lighthousebooks's reviews
553 reviews

We Shall All Be Changed: How Facing Death with Loved Ones Transforms Us by Whitney K. Pipkin

5.0

𝙒𝙚 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝘽𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 is one of those books that everyone needs to read. It’s not only for someone walking through the valley of the shadow of death with a loved one. This book is for everyone who has breath for the reality is that it eventually ends until the day that death is finally conquered. If you are not experiencing the pain of losing a loved one, this book is helpful for understanding what others go through to learn how to compassionately minister to them 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚. Whitney Pipkin was very vulnerable and open and I think it benefits us all. Two years ago I visited a friend frequently, first at the hospital, then in hospice care. I learned so much from this experience and still miss my friend so much. She was a believer and she is with Jesus, but 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝. We should all want to live. No matter our age and stage. We may enter into that time when we recognize that the end is near, but it is natural to fight it and it is natural to want to live even though we know as believers that Jesus is who we will be with in the end. Too often this platitude of everything is good because your loved one will be or is with Jesus is offered up as a means to mask the pain of death. Grief is real, the need to lament is real, for those who are left behind. Thank you Whitney for this book. 

“Something deep inside us longs for more than this world offers. Yet our bodies and minds intuitively fight death, the mode of deliverance from this life to the next.”

“For the Christian, death is a paradox. It is a great enemy of all the life we currently know. And it is sweet deliverance from all that is hard in this life into the very presence of God.”

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

5.0

✨So beautifully imagined, yet tragic.✨ 

I loved how the author, Emily St. John Mandel, connected the characters, Shakespeare, and a science fiction comic book in 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑬𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏. Such a thought-provoking read! This is a story about the things we take for granted. About art and community. About regrets. All wrapped up in a pre- and post-apocalyptic setting.

The central theme of regret is so tragically illustrated. It calls to mind 2 Corinthians 7:10: “For godly grief produces repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒇 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉” (emphasis mine). Man, that ending; even though you know it all along the fullness of it hits you hard 😭

There is so much more that could be discussed, especially in terms of worldview. It would make a great book club read. 

❓Have you read this one? What did you think?

⚠️ Occasional strong foul and profane language, many examples of the brokenness in the world, not particularly graphic.

✝️ Explores the dangers of extremism through the depiction of a fanatical “Christian” cult with questionable theology. 

🎟️ Older YA and up. A great one to read and discuss with older teens.

🎡 Themes/discussion topics: the arts, community; faith, hope, love; fanaticism; fatalism, predeterminism, free will; humanism, modern miracles (technology), order v. chaos, regret v. repentance, relationships, resilience, spirituality v. Christian belief

The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible by Michael S. Heiser
Did not finish book. Stopped at 23%.

I’m a mood reader, so maybe I’m just not in the mood for this; however, I also have the mindset that the Bible says what it says and while it’s not wrong to speculate about what obscure passages may mean, I’m wary if it gets too out there. We are not meant to know everything and sometimes our desire for that can be our downfall. I do appreciate some of the insights put forth in this book, but others are very speculative. 

Maybe I’ll pick it up again some other time.

Are These The Last Days? by R.C. Sproul

4.0

Partial-preterist view.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

“That was the nature of history, of course: notional, partial, unknowable, a record made by the victors.”

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝑮𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒏 kept me interested because of the history, mystery, and writing quality, but the pace was slow, and some aspects were creepy and sad. Overall my feelings about the story are mixed. My Goodreads friends really liked or loved this one. I’m an outlier at 3⭐️.

If you like generational stories, historical fiction, mysteries, and nods to Dickens, Burnett (The Secret Garden), and fairy tales, then you may like this book. 

📝 Death and grief, one scene graphic; themes of motherhood, miscarriage, implied abortion, obsessive behavior, mild sexual content. 

A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science by Barbara Oakley
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.

There are some great tips in 𝐀 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 for learning any subject. Some ideas helped me think about how to redirect my student if they are stuck. And I enjoyed the personal stories at the end of each chapter, mostly about people who work in math or science careers. So inspiring!

However, the book isn’t truly specific to math and science and that was disappointing to me. It’s really more about how cognition works and how to leverage that to succeed, which applies to any subject.

It might make a great study skills book for high school and beyond, and I’d definitely recommend it for that. Heads up: There is one short section about meditation. 

I ended up skimming most of it, so this doesn’t really count as read for me. 

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

3.0

𝐀𝐥𝐚𝐬, 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐥𝐨𝐧 is a classic apocalyptic novel written during the Cold War that imagines a nuclear holocaust. It tells the story of one small Florida town that miraculously survives. 

💭 This novel starts slow, setting the stage for a sudden, harrowing experience about 100 pages in. The transition was gripping and scary even though it lacked depth. The dialogue is not the greatest. The characters are meh. Yet the plot was compelling. One thing the book does well is portray the sense of community that develops after The Day. The things that divide people no longer matter. 

💬 “If Man retained faith in God, he might also retain faith in Man. He remembered words which for four months he had not heard, read, or uttered, the most beautiful words in the language—faith and hope. He had missed these words as he had missed other things.”

📝 infrequent cursing and profanity; racism and sexism (typical of time period); allusions to sexual relationship outside marriage; violent and disturbing; some graphic injuries; frequent consumption of alcohol

Anthem by Ayn Rand

This was a fascinating read. I enjoyed the exploration of the effects of totalitarianism, but disagreed with the solution: worship of self.

Redeeming Mathematics: A God-Centered Approach by Vern S. Poythress

informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

My high school math teacher unabashedly proclaimed math points to God. He wouldn’t be able to say that today without consequences. While the truth is readily apparent to all, more and more it is suppressed (Romans 1:19-23). Therefore, instead of being in awe of the Creator, the creature, the discipline of math being one, is worshipped. This is a temptation for everyone. 

Vern S. Poythress sets out to redeem math from this error by rightly placing it as subordinate to God.

𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘔𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 is written for a Christian audience. It is helpful for anyone who would like to understand the relationship between math and faith, but perhaps especially for those who are preparing to work in this discipline. 

Dr. Poythress demonstrates how even the most basic math equations glorify God. 

You know those “boring” parts of the Bible where God provides detailed instructions for building the tabernacle and the temple? This book will help you develop a greater appreciation for those passages. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐥𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥. 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐝’𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟.

The text does come across as repetitive at times due to using two plus two equals four as a frequent example, but I’m not sure it could have been done differently. I also would have liked a deeper discussion of some topics. 

After reading this book, I am now interested in checking out others in Dr. Poythress’ 𝘙𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 series. I think they will be really helpful for post-secondary education. 

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
Did not finish book.

Initially I was intrigued and enjoying the bookish vibes and the clean writing, but the characters are not likeable and the child abuse and infertility storyline is heavy. Fern reminds me of the character of Molly in The Maid by Nita Prose. Decided it was not for me. DNF 33%.