Books I Read in 2014

Typically a post like this would make an appearance in December; but most of you have probably figured out by now that I don't often conform to "typical". So let's get started. The outline below gives you a glimpse of some of my favourite titles from 2014.

Before You Meet Prince Charming: A Guide to Radiant Purity

By Sarah Mally

Actually I was considering this for a sister's birthday, so read it to check for suitability. (It passed, btw.) This book is discrete enough to be suitable for younger readers, yet relevant for older readers as well. Sarah simultaneously encourages readers to view marriage highly, but to have a life purpose bigger than marriage. The text combines the tale of a young princess with anecdotes, advice, and Scripture. I would encourage every girl from about 12 onwards to add this to her reading list!

{Sidenote: When my sister's copy arrived with a cover-page recommendation from the Duggar girls . . . *squeal*}

Pride and Prejudice

By Jane Austen

Believe it or not I hadn't read this book until last year! I've raved about the BBC's film version and seen two other {inferior} films, so decided I had better add the novel to my reading log. Made pretty quick work of it too. :) If you haven't read this already, you should. ;)

Growing Up Duggar: It's All About Relationships

By Jana, Jill, Jessa, and Jinger Duggar

The theme of this book is relationships, and each chapter focuses on a different one: relationship with yourself, your parents, your siblings, friends, guys, culture, your country and the world. Jana, Jill, Jessa, and Jinger wrote this book to help answer some of the many questions they receive from curious fans in letters and emails, and to empower, hopefully, readers to use their own lives to benefit others. 
See my full review here. 

The Music Teacher's Companion: A Practical Guide

By Paul Harris and Richard Crozier

I first checked this book out of the library, but before I finished it I realised I had already found so much helpful and that it would be invaluable resource in future (since I plan on getting ABRSM's teaching diploma in flute). The end didn't disappoint either! So if you're teaching, or planning on it, go get yourself a copy of this great book!!

Gianna: Aborted and Lived to Tell About It

By Jessica Shaver Renshaw

This biography tells the story of saline abortion survivor Gianna Jessen, the struggles she experienced growing up: from the difficulties in learning to live with cerebral palsy (caused by the abortion), to the opposition she experienced for being vocal about her pro-life stance.
See my full review here.

Still Growing: An Autobiography

By Kirk Cameron

Child actor, celebrity, atheist-turn-Christian, adoptive father -- Kirk Cameron is the perfect subject for an easy-to-read and difficult-to-put-down autobiography. I think I read this cover-to-cover in about a couple of days. If you're looking for an easy but inspiring read, go check it out!




And thus concludes a short list of titles I enjoyed in 2014. Are you going to add any of these to your reading list? Do you have any titles I should add to my list for this year?

Book Review || Growing Up Duggar

Growing Up Duggar: It’s All About Relationships is by Jana, Jill, Jessa, and Jinger Duggar, the four oldest girls in a family of nineteen children. These stars of TLC’s popular reality show, 19 Kids & Counting, share never-before told stories of growing up in the Duggar household and offer readers a closer look at who they are and what they really believe in their first book.

As the subtitle indicates, the theme of this book is relationships, and each chapter focuses on a different one: relationship with yourself, your parents, your siblings, friends, guys, culture, your country and the world. The girls chose not to have a separate chapter on your relationship with God because that is fundamental, not in addition, to every other relationship.

The first chapter covers your relationships with yourself. Jessa shares about a time when she continually compared herself to others and felt she didn’t measure up. “I had friends who were really beautiful, and whenever we were together I compared myself to them and always came up lacking something.”She goes on to tell how she learned there are ten unchangeable things that we each must accept about ourselves, and that when we reject ourselves we ultimately reject God’s creation.

Known for their conservative views, the Duggars harbor plenty of questions about their views on dating. Disagreeing with society’s norm of casual dating, the family follows a practice called courtship, or dating with a purpose. Several principles of courtship are shared, such as getting to know someone in real-life settings: “Getting to know the special young man we’re interested in within a family setting is one of the biggest differences in dating and courtship. . . . We want to see how he reacts to normal family events.” Then, after sharing some of the character qualities the girls look for in potential life partners, older brother Josh and his wife of five years, Anna, share their courtship story.

: : Jessa, Jinger, Jana, Jill : :

Jana, Jill, Jessa, and Jinger wrote this book to help answer some of the many questions they receive from curious fans in letters and emails, and to empower, hopefully, readers to use their own lives to benefit others. With a ministry schedule longer than even their tv show seems to evidence, these girls are sure to inspire readers to make a difference in the world themselves.

Both thought-provoking and entertaining with stories of the younger kids’ antics, I found this book an enjoyable read and would recommend it, along with the Duggar parents’ books The Duggars: 20 & Counting and A Love That Multiples, both to those who have just heard of this family and are curious, and to long-time fans.

Duggar Family

Have you heard of the Duggar family? They have 19 children (and counting!) and live in Arkansas, USA. Their second grandchild is due in June 2011.
Check out http://duggarsblog.blogspot.com/  or their website www.duggarfamily.com/

Bee