February Book Reviews

“Reading is essential for those who seek to rise above the ordinary.” – Jim Rohn

Here we are again! Another month come and gone! How is that!? I had a really hard time deciding what topic I was going to write about today with books and book clubs and hospitality all on my mind. I spent most of my afternoon working on a post about hospitality, and then I decided there was no way I was going to finish it on time for a Saturday publish, so we went with this one instead. Hopefully you’re not too disappointed! I can’t wait to share next week’s post though.

As always just click on the title of the book or the picture for a direct link to the book on Amazon. The first two books were just for me, and the other six are books E and I enjoyed together.

The Noticer by Andy Andrews

Oh my goodness! This book was so good! It is a self-help book that is written in a fictional format. It is so interesting and filled to the brim with nuggets about having the right perspective. I wrote so many quotes down from this book. The author, Andy Andrews, is a gifted storyteller.

Best of all, this was a free audiobook on Hoopla.

Restless by Jennie Allen

I really liked this book. Scratch that—I loved this book! Jennie helps you dig down deep and take a closer look at all your God given talents and figure out how and where you should use them. “Figure out what God put you on this earth to accomplish and then start doing it.” That was the gist I got from this book. I loved the first half which really emphasizes that we are on this earth to glorify God in whatever work we do. I listened to this book alongside of reading another of Jennie’s books, Made for This, which is basically a devotional type book with a lot of the same content.

I will say that I have no idea what version of the Bible she is pulling passages from, and there were some points where it seemed like some passages may have been interpreted a little differently than what I expected. But even with these personal dislikes, I still really enjoyed the book and learned a lot from it.

This was also a free audiobook on Hoopla.

Clara Barton: Courage Under Fire by Janet and Jeff Benge

I love listening to biographies with E, and this one did not disappoint. I especially love when one book I read corresponds with something I’m learning from another book I’m reading. Clara Barton figured out her talents and used them for the benefits of others! Goodness, women from many decades ago put us to shame sometimes don’t they?! Clara did so much good in this world!

This is a free audiobook on Hoopla along with 24 other titles in the Heroes of History series!

More All-of-a-Kind Family and All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown by Sydney Taylor

These are the 3rd and 4th books in the All-of-a-Kind-Family Series. We listened to the first two books of this series in January. (Review here.) The general storyline follows the daily happenings of a Jewish family during the early 1900’s. The story is really fun, and there are a ton of interesting explanations of Jewish holidays and life in general.

The oldest sister in this series is sixteen and has a boyfriend, so there are some “girl likes boy” things in these. Other than that, we really enjoyed this series.

You can find the whole entire audiobook series on Hoopla. That said, we do not plan on listening to the fifth book in this series because the person who recommended them mentioned that the fifth book had some attitudes that she didn’t like. So that review is good enough for me. We’ll stay away from book five for now.

The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones

This one was recommended by my friend Liz @thelittleyears. I immediately searched to see if the audio version of it was on Hoopla, and sure enough it was! E loves listening to these when she goes to bed. And, of course, I like letting her listen to things like this because you can never EVER get too many Bible stories into little heads!

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Have you ever read this? Surprisingly, I never did until last month. I found the story very different from what I expected. That said, E enjoyed it, but I’m not sure I’ll ever find myself wanting to read it through again.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Do I need to even say anything about the Little Women? I think we all love this story! Such a wonderful home life. I love that it is filled with real-life happenings like sickness, sibling rivalry, loneliness, death, and falling in love. It’s a beautiful story, and if you haven’t read it, I highly suggest you do!

Happy reading! We'll see you next month for the March book reviews.