January 2023 Reads

Technically, I finished the first one at the very end of 2022… but it was after Christmas, so it feels close enough to 2023 to me. 😉

This was such a beautiful, atmospheric story. The writing made it feel like a fairytale, that gossamer dreamscape of not-quite real, like the story is whispered on a winter night as the waves lull you to sleep. The characters all had such beautiful, intricate backstories, and with so many different pieces moving, I was always half-questioning what was real and what was a story within the story. 

My one issue with that is that the book is pretty slow moving, so even though I would be engaged while reading it, I could easily put the book down and not come back for a couple of days. I wanted to know how everything came together, but there wasn't an urgency of need to know. Also, since we were engaging with so many different stories at once, I was unsure how—if at all—all of those pieces would come together.

But those concerns were assuaged by the end. And once the author did tie everything together, I realized that every piece had always mattered, every story held some truth, and all of it was meant to come together beautifully.

4 stars out of 5

 

I’ve been following the Contes since Jess first moved to America, and I love their channel. So obviously, when Gabe came out with a book, it was going right on the list. 😉

However, I do think this one is more autobiography/memoir than self-help book. So for fans (like me), it’s quite fascinating to get all these behind the scenes snippets about Gabe and his family, to learn some backstory about events that have only been hinted at in vlogs, and just to hear straight from him about how he’s built up some of the incredible things he’s doing today. On the self-help side, there are certainly some useful tips, but in my opinion, they weren’t revolutionary. (although it is possible that his unique perspective and writing style could make this classic advice come alive for you. So if it sounds interesting, definitely don't let my review get in the way) 😊

I will note that he does discuss some pretty heavy topics regarding relationships and such, especially when talking about his parents’ journeys to finding each other. So just a little precaution there. 😉

4 stars out of 5

 

I’ve been skipping around this one, focusing on topics and questions that interest me, but it’s definitely a different view of Heaven! It’s hard to say how much of it is certain, of course, but a lot of what he says makes a strange kind of sense, and I think it is a beautiful way to expand the traditional view. For me, Heaven’s always felt a little vague and hard to anticipate. Like, I know it’ll be great because Jesus Himself is preparing a place for His people!!!! But beyond that, it’s difficult to envision. Reading (or more accurately, listening to) this perspective helped give me a little more to look forward to and to shift my daily view to long more for the eternal than I do for the momentary.

Not yet finished, but definitely shaping up to at least 4 stars

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so seen reading a book and I am enjoying the heck out of this one! It’s so relatable and honest because Rachel doesn’t pretend to have all this together. She’s a friend who’s right there, hand-in-hand in the struggle with you, constantly encouraging and letting you know you’re not the only one who feels this way. At the same time, her perspective stays focused, not caught up in the drudge of right now, but pointing ahead to the Way so we can both keep moving forward.

Not yet finished, but shaping up to be 5 stars out of 5

 

And that’s my latest reading/currently reading list! Have you ever read any of these? What have you been reading lately? Can’t wait to hear from you, and I’ll see you in the comment section!