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Evidence Not Seen (Sunday Reading)

August 16, 2020 by Lynn 4 Comments

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We are back with another great Sunday Reading book! Today for Sunday Reading we are talking about Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Deibler Rose.

Do you know about Sunday Reading? Sunday reading is where we feature a Christian or theology book that we wouldn’t normally share about. Featuring them on Sunday’s gives us a way to share the Christian books that some of our readers enjoy.

Evidence Not Seen is a one of our family’s favorite Christian biographies. I read it years ago and made it required reading when I was homeschooling my girls. We also included it in our list Women of WW2 books.

Evidence Not Seen is the true story of a young American missionary woman in the jungles of New Guinea during WW2. It shares her story of courage, survival, and faith during her four years in a notorious Japanese prison camp.

There are many books, both fiction and nonfiction, that have been written about WW2. Many of them though have been written about Europe. Fewer books though have been written about the Pacific. Even fewer books have been written about New Guinea during WW2.

Evidence Not Seen is a memoir style book that was written in 1988, long before modern day memoirs were popular. Yet, it reads like a modern narrative nonfiction memoir.

I am not a big rereader, but I have read this Evidence Not Seen two or three times. It is one of those books that I could read every five years and still enjoy it.

The first time I read this book I could not put it down. I had not read a lot about this part of the world during WW2, and Darlene Deibler Rose’s story is riveting. It is a story of strength, courage, faith, and forgiveness.

Evidence Not Seen is one of the books that I keep on hand to give away as gifts. It is such a powerful story that I find myself recommending it over and over again.

Have you read Evidence Not Seen?

Recent Reads (Lynn)

August 13, 2020 by Lynn 3 Comments

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June and July were great reading months for me. I read quite a few books. It was also a good mix of fiction and nonfiction. I didn’t share what I read in June, so I am sharing both June and July today.

The Printed Letter Bookshop – This is the fourth or fifth Katherine Reay book that I have read. This book is totally different than any of her other books, but I still loved it. This is a book about life, relationships, books, and more. The main character is a successful lawyer. She inherits her aunt’s bookshop, and her life is totally changed. If you like Katherine Reay books, I think you will like this one.

Half Broke Horses – This book is often called a true life novel or a biographical fiction. Jeannette Walls shares the story of her grandmother Lily. The Glass Castle is one of my favorite memoir type books. Half Broke Horses gives a lot of family background to The Glass Castle. If you have read The Glass Castle, I think you will like this one. I liked The Glass Castle better, but I enjoyed this because it gave you details about the family that The Glass Castle didn’t.

The Lady and the Highwayman –The Lady and The Highwayman book has been in my TBR pile since last fall. I finally picked it up recently when I needed a lighter read. The Lady and The Highwayman is considered a proper romance book. It is romance without the graphic details. This book was a fun read that included romance and mystery. I thought the author’s writing was very creative in this one. It wasn’t your typical cheesy proper romance read.

The Envy of Eve – The book went along with a Bible Study I did earlier this summer on contentment. I enjoyed the book. It went into more detail than the Bible Study did. It was a good read considering our current times.

Of Literature and Lattes– Of Literature and Lattes can be read alone, but it is a follow-up book to The Printed Letter Bookshop book that I mentioned above. I enjoyed Of Literature and Lattes. It is set in the same small town that The Printed Letter Bookshop is set in. I loved the story, the characters, the setting, and the coffee shop the book is centered around. I am guessing that Katherine Reay has a third book planned for this same town and cast of people. If she does a third book, I will be reading it.

God Took Me By the Hand – I love Christian biographies and have read many of them over the years. Jerry Bridges has written quite a few books that I have read. When I heard that he wrote his autobiography, I knew I wanted to read it. God Took Me By the Hand is not his best written book. He wrote it during his later years of life, so I think the overall writing is lacking. However, I loved this book. He continually points you to Christ and the fact that God is in control of all things, both big and small. If you have read other books by Jerry Bridges, I think you will enjoy this one.

