Book Review: A God for All Seasons by Patti Tingen

Book Title: A God for All Seasons

Author: Patti Tingen

Publish Date: August 1, 2012

Genre: Christian Inspirational

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

As nature's seasons change, so too do the seasons of our soul. But God's love never changes. He is with us through every season of our lives. Join author Patti Tingen in a year of exploration as she reflects on her own spiritual journey, and provides hope and encouragement for yours - month by month, season by season. Find reassurance and pause for reflection in the inspirational readings for each month of the year.

Why I Read this Book: I was given a physical copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.  This in no way influenced my review.

 

Review

Filled with personal experience and inspiration, A God for All Seasons is a wonderful inspirational book.  I loved Patti Tingen's use of personal stories to illustrate her points of discussion.  I enjoyed her allegories to the changing weather as advise for our spiritual seasons.  Her theme of God's love never changing is a great inspiration for any and every season in your life.  If you are looking for encouragement through God's word and His promises, I would advise you to pick this book up and see how He changes your life.

 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any

Overall Rating: 5/5

Book Review: Leaving by Karen Kingsbury

Book Title: Leaving

Author:  Karen Kingsbury

Publish Date: March 22, 2011

 Why I Read this Book: I listened to the audiobook version of this book that I received from my local library.

 

 

 

 

 

Review

This book has not only entertained me, but it has also encouraged me.  It has taught me and encouraged me to rely on God and to trust in His promises.  It has taught me how to deal with change which is an important lesson in my life right now as I prepare to graduate from undergraduate school and go onto graduate school. 

Leaving is a third person narrative following three characters.  I loved all three perspectives. Leaving is relevant to my life right now because it is about a girl that is around my age (young 20s) and finding out what God has for her future.  Bailey is seeking for both financial assurance through a career and the guy that God has prepared for her.  It also follows Cody, Bailey's ex-boyfriend, and all that God has for him in a coaching career.  And finally, it follows a woman whose husband is suffering from a lung disease due to his time as a firefighter at the World Trade Center on 9/11.

I loved all of the characters and their stories.  I loved that it was full of drama, but seemed realistic enough to happen in real life.  I loved that it evoked emotions and left me wanting to cry.  I would recommend this to anyone wanting a great inspirational story about finding God's purpose in your life.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any

Overall Rating: 4/5

Dewey's Read-a-Thon: Closing Meme and Wrap-Up

End of Event Meme:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
I took a 3 hour nap around the beginning of hour 18.
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
If you like middle-grade, "Dying to Meet You" by Kate Klise was really interesting!  I also loved the first two novellas in the Year of Weddings novella series.
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
I loved the read-a-thon and I cannot think of any ways that it could be improved.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
I loved being a cheerleader and being cheered.  It was really motivating seeing everyone's progress and having others cheering for you. I would read for about 30 minutes to an hour at a time and then take breaks to cheer others.
5. How many books did you read?
3 middle-grade books, 2 novellas, and a graphic novel
6. What were the names of the books you read?

Middle-grade

• Dying to Meet You by Kate Klise (43 Old Cemetery Road Series, Book 1)
• The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo
• The Tower Treasure (Hardy Boys Series, Book 1)

Novellas

• A December Bride by Denise Hunter (A Year of Weddings Novella Series, Novella 1)
• A January Bride by Deborah Raney (A Year of Weddings Novella Series, Novella 2)

Graphic Novel

• Lola by J. Torres and Elbert Or 

7. Which book did you enjoy most?
I loved all of them except Lola.
8. Which did you enjoy least?
Lola
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
It was a lot of fun!  Try to just hang out and chat with others about what they are reading.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I will participate in as many of Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-Thons as I can.  I would be a reader and a cheerleader.

My goals for this readathon were to read 1 graphic novel, 1 novella, and 1 book I recieved for review.  I completed all these goals and ended up reading actively for 8.5 hours and reading approximately  848 pages. The novellas were e-books and I used the estimated pages from Amazon to determine page counts.  The time that I was not reading I spent cheering others.  I only took a 3 hour nap during the run of the read-a-thon.  I had so much fun and cannot wait for the next Dewey's read-a-thon.