Meredith's Recommended Books: June » Living Life with Meredith

I don’t know about you but I always read way more during the summer. I think it’s spending time at the pool or the beach that does it. It’s dedicated time to sit, read, and fully immerse yourself in a book. When I’m at the beach, I can read a book a day. I’m not kidding. I once read a 400 page book in one day. It was a really good book! (It was Panic by Lauren Oliver; a great YA novel.) Whenever we go on vacation, I bring one book per day just so I’m prepared. And I’m not a Kindle person. I prefer actual physical books. I want to hold it in my hands and turn the pages so you can imagine that my suitcase gets pretty heavy. Oh well. Thankfully we don’t fly when we go to the beach so I don’t have to worry about that!

June featured quite a few pool days which means I read quite a few books. 4 to be exact. I’m sharing 2 of them here with you, a non-fiction and fiction. Let’s dive in!

Onto the books from June!

Photo showing the covers of both of the June Recommended Books

June Recommended Book #1:

It’s Not Supposed To Be This Way by Lysa TerKeurst

New York Times bestselling author Lysa TerKeurst unveils her heart amid shattering circumstances and shows readers how to live assured when life doesn’t turn out like they expected.

What do you do when God’s timing seems questionable, His lack of intervention hurtful, and His promises doubtful?

Life often looks so very different than we hoped or expected. Some events may simply catch us off guard for a moment, but others shatter us completely. We feel disappointed and disillusioned, and we quietly start to wonder about the reality of God’s goodness.

Lysa TerKeurst understands this deeply. But she’s also discovered that our disappointments can be the divine appointments our souls need to radically encounter God. In It’s Not Supposed to Be This Way, Lysa invites us into her own journey of faith and, with grit, vulnerability, and honest humor, helps us to:

Stop being pulled into the anxiety of disappointment by discovering how to better process unmet expectations and other painful situations.
Train ourselves to recognize the three strategies of the enemy so we can stand strong and persevere through unsettling relationships and uncertain outcomes.
Discover the secret of being steadfast and not panicking when God actually does give us more than we can handle.
Shift our suspicion that God is cruel or unfair to the biblical assurance that God is protecting and preparing us.
Know how to encourage a friend and help her navigate hard realities with real help from God’s truth.

My Thoughts:

I know that a lot of people are going through a really hard time right now with all of the world’s current events and I think this book would be really good to read. I really liked this book; there’s value in it when you’re going through something (and even when you’re not) & there is wisdom to take away from it. I learned valuable lessons from this book that I can carry with me every day to help me get through life, dealing with exceptionally hard times and even when I’m not.

Lysa explains different parts of the Bible & breaks down various scriptures to help you walk through major struggles & disappointments. To me, it wasn’t fluffy. There are verses to look back on & wisdom and advice to guide you through it. She also lets you know that you’re not alone & walks you through some of her struggles too. There’s a section at the end of each chapter that gives a brief recap of the takeaways from the chapter plus the verses that she refers to. There’s also a prayer and a set of questions to help you reflect & process.

If you’re serious about going through this book & are struggling with disappointments + your faith, I would recommend going through the book slowly & journaling & answering each of the questions at the end of each chapter. If you’re looking for a book that can help guide you during a hard time that’s rooted in faith & scripture and explanations of stories from the Bible, It’s Not Supposed To Be This Way is the one for you.

June Recommended Book #2:

Fair Game by Rochelle Majer Krich*

The fiction book from June Recommended Books

“No cause for alarm,” says Detective Jessie Drake on the evening news. “Be alert and wary of unfamiliar faces, lock your doors. We have several leads…”

But as the newly appointed departmental spokesperson, Jessie knows full well that there are no leads. At least no sane leads. Just insane clues, left by a serial killer who is as playfully clever as he is cunningly dangerous.

Five victims have been murdered thus far. Five different neighborhoods. The only link between them is the cause of death: each died by a lethal injection of curare. The police are stymied. Not since Spider Woman has anybody used curare, blow dart poison, as a murder weapon of choice.

As the odd and mystifyingly obscure clues mount, something begins to click in Jessie’s mind. Why do some of the bodies have bank deposit slips and money attached to them while one bears a parking ticket, of all things? Jessie can’t quite put her finger on the connection. It’s something from her childhood, something so familiar….Suddenly, Jessie figures it out and she is stunned by the killer’s twisted brilliance: the game he is playing is all too real. The gameboard is the city of Los Angeles and the winner claims his prize in blood.

Jessie’s personal life is equally charged with chaos. First, the case thrusts er into emotionally painful contact with her ex-husband, a prominent crime journalist. Next, her sister and nephew arrive unexpectedly, and Jessie wonders whether they will be permanent houseguests. Their troubled behavior triggers more memories, and as Jessie recalls her own traumatic past and comes closer and closer to putting the pieces together, she can’t help feeling more triumphant and more terrified.

When Jessie takes over as LAPD media spokesperson, the murderer abruptly changes the rules. Suddenly the dice are loaded, the cards are wild, and the goal is Jessie’s life…or death.

My Thoughts:

This book was recommended to me by my uncle. He thought I’d like it & he wasn’t wrong. It’s a murder mystery but not scary in any way. Without a doubt, it’s a page turner. I read this in roughly 3 sittings—granted, I spent quite a few hours poolside which allows me to read a ton, but even when I came inside, I still wanted to keep reading! Every time I would read it, I didn’t want to put it down. I would say “I’ll just finish this chapter.” Then I’d immediately start reading the next chapter without thinking about it and then say to myself “Well, I might as well finish this chapter.” It’s one of those books!

Fair Game was published in 1993 so it’s not updated with the latest technology which kinda made it fun for me to read & to “see” how they would solve crimes without updated technology. I highly recommend this book if you’re into murder mysteries or just mysteries in general. It’s not a psychological thriller so it won’t throw you for a loop & leave you mindblown. If you’re not into “lighter” books for a pool/beach read, I would suggest this one. Fair Game has the perfect balance between mystery and making you want to keep reading without putting you through the ringer and needing a break from reading after finishing it. It’s a really good story to follow & I definitely suggest reading this one!

*I couldn’t find this book on Amazon but I did find it on ThriftBooks which is a great site where you can get books for next to nothing! My sister and I have been getting books from here and we’ve always been happy. I also discovered that this book is #1 in the Jessie Drake Mystery Series so I’m definitely going to look into finding the rest of the series.*

That’s all for this month! I hope y’all enjoyed reading my thoughts on this month’s books & that you read them if you haven’t already!

Tell me below: have you read either of these books? What were your thoughts?

Love,