Showing posts with label Monthly Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Monthly Reviews. Show all posts
Happy Wednesday friends! It is hard to believe that we already at the end of March and we are now looking to April! This year seems to be going so quickly and I often find that I want to just grab onto the days and moments and hold them still!
Today I am so excited to share my book, movie, and TV review with y'all for the last few months! Before I start though- if you have any suggestions for me for April please let me know! I am constantly looking for new ideas so please pass on your suggestions!
Books
So my books for this month were varied and just due to the complexities of these last few months with a lot of caregiving and prep for my college courses I didn't read as much as I typically do - unless you count college textbooks haha... so here we go!
{one} To Fly Again
As we were unpacking some boxes from our move, I came across several books in a box that were in my pile "to someday read". I decided that I was going to actually sit down and read them and this was one of them. Y'all... I found it in January and it took me three months to get through because it was incredible. I actually ended up going slowly through it and using it as a devotional in the mornings because it was that beautiful and inspirational. If you are looking for encouragement during a difficult season of life and are wanting to hear from someone who has been there, I can't recommend this book enough! It is amazing. It is inspirational. And it is tenderly encouraging. You can purchase it HERE.
I am embarrassed to admit that I had started this book years ago and never finished it. I am not sure why, but the story didn't really interest me back in the day, something I am truly embarrassed to admit. After reading "To Fly Again" though I knew I wanted to read this book, and y'all it is amazing. If you haven't read it, you will be challenged by the heroism of so many people and the faith of Gracia Burnham. It is raw and real and it is incredible. I sometimes think that different stories hit you differently at different times in your life. This was one that I am so thankful that I choose to read again because my first attempt was not the right timing in my life but now ... it was so inspirational. You can find it HERE.
{three} Wintering
This book I purchased back in July many years ago and saved it for the winter season. Y'all... unfortunately it wasn't my favorite. *sigh* I hate ever giving a bad review to an author-especially with a book that I feel has an incredible premise and the concept of rest and retreat in our busy world, but I started it in January and then again in February and then in March again. And after forcing myself to read through it this past month...it just wasn't a favorite. I love the idea- I appreciated Katherine's story and could relate to a lot of it for different reasons... and there were some concepts that were good, but I honestly was bored as I read it and found a lot of the ideas and writing to simplistic, and a little out of touch. *sigh* I always want to be honest here, and want to love the book (I mean I am a huge proponent of rest and retreat and this is one of my favorite topics, especially since being sick, but I just can't recommend it. For the record- I am definitely in the minority here- it has a 4.4 star review on Amazon with thousands of reviews, so if you purchase it I would be so curious to hear what you think! (You can find it HERE!) Any thoughts?
Movies & TV
I am going to be honest and say that it has been some busy months but with a lot of recovery time for mom we have watched a bit more TV then usual...
Category: Inspirational
This show. I still don't have adequate words since watching it completely in a week in August 2024. It is soul inspiring in so many different ways and simply amazing. If you haven't watched it... do so now. I have been showing clips for one of my college courses I teach and students have been gripped as well. You will not regret spending these 8 hours of your life being inspired, learning about amazing people who were sacrificing so much to help others, and be encouraged that anyone- can make a difference.
I watched this movie back in 2019 and I am going to say that I truly believe that my original review was biased on a friends thoughts prior to me watching the movie. As a bit of background I should say that I have always wanted to foster/adopt and before I got sick was starting the process to become a foster parent. I think the route to foster care is different for every family - so I think that realistically that was portrayed really well - especially in the group meetings. I laughed a lot because I think that I met "each of these people" in my beginning classes. It is hilarious in general but if you have been through the process you will find it even more funny. I also really loved that they showed the "not so fun side" of things when talking about fostering and the challenges that are unique in doing this...
And I loved it this time y'all... if you are looking at becoming a foster parent as y'all know that I am and are heading in that direction... this true story was incredible. If you are like me and the first time was maybe influenced by someone else's thoughts then I can't encourage you enough to try it again. You can find it HERE!