Beyond All Dreams – In the last few months, I have been reading a lot more fiction than normal. I blame it on current events. Not only have I been reading more fiction, I have been reading more easy fun fiction. They type of fiction that doesn’t take a lot of thought. This book fits that category. I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them. I enjoyed this one. It is a clean, very predictable, Christian mystery romance.

Ruth, A Portrait: The Story of Ruth Graham Bell – I do not know a lot about Ruth and Billy Graham besides the basics that most people know. A few years ago I read a book about Billy Graham and have been wanting to read something about Ruth Graham. I enjoyed this book. It was an interesting book about a woman who gave up a lot to serve God by serving her husband and giving to others.

Lady Takes the Case – My husband got me this as a gift because he knew that I had been reading more fiction. I enjoyed this cozy mystery.

Boom Town- This book will probably make my list of favorite books for 2020. It definitely makes my list of favorite books read in the first half of 2020. I have lived in Oklahoma for twenty-six years and four of those years I lived in the Oklahoma City area. I thought I knew a lot about Oklahoma, but I learned so much by reading Boom Town by Sam Anderson.

The Jane Austen Society – The Jane Austen Society was just the type of reading that I have been needing for summer 2020. I have not read very many Jane Austen retellings, but for some reason, this one caught my attention. The Jane Austen Society is set in Chawton, England just after WWII. An interesting mix of characters come together because of their love of Jane Austen to make this wonderful story.

The Creaking on the Stairs – This was a good but tough read. It deals with finding hope in the midst of trauma. It is not an easy read. It is one of the toughest to read Christian memoirs that I have read. But at the same time, it is so good. The author shares his story while at the same time giving glory to God. This book will not be for everyone. It is a super tough read, but I am so glad that I read it.

The Story Keeper – Set in Appalachia, The Story Keeper, is a book that you won’t forget. Jen Gibbs is a successful New York editor who finds herself revisiting her past through a manuscript that somehow found its way to her desk. It is about love, family, and so much more. This book draws you into the story in a way that few books do.

What books have you read recently?

Twelve Great Nonfiction Audiobooks

July 29, 2020 by Lynn Leave a Comment

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Do you love nonfiction? We love nonfiction too that is why we are sharing a list of Great Nonfiction Audiobooks.

It is no secret that we love nonfiction books. But we don’t want just any nonfiction book. We want nonfiction books that are well written and interesting.

One of the ways we find these great nonfiction books is through audiobooks.

There are so many opinions on audiobooks. Some love to listen to both fiction and nonfiction on audio. Some only listen to fiction books and others will only listen to nonfiction.

For our family, we love listening to nonfiction on audio. In fact, I am one of those people that prefer my fiction in book form, not audio.

My husband also loves nonfiction audiobooks. He listens to them in the car and while he exercises. My oldest daughter also loves to listen to audiobooks while traveling to and from college or work.

Our audible account gets a lot of use. We share an account, which family members that all live in the same house can do, and it easily pays for itself each month.

One of my tips when picking audiobooks is to listen to the sample. If you are going to tackle hours of a book on audio, you want to enjoy the voice. Most narrators are great, but some aren’t.

We have skipped audiobooks or not finished them simply because the voice was hard to listen to. So listen to the sample before you pick an audio book.

Here are twelve though that we found to be both interesting books and well done on audio.

Great Nonfiction Audiobooks

Washington: A Life

Upstairs At the White House

The Operator

I’d Rather Be Reading

In the President’s Secret Service

Capital Gaines

Rocket Men

West With the Night

The Professor and the Madman

American Pharaoh

In the Heart of the Sea

The Boys In the Boat

The Story Keeper by Lisa Wingate

July 16, 2020 by Lynn Leave a Comment

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The Story Keeper by Lisa Wingate is a powerful story of love and forgiveness.

We are back with another backlist book pick!

