This Blessed Earth: A Year in the Life of an American Family Farm - Ted Genoways

This Blessed Earth: A Year in the Life of an American Family Farm by Ted Genoways
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked up this book because there was a lot of buzz over it when the governor of Nebraska refused to endorse it as the "One Book, One Nebraska" pick for 2019. I purely wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Otherwise it wouldn't have even been on my radar.

This books is both a look at one family farm during a year as well as a look back on farming history and innovation in general. There's even brief glimpses of what the future of farming might be. I'll be the first one to say I know nothing about farming. Genoways does a good job of making the more technical aspects accessible. It was far more interesting than I had hoped for when I picked it up.

I do think (although need to research to confirm) the issue Nebraska's republican governor had with the book. There are a couple of pages in the epilogue that talk about President Trump and how he won with the votes of many farmers who are now being negatively affected by his administration's policies.

A side note, the author picture on the back cover is a bit creepy.

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Girl, Wash Your Face - Rachel Hollis

Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Rachel Hollis tackles 20 lies people (particularly women) believe, some truths that can counteract them, and some tips on what helped her through the debunking in her life.

I wanted to love this book. I really did. Especially since everyone I know has loved this book. But I just didn't. I didn't love it so much that I almost abandoned it multiple times, but kept pushing through because there must be some reason everyone else is giving it 4 and 5 stars. And there was some redemption at the end when a few of the topics were deeper.

I will admit, I had some reservations going in to the book. I listen to the podcast Hollis does with her husband, Dave, and her communication style just really isn't my cup of tea. I keep listening because I can relate to Dave Hollis's approach a bit more. So that might have colored my reading as well.

I have gone back and forth between 1 and 2 stars on this review. There were a couple of nuggets I took away, but I think the things the things that grated me in reading outweighed those. The whole book comes off as a long humble-brag. Rachel Hollis has certainly accomplished a lot in her short life thus far. I don't discount that. The tone of the book was off-putting to me though.

Her story of her then boyfriend/now husband was alarming. The mistreatment she allowed herself to endure for months to keep him followed by a clear demarcation and boundary setting by telling him not to contact her again. Then hours later accepting him back into her life, jumping to their marriage. Now I'm hoping we aren't getting the full picture and there was a lot of good boundaries set and couples therapy between him showing up at her door and their marriage. But I don't really know that because it's skipped over. The book basically reads: I called and told him not to contact me again...He showed up at my door...He's my husband.

Scriptures taken out of context. Wanting a thousand dollar purse because it "represented the kind of woman I dreamed of becoming." What kind of women is that...the superficial kind who determines who women are based on a purse? Saying not to set limits to your dreams and then having several dreams of her own to accomplish before 40. It goes on.

There were some basic truths I could get on board with in some of the chapters. But the delivery wasn't for me. And the other issues in the book were just too much for me to settle on more than a star.

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Never Give Up Hope: Waging War with Cancer - Craig Davis

Never Give Up Hope: Waging War With Cancer by Craig Davis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The author, Craig Davis, has survived brain cancer not once but three times. This is his story.
In exchange for an ARC, I have promised my honest opinion.
The writing isn’t stellar, but Craig doesn’t claim to be a writer. And I did read an ARC; that I understand has changed drastically between the ARC and final release. So I’m assuming this has improved and that many of the jumps or parts that left me with questions have been corrected.
It is definitely heartfelt and passionate in his belief of God healing him each time. You get a little background on his life, and then Craig steps you through the high and low points of his journey from the initial diagnosis in 2012 to the most recent the summer of 2018. He focuses on God’s fingerprints throughout it all. And I love that. While you’re in the midst of trials, it’s sometimes hard to see Him moving. But hindsight…it shows his handiwork all over the place.
I love Craig’s faith and passion. The hope that he wants to pass along to others who are fighting their own battles – whether they be cancer or something else.
I enjoyed the Facebook posts that were inserted throughout the text to give an “in the moment” look at what was happening.
Definitely a book that’s worth a read. And at just over 100 pages, it’s a quick read at that.

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Green (Circle 0) - Ted Dekker

Green: The Beginning and the End by Ted Dekker
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Ugh. This book. I wish I could go back and time and never read it so it wouldn't have tainted my love for the original Circle Trilogy.

I read the original trilogy a couple of years before Green was released, so I wanted to reread the other three books before reading Green. I just read all four in a row. And I have a lot to say about Green - none of it complementary. I wish I could give zero stars.

First of all, Dekker says Green completes the Circle, and you can read it at the beginning or the end. There is NO WAY you could read this book before you read Black, Red, and White. Absolutely no way. It would make no sense and be even more confusing than reading it after you've read those three.

Second, it seems like someone completely different wrote this book than the others. There is none of the vibrancy of character or engagement of plot present in this book that was there in the first three that would make a reader want to keep turning pages. In fact, I wanted to do anything *but* read more of Green. I wanted to give it up every other chapter, but my stubbornness to see the series through wouldn't let me. Seriously, I cleaned my kids' bathroom once instead of reading more of this book. That's desperate for you.

There were so many great descriptions in the other books. There were descriptions in this book. I don't know how many times I read about "light colored horses." Worse than that, so many of the descriptions were much more sultry/sensuous/sexual or violent. I was not a fan of the change. I understand that this book was about good and evil. And evil is dark. But I think that point can be expressed without being so graphic.

And vampires?!? Okay, I guess at this point I should admit that I haven't read all of the Ted Dekker's books. I think that was some of my confusion with a lot of what occurs in Green. You need to not only have read the original Circle Trilogy but also the other books (Showdown series, Lost Books, etc.) that link in and were written after Black/Red/White. Especially to understand Billy's character and story. Things are hinted at in Green. But the hints are confusing.

There were So. Many. inconsistencies. How did Thomas know Billy was connected with Ba'al? Even more so, how did he know that Janae and the priestess were connected when he'd never met her in any form? Chelise later reflects on Thomas shouting at her as he disappears, but nothing indicates he ever even saw her there. How does Janae so easily infiltrate the Eramites when such a point has been made about Eram being a smart leader and it was mentioned multiple times that the Eramites are supremely cautious of the albinos, including Samuel and his friends.

Character development: There was none.

The world building of the other books: nonexistent.

Read the original three. Do yourself a favor and skip this one.

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Almost Sisters - Joshilyn Jackson

The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a book club pick.
Leia is a comic book artist, and soon to be single mother, when a family crisis calls her to Alabama and the home of her grandmother. There is a lot going on in Leia’s life, but there is a heck of a lot going on (and hidden) in the life of her family. None of the “secrets” were truly secret by the time I got to them. I think the author does a good job at having the reader draw conclusions that get you there. But I can enjoy a predictable book every now and then.
I enjoyed the characters for the most part. Some of them, like Leia’s sister Rachel, I found to be kind of flat. There was another character that I had issues with but won’t get into as it would be a plot spoiler.
The author’s use of “squirt” just about sent me over the edge. People were “squirting past” other people. They were “squirting away.” I don’t know. Maybe using “squirt” in those ways is a Southern thing (although I’ve spent some time in Tennessee and Alabama and never heard it). But it was like nails on a chalkboard for me.
All said, I liked the story. I liked the relationships and the interconnection of the characters. The idea of a “Second South” was interesting to me and no doubt true.
Worth the read.

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