City of Tranquil Light is the story of a missionary couple to China and spans from 1906 to 1966. The story alternates the voices of Will and Katherine. Hearing two viewpoints adds depth and dimension to the tale. Their faith and the country and people they love are strong characters in the book as well. The love the two share reaches out from the pages and enlarges the reader's heart to love more, better, bigger. 
"When you leave a place you love, you leave a piece of your heart. But you take with you the hearts of your beloved." This quote is from Mo Yun to Katherine as she is departing China. This story touched mine as I have also loved a country and a people and had to leave them. I appreciate how Ms. Caldwell paints a vast and rich landscape of the questions and the mysteries of faith. 
Katherine writes in her journal:
"Then I ask where my faith is. I decide I'm being selfish and that fear rather than faith is leading me, and I scold myself for my lapse; I buck up and work harder and turn my back on this yearning for calm. But it will not be silenced, and once again I am asking God: Would You give me a desire You do not plan to fulfill? I don't receive an answer but the Silence that greets me is somehow gentle, and I stop battering myself for my lack of faith and accept my desires as a mystery, to be felt rather than solved."
Reading this book and letting these characters speak to your soul will enrich your life.

Few books stirred my soul like this one. Ms. Caldwell took me to Shanghai and I fell in love with the culture, the people, and the small family at the center. Anna narrates the story of her parents love for each other that spans wars, continents and betrayal. We track with her from 5 to 50. Through grief, war, heartache & illness, Anna's words lent me an emotional connection to my own.
I miss these lovely people so I was thrilled to find that Ms. Caldwell has written a prequel. 

"To renounce a full life & it's real joys in order to avoid pain is neither Christian nor human," says Bonhoeffer. 
I developed tendinitis reading this burdensome book. I've never before experienced a reading injury. It was worth the pain. Trudging thought hindered of pages with discipline and diligence acquainted me with a man who lived for eternal gain and who enjoyed life. Metaxas stuck to the facts of Bonhoeffer's life. At times the facts built up like so much silt on a riverbed. But in the end, I can appreciate his devotion to truth and to letting is know the man. He is inspiring.
I recommend Bonhoeffer to bone up on WWII, to get to know a human who led an uncompromised life, to be challenged in your faith, and to build some muscles.

I wish I could meet Louie Zamperini, the main character of Unbroken. He is a hero although he would not like that label. Hillenbrand eloquently narrates truly a life of unbelievable talent, luck mixed with some terribly unlucky twists, the nooks and crannies of WWII, and a tormented soul post POW experience. The noble, humble life of Zamperini will stick with me and inspire me for years to come. I highly recommend this amazing roller-coaster ride of a tale.

I blazed through this book announcing when I finished it in a booming voice from the balcony of our condo in Florida: "IT IS FINISHED!" I did this mainly because no one could reach me that is communicate with me or engage me because my nose was three to four inches in this book. It is a page-turner with a satisfying ending. The characters got into your heart and under your skin. They are perfectly flawed and passionate. The Bad Guy is one of the most hatable characters I have ever read. My meanest Bad Guy is the Dude from Gladiator (the movie). This one takes a close second. 

I feel like the last person on the planet to read this book. Matt read this one first and just handed me the sequel as he said, "See you in a few thousand pages."

Sacred Rhythms is a book I sipped like a warm tasty cup of tea on a cold afternoon. I read this book over almost a year. And I will re-read it. Barton hit me where I live right now: I want to build my life around loving God and being loved by Him. For me, every chapter boosted me farther down that path. Some things I had already begun to implement like lectio divina and intentional Sabbath rest. Others are new to me. I especially savored the chapter on listening to our bodies. I tend to push my body beyond its limits and get frustrated when it "betrays" me. I desire to learn to listen better with my body as an antenna to what God is doing. Barton's book will be a reference for me for years to come. 

Trials of the Earth is a true account of one of the first settlers of the Mississippi Delta. Mary Hamilton says she thinks she is the first white woman to cross the Sunflower River. Her recollections of this difficult yet fascinating period of history are as detailed as they are honest. If you enjoyed These Is My Words, you will love a nonfiction version of that book. 

I grew up in the Delta and often played along the banks of the Sunflower River even though I was forbidden to do so. Reading Hamilton's account took me back to my childhood games and added dimension to stories my imagination had long conjured up. Even if you didn't enjoy playing pioneer as a child, you will love Mary's common sense approach to life and her indomitable spirit. 

One warning the book gives is the inclusion of Mary's original wording in regards to race at that time. Her words have not been edited and sometimes the use of words common to that period cause us today to gulp for air. Rightly so. We have little by little, albeit too slowly, been weaned of hatred and racism. In that period, black people were still considered property and a different class. I caution readers of this because it was the one problem I had with the book. Can I recommend a book that includes such language? I settled on recommending it primarily because of the authenticity. I can no more edit that period than I could edit her language. We grow by looking at the warts of our culture straight on and not sugar-coating or spinning them. 

I appreciate Hamilton's candor and her willingness to put her story out there for the next generations. 

Cormac McCarthy's genius is in creating depth of emotion with so few words. How did he manage to convey hope in such a hellish setting? This story is moving, disturbing, instructive to the soul. 

I felt that everything McCarthy wrote was with intention. The repetition of small and seemingly inane details, the lack of punctuation, the descriptors of each place they stopped, the lack of names: all add to the feel of the book and painted a picture of a bare landscape where hope is elusive. I read some other reviews of folks who made a point but were irritated by these things. For me, it made the book unique and I think the author to be genius.

Guernsey is written as a series of letters between the main character, Juliet, and others. The format proved difficult for me to follow. I had trouble connecting the letter to the character. Therefore the characters while rich were not as developed in my mind as I would have desired. The setting is post WWII in the Channel Islands off England. 

I'd recommend this book because it gave me more insight into WWII, a topic I enjoy. Like a watercolorist carefully layering in colors, Shaffer and Barrows layer the letters and build their tale through the postmaster.

Never have I taken a highlighter to a work of fiction. Until now. Abraham Verghese captures the human soul in words as well as any author I have read. I found myself wanting to mark the times that he pierced mine so I could come back and read them again in wonder. I am always a little sad when I end a book. But with this one, I grieved. I miss the characters. Please, Mr. Verghese, keep writing. Your gift makes the world a better place.

Matt and I will be visiting Italy in just 15 days. Did I just write that? Somebody slap me. This trip is a dream come true and a celebration of our 20th year of marriage.

With that in mind, I picked up this memoir to whet my appetite for all things Italy. By the middle of the book, I felt numbed by all the food and wine. The small towns ran together. I thought to myself, "how many more fabulous bottles of wine can I read about?" 

I'm glad I stuck with it. I needed the closure. Mayes and her husband bought a house an renovated it. I enjoyed the descriptors of the final product and seeing the journey to the end. For me, I ended up falling in love with Italy. A little foretaste of what is to come, I hope!

Anita Shreve hooked me within a few pages. The characters are well-defined and intriguing. The plot is a page-turner. A nice change from the lumbering book I just finished: Under the Tuscan Sun.