Books Unfold : May 2021

A Book Review: Farming Grace: A Memoir of Life, Love, and a Harvest of Faith

In Farming Grace: A Memoir of Life, Love, and a Harvest of Faith, American novelist, Paula Scott, bares with courage and honesty the turmoil in her life between her childhood and the time she found God. It’s not her intention to bring their family secrets out in the open but to tell their redemption.

She started sharing about her childhood on their farm in the Sutter Buttes, California, where she was taught to be tough. Her family was Catholic. Then, she went on to tell about her life in Reno, Nevada, and Chico, California where she worked as a waitress. In Reno, she started substance abuse that scared her so much that she decided to go back to their farm.

A Book Review: The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything . . . Fast!

Josh Kaufman, author and a learning junkie, teaches how to learn a new skill fast in his book, The First 20 Hours: How to Learn Anything . . . Fast! He introduced himself as someone who has an overwhelming, long list of projects and experiments he'd rather do by himself for the sake of learning. He is the author of the bestselling book the Personal MBA.

He went on talking about the differences between skill acquisition and learning; skill acquisition and training; and, skill acquisition and education and credentialing.

Skill acquisition is performing the skill in an environment that supports its development. Learning is understanding the parts of the skill. For example, learning to bake is knowing the history of baking, the tools and different techniques used, and others. On the other hand, skill acquisition is doing the action of baking, getting a recipe, measuring ingredients, mixing the ingredients, baking the bread or the cake in the oven, and whatnot.

In her debut novel, Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens, an American author and zoologist, lays open the influence of abandonment and prejudice on a girl who strived to survive in a North Carolinian marsh, the "Graveyard of the Atlantic", the only place she knew as home after her family left her all alone. Kya grew into a strong-willed, perceptive, and intelligent woman who was shunned by most people in town for her wild, rugged life. Two men fell in love with her but their love was not enough to save her from loneliness.

The murder accusation threatened her to be away from the only thing she had, the marsh; it was her mother; it was her only family. The marsh can keep secrets but could it save her?

After topping the New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2019 and The New York Times Fiction Best Sellers of 2020, Where the Crawdads Sing continues to stay in Amazon Charts, the New York Times Best Sellers, and Indie Bestseller Lists. Eleven million copies are already sold around the world.

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Kya fended for herself when her family left her in their shack when she was six years old. The truant officers tried to put her in school where she could have decent food and learn reading but she slipped away from their hands. Kya grew up living on grits and selling mussels, and eventually smoked fish, to Jumpin’, the owner of the gas dock and bait shop located between Barkley Cove and Kya’s place.

As years went by, she grew into a beautiful young woman that captured the heart of Tate, the young man whom Kya met in the marsh when she got lost when she was seven years old. The eleven-year-old Tate accompanied her to her shack. At 18, he made the first move to get close with Kya. When he found out that Kya couldn’t read, he brought her discarded textbooks including advanced biology books that sparked the beginning of her love for studying the living organisms in the marsh. In the end, they fell in love but their romance was cut short when Tate left for college, leaving Kya devastated.

She found herself in the arms of another man, Chase Andrew, the famous football player in their town. With the promise of marriage, Kya gave in to Chase's desire to deflower her. Feeling loved, Kya was ready to break out of her cocoon, meet his family and friends, and blend in the society. However, the promise of marriage and the idea of having a life with Chase were all fantasy when she saw his arm around the shoulders of another girl in a store. She also read in the newspaper the news about Chase’s upcoming wedding. Her heart was shattered again, resigning to the truth that she was meant to live alone.

Then, on October 30, 1969, Chase's body was found by two boys passing by the Fire Tower with their bikes. An investigation was made and the early statements pointed to Kya as the suspect. In the trial, some witnesses pinned Kya down and others swore they saw her go out of town for two days. After everything was considered, the jury found Kya not guilty.

