Sunday, December 18, 2011

"Happily Ever After" by Gary Chapman

Let me start by saying this book is a whopper. There are sooo many parts and chapters. Sure, a studious person can get through the entire thing. However, for couples, I think this book is best used as a reference. That being said, the book covers several topics. It is published from a predominantly Christian publishing house, but, in all honesty, this book is more of a well-written self help book on counseling with some Bible verses and God words thrown in every so often. The conflict resolution and five love language explanation parts are excellent. The in-law advice is also astute. The financial advice is useful but vague. For couples looking for solid financial advice, I suggest they get a book that is more in-depth and focused on just that with more economics words and bank terms. I'm not going to lie. The part of the book that talked about--um, er--intimacies did make me uncomfortable. However, overall, it seems that Chapman wants couples to sincerely love and respect each other.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

"Fierce Beauty" by Kim Meder

You really should not judge a book by its cover, but I immediately thought this cover was beautiful. Reading the book, the message is nice. We need to throw aside our pride and become the fierce yet beautiful warriors that Christ intended us to be as His Bride, the Church. The author incorporates Scripture, personal stories, and even dreams. Now, for me, I found some parts of the book boring. This may just be my personality. Lots of the stories were about outdoorsy stuff like hiking, climbing, and such. Some readers will find this exciting. I did not. Judge for yourself. If all else fails, the cover is pretty.