The blog is taking a vacation for two weeks, this Monday and next! Look for postings to continue (including possibly my first 5 star review!) on Monday, September 10th!
Author: RebekahElizabeth
Tyndale Book Haul!
Tyndale Publishers recently had a $5 sale on a large selection of titles and I couldn’t resist the opportunity to get a bundle for a bargain! After waiting around (impatiently) for about a week or two, six lovely paperbacks arrived, and I thought I would let you in on what I purchased in case anything looks interesting to you!
A Few Fiction Flops
I told you all a while back that I meant to make an effort to read new genres, hoping to appeal to a variety of reading tastes. The line-up of historical fiction reviews lately attests to the lack of success I’ve had so far! Here are two books I’ve tried recently and just couldn’t finish.
First off–the book I was so certain I would love–The Man He Never Was by James L. Rubart. Promising an interesting plot (a man wakes up with no memory of where he’s been for months and discovers he’s a new person, free of the anger he used to struggle with) in a more uncommon genre (speculative Christian fiction), I was all set to gobble this story up. Disappointingly, several contradictions of the book either frustrated or offended me. A Christian character pours out prayers and then only four pages later seemingly takes God’s name in vain. Rubart’s earlier book Rooms (which I enjoyed) had some very allegorical/ spiritual elements, but this story went so far with them that it felt mystic and new age. Here’s an excerpt that should make clear what I mean: Continue reading “A Few Fiction Flops”
Full Review, While We’re Far Apart
“Don’t do it Eddie. Please,” Grandma begged. “Think of your children. Go down there tomorrow and tell the army you changed your mind.”
“I can’t. It’s too late.” He spoke so softly that Esther thought she might have imagined it. For sure Grandma hadn’t heard him. But then he cleared his throat and said in a louder voice, “I already resigned from my job. I leave for basic training in two weeks.”
His words gave Esther the same empty, floating feeling she’d had after Mama died, as if she were a fluff of dandelion, no longer tethered to the earth. What was going to happen to her?
While We’re Far Apart
By Lynn Austin
Bethany House Publishers, ©2010 Continue reading “Full Review, While We’re Far Apart”
A Handful of Children’s Picture Books
I have a slightly different (and more colorful!) review post for you today! I thought I’d take a rabbit trail into children’s picture books and see if I could find any with good Christian messages you could add to your collection or check out from the library. Being an Auntie myself, I’m always bringing a few hardcovers home to read to my nieces and nephews, but it’s difficult sometimes to find any with Biblical messages. Here are a some brief thoughts on what I’ve come across lately!
Turn Back the Page Thursdays (Are Retiring)
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once said “There is nothing permanent except change.”
I disagree with him on one point, since there is someone we can always count on to be invariable– as Hebrews 13:8 puts it, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
I’m a little more inconsistent, however, and as I’ve been slowly building this blog I’ve also been learning a little bit about what works (and doesn’t) for me. As a result, I’ve decided to retire Turn Back the Page Thursdays. Hopefully that isn’t too disappointing, but I’ve found that scouring the internet for photos that are old, interesting, and also not protected by copyright is a lot more time intensive than I thought it would be. It doesn’t really build the blog long term in any way, and I’m starting to feel as if it doesn’t fit very well with the overall theme of book reviews.
Moving forward, I’ll be able to spend this freed-up time reading, acquiring, and photographing more books and writing reviews as well as other book-related posts, so please look forward to continued Monday content!
P.S. Don’t forget to enter the book giveaway going on this week if you haven’t already! 🙂 Details in previous post.
Giveaway! 7/23/18
From what I’ve seen as I’ve explored the internet, you’re not a true book blog till you host a giveaway! You’ve probably figured out by now that I really like Christian fiction—what you don’t know is that I also love snail mail and packages. I’m hoping you’re following along because you’re a tiny bit like me, and will enjoy the chance to get a little bundle of reading bliss in your mailbox. For legal reasons and also due to shipping costs, I’m not opening this to followers with mailing addresses outside the United States—and if that eliminates you, I’m truly sorry. 😦 That said, on to the rules:
Official Rules!
*First off, no purchase necessary to enter.
*Must be 18 years old and a resident of the U.S. to enter. Void where prohibited.
