Two Book Reviews in ONE!

 

Both 5 Stars, very similar books about Solitude and an inward journey for peace and acceptance, Fifty Days of Solitude by Doris Grumbach and A Year by the Sea by Joan Anderson both spoke to me on a very deep and personal level. Quite different as far as the perspective from the storyteller, and quite different reasons for seeking solitude, both stories are so inspirational and I found myself underlining them both with understanding and I identified with so much of the thoughts of the authors.

It seems I am on a memoir/ non-fiction binge right now. I don't know why that is. Maybe I'm just needing to hear from real people about circumstances that drove them away from the world, and why. And, just how did they come out on the other side?

I am inundated with technology. With the internet. Noise. TV. Pings. Even music. So much stimulation. And, I long for a simple life, sheltering my soul and my light from the darkness that comes from over-stimulation and over-production. 

I find myself saying the following (not in either book, strictly mine)-

1. Even Jesus had to leave civilization by himself to seek peace, pray, and recharge. 

2. Even the crops in the fields have to be rotated in order  for the soil to be remain productive.

So, if you're also looking for some insight. Some real stories about leaving all the things and stress behind on a search for a more creative life, either from choice or from circumstances outside of your control, I think you'll really like both of these books. 

Happy Reading dear friends!

#5stars #memoirs #olderbooksaregoodtoo #readtounderstand #readtogrow #sendmebooks #whenigrowupiwanttoreadandwrite #bloggerforfun #solitude #peace #innergrowth #creativelife 

Book Review: A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf

 5 Stars!

Lyrically written, full of descriptions that take you right in the middle of the wilderness, this book by John Muir is exactly what I was craving. 

A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf was eye-opening. What a brave man! What a visionary! And, what a profound and spiritual being John Muir seems to be. 

When I started reading A Thousand Mile Walk to the Gulf, my hope was that the book would satisfy my deep desire and longing to escape on my own for a bit in solitude. What I found, page after page, word after word and journal entry after journal entry, was that it only reiterated all of the reasons I long for solitude on a daily basis. And, what a blessed and fortunate man, to leave all the things "comfortable," to most for his own "comfort." 

Highly recommend this one if you're looking for a non-fiction, inspirational, colorful, and historic read. 

#readtoescape #legend #5 stars #bookreviews #Ilovetoread #readthechange #environmentalist #loveroftrees #floraandfauna