Fast forward to Kya at sixty-four years old. She had lived a happy, fulfilling life with Tate, her husband, and two children. She had also devoted her life to biology and writing. One evening, when she failed to return home after collecting samples in the marsh, Tate found her on a boat in a lagoon, lifeless. After the funeral, Tate went to the shack to get her will and birth certificate but she found none. Instead, he found two things: one that surprised him, the other that did not.

Thoughts...Thoughts...Thoughts...

Now I understand why Where the Crawdads Sing got 4.8 out of 5 stars on Amazon with 131,998 ratings. Delia Owens impressively embroidered the events together into a tapestry of surprise that left me stricken with different emotions of shock and disbelief. Kya grew on me as I turned every page, feeling sorry for what she went through from the day her mother left her to the day she was on trial for murder. However, the ending put me in a place where I had to make a decision whether to continue to be on her side or not.

One of the themes touched by this novel is the lack of motherly love which, I believe, to be very crucial to a person's growth. A little girl waiting for her mother to walk down on the lane by their shack pinched my heart. Having this image in my mind made me say how could a mother leave her children all by themselves in the hands of her drunk, ill-tempered husband. It was later explained why but still her reason was not enough to just abandon her children.

Furthermore, some people find it hard to believe that a six-year-old girl can survive by herself. As far as I’m concerned, this is actually possible. Children who are born in poverty are forced to act like adults to take care of themselves and their siblings. A child needs to be brave, observant of what adults do, and smart in order to survive and Kya had those characteristics.

Where the Crawdads Sing is highly recommended for those who love mystery. It’s a page-turner that would leave you gaping in the end.

Discussion Questions

1.What do you think about the title?

2.Describe the dynamics in Kya’s family.

3. Is it plausible for a six-year-old child to survive in the shack in the middle of a marsh?

4. What are the other parts of the story that you find unrealistic?

5. Was the author able to stall the mystery until the end of the novel? In what way?

Further Information

Title: Where the Crawdads Sing

Author: Delia Owens

Genre: Mystery

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons (August 14, 2018)

Publication Date: August 14, 2018

Print length: 379 pages

ASIN: B078GD3DRG

Quotes

First Line:

"The morning burned so August-hot, the marsh’s moist breath hung the oaks and pines with fog."

A Book Review: Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will

Kevin DeYoung, an American Reformed Evangelical theologian and author, urges “confused teenagers, burned-out parents, retirees, grandparents, and tinkering millennials” to check what God’s will really mean in his book, Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will. He is the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina, and assistant professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte. He serves as board chairman of the Gospel Coalition and blogs at DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed. He is the author of several books, including Just Do Something; Crazy Busy; and The Biggest Story. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have nine children (Kevin DeYoung, n.d.).

DeYoung points out the three uses of the phrase “God’s will”:

God’s will of decree. This is the ultimate determination of things that are set before the creation. It’s absolute and how things are.
God’s will of desire shows us how things ought to be.
God’s will of direction is what most Christians are praying for before making a decision. However, God is not a micromanager who tells us the specific things to consider and the specific steps to take. We have the responsibility to make things happen.

“Trusting in God’s will of decree is good. Following His will of desire is obedient. Waiting for God’s will of direction is a mess."

DeYoung lists wanting to please God as one of the reasons why we want to know God’s will.

In addition to this, being cautious and lacking courage hides behind being dependent too much on God’s will because sometimes we are just scared to take the first steps, uncertain about what’s going to happen in the future.

Furthermore, the desire to have a fulfilling life is another thing that makes us use the phrase “God’s will”. We want things to be perfect without challenges but “life is not always fun.” Whatever happens externally doesn’t affect God’s will to us which is “to be holy like Jesus, by the power of the Spirit, for the glory of God.”

Lastly, there are too many choices we face every day-- which brand of shampoo to use, which clothes to wear, which college course to take. The freedom to choose anything and do anything has become a form of enslavement. We don’t want to choose; we’d rather wait for God to tell us the specific route to go.