Backlist Book Picks is where we feature older books, books that are not the new releases that everyone is talking about.

With all the new book releases each week, older books often get forgotten on the bookstore shelf. We want to change that by featuring a backlist book each week.

I recently read The Story Keeper by Lisa Wingate and loved it. It was published in 2014 and is one of Lisa Wingate’s older historical fiction books.

I was first introduced to Lisa Wingate’s books when I read Before We Were Yours, since then I have been slowly working my way through her other books. I had no idea that she had written so many books.

The Story Keeper, is now one of my favorite books by her. It is a book that I won’t forget. I could not stop thinking about. It is one of those books that I wish I had someone to talk about it with after I finished it. If you read it or have read it, I would love to talk about it with you!

In the book, The Story Keeper, Jen Gibbs is a successful New York editor who finds herself revisiting her past through a manuscript that somehow found its way to her desk.

This manuscript shares the life of Sarra, a Melungeon girl, in Appalachia during the turn of the twentieth century.

In searching for the answers behind this mysterious manuscript, Jen is forced to face her own past.

She returns to the Blue Ridge Mountains, which is the place of so many complicated childhood memories for her.

In her quest for a best selling book, she is confronted with not only her family history but the complicated life and history of others.

The Story Keeper is about love, family, and so much more. It contains a mystery while also dealing with past and present difficulties. This book draws you in to the story in a way that few books do.

If you love Lisa Wingate books, this is a great one. If you have not read anything by Lisa Wingate, this is a great one to start with.

If you have read The Story Keeper, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Other books by Lisa Wingate that I read and loved:

Books For Guys

July 13, 2020 by Lynn Leave a Comment

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Books For Guys aka What My Husband Is Reading. I am sharing a list of books that my husband has read recently.

It has been almost a year since I did a post about books for guys also known as what my husband is reading. I can’t believe that it has been that long.

I love sharing these posts because the book blogging and social media world are full of view points from women, and it is fun to occasionally share some books for guys.

That is not to say women can’t enjoy these books, but they are the books my husband has been reading. So this is a book list that is geared for guys or the guys in your life.

Some of the books he reads are ones that Grace and I recommended, but others are on subjects he just enjoys learning about. He reads a wide range of books, but they are mainly nonfiction, including history, biographies, Christian, theology, and more.

My husband also listens to a lot of audio books, so not all of these are books he reads. Some of them he listened to while driving to work etc. I made a note next to the books he listened to on audio.

What My Husband Is Reading

The First Wave by Alex Kershaw

Beginning in the predawn darkness of June 6, 1944, The First Wave follows the remarkable men who carried out D-Day’s most perilous missions. The unforgettable book includes the first American paratrooper to touch down on Normandy soil; the glider pilot who braved antiaircraft fire to crash-land mere yards from the vital Pegasus Bridge; the brothers who led their troops onto Juno Beach under withering fire; as well as a French commando, returning to his native land, who fought to destroy German strongholds on Sword Beach and beyond.

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

(He listened to this on audio) Ron Chernow provides portrait of the father of our nation and the first president of the United States. With a breadth and depth matched by no other one volume biography of George Washington, this narrative carries the reader through his adventurous early years, his heroic exploits with the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, his presiding over the Constitutional Convention, and his magnificent performance as America’s first president.

In this groundbreaking work, based on massive research, Chernow shatters forever the stereotype of George Washington as a stolid, unemotional figure and brings to vivid life a dashing, passionate man of fiery opinions and many moods.

Through The Eyes of a Lion by Levi Luske

Her parents called her Lenya Lion because of her ferocious personality and hair that had been wild and mane-like since birth. But they never expected that, five days before Christmas, their five-year-old daughter would suddenly go to heaven after an asthma attack. How do you walk out of an emergency room without your daughter?

