Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

I had never read any of Kristin Hannah’s books before, and a friend gave this book to me as a going away gift when she moved. I found Winter Garden, overall, to be a very compelling story. Winter Garden is the story of three women and their relationship to each other in the modern day. Anya, the mother, made a promise to her dying husband that she would finish the fairy tale she began many years ago for her daughters. As she tells the story, her life and the lives of her daughters are changed forever. I found myself trying to hurry through the main parts of the “current day” drama of the outer story to get back to the “past” drama of the inner story, it was so enthralling and fascinating.

The first third or so of the book was a bit hard to get through; the story just didn’t hold my attention the way I like a novel to. I pressed on instead of setting aside the book and I was rewarded with a very rich middle and even richer ending indeed. I smiled, I cried, I tried to imagine myself in the characters’ place and wondering if I would have made the same decisions or done the same things if I were in that situation. I found the ending to be a bit unbelievable, but I feel that the author was striving for a happy ending to the story, which has some very tragic elements and themes.  After I finished the book, I was inspired to do my own research into the time period that the story was written in. I love books that inspire me to go beyond and learn more. If you can make it through the first third of the book, you are in for a real treat by a solid author who can really weave a story together using imagination mixed with historical facts.

I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of 15 or 16. I think some of the elements of the story might be a bit much for a younger reader, although the younger reader certainly isn’t the intended audience. The book will make you cry, so if you’re not up for a good tear-jerker, you might want to wait a bit. It is definitely a very good book. As an added bonus, the author included recipes that are included in the stories.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html

Sabbath by Dan B. Allender

We have all read in the Bible that we are to keep the Sabbath holy. However, in today’s busy and often consumer driven world, it is hard to practice that commandment. At least for me it is. What is acceptable to do on the Sabbath (can we buy gas or eat at a restaurant?), what is not acceptable? I decided to pick up Dan B. Allender’s Sabbath in The Ancient Practices Series to learn a little bit more.

Sabbath took a very spiritually philosophic view of the practice of the Sabbath. Allender didn’t say what specifically we should or shouldn’t do, as long as we were celebrating the holiness of the day that the Lord gave us to celebrate in Him. Allender talks about the Sabbath as being a day the Lord gave us to marvel in His gift of Creation to us, to play, to glory in Him, and that it is a holy time. Allender suggested that going to church shouldn’t be our only celebration of worship on the Sabbath, but that we should use the Sabbath to fellowship, to learn, to be creative, to play with the Lord. His expansion of all of these points and more was very philosophical, although he did give practical examples: such as holding a feast or a exquisitely prepared meal that is much higher in quality (and perhaps price to the point of sacrifice) from what you might normally serve during the week.

I did enjoy the book, although I often felt as if I was reading philosophy rooted in Christian spirituality than anything else. The author did make me think about how I celebrate the Sabbath, which usually entails a lack of housework and not much else, and how I would like to celebrate the Holy Day that the Lord gave us. The idea of rest in my mind was broadened to mean more than just the literal sense of the word – that rest can be taken in doing something that we enjoy, that gives rest to our mind or soothes our soul. I would recommend this book for someone who wants to think outside the box about what the Sabbath means and how we can enjoy and celebrate the Sabbath.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”