As the book goes on, DeYoung explains the three tools that Christians use in discerning God’s will.

When things go our way, we say that God is opening doors. When things don’t go our way, we say God is closing the doors. This tool is called “open doors”, which actually can lead to laziness. It’s not enough to just submit a resume to a company; you have to follow up, make phone calls.

“Flee the fleece” is the second tool. It’s basically about asking God for a sign before making a move. The term comes from the story of Gideon who asked God to make the dry fleece wet if He was indeed with him in the battle. Testing God is a sign of faithlessness in Him.

Another tool that can do more harm than good is flipping Bible verses at random to find answers. The verses are interpreted out of context and might cause confusion and untoward consequences.

Lastly, going with our gut is one way to discern God’s will. “We make decisions based on a feeling or our intuition.” There’s nothing wrong with it though but this tool needs to be used carefully.

After considering the reasons and tools that are used in making decisions, what is the best way?

DeYoung said that studying the scripture, listening to others, and praying continually are the best measures to take. God’s wisdom can be found if only we seek Him.

All in all, DeYoung calls Christians, especially the young people, to just do something about their lives, their career, and their relationship.

He ends with this paragraph:

"So the end of the matter is this: Live for God. Obey the Scriptures. Think of others before yourself. Be holy. Love Jesus. And as you do these things, do whatever else you like, with whomever you like, wherever you like, and you’ll be walking in the will of God."

Thoughts...Thoughts...Thoughts...

The author’s passion for helping people who are still confused as to what to do with their lives can be felt from the pages of the book. He never hesitated to be frank to say that waiting for God’s will can also be a sign of cowardice or laziness.

This reminds me of the word that we have in our language. I usually hear from people adding the word "puhon" at the end of their sharing of their dreams and plans as an acknowledgment that we don't know the future and only God knows whether those dreams and plans would come true. DeYoung doesn't downplay this though. It only becomes a problem when people keep on hoping, waiting for a sign, doing nothing. While it’s true that we don’t know what exactly would happen in the future, it is our responsibility to take specific steps now to make things happen.

This book is great for young Christians who are looking for guidance in making decisions, for mothers who have young adults unsure about the future, and for everybody who feels stuck in life.

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think the author chose the title?

2. What was your first reaction to the book after finishing it?

3. Has this book changed the way you see the world?

4.Which passages of the book were the most compelling?

5. What lingering questions does the book leave you with?

Further Information

Title: Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will

Author: Kevin DeYoung

Genre: Christian Literature

Publisher: Moody Publishers; New edition (March 21, 2014)

Publication Date: March 21, 2014

Print length:144 pages

ASIN: B00H3V4X0W

Quotes

First Line

I grew up playing with Tinkertoys.

Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will by Kevin DeYoung (2014)

Reference:

(Kevin DeYoung. (n.d.). Crossway. Retrieved May 22, 2021, from https://www.crossway.org/authors/kevin-deyoung/).

A Book Review: Son

Son is the fourth book of Lois Lowry’s The Giver Quartet. It unfolds the conclusion of the stories of the main characters-- Jonas, Gabe, Kira, Matty, and Claire-- who possess gifts that they use to save their community. The cause of the ruins was revealed in the end; love saved them from evil. Son is divided into three books; the first book has sixteen chapters; the second has sixteen; and the third has thirteen. It was published 8 years after Messenger.

The focal point of the story was Claire, the birthmother who brought forth Gabe, the baby whom Jonas saved from being put to death in the first book.

In Book 1, the life of Claire in the Community is told. Her delivery was not easy because her womb was cut open to save the baby. Due to this complication, she was decertified as a birthmother and assigned to be a Fish Hatchery Attendant.

