Begin Again

I received a copy of BEGIN AGAIN: THE BRAVE PRACTICE OF RELEASING HURT AND RECEIVING REST by Leeana Tankersley from Revell Reads in exchange for an honest review.  The foreword is by Shauna Niequist.

I chose this book to review because I’m in the process of “beginning again.”  I lost my job, and with it, what I believed to be my career.  I felt miserable.  Hopeless.  Lost.  It has taken me a long time to get over the hurt of it, and now I’m seeking to pick myself up by my bootstraps. 

I found this book to be beautiful.  In many ways, it opened my eyes and gave me a fresh hope.  The author speaks to us from a place of hurt in her own laugh.  In that sense, it makes the reader trust her.  She has lived what you have lived, even if it is in a slightly different way. 

This is a religious book, and the religion is heavy.  I’m not sure I would recommend it to those who have a different faith, although many of the examples apply to any of us.

REIGN OF IMMORTALS by Marin Landis

My favorite part about this book was the dialogue.  It sets the stage for an awesome epic fantasy.  While the dialect is unique, it isn’t stilted. 

This is a fast-paced fantasy.  At 317 pages, it might look long, but I was surprised at how fast I devoured it.  The world building draws you in.  If you’re looking for an epic fantasy, look no further.

FAST-PITCH LOVE by Clay Cormany

This book was awesome in a number of ways.

For one thing, it involves sports, and I’m not a sports person.  I enjoy reading outside of my comfort zone.  You could really feel  how much the author loves sports, as it comes across in Jace.

For another thing, the main character is a boy.  You don’t see that a lot in young adult books.  Usually the stories are about a girl, with maybe a few chapters given to the boy.

Last, this book is fun.  It doesn’t involve dark topics, so it is safe to read with parents!  The innocence and romance feel natural.  This is an excellent book, and when my son is older, I’ll get a copy for him.

TAINTED WATERS by Lucretia Stanhope

This is a fast-paced fantasy with romance and adventure.  Everything flows well and Alice is easy to relate to.  I felt for her, not fully feeling like she belongs.  Her emotions are clear.  She feels very real, and I liked that no one was fully good or fully evil.  That just felt so realistic, and reminded me of our own world.

Definitely a fantasy to check out.  It’s the type of book you can get through in a day or two, which means you can lose yourself in the action.

Coach Wooden's Forgotten Teams

I received a copy of COACH WOODEN’S FORGOTTEN TEAMS: STORIES AND LESSONS FROM JOHN WOODEN’S SUMMER BASKETBALL CAMPS by Pat Williams with Jim Denney from Revell Reads in exchange for an honest review.  The foreword is by Nan Wooden.

I went into this new to Coach Wooden.  I knew only about him from reading the blurb of the book, but I was intrigued.  I don’t know much about basketball.  I’m always willing to learn and explore a new topic, and I knew that this would be a good book to discuss with my uncle, who is into basketball.

I found the book enlightening.  Coach Wooden is a man to admire.  I found it fascinating that he ran summer youth basketball camps for twenty years.  He made a huge difference in the lives of boys and girls.  Even if you aren’t big into basketball – like I was not – you’ll find yourself engrossed in the enlightening stories and hearing bits from Coach Wooden himself (albeit through quotes).  The book is written not in a way that scream “non-fiction,” but in a way that will make you feel like you’re a part of the team. 

If you’re looking for a book you can read in short intervals, a book that will make you look at your life differently, then this is the book for you.