3. Blue Skies
Y'all there is no word for this show except for adorable and cute and very family friendly. This show has a bit of mystery with it, an adorable dog, and just a sweet cast and it makes for such an enjoyable watch each week. In a world that feels very chaotic and angry this beautiful show with incredibly gorgeous scenery will draw you in and just provide some family friendly entertainment. It is lovely. You can find it HERE!
4. White Collar
I mentioned this in a post in 2022 (you can read more HERE) but it took us almost a year to finish the entire series and ... y'all it was such a great show. It had a mystery to it, it was hilarious, it was so well done and we decided to watch through the series again the last couple of months.
I know. I know. Yes. This came out in 2009. Yes there are some of you are laughing because you are assuming that I just like the show because of the sexy lead man. BUT y'all seriously. This is SO good. A couple of years ago Jacob kept telling me that I needed to watch this. I politely was like, "okay" and ignored it (sorry Jacob *hahaha*). But in 2022 we were looking for something new to watch and this popped up. I thought- wait didn't I hear about this, asked Jacob and then started watching and it is SO.GOOD. Why did I wait so long? I have no idea. Haha. I messaged a lot of "WAIT. Is this person bad?" haha. So if you haven't watched it yes it has a very cute man in it but it is also very very good! *smiles* You can find it on Amazon Prime HERE. Let me know what you think!
5. Amazing Race
I know. I know. Some of you are laughing because we all know how much I love this show. There is not currently a new season, but I love seeing different parts of the world...and mom and I have had to cancel several trips recently so we have enjoyed watching some old seasons we never saw. It is great and if you missed an entire season like I did, you can find a lot of them on Amazon Prime HERE for free.
If you are curious about 8 of my favorite inspirational and binge-worthy shows you can find a post all about them HERE!
If you are curious about other review lists I have done in the past you can find those posts below:
2026 Book, Movie, and TV Reviews
2022 Book, Movie, and TV Reviews
2020 Book, Movie, and TV Reviews
2019 Book, Movie, and TV Reviews
Thank you so much for reading today! What about you- what have you been watching and reading that you would recommend for me for April?
Happy Wednesday friends! It is hard to believe that we already brought the March to an end and we are now in the midst of April! This year seems to be going so quickly and I often find that I want to just grab onto the days and moments and hold them still!
Today I am so excited to share my book, movie, and TV review with y'all for March! Before I start though- if you have any suggestions for me for April please let me know! I am constantly looking for new ideas so please pass on your suggestions!
Books
So my books for this month were varied and one was one that I had been trying to read and "get into" for a couple of years. Haha... so here we go!
{one} To Fly Again
As we were unpacking some boxes from our move, I came across several books in a box that were in my pile "to someday read". I decided that I was going to actually sit down and read them and this was one of them. Y'all... I found it in January and it took me three months to get through because it was incredible. I actually ended up going slowly through it and using it as a devotional in the mornings because it was that beautiful and inspirational. If you are looking for encouragement during a difficult season of life and are wanting to hear from someone who has been there, I can't recommend this book enough! It is amazing. It is inspirational. And it is tenderly encouraging. You can purchase it HERE.
I am embarrassed to admit that I had started this book years ago and never finished it. I am not sure why, but the story didn't really interest me back in the day, something I am truly embarrassed to admit. After reading "To Fly Again" though I knew I wanted to read this book, and y'all it is amazing. If you haven't read it, you will be challenged by the heroism of so many people and the faith of Gracia Burnham. It is raw and real and it is incredible. I sometimes think that different stories hit you differently at different times in your life. This was one that I am so thankful that I choose to read again because my first attempt was not the right timing in my life but now ... it was so inspirational. You can find it HERE.