While performing her boring tasks, Claire felt emotions of longing to be with her child. It was a strange feeling for her and she later realized the effect of not taking pills that numbed emotions. Out of her eagerness, she managed to stay under the radar bonding with her son at the Nurturing Center as a volunteer. When she learned that her son was not able to reach developmental milestones and that he would be “released”, she was devastated. She was even more wrecked when her son was taken by Jonas who ran away from the community. Everything seemed to be happening so fast that she found herself on a supply boat that hailed from another community. The woman on the boat told her that they would go to Elsewhere to find her son. Unfortunately, a storm came. Claire, the boatmen, and the women were shipwrecked.

Book 2 opens with Claire being found on the beach, almost dead. She was saved by the people, especially Alys, an elderly woman, who took care of her until she got her health back. Claire was getting stronger physically but she forgot a big part of herself- her history and her son.

Little by little, Claire’s memories came back to her including her having a son. What pushed her more to look for her child and leave the village was how the people saw her as a stained woman. It was found out that she had a son without a husband and this marked her as someone who was not worth marrying. With the help of Lame Einar, a young man who attempted to leave the village by climbing a cliff to get to the other side, Claire became strong enough to scale the cliff and prepared enough to face the Trademaster. Lame Einar was maimed by the Trademaster after the former refused to trade with the latter.

The time came when Claire had to climb the cliff. Despite the difficulties, she was able to reach the top where the Trademaster was standing. Many times, Claire told him that she had nothing with a value that she could trade. The Trademaster disagreed. When he mentioned her son, Claire had no choice but to trade her youth. The moment she said the trade was done, Clare turned into an old hag.

In the last book, Claire found Gabe in the village of the healing where Jonas was the leader. He married Kira, the threader in Gathering Blue. They had two children, Annabelle and Matthew.

Claire had been watching his son from afar who was building a boat; Gabe noticed her. Annoyed, he promised himself to approach the old woman and tell him to stop what she had been doing. Little did he know that Claire was her mother. He only found it out when Jonas told him about who Claire was and what happened to her after her encounter with the Trademaster. Gabe was confused but the truth eventually sank in--- Claire was his mother and she’s dying of old age. There was one and only way to bring her life back, destroy the Trademaster.

Thoughts...Thoughts...Thoughts...

Disappointed. That was how I felt after reading the ending of the book, Son. When I reached the last page, I remembered that the target audience of the novel was middle school students, which may be the reason why the plot was simple. The way the protagonist defeated the villain was underwhelming. I understand that introducing complicated issues affecting humans such as war, hatred, adolescent pregnancy, defying authorities, social justice, and censorship to young people can be challenging and Lowry's The Giver Quartet is a good material as a springboard of discussion among young people. But then, I felt the ending needed more excitement and more satisfaction with the story. The other three books, The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger are more engaging and interesting.

Discussion Questions

1. What is a birthmother?

2. Describe Claire.

3. Why was she sent to the Fish Hatchery?

4. How do you feel about her job as a Fish Hatchery Attendant?

5. What pulled Claire to visit the Nurturing Center?

6. Why do you think she wasn’t caught as the mother of one of the babies at the Nurturing Center?

7. Describe what happened to Claire when she learned that Jonas had taken her son away.

8. How different was the village Claire lived in while she was recuperating?

9. Claire was thought to be a stained woman. Explain how the village people treat her.

10. Which part of the story was humorous? Why?

11. Describe Gabe.

12. Why did he build a boat?

13. If you were Gabe, how would you react when Jonas revealed that Claire was your mother?

14. What was the role of the Trademaster in the ruins?

15. What do you think of the ending of the novel? How would you end the story?

Further Information

Title: Son

Author: Lois Lowry

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Dark Fantasy, Science Fiction

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers; Reissue edition (October 2, 2012)

Publication Date: October 2, 2012

Print length: 402 pages

ASIN: B008454X2Y

Quotes

A Book Review: Thinking Like A Boss: Uncover and Overcome the Lies Holding You Back from Success

Psychotherapist and confidence and mindset coach Kate Crocco exposes twelve lies that discourage women from reaching their dreams in Thinking Like A Boss: Uncover and Overcome the Lies Holding You Back from Success (February 18, 2020, Baker Books), her first book.