*Giveaway will be open from now until closing on Sunday night, July 29th 2018
*Prize is a copy of the book Counted with the Stars by Connilyn Cossette as well as a red velvet bookmark hand-made by me! I purchased the book online as a new copy, although I do want to note it came with a small defect (ink mark on bottom edge).
*The number of eligible entries determines the odds of winning.
*Entry is free; all you need to do is leave a comment on this post. Please tell me what you would like to see more of on the blog in the future! Only one entry/comment per eligible entrant, please.
*Within a day of closing (by Monday night) I will use random.org, a random number generator, to select the winning comment (for example, if the number generated is “2” the second eligible comment will be the winner.)
I will then email the winner notifying them of their win. They will have one week to email me back with the U.S. address they would like their prize to be shipped to. I will mail it to them free of charge! However, if they do not respond within a week, they forfeit their prize. In that case, I will choose another winner using the same method.
* By entering you agree to the rules and release apageoutofherbook.com and myself personally from any liability.
There, now all the fancy-schmancy lingo and laws are out of the way. I’m going to be checking in often to see who’s entered and what suggestions you have. Thank you so much to those of you who’ve stuck with me as I’ve gotten this site going, and welcome to anyone who’s just discovering me through the giveaway!
Turn Back the Page Thursday, 7/19/18
“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” ~2 Peter 3:8-9
Full Review, Counted With the Stars
Counted With the Stars
Connilyn Cossette
Bethany House Publishers, ©2016
Had Yahweh been calling to me? Without words? Had he guided my steps to be among his people? To be set free from bondage and to follow him into the wilderness for some purpose I did not yet understand? Perhaps even the dream that had plagued me after the Nile turned red, when the gods themselves bled, was a message that Yahweh would destroy their power.
My heart contracted as I imagined the possibilities. Did Yahweh, the Almighty Creator, hear me? An Egyptian slave? Even though I had refused to surrender to him?
I dipped my toes back into the cool, rich waters of the Nile with another foray into the world of ancient Egypt! The biblical tale of Moses and the Exodus is lush with meaning to be gleaned about our Redeemer, so it’s not surprising to me that it has inspired more than one novel. Counted With the Stars is written from a fresh perspective; the protagonist is an Egyptian (rather than a Hebrew) fearful for herself and her people as the plagues unfold.
Kiya, the main character, grew up with riches but was sold into slavery when her family becomes unexpectedly destitute. She forms a close friendship with a fellow Hebrew slave, who tells her the stories of their people and Yahweh’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants (see Genesis 15.) Eventually Kiya flees Egypt with the Hebrews and must decide if she will surrender her life to the same God who decimated her homeland.
There were some issues; in my mind there was a strong disconnect between the first and second halves of the book. Excellent characters, who had been built up and fleshed out, disappear without a satisfying ending when Kiya leaves Egypt . New characters (particularly a villain) pop up out of nowhere and seem cliché by comparison. I also thought the romantic arc between Kiya and her Hebrew love interest was unrealistic and their dialog too contemporary. “Eben” spends most of the book glaring at Kiya and treating her with contempt and for some reason she continues to find him all the more appealing. Eben’s behavior is explained to be due to his father being murdered by Egyptians, but I still don’t understand Kiya’s attraction.
Cossette does an excellent job expounding on the plagues and miracles of God; I especially found her interpretation of the parting of the Red Sea interesting. She imagines the strong east wind God sends to divide the waters (Exodus 14:21) to be very cold, and it freezes the waters on each side of the dry ground into the walls on their right and left. One of my favorite things about Biblical fiction is how it has me constantly reaching for my Bible to reread passages; to me, Exodus 15:8, which speaks of the water being “gathered together…the depths congealed” doesn’t suggest icy walls, but I don’t think it is firmly exclusive of it. Cossette makes it very clear the parting is a miracle of God and not simply a natural phenomenon!
All in all, I think Counted With the Stars earned itself a solid 3/5 rating. Parting thought—are you tired of Biblical Christian fiction? Are there any genres you are really interested in seeing me review? I recently purchased a mystery, which is supposed to be like a Christian version of Agatha Christie. I also may be getting started on some speculative works. What do you want to see most? Suspense, legal, mystery, apocalyptic? Something else?
Appreciatively, Rebekah
Turn Back the Page Thursday, 7/12/18
“Life is like an ice-cream cone, you have to lick it one day at a time.” ~Charles M. Schulz
a page out of her book 