Hey Friends!

I had great plans for all the blog posts I had hoped to share this month – and yet, here we are in September already! Life just isn’t slowing down for our little family. Each week my to-do lists seem to get even longer. Oh well. Life is busy and wonderful… and each day, week, and month I need to choose my priorities wisely. The blog just hasn’t been able to make it near the top lately – and that’s okay.

I only managed to finish two books in August – but I realized I missed sharing about an audiobook I listened to last month (in July). So, I will start out by sharing that one.

Let’s jump right in!

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August Reads: What I’m Reading Month by Month

Personal Success by Brian Tracy

I have read several of Brian Tracy’s books over the years. He is a self-help author who teaches a lot about motivation, goal setting, and discipline. This book is the first in his Personal Success Library series. Much shorter than his other books, I decided to listen to this one as an audiobook (borrowed from the Hoopla app). There were definitely some takeaways in here for me, but there was also a LOT of humanistic jargon and tips for people climbing the corporate ladder (which obviously doesn’t apply to me!). If you need some motivation to take responsibility for your life, your choices, and where you’re headed, then maybe this book would be helpful for you – but for me it just wasn’t as great as some of his others. I gave this book 2 stars on Goodreads.

P.S. Eat That Frog! is probably the most helpful book I have read from Brian Tracy – I mentioned it in one of my previous book posts from this year!

Say Goodbye to Survival Mode by Crystal Paine

This book has been around for quite some time, and it seemed like to perfect addition to my library! The first few chapters of this book felt somewhat repetitive – with information I have read elsewhere. Thankfully, as the book went along, I began to glean more from it. I especially enjoyed the chapters on managing your home, making time for things you enjoy, and kickstarting your personal success. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.

Daughter of the Reich by Louise Fein

I really, really wanted to love this book! My review on Goodreads is a lot more comprehensive, but here I will just say that even though the story was very well-written, I would not feel comfortable recommending this book to others.

Set during the 1930’s this is an impossible love story between a German girl and a Jewish young man. The author did a great job describing the moral decay of Germany and how the nation was so easily deceived by Hitler. She also drew some alarming parallels from Nazi Germany to modern day issues we are seeing/facing even now. The writing was very good, but the story is not written from a Christian perspective which gave it a very “hopeless” feeling… especially the ending. The love story also became much more intimate and descriptive than necessary, not to mention pockets of bad language sprinkled throughout the book.

All that to say, the story and the writing itself was very well done, but overall I could not recommend the book due to some of the inappropriate content. I didn’t do a good enough job screening this book before picking it up to read – so I will be sure to be more careful with the next novel I choose to read! I gave this book 2 stars on Goodreads.

Well, that’s all I managed to read in August – but before I go, I want to chat about a couple more things…

How to Avoid a “Bad” Book

I’m always disappointed when I pick up a book and it’s just not what I expected – that definitely happened to me this month! My mistake was simply not researching the book(s) ahead of time and just jumping in head-first.

Here are three simple things to consider doing before picking up a book:

• Ask – Is this author a Christian? If yes, then it’s usually safe assume that they are writing with a Christian worldview in mind. It may also be wise to try and find out what their theological background is as well.
• Check out the reviews online. (Goodreads and Amazon are two great places to check for reviews!) By reading reviews from other people, you can gather a lot of information about the book and the author’s beliefs – which will always impact their writing!
• Ask a trusted friend. Many of the books that I choose to read have been recommended to me by others – whether it’s a friend or a blogger I trust. If you know someone who reads a lot, ask them about a particular book before you jump right in!

How to Earn FREE Books with ThriftBooks

I’ve talked about ThriftBooks a LOT in the past – simply because I use (and love!) this website. ThriftBooks allows you to purchase new or gently used books at very reasonable prices… I have found many great books for $4-$6 a piece. Every $10 purchase comes with FREE SHIPPING as well.

ThriftBooks also has an excellent Reading Rewards Program which enables you to earn points with your purchases in exchange for Free books. It’s a very simple program, and thank to ThriftBooks I have earned several free books already!

For the past several week, ThriftBooks has had a deal going for first time ThriftBooks users and reward members. If you sign up, join their rewards program, and spend $30, we BOTH earn a FREE book credit!

I’ve had multiple friends and followers take advantage of this deal and it’s still going on! If you would like to participate and start earning FREE books sign up through this link right here!

Have fun book shopping!

Final Thoughts

While August may not have been my best reading month of the year, I’m already enjoying several really great books that I can’t wait to share with you next month! In the meantime, I would love to hear what you’ve read this past month – be sure to leave a comment and tell me below!

In case you missed them, here are the other posts in this series:

• January Reads
• February Reads
• March Reads
• April Reads
• May Reads
• June Reads
• July Reads