Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

Evicted is a fascinating read:  True stories of both tenants and landlords in the inner city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  The author, Mathew Desmond, spent years following and interviewing eight families living in the poorest neighborhoods in the country.  Four of the families live in multi-family apartments owned by Sherrena, a seasoned black landlord who is tough and often heartless.  The other four families live in a decrepit rat-infested trailer park owned by Tobin, a hardened white landlord who is gutsy and sometimes willing to negotiate, yet is all about the bottom line.

The stories of these eight families are both enlightening and heartbreaking.  They get under your skin and are hard to get off your mind. They are in many ways bound by their pasts, childhoods usually riddled with abuse, neglect, and violence.  Often ruled by addiction, they make poor choices in how to spend their money and who to trust. They misuse alcohol and drugs, both prescription and street. They waste opportunities and blow second and third chances. They seem bound to live in poverty forever, one generation after another.

Yet, there are glimmers of hope.  They love their children and grandchildren. They still dream of more.  They understand the value of a quality education. They hope for good jobs. They want a better tomorrow for themselves and their families. Just like you and just like me.

That is the main lesson I take away from this book.  The poor, the downtrodden, those who are standing at the curb with their belongings in a heap around them, the drug-addicted, the filthy, the alcoholic, the mentally ill could be me.  As a Christ follower, I often pray that I will see others through God's eyes.  That I will learn to love them as he does.  This book helped me to do just that, and I am grateful for it.

The Quality of Silence: A Novel by Rosamund Lupton

The Quality of Silence was a very interesting, often strange novel. Parts of the story were indeed interesting, but honestly I had borrowed this book from the library instead of having received it for free from Crown Publishers in return for my honest review, I may not have finished it.  I just found the main characters hard to relate to at first.  I thought they were delusional and ridiculous for the risks they were taking, but the surprise ending changed those initial impressions.  I don't want to spoil anything for other readers, so I won't elaborate any further.  Let's just say the book has plenty of twists and suspense and is a great example of the power of love and the resilience of the human spirit.

When I look at the Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data in the front of the book, it lists the following topics: Widows, deaf children, mothers and daughters, wilderness survival-Alaska.  I agree the book was about all those topics, but I honestly thought more than anything it is a discourse against fracking. 

It is true that it is about a relationship between a mother and daughter, but it's also about a relationship between a father and daughter, as well as a relationship between a husband and wife.  There is a complexity to each of those relationships in this story that I enjoyed.  Ms. Lupton did a good job developing those relationships and the characters in them.

The Quality of Silence refers to the daughter in the story, Ruby, a ten-year old girl who is deaf.  Her mother, Yasmin, is worried that Ruby will have a hard time in a hearing world if she has no voice and encourages her to speak orally, but her father Matt, a wildlife photographer, understands that she prefers to sign or use her computer and is okay with that. 

It was interesting to learn more about Alaska.  I was especially fascinated with how incredibly cold it is there and the drastic steps the characters had to take to protect themselves against the cold.  It was also rather unbelievable to me the extreme dangers that truckers in Alaska face.  Couldn't pay me enough to do that job!

Miriam: A Treasures of the Nile Novel by Mesu Andrews

I really liked Miriam, the second book of the Treasures of the Nile series.  Mesu Andrews does a wonderful job of making Biblical characters come alive.  I have read about Miriam in Exodus many times, but she was always a two-dimensional person.  Andrews adds the third dimension for me.

Mesu Andrews uses the Bible itself as her primary source, but also studies historical sources for details about food, dress, customs of Egypt, etc.  Then when she adds in her imaginings of how people would have felt, loved, lived, and mourned, it makes for a fascinating read.  In her note to the reader at the beginning of the book, Andrews says that she wants her reader to compare her fiction to the truth of God's Word, and she gave me just such a desire.  That to me is good Christian fiction!

Miriam is such a passionate, gifted woman.  We first meet her in the pages of Scripture as Moses' older sister, sent to watch her baby brother when his parents launch him into the Nile in a basket, in order to save his life. When she grew up she was a midwife, skilled with herbs and plants and knowledge of their healing properties.  She was also a prophetess of El Shaddai and a leader among the Israelites, especially the women.  Miriam was also a worship leader and song leader.  What an amazing woman and a godly example for all believers.

I'm sure you will enjoy this book as I did, as well as the first book in the series, The Pharaoh's Daughter. I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

The Mexican Slow Cooker by Deborah Schneider

I was really excited to receive The Mexican Slow Cooker.  I have a slow cooker (or crockpot) that I use sometimes, but every time I do I think, "That was so easy and delicious, why don't I use it more often?!"  But then, I put it away and don't use it again for a good while.  My husband and I love Mexican food, so I figured this would be the perfect way to make food that we enjoy and to utilize my slow cooker more.

However, when I read through the cookbook, I thought it was great.  The author, Deborah Schneider, takes the time to explain Mexican cooking terms and ingredients, which is helpful to me. In case the reader has never used a slow cooker, she explains how to use the appliance. Deborah includes some very pertinent information, like a chart showing the different kinds of chiles used in Mexican cooking, which dishes they are typically used in and how hot they are.  There is also an index in the back of the book of other common Mexican ingredients. 

