Solidarity Sister!
Solidarity Sister!
Proper Romance, the Measure, and a Life Changing Book - Book Reviews | Ep 43
I missed a week and listened to so many great books that it was tough to choose.
This week I'll be reviewing:
Pride and Politics by Brittany Larsen,
Sense and Second Chances by Brittany Larsen,
Summerhaven by Tiffany Odekirk,
The Measure by Nikki Erlick,
and one more book that is changing my life. Listen in to find out which book and how it's inspiring me.
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Hello and welcome to another book review episode of Solidarity Sister with Kristin Wilson. So you'll probably notice if you've been following the show closely that I kind of skipped a week of episodes and some of them have been getting up later than usual. Life is like that sometimes. I have had other things placing a high demand on my bandwidth, and as I try to care for myself and my responsibilities, I'm giving myself grace to podcast imperfectly. If you need permission to do something imperfectly, then let me be the one to tell you. That you already have the authority to give yourself that permission. Please use it. At any rate, I have finished loads of books in the past two weeks. I'm going to put in a plug for less than half of those and listen to the end of this episode for the one that stood out as a total game changer. Like it might be. really be in my top five personal development books of all time. For sweet and fun reads, I really enjoyed both Pride and Politics and Sense and Second Chances by Brittany Larson. I am a sucker for Jane Austen inspired stories, and if you are too, these are worth the read. Summerhaven by Tiffany Odekirk was a great proper romance read. From the Amazon description, Hannah Kent and Oliver Jennings pledged their hearts to each other as children. Now, years later, Hannah is thrilled to receive an invitation to spend the summer at Oliver's family's country estate. The path to wedded bliss is clear, so long as Oliver's highbrow older brother, Damon, has ceased his juvenile antics, Hannah's future looks bright indeed. But, From the moment Hannah arrives at Summerhaven, nothing is as she expected. Oliver seems disinterested in renewing their acquaintance, and Damon is not the brutish boy she remembers, but a man intent on avoiding marriage. Although she has loathed Damon her whole life, When he contrives a ruse designed to win them both what they desire, Hannah warily agrees. All she has to do to reclaim Oliver's attention is pretend to be madly in love with Damon, but when Damon is surprisingly convincing in his role as a suitor, it proves difficult to discern the line between pretense and true love. There were no huge surprises here, but sometimes the comfort of a proper romance is knowing how all the parts are supposed to work together. I loved the tension between some of the characters, and the ending was so satisfying. It's just a feel good proper romance, so if that's something you enjoy, this one's worth checking out. The measure by Nicky Erlick left me thinking deeply for days afterwards from the Amazon description, a luminous spirit lifting blockbuster that asks, would you choose to find out the length of your life? Eight ordinary people, one extraordinary choice. It seems like any other day. You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out. But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside. The answer to the exact number of years you will live. From suburban doorsteps to desert tents, every person on every continent receives the same box. In an instant, the world is thrust into a collective frenzy. Where did all these boxes come from? What do they mean? Is there truth to what they promise? As society comes together and pulls apart, everyone faces the same shocking choice. Do they wish to know how long they'll live? And if so, What will they do with that knowledge? The measure charts the dawn of this new world through an unforgettable cast of characters whose decisions and fates interweave with one another. Best friends whose dreams are forever entwined, pen pals finding refuge in the unknown, a couple who thought they didn't have to rush, a doctor who cannot save himself, and a politician whose box becomes the powder keg that ultimately changes everything. Enchanting and deeply uplifting. The measure is an ambitious invigorating story about family, friendship, hope, and destiny that encourages us to live life to the fullest. The whole concept of what would life be like if we could know the exact length of our lives and how that might play out in real life was incredibly well done here. Obviously the setup requires a suspension of reality, but after that. It was just so good. And honestly, it was just so thought provoking. Like my mind was continually blown as I considered all these layers of how this would play out in families and neighborhoods in different governments and how different governments. It was, it was just really such a fascinating read. I did have a little trouble keeping up with the number of characters talked about. Had I read it rather than listen to it and had that visual in place, I think it would have helped me. There was some language. This wasn't a G rated book. I would