Crocco's own stories of struggles interlaced with advice and mental strategies drawn from her experience as an entrepreneur and as a coach to thousands of women through one-on-one, group, and mastermind programs. This book fulfills her mission to challenge women to break the barriers of self-limiting beliefs and to empower them to achieve greatness.

The twelve lies that hold back success:

1. I need to have it all together.

The journey to success is imperfect. Embrace it. As you go along the way, you learn from your mistakes and become better.

2. I'm not ready to start.

Waiting for the right time to start doing something only impedes progress. The right time is always now. “First be brave and then go and figure it out.”

3. I'm not qualified (I'm not smart enough, young enough, or old enough to succeed.)

Age doesn’t matter. Your willingness to try makes you qualified to do anything we want to do.

4. I will never have enough money.

The thought of having not enough money comes from having a scarcity mindset. Practicing gratitude is one of the ways to overcome this lie.

5. Making money is greedy.

Money is a tool that empowers you to do good in the world; it’s a tool to give back to society.

6. I need to say yes to every opportunity that comes my way.

It’s okay to set boundaries. Saying no to things that your gut feeling says not the right things for you to do is actually saving space for better things.

7. I can't possibly have a successful business and be a good mom.

Being a mother and an entrepreneur can be a roller coaster ride but it’s possible to balance these two roles. “You just get to show up, hands open, and ready to receive that beauty that is waiting for you.”

8. I need my friends and family's understanding in order to succeed.

External validation is unnecessary in self-growth and serving others through your business.

9. I don't have enough time.

Creativity with time creates time.

10. It's already been done before.

Your uniqueness brings something new to the table.

11. I am my business.

It's possible to have a fulfilling life and business that is firmly established on your identity, not on your product.

12. I am not capable of handling success.

You are capable of handling whatever you believe you are capable of handling. "Through all of this, remind yourself that you will figure it out when you get there. Instead of worrying about what will happen when you succeed, trust that you can handle it when you get there!"

Thoughts...Thoughts...Thoughts...

Thinking Like A Boss: Uncover and Overcome the Lies Holding You Back from Success is an inspiring book not only for women who want to create their own business but also for those who want to live their life to the fullest, reaching their utmost potential and inspiring the people around them.

This book makes me feel I can make my dreams come true, and I am capable of changing my life into something that I have been hoping to have-- a life of abundance, gratefulness, and joy. I find the specific mental strategies helpful in changing my perspective especially when doubts and self-limiting beliefs enter my mind. This book left an impact on me.

The part that I am not a fan of is the storytelling that is too long for me. But then, the stories of the author and the women she helped made them more relatable and nudged me more to look into my own life, compare it to theirs, and see which of the habitual thoughts and behavior I should change.

All throughout the book, Crocco speaks to the reader with passion and conviction. I will never forget the words such as “” You’ve got this!”, “If I can do it, I know that you can too.”, and “Love you, lady.” She often used the term ladies in addressing the reader or readers, which made me feel I was a part of this group of empowered women. It actually made me feel good.

I think this book is perfect for women who don't know how to start their own business or pursue their passion. The new venture can be daunting and negativity can be overpowering but there is always a way to get a grip on them. Having the proper mindset propels women forward and reading Thinking Like A Boss: Uncover and Overcome the Lies Holding You Back from Success is a good way to start in developing the right mental attitude, which actually takes time to develop but worth a try.

Discussion Questions

Does the book change the way you think?
Among the twelve lies, which ones hit you the most? Why?
Pick a quote that resonates with you.
What part of the book did you like and not like?
After finishing the book, what was your first reaction?
What are your dreams in life?
Do you see yourself as a successful person? Why or why not?
What are the things that stop you from starting a business or doing the thing you have been wanting to do?
What are the steps you are willing to take to get started?
How do you feel about getting started?
How do you visualize your future self?
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being the weakest and 5 being the strongest, how would you rate your belief that what you visualize about yourself is true?