Book Recommendations 1.0

Wow! It's been awhile since I've posted! Well, I was recently inspired to do a list of book recommendations by Marklessgirl (you can find her list on her blog here: http://thelibraryinmyroom.blogspot.com/ )  So, here are my book recommendations:

1. Anne of Green Gables: This is an eight book series, but the first ones is the absolute best!  It is actually my favorite book (besides the Bible) of all time! I love it! It will make you laugh, and most likely make you cry! It's a beautiful book about a redheaded orphan, and her new home at Green Gables!

2. Little Women: My second favorite work of fiction is by Louisa May Alcott. It's about four sisters during the Civil War.  Their father is away at war, and they live at home with their mother.  They meet their neighbor the Laurence Boy and have all sorts of adventures.  It really is a wonderful book, and there are two more in the series after it, but their not nearly as good.

3. The Bambi Books by Felix Salten: If you love animals, and hate animal cruelty, then these are the books for you! Though now classified as childrens books, they weren't originally written just for children.  The writing style is unique, unlike any I've read.  But they are really beautiful books.

4. The Little House Series: So, you've most likely watched the show, Little House on the Prairie, but have you read the books?  The books are way better, they messed a lot of things up in the show. Even though the writing style is really simple, I find myself still re-reading these books to this day! They wonderful and if you are a fan of illustrations in books, then you will get your fill of them in these!

5. The Hobbit: You've most likely heard of this book before.  Maybe you've watched the movies...maybe you just thought the book sounded boring...let me tell you: pick this book up now! It's amazing! The common opinion is that it's a children's book, but in reality, J.R.R. Tolkien was frustrated when people kept classifying it as a kids book.

6. The Lord of the Rings: Could you guess this was going to be next on the list? This book is truly epic! There is great adventure in it and I've read it almost 4 times! It never gets boring! It's quite a challenge, but a great accomplishment if you finish it!

7. The Chronicles of Narnia: A children's series, but timeless classics! This is one of my all-time favorite series and they are beautiful! My particular favorite is 'The Silver Chair', but there are lots of other favorites of mine! I adore this book and have adored them since I was 9 or 10 years old.

8. Wonder: The popular children's book by R.J. Palacio is one of my favorites! I read this in less then 24 hours, which is really fast for me! It's great! It's a book about a kid with a major face deformity who goes through bullying and losing friends.  Truly inspiring read and I highly recommend it!

9. Annie, Between the States by L.M. Elliott: This book is set in the Civil War Era. It's a great piece of historical fiction and I love it! In fact, I really want to reread it soon!

10. The Swipe Series by Evan Angler: This is a Christian dystopian, and it's fantastic! I won't go into to many details, but I'll just say that it's quite amazing! I personally didn't care for the last book in the series (I think there are supposed to be more, actually), but you may.  The first 3 books are really great though, and if you like lots of action and dystopian fiction, then I highly recommend this series!

So, those are my book recommendations! Maybe, in the future, I'll do another one!

'You're Loved No Matter What' by Holly Gerth - Book Review

You're Loved No Matter What: Freeing Your Heart from the Need to Be Perfect by Holley Gerth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is my first time reviewing a non-fiction book, so I hope I know what I'm doing.


'You're Loved No Matter What' is a book about freeing yourself from the need to be perfect.  I don't struggle with trying to be perfect that much, only a little.  So, perhaps this  just wasn't the book for me to read at the moment.  I did enjoy most of the book, and Holly offers great words of wisdom in here as she reveals the struggle that she has had with perfection in the past and ways you can overcome it.

What is perfection, exactly?  Well, Holly gives some examples in this book.  For one perfection might be trying to keep the cleanest house, and for another it might be trying to be the prefect employee.  These are just two examples, but there are many more.

Holly offers advice for beating perfection in this book.  She explains that we are a work in progress and that the only time we will be truly perfect is when we reach Heaven.  We shouldn't worry about being perfect.  That doesn't mean we shouldn't try hard and work to the best of our abilities, but we should get rid of the need to be perfect.  Perfectionism offers a lot of stress, and you know what?  You are never to be completely perfect, so when you are trying to be, you're just adding  lot of stress to your life for no reason.

She also points out that we shouldn't try to make others perfect, because that's not our job.

I did really like this book, and it offered some great advice, and it also reminded that I'm beautiful in God's eyes.  So, stop trying to be perfect and just be who God made you to be!

Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through their blogger review program, in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own and I was not asked to write a positive review.