place it more like a PG 13, but honestly, it was so good. It really, it just drew me in and blew my mind.. And finally, the book from the last two weeks that is a total and complete life changer. The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy. The description of this one reads, Do you want success? More success than you have now? And even more success than you ever imagined possible? That is what this book is about. Achieving it. No gimmicks, no hyperbole, finally just the truth on what it takes to earn success. As a central curator of the success media industry for over 25 years, author Darren Hardy has heard it all, seen it all, and tried most of it. This book reveals the core principles that drive success. The compound effect contains the essence of what every super achiever needs to know, practice, and master to obtain extraordinary success. Inside you will find strategies on How to win every time. The number one strategy to achieve any goal and triumph over any competitor, even if they're smarter, more talented, or more experienced. Eradicating your bad habits, some you might be aware of, that are derailing your progress. Painlessly installing the few key disciplines required for major breakthroughs. The real lasting keys to motivation. How to get yourself to do the things you don't feel like doing. Capturing the elusive awesome force of momentum. Catch this and you'll be unstoppable. The acceleration secrets of super achievers. Do they have an unfair advantage? Yes, they do. And now you can too. If you're serious about living an extraordinary life, use the power of the compound effect to create the success you desire. Begin your journey today. I've really been going through it in the last couple of months as I've been digging deep and working to recognize parts of myself that need healing and changing. This book helped me to trace back and see some of the very small and subtle decisions that led me to places I don't want to be in. At the same time, it has encouraged me with the understanding that small and subtle decisions in a different direction, this time intentional rather than unconscious, have the power to take me to a higher quality of life with more wholeheartedness. Now, I will say a word of warning for my type A perfectionist people, of which I have been. Those people who have a history of feeling like you have to hustle for your worth and like you will never measure up and you will never be enough and you will never do enough. Take this one with a grain of salt. If I were to read this without being in the midst of some of the other books and the other concepts that I'm really delving into right now, I am not entirely sure that it would serve me as well as I would have wanted it to. So I think the principles in here are fantastic and I think that it was just what I needed to read right now. But I just wanted to put that word of warning out there and remind you that you matter because of the divinity within you from your creator. You are loved and held and supported and you are of value. If you never did another thing. You just have value because you are. So while I am a proponent of personal development books, they have helped me to see key concepts and ways that I can shift. I have to be a little bit careful about the way that I delve into those. Because I have had a history of being incredibly hard on myself. In undervaluing myself and feeling like, honestly, I just would never measure up, and that I just have to keep hustling to give people what they want so that I could matter. It's a journey. We're all on that journey. So let's do the important work and the healing work and the changing work that we need to do, but also do it from a space of. Loving ourselves and loving the people around us enough to want to be our best selves from a position of grace and of compassion and of kindness and not of shame or belittling or just those really bad feelings that actually end up leaving us stuck. and are a barrier to our happiness and joy. So I will say if you haven't read the compound effect, despite my caveats here, I thought it was phenomenal. And really I find myself like quoting it and the concepts there and just, it was what I needed right now. And if you haven't read it, Do so. And if you have read it, I would love your feedback. I'd love to know what you thought about it. So I want you to know that I really appreciate every single person who listens to this podcast. I am here because I felt God calling me to do this podcast, but there are plenty of times where I feel like maybe I'm not up to the task and maybe, maybe I don't have value to add to your lives. And so if you feel that I am. Let me know. I would love some feedback there. And know that I just appreciate your willingness to show up for me and to listen and to be part of this community. If you're not in our Facebook group, there's information on how to join in the show notes. I would love to have you there. If you want to join our book club, we still have some weeks left. We're going to be on Guideposts 6 this week of Brene Brown's Gifts of Imperfection. and there's info in the show notes about joining that as well. Thank you for being part of the Solidarity Sister community. We needed you.