The Mexican Slow Cooker features recipes for soups, main dishes, street foods (like tacos and enchildadas), side dishes, and desserts.  Very thorough.  However, when I actually began to read the individual recipes, I was no longer quite so enthused about the book. Many of the recipes, I dare say most of the ones I was personally interested in trying, call for first making either chicken or beef broth (caldo de pollo or caldo de res).  That means first using the slow cooker to cook the meat for the broth for 8 hours, then cooling it, straining it, and chilling it before you can even begin another recipe in which you use the slow cooker for another 4-8 hours. Way too much time and effort!  I use my slow cooker for EASY meals.

So, my overall assessment of The Mexican Slow Cooker is that I probably won't be making very many recipes from it.  Not that they don't sound delicious, but because they are much more complicated that I am looking for. I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Whatever is Lovely: A Coloring Book for Reflection and Worship

Whatever is Lovely is the most lovely coloring book I have ever seen.  I have wanted an adult coloring book since I first noticed the trend and starting spotting them in book and craft stores.  I've looked at many of them, but had not yet purchased one for myself.  So, when I had the opportunity to review this one from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review, I jumped at the chance. 

Many of the coloring books I looked at were nice, but I did want a Christian themed book, so that narrowed the field quite a bit.  Still even among the ones with a Christian theme, not all the pages contained Scripture or were Biblical.  Whatever is Lovely fits the bill of every thing I wished for and so much more!  It goes way beyond just coloring an illustrated Bible verse or a picture of a Bible store. It is really intended to be, as the subtitle reads, for reflection and worship.  I love that!

The introduction, titled Color Your Way to Peace, instructs the (reader? user? colorer?)...worshiper that this book was designed to be a way of "quieting our minds, spending time meditating on the words of the Lord, and entering into a time of quiet reflection  and worship.".  How cool is that?  Way, way better than what my first intention was when I first saw adult coloring books: something to do to relax or to keep my hands busy while watching TV. 

Each page of this gorgeous coloring book contains beautiful hand-drawn and lettered pictures to color with Scripture verses, quotes from Christian authors. teachers and pastors, or hymn writers. There is even a link included for a Whatever is Lovely Spotify playlist to further enhance your worship.I really can't say enough of how great I think this coloring book is.  Check it out, I'm sure you too will love it.

Tough As They Come by SSG Travis Mills

I loved Tough As They Come, the story of SSG Travis Mills. Travis "Big" Mills is one of only five soldiers who has survived a quadruple amputation from combat injuries. Tough As They Come is Travis' story, and it is a fascinating story indeed. 

Travis is one of the toughest most courageous soldiers I have ever been introduced to.  He was a Staff Sargent in the 82nd Airborne Division of the US Army and saw three tours of duty in Afghanistan. A natural leader, Travis inspired others of both higher and lower rank through his own work ethic, never quit attitude, and sense of humor.  He gave his all in everything and anything he did. I have deep admiration for this man and the way he served his country and I am grateful to have people like him defending my freedom every day.

Only days from his 25th birthday, SSG Travis Mills, led his men out on an ordinary patrol, not different from their patrols any other day of their duty tour.  Yet on this day, an exploding IED planted by Taliban fighters, would change Travis' life forever. This explosion led to Travis losing all of his limbs, numerous surgeries,  pain beyond agony, and hundreds of hours of rehab.  Yet, Travis triumphed.  He determined that he would learn again to sit up, to feed himself, to walk, and to drive.  He vowed to keep fighting, not on the battlefield, but in the hospital.  This time not for his country, for his men, but for himself and for his wife and daughter.

Tough As They Come is inspiring, heartwarming and funny.  I highly recommend it.  I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Michael Symon's 5 in 5 for Every Season: 165 Quick Dinners, Sides, Holiday Dishes, and More

I received this book from Blogging for Books for free in exchange for my honest review. Michael Symon is one of the hosts of ABC's The Chew, a show I enjoy watching if I'm home during the day.  The show is a fun approach to cooking, so I thought this would be a great addition to my cookbook library.  Plus who wouldn't love the concept of 5 in 5?  5 in 5 is based on a speed cooking segment that Michael does on the show.  5 ingredients = a prepared dish in 5 minutes.  Sign me up!

Michael Symon's 5 in 5 for Every Season is a nice cookbook.  The size is good, not too large and not too small.  The cover is colorful and attracted me right away, it's also glossy which is nice for wiping away food spills. Michael has arranged the recipes according to season.  The first category is spring, it works through each season and ends with holidays.  He is a big proponent of using fresh produce that is seasonal.  The spring section, for example, includes lots of peas, asparagus, mushrooms and ramps.

The 5 in 5 concept is for fresh ingredients.  There are also pantry items and spices included in most recipes.  Michael gives a nice pantry list in the beginning of the book to help the cook.  It's a good list for almost any cook of items to have on hand to make meals with.  They are shelf stable products that will keep for a good while. Still, even with including those additional items, the ingredient lists for each recipe are short, which to me translates to easier.

I have not yet prepared any of the recipes in the book, but have several marked to try.  My only complaint from my initial reading of the book is that I wish there was a color picture of each recipe.  There are a lot of attractive photos in the book, but not one of each dish. I received this book from Blogging for Books for free in exchange for my honest review.