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Fabulous living

Book Review: Just Jessie and Rediscover Catholicism

Hi All! 

Happy Tuesday! It is finals week for me, thankfully my finals arenā€™t too strenuous, I am looking forward to easing my way out of the semester. With summer right around the corner, one of the things Iā€™m looking forward to is reading a lot. I have always loved to read but being in college doesnā€™t always give me the time to read for fun. Donā€™t get me wrong, I read a lot for my classes, for example, in one of my classes, I was reading a novel a week. I was definitely getting in my 30 minutes of reading a day. However, I didnā€™t have a lot of time to read for fun. I was able to complete two books for fun through the Spring semester.Ā  Although, I wish it was more I was happy to get in a little bit of fun reading.

Such a fun book

I first read Jessie James Deckerā€™s book,Ā Just Jessie.I have always been a fan of Jessie James Decker. I loved following her show on E, listening to her new albums, and following her sweet family on social media. In her book she opens up about growing up, dreaming of becoming a singer, her career in music, meeting her husband, starting a family, creating her fashion line, but above all being herself. It was such a fun and light read, especially when I needed a break from reading textbook material all day. I read a few chapters every night so it took me a few weeks to read it, but you could finish it in a few sittings. I love when artists, actors, or influential people, write books and open up about how they got to where they are today. I find it inspiring and it encourages me pursue my own dreams. If you are a fan of Jessie James Decker I would highly recommend reading her book. She also just released a new song, Roots and Wings, which is beautiful. You can listen to itĀ here.Ā 

Grade: A-

Another great read

I also read Matthew Kellyā€™s book, Rediscover Catholicismover Lent.  It was another eye-opening book that made me reevaluate my faith and my relationship with God. This is the third book I have read by Matthew Kelly, I have also read Perfectly Yourselfand The Greatest Lie in the History of Christianity. Although, I liked the other books more than this one, I enjoyed digging deeper into my faith. The books really breaks down the Catholic faith, from The Seven Pillars of Catholic Spirituality, living the authentic life, and how we should live our lives as Catholics. I read a little bit every night and I took me the whole duration of Lent to read it, it could definitely be read in a few sittings, but I wanted to reflect on what I was reading. After reading it, I wanted to challenge myself to make my faith more a priority and be more intentional with my relationship with God. I would strongly recommend this book to anyone struggling with their faith or looking to deepen their faith. 

Grade: B-

If you are looking for new books to read I hope this gave you some insights on different books to try. Now, with summer rapdily approaching, I need your help picking out some new books that I should read this summer. What are your current favorites?! I need all the suggestions. Leave them in the comments below! Have a fantastic week!

Categories
Fabulous living

Winter Break Book Review

Happy Tuesday. How is your week looking? Hectic? Calm? Too early to tell? The past few weeks have flown by for me, I think between getting into a new schedule for the semester and working the past few weekends the weeks have gone by much faster. 

Today, I am finally getting around to sharing my Winter Break Book Review, I know itā€™s way overdue, but better late than never right? During my month home I read two books. I wish I read more but time got away from me. I read ā€œMy Oxford Yearā€by Julie Whelan and ā€œThe Biggest Lie in the History of Christianityā€by Matthew Kelly. Both were very good books but very diverse in the subject matter and genre. Letā€™s dive into these tales.

My Oxford Year

ā€œMy Oxford Yearā€ tells the story of a young American student, Ella Duran who is studying in Oxford. She meets Jamie Davenport, a handsome date who turns out to be her lecturer. She has high dreams and aspirations and doesnā€™t want to be derailed by a romance abroad. There are many unexpected twists and turns, especially the ending. There were so many times when the book changed directions that I never would have expected. Overall, this book tells the story of hard work, pursing your dreams, making friends with people who never expected and putting your goals on hold for those you love. I had seen this book on many book reviews over the summer and I was so excited I could finally read it, I was not disappointed at all.

One thing that was different about my experience with this book is that I tried the audiobook of it instead of reading it. Iā€™ve heard many people make the transition from reading books to listening to them, and at this point, I hate to say I am not one of them. It was nice to listen to the book while I did other things such as clean, wash, or computer work, but I still like the feeling of reading for leisure. Now, I know people listen to the books while they drive and I havenā€™t tried that yet, so I plan on giving it another try soon but for now I think Iā€™m going to stick to the reading of books.Ā 

The Biggest Lie in the History of Christianity

The next book I read was ā€œThe Biggest Lie in the History of Christianityā€ by Matthew Kelly. Last summer I read ā€œPerfectly Yourselfā€by Matthew Kelly and I loved it so I couldnā€™t wait to read this on and it didnā€™t disappoint. Hereā€™s my book review with Perfectly Yourself.ā€œThe Biggest Lie in the History of Christianityā€ is all about living life to the fullest and doing things and making choices that truly make us happy. It also shows us what things we can do to make our lives happier and be more content and not be overwhelmed by so much noise. I found this book to be therapeutic and relaxing. I read a chapter or two a day and I loved the positive message that it spread. I loved it so much I went on to gift it to two other people. I read this book as opposed to listening to it and I preferred it much better, especially when I was reading it with a candle burning and a warm cup of hot coco, can you think of anything better?!

One of my favorite quotes from Matthew Kelly’s book

Thatā€™s a bit of a recap of two great books I read over break. Although, I am back to school and in classes, Iā€™m trying to carve some time every day to read, even if it is just a chapter. 

What are you guys currently reading? I love new suggestions? Also, do you guys prefer to listen to books or read them?

See you on Thursday for warm and toasty outfit for the winter months!