In Through the Eyes of a Lion, Pastor Levi Lusko shares the eye-opening truth of the power of hope in a world that is often filled with pain, suffering, and loss. He says, “This book isn’t a manual for grieving, but a manifesto for high-octane living, and through it I want you to see that God made you for a purpose. There is a wild and wonderful calling on your life, a microphone in your hands. Jesus wants you to look at the adventure of your life through His eyes, the eyes of a Lion.” Part memoir but all overtly instructive and deeply inspirational, Through the Eyes of a Lion gives readers the tools they need to face their fears and turn their journey into a roar story.

Upstairs At the White House by J.B. West

(He listened to this on audio) J. B. West, chief usher of the White House, directed the operations and maintenance of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue—and coordinated its daily life—at the request of the president and his family. He directed state functions; planned parties, weddings and funerals, gardens and playgrounds, and extensive renovations; and, with a large staff, supervised every activity in the presidential home.

For twenty-eight years, first as assistant to the chief usher, then as chief usher, he witnessed national crises and triumphs, and interacted daily with six consecutive presidents and first ladies, as well as their parents, children and grandchildren, and house guests—including friends, relatives, and heads of state.

God, Greed, and the Prosperity Gospel by Costi Hinn

Millions desperate for hope and solutions are enticed by the promise of the prosperity gospel–that God will do whatever they need with just a little faith and a financial gift. All the while, prosperity preachers exploit the poor and needy to stockpile their riches. What can followers of the true gospel do to combat the deception?

Through a remarkable and fascinating journey, Costi Hinn went from a next-generation prosperity preacher to the first to abandon the family faith and share the true gospel. Nephew of the world-famous televangelist, Benny Hinn, Costi had a front-row seat to the inner workings and theology of the prosperity gospel. But as Costi’s faith deepened, so did his questions about prosperity teaching. As the deceptions in his past were exposed, Costi came face to face with the hypocrisy and devastation caused by his belief system, and the overwhelming truth about the real Jesus Christ.

This captivating look into the daily lives of one of the world’s leading prosperity dynasties offers a thoughtful perspective on the perils of greed, the power of the true gospel, and hope for the future of the global church. Through real-life stories, Costi challenges and equips readers to be living lights pointing the way to the true gospel and the saving grace of Christ. God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel will bolster your faith and encourage your own journey toward the Truth.

The Operator by Robert O’Neill

(He listened to this on audio ) This instant New York Times bestseller—“a jaw-dropping, fast-paced account” (New York Post) recounts SEAL Team Operator Robert O’Neill’s incredible four-hundred-mission career, including the attempts to rescue “Lone Survivor” Marcus Luttrell and abducted-by-Somali-pirates Captain Richard Phillips, and which culminated in the death of the world’s most wanted terrorist—Osama bin Laden.

In The Operator, Robert O’Neill describes his idyllic childhood in Butte, Montana; his impulsive decision to join the SEALs; the arduous evaluation and training process; and the even tougher gauntlet he had to run to join the SEALs’ most elite unit. After officially becoming a SEAL, O’Neill would spend more than a decade in the most intense counterterror effort in US history. For extended periods, not a night passed without him and his small team recording multiple enemy kills—and though he was lucky enough to survive, several of the SEALs he’d trained with and fought beside never made it home.

Holiness by J.C. Ryle

My husband started reading Holiness last year as part of a small group at church and finally finished it a few months ago. It is not a quick read, but it is a great one. It is considered a Christian classic by many. It is one of those books that you could easily reread every few years.

The Pact by Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt

Chosen by Essence to be among the forty most influential African Americans, the three doctors grew up in the streets of Newark, facing city life’s temptations, pitfalls, even jail. But one day these three young men made a pact. They promised each other they would all become doctors, and stick it out together through the long, difficult journey to attaining that dream. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt are not only friends to this day—they are all doctors.

Prayer by Timothy Keller

A friend recommended this book and my husband has now recommended it to quite a few people. In Prayer, pastor Timothy Keller discusses the many facets of the everyday act of prayer.

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