{three} Wintering
This book I purchased back in July and saved it for the winter season. Y'all... unfortunately it wasn't my favorite. *sigh* I hate ever giving a bad review to an author-especially with a book that I feel has an incredible premise and the concept of rest and retreat in our busy world, but I started it in January and then again in February and then in March again. And after forcing myself to read through it this past month...it just wasn't a favorite. I love the idea- I appreciated Katherine's story and could relate to a lot of it for different reasons... and there were some concepts that were good, but I honestly was bored as I read it and found a lot of the ideas and writing to simplistic, and a little out of touch. *sigh* I always want to be honest here, and want to love the book (I mean I am a huge proponent of rest and retreat and this is one of my favorite topics, especially since being sick, but I just can't recommend it. For the record- I am definitely in the minority here- it has a 4.4 star review on Amazon with thousands of reviews, so if you purchase it I would be so curious to hear what you think! (You can find it HERE!) Any thoughts?
{four} Dangerous Illusions
I always love a good Irene Hannon mystery. They are all well written, what I would deem a "cozy mystery" with a touch of a bit of romance. They are always an enjoyable read and this one I read years ago and saw it again and enjoyed it the second time too. If you are looking for a light-hearted mystery, this one would be perfect! You can purchase it HERE!
Movies & TV
I am going to be honest and say that it has been a busy, busy month so I haven't really had time to watch a lot of movies and TV!
{One}Amazing Race
I know. I know. Some of you are laughing because we all know how much I love this show and last season all of the places that they went were so beautiful! I love seeing different parts of the world... this last season (in the fall) feels more reminiscent of the older seasons where there "real" people who were given the opportunity to race around the world. It is great and if you missed the entire season like I did, you can find it on Amazon Prime HERE.
{two} Instant Family
I watched this movie back in 2019 and I am going to say that I truly believe that my original review was biased on a friends thoughts prior to me watching the movie. As a bit of background I should say that I have always wanted to foster/adopt and before I got sick was starting the process to become a foster parent. I think the route to foster care is different for every family - so I think that realistically that was portrayed really well - especially in the group meetings. I laughed a lot because I think that I met "each of these people" in my beginning classes. It is hilarious in general but if you have been through the process you will find it even more funny. I also really loved that they showed the "not so fun side" of things when talking about fostering and the challenges that are unique in doing this...
And I loved it this time y'all... if you are looking at becoming a foster parent as y'all know that I am and are heading in that direction... this true story was incredible. If you are like me and the first time was maybe influenced by someone else's thoughts then I can't encourage you enough to try it again. You can find it HERE!
If you are curious about other book reading lists I have done in the past you can find those posts below:
2022 Book, Movie, and TV Reviews
2020 Book, Movie, and TV Reviews
2019 Book, Movie, and TV Reviews
Thank you so much for reading today! What about you- what have you been watching and reading that you would recommend for me for April?
Happy Sunday friends! It is hard to believe that we already brought the second month of the 2022 year to a close! It has been flying for me and I hope that you are have a wonderful start to the new year!
Today I am so excited to share my book, movie, and TV review with y'all for February! Before I start though- if you have any suggestions for me for March please let me know! I am constantly looking for new ideas so please pass on your suggestions!
Books
So my books for this month were varied and one was one that I had been trying to read and "get into" for a couple of years. Haha... so here we go!
{one} Tessa and Scott: Our Journey from Childhood Dream to Gold
With the Olympics coming in January I really wanted to read a book about the Olympics or about former Olympians. When I saw this book about Tessa and Scott (who are some of my favorite Ice Dancers ever!!) I was so intrigued and couldn't put it down. It is really fascinating to read so much of the "behind the scenes" story, of the triumphs, but also about the incredibly difficult things that they overcame. I can't recommend it enough- even if you don't like Ice Dancing you will enjoy this book! You can purchase it HERE.
{two} The Turquoise Table
This book I purchased back in 2019 and y'all I have started it nearly 20 times and it would end back up on my shelf of "to be read"....and unfortunately it wasn't my favorite. *sigh* I hate ever giving a bad review to an author-especially with a book that I feel has an incredible premise and the longing of connection and starting in your front yard, but after forcing myself to read through it this past month...it just wasn't a favorite. I love the idea- I love the way of connecting with others right in front of you...but I honestly was bored as I read it and found a lot of the ideas and writing to simplistic, and a little out of touch (even if we were not in the midst of a pandemic). *sigh* I always want to be honest here, and want to love the book (I mean turquoise is one of my favorite colors even *smiles*), but I just can't recommend it. For the record- I am definitely in the minority here- it has a five star review on Amazon, it has started a movement across America and around the world so if you purchase it I would be so curious to hear what you think! (You can find it HERE!) Any thoughts?
