The Big White Farmhouse

#02. IN THE SCHOOL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT by Jacques Philippe || ★★★★☆

However great our efforts, we cannot change ourselves.  Only God can get to the bottom of our defects, and our limitations in the field of love; only he has sufficient mastery over our hearts for that.  If we realize that we will save ourselves a great deal of discouragement and fruitless struggle.  We do not have to become saints by our own power; we have to learn how to let God make us into saints. (p.14)

…what is really able to satisfy our hearts is not so much the gifts we receive as the good that God inspires and that we practice.  There is more happiness in giving than in receiving. (p.25)

I really liked this little book about noticing the inspirations of the Holy Spirit.  I underlined so many passages!  Definitely one I’d like to revisit again someday.

#03. 102 MINUTES: THE UNFORGETTABLE STORY OF THE FIGHT TO SURVIVE INSIDE THE TWIN TOWERS by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn || ★★★★★
102 Minutes was an eerie, haunting, and yet fascinating look at the time immediately after the Twin Towers were hit and before they collapsed.  As I read, I realized that my knowledge about this scary day was incomplete.  Yes, the members of the NYPD and NY Fire Department were helpful and brave, but so were the countless ordinary people working in those buildings.  They helped each other, supported each other and even died trying to save each other.  While intensely sad, I came away from this book inspired and so proud of the ordinary heroes of that day.  Definitely a five-star read for me – I will remember this book for a long time. 

#04. FELICITY CARROL AND THE MURDEROUS MENACE by Patricia Marcantonio || ★★☆☆☆
This was the second book of the Felicity Carrol series and unfortunately, I felt the same way that I did with the first one.  The main character is just too unbelievable to take seriously; she has no flaws and is perfect at everything.  I enjoy a strong female lead but the “I am woman, hear me roar!” of this book was a little heavy-handed.  Just an okay read for me.  (And thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.  Felicity Carrol and the Murderous Menace will officially be released on February 10, 2020.)

#06. WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS by Wilson Rawls  || ★★★★★

“Men,” said Mr. Kyle, “people have been trying to understand dogs ever since the beginning of time.  One never knows what they’ll do.  You can read every day where a dog saved the life of a drowning child, or lay down his life for his master.  Some people call this loyalty.  I don’t.  I may be wrong, but I call it love – the deepest kind of love.” (p.214)

I had my fifth-grader read Where the Red Fern Grows for school and he was so deeply touched by it.  Afterward, he wanted me to read it as well and…whew!  I first read this when I was in elementary school and I remember enjoying it, but this time was a completely different reading experience.  I couldn’t help thinking of my son and his special love for our dog, Lucy.  I’m so glad we both got to experience this book together.  (This was also my January choice for the Read Your Bookshelf Challenge as well as the 1961 pick for my 20th Century Reading Challenge.)

#07. YOU’RE NOT LISTENING: WHAT YOU’RE MISSING AND WHY IT MATTERS by Kate Murphy || ★★★★☆

The truth is, we only become secure in our convictions by allowing them to be challenged.  Confident people don’t get riled by opinions different from their own, nor do they spew bile online by way of refutation.  Secure people don’t decide others are irredeemably stupid or malicious without knowing who they are as individuals.  People are so much more than their labels and political positions. (p.83)

#08. IN THE DARK by Loreth Anne White || ★★★☆☆
This thriller was a nod to Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.  Definitely a page turner, but I felt like it lost some steam during the second half of the book.  Solid three stars.