Belly photo and Book Reviews! (for those who like to read)

So, as you will see, I have had a lot of time on my hands. Over the Christmas break, I especially had lots of time. Without all the distractions of coffee shops, movie theaters and Target, I have TIME! So, what have I done with all this time? Well among other things, I have read books! I have never been a big reader, usually finishing about 1-2 books a year, but somehow the reader in me came out. So, here are some short reviews of the 10 books I have read over the past 6 months (since moving to Malawi).

Let's begin with the one I was reading while coming here: "The Poison wood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver. This was a good read. It was exciting from the first page and kept me interested throughout. I really enjoyed the way it was written, first person perspective but with four different characters. Instead of hearing one person's side of the story, you actually get 4! It's a story about a family of 6 (four daughters) moving to the Congo as missionaries. The father is a 'hit you over the head with a Bible/not even try to understand the cultural differences/stubborn man' kind of guy. It was hard to read about the missionary family having such a negative impact on the community they worked with, but it was a very good book nonetheless. I give it 4 stars out of 5.


The next book I picked up is called "What is the What" written by David Eggers and inspired by Valentino Achak-Deng. Valentino is a refugee from Southern Sudan who spent his childhood running from war and eventually makes it to the U.S. Although it is not a completely true story, Dave does use a lot of Valentino's real life experiences to give an accurate picture of what life is like for many young boys in Southern Sudan. It is a well written book from the perspective of Valentino himself. I have to warn you, it gets a little gory sometimes, but I am pretty sensitive and could handle it. I give this one 5 stars! Actually, all of the Dave Egger's books I have read would get 5 stars ("You Shall Know Our Velocity" and "A Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius). He is one of my favorite writers!

"Sweet Relief" by Jennifer Abrahamson is the next book I read. It is the true story of Marla Ruzicka, an activist from California who spent her short life raising money and awareness for victims of war, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. The writer was a friend of Marla's and is a professional journalist. The book reads well, but isn't very poetic. You can definitely tell it was written by a journalist being packed full of details, names and places. I give it 4 stars.

So, after quickly finishing another good book, I picked up Donald Miller's "Blue Like Jazz". Yes, it was more popular to read it a few years ago when it first came out, but I haven't had the chance until now. In this book, Donald Miller discusses his life issues in light of his faith in Christ. He is bold and honest and does a great job revealing himself while also taking time to flush out some of today's Christian's beliefs. It is a good picture of true Christianity which is filled with struggles, growth and sometimes doubt. Although it was entertaining and somewhat uplifting, I felt like the ending was a little too cheesy. Instead of keeping it about himself, he tries to be too intimate with the reader by attempting to apply the previous chapters to the reader's life. Also, he rambles a little bit and has a hard time transitioning between topics. Because of this is give is 31/2 stars. Overall, it was a good quick read.
The next book is an old one. "The Hiding Place" by Corrie Tenboom was actually written in 1971. This is the true story of Corrie and her sister Betsie who spent over a year in various prisons and concentration camps during WWII. Throughout the book, you see the sisters encouraging and serving anyone around them, even in the worst of circumstances. It was a little slow to start, but is an uplifting book that reminded me of God's plan for each person and the importance of focusing on Him no matter what. I give this book 5 stars.



A few days after I finished "The Hiding Place", we received a package in the mail from Dan's dad. In it was this book on parenting (in a sense) called "The No-Cry Sleep Solution" by Elizabeth Pantley. It discuses the problem parents have with their babies who don't sleep enough at night. After about 2-3 chapters of Elizabeth blabbing on about how horrible it is to let your baby cry, she finally gets to some of her suggestions. Many of them are things I already knew and would consider to be common knowledge. She does include intense log sheets where the mother can document different sleep patterns in order to help he to make the necessary changes. Although it was a book about things I already know, I did gain a few helpful suggestions. I mostly enjoyed reading about the natural sleep patterns of a baby and was reminded of the long sleepless nights to come. Hopefully, they will only last for a few months and then I will use her suggestions and have a baby who sleeps through the night in no time! ;) I give this book 3 stars. It just took too long to get to her points, and there weren't very many of them.
After speeding my way through "The No-cry Sleep Solution", I eagerly visited our friends the Dehnerts. They have a wonderful library and I knew Connie would be able to suggest a good book. I ended up reading another one of Barbara Kingsolver's novels called "The Bean Trees". This book is completely different from "The Poisonwood Bible" but was just as written just as well. It is a story about a young girl who leaves her rural town in Kentucky in search of a 'better' life, or at least one that is different than the one she left. On her way out west, she ends up being forced into taking a homeless toddler under her care. After a series of events, she and the little girl settle in Tucson, Arizona and befriends the most peculiar people who quickly become their family. It is a somewhat sad story with a redeeming ending. I give it 4 1/2 stars, only because there is a slow spot which was hard getting through, but over all a well written story.


The last book I finished (just last week) is called "Tears of the Giraffe" by Alexander McCall Smith. I think it is number 2 of a series of books, the series being "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency". The reader follows a female detective working and living in Botswana, Africa. It is totally light fiction, filled with numerous turn of events and unpredictable changes in the plot. I was impressed with McCall Smith's writing. Even though he is an American, he was able to capture a lot of Africa's cultural nuances. As well, he did a great job of writing from a woman's perspective. It wasn't a meaty story but I enjoyed it just as well. I give this one 4 1/2 stars, just because it wasn't exactly EXCELLENT!

These are the two pregnancy books I am currently reading on and off. The first is a book called "What to Expect When You're Expecting" by Arlene Eisenberg, Heidi E. Murkoff and Sandee E. Hathaway. It is a great book filled with facts and insight from the first month of pregnancy to actual birth and the days to follow. Although I have tried not to skip ahead too much, I have pretty much read the entire book. It is still fun to go back and read about the changes both my body and our babies body is going through. It is an excellent reference book and answers a lot of commonly asked questions that many women have during pregnancy. I give it 5 stars.
The other pregnancy book is called "The Naturally Healthy Pregnancy" by Shonda Parker. Parker does a great job addressing the importance of a natural and healthy pregnancy. She uses scripture to support her ideas and explains the need to be as natural as possible during pregnancy. She covers hundreds of herbs and vitamins and gives a detailed idea of a healthy diet. She also covers all the changes that happen to a woman's body during pregnancy. I give it a 4 1/2 just because it is written in long stretches and can get somewhat dry, but is very informative.

"God's Smuggler" by Brother Andrew with John and Elizabeth Sherrill, is the new book I just picked up from the Dehnert's. First published in 1967, this book tells the story of Brother Andrew's heroic work which was smuggling Bibles to communist countries during the Cold War. I haven't read a page of it, yet, but it looks really good. I look forward to reading it.


Well, thanks for reading for those of you who care about any of this. I thought it would be fun to share with you the books I have read during my spare time. I have found a new love for reading and now can call myself somewhat of a book worm. And here is the awaited belly photo. I am at 23 1/2 weeks right now and the baby is doing well. He kicks so much, I wonder if he ever sleeps at all!! Anyways, enjoy!