{three} The Lady's Mine
From the beginning I want to say two very clear things about this book: (1) Francine Rivers is one of my favorite authors since I first discovered A Voice in the Wind when I was in 8th grade. (2) If you are looking for a very lighthearted book that is very atypical of her writing then this is a great book for you.
For me it was exceptionally hard to separate the Francine Rivers who has written such incredibly tough topics (something that has not always been seen in Christian writing- I would argue that she was a pioneer in this field) write such a "non thinking" book. I honestly don't know how else to describe it. At the back of the book she does describe that this is a lighthearted book, but I just felt like it was so lighthearted that the characters were out of place, very unbelievable, and it just didn't "flow". There were so many times where I honestly just didn't even like the main character of the book. I found her to be extremely prideful and I just didn't like "her". Her actions were rude (in my opinion) and while the book was supposed to examine whether one person could change a town, I felt like she wasn't changing everything in a good way, even though you are supposed to believe that the change was because of her. There was also a lot of drama all of a sudden at the end of the book with discovery of family connections, a fire, etc. It almost felt like she didn't know how to end the book so lots of drama was going to be added in.
*sigh* Again, I hate ever giving a bad review to an author-especially with an author who I really love, but it just wasn't a favorite. *sigh* I always want to be honest here, and want to love the book (I mean again- favorite author), but I just can't recommend it. For the record- I am definitely in the minority here- it has a 4.5 star review on Amazon so if you purchase it I would be so curious to hear what you think! (You can find it HERE!) Any thoughts?
Other book recommendations by Irene Hannon that I have read and loved that I would recommend:
Movies & TV
{One}Amazing Race
I know. I know. Some of you are laughing because we all know how much I love this show but I have to say the last few seasons I haven't enjoyed so much. So I was skeptical going into this season and honestly I am loving it! It is not just the fact that I miss traveling and it is so wonderful to see different parts of the world... this season feels more reminiscent of the older seasons where there "real" people who were given the opportunity to race around the world. It is great and I loved the ending! You can find it on Amazon Prime HERE.
{two}White Collar
Yes... we are still making our way through this and sad to know that we have less than 10 episodes left. If you missed what I wrote last month... here it is:
I know. I know. Yes. This came out in 2009. Yes there are some of you are laughing because you are assuming that I just like the show because of the sexy lead man. BUT y'all seriously. This is SO good. Last year Jacob kept telling me that I needed to watch this. I politely was like, "okay" and ignored it (sorry Jacob *hahaha*). About two weeks ago we were looking for something new to watch and this popped up. I thought- wait didn't I hear about this, asked Jacob and then started watching and it is SO.GOOD. Why did I wait so long? I have no idea. Haha. Now I message a lot of "WAIT. Is this person bad?" haha. So if you haven't watched it (we are still in the middle of season 1) yes it has a very cute man in it but it is also very very good! *smiles* You can find it on Amazon Prime HERE. Let me know what you think!
If you are curious about other book reading lists I have done in the past you can find those posts below:
2022 Book, Movie, and TV Reviews
2020 Book, Movie, and TV Reviews
2019 Book, Movie, and TV Reviews
Thank you so much for reading today! What about you- what have you been watching and reading that you would recommend for me for March?
Happy Friday friends! It is hard to believe that we are bringing this first month of the 2022 year to a close! It has been flying for me and I hope that you are have a wonderful start to the new year!
Today I am so excited to share my book, movie, and TV review with y'all for January! Before I start though- if you have any suggestions for me for February please let me know! I am constantly looking for new ideas so please pass on your suggestions!
Books
{one}Resurrection Year
I have shared so many times about this book in the last couple of months and am planning to write an entire post on it alone, but suffice it to say... LIFE CHANGING. Go purchase the book and read it. You will not be disappointed. AT ALL. You can purchase it HERE.
Similar book recommendations that I have read by Sheridan Voysey that I would recommend to this book:
I am still in the middle of this book... digesting it sometimes one sentence at a time or other days a paragraph or two at a time... it is a book that has so many precious nuggets in it that it is meant to be savored. You can find it to purchase HERE.
The next couple of books are all by the same author...
{two} Point of Danger
Discovering Irene Hannon's books years ago was such a delightful treat. I enjoy her mysteries a lot and over the years there have been different ones that I have thought were really great. They are clean (not graphic) and have great character development along with an interesting story and plot line. This one, Point of Danger was honestly I think her best one yet. It was interesting and had a twist that I didn't see coming. I would definitely recommend it. You can purchase it HERE.
Because I loved that book so much I was excited to read the second one in the series...
{three} Labyrinth of Lies
....and unfortunately it wasn't my favorite. *sigh* I hate ever giving a bad review to an author-especially one that I really enjoy so much but I felt like this was just a slow moving and predictable mystery. I personally felt that it was extremely obvious who the "bad people" were and was not drawn into the love story that seemed like it was being pushed so hard to really like believe that the two main characters should be together. I honestly wanted to recommend that they receive some good counseling before entering into a relationship. So unfortunately I do not recommend this one. *sigh* Honestly I felt that this was just "good" but not a great book which I read in several reviews and I would agree. If you purchase it I would be so curious to hear what you think! (You can find it HERE!) BUT I love Irene Hannon's writing and so this is just maybe me being wrong? Any thoughts?
Other book recommendations by Irene Hannon that I have read and loved that I would recommend:
{four} Springs in the Valley
For my "main" devotional this year I decided to go "old school" and go through a devotional I have never gone completely through: Springs in the Valley. If you have been around this blog for a while then you know one of my favorite devotionals is Streams in the Desert and this is written by the same author. I am loving it and it has been so deep and yet simple. You can purchase it HERE.
Other book recommendations by L.B.E. Cowan that I have read and loved that I would recommend:
Movies & TV
{one}Tough as Nails
So this really is more from the fall then January, but it was so good that I had to mention it. This was a great discovery last year that we made- y'all... I feel like all of America should sit down and watch this show. It is inspiring and amazing. You need to watch it- you will not be disappointed! There have been three seasons and honestly I feel like each season gets better. We loved season 2 and then season 3 came out and now I think that one was the best. They are all just so good! You can find it on Amazon Prime HERE.
{two}Amazing Race
I know. I know. Some of you are laughing because we all know how much I love this show but I have to say the last few seasons I haven't enjoyed so much. So I was skeptical going into this season and honestly I am loving it! It is not just the fact that I miss traveling and it is so wonderful to see different parts of the world... this season feels more reminiscent of the older seasons where there "real" people who were given the opportunity to race around the world. It is great! You can find it on Amazon Prime HERE.
{three}White Collar
I know. I know. Yes. This came out in 2009. Yes there are some of you are laughing because you are assuming that I just like the show because of the sexy lead man. BUT y'all seriously. This is SO good. Last year Jacob kept telling me that I needed to watch this. I politely was like, "okay" and ignored it (sorry Jacob *hahaha*). About two weeks ago we were looking for something new to watch and this popped up. I thought- wait didn't I hear about this, asked Jacob and then started watching and it is SO.GOOD. Why did I wait so long? I have no idea. Haha. Now I message a lot of "WAIT. Is this person bad?" haha. So if you haven't watched it (we are still in the middle of season 1) yes it has a very cute man in it but it is also very very good! *smiles* You can find it on Amazon Prime HERE. Let me know what you think!
If you are curious about other book reading lists I have done in the past you can find those posts below:
2020 Book, Movie, and TV Reviews
2019 Book, Movie, and TV Reviews
Thank you so much for reading today! What about you- what have you been watching and reading that you would recommend for me for February?
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