Reading Challenge Book 10 – Let Us Prey

Let Us Prey

2022 GoodRead Challenge – Book 10 of 50

Let Us Prey – written by R. Glenn Ball and Darrell Puls. I highly recommend this book for Christians in general to read. Over the years the word Narcissist began to be thrown around so I got interested in the subject. I forget how I found this book but I started to read it a while ago and FINALLY finished it this past week. The author focuses on churches in Canada but the information can be applied to any demographic.

I have recommended this book to a few people even before I finished it. It’s unfortunate how often we are exposed to people with this disorder. It’s amazing how often we find these type of people in leadership roles within the church. In my studies I have found I have know a couple of people who fall into this disorder. One person who is in a leadership role is aware of their narcissistic traits and they try to keep it at bay as much as possible. The book actually talks about people who are aware and they have done things to keep it in check.

Towards the end of the books it talks about ways to deal with the after mass of someone who has destroyed a church or left it in shambles. I unfortunately have known to many people who have left ministry due to these type of personality. There are some who walked away from everything. Then there are some who are trying to work through the experience – unsure why it happened. I feel that the more we educate ourselves about these type of personality, we can help people handle the situation before it’s to late. What makes me crazy is how a lot of Christian will blame themselves when dealing with this personality disorder because they want to be a good Christian and there is no way a pastor could be this way, right?

I have listened to a podcast recently about a downfall of a church and the lead pastor is the definition of narcissistic. The thing is the pastor left the old church and started a new one in another state. It’s been going for five years. I have a hard time understanding why this person is allowed in leadership but I do know God can use anyone and can take a situation and make it good. I just hate knowing that a lot of people will blame themselves over things because that is how a narcissist works. If you have left a church due to the leadership – you may want to read this book, if you have been apart of a church where the lead pastor had everyone/everything under their thumb – you may want to read this book, if you want to know what to look for when it comes to Narcissistic behaviors – you may want to read this book, if you had a lead pastor leave and it was left with a lot of hurt/confusion – you may want to read this book, and if you know people who have these traits but it seems like they aren’t that bad – you may want to read this book.

Keep in mind the church is not the only place you find people with this disorder. It can be challenging navigating and figuring out if you are dealing with someone who is all about themselves. Is it possible to be all about one self with out these traits/disorder? Recently I have seen articles about a famous male from a TLC show that people keep saying he is a narcissist but I found a licensed therapist explain why that is not the case. Just because we think someone may struggle with this disorder we should take the time to truly understand it.

Reading Challenge Book 9 – A Woman of No Importance

A Woman of No Importance

2022 GoodRead Challenge – Book 9 of 50

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II – written by Sonia Purnell. I do not normally read books like this one. I was watching a YouTube channel and the woman shares in one of her post the books she read in the month she posted the vlog. This was on her list and I thought it was an interesting topic. As I already stated I don’t typically read books like this one but I like to try to be open to new books. Honestly if it wasn’t for the post I would of never heard of this book. I listened to this book on audio and it was a good listen. I sometime have a hard time listening to non-fiction on audio but I kept the speed to normal for most of the book. I think when I was almost done I decided to try it at a higher speed.

If you are a history buff and you like to learn about the variety of people who played a part in the war I would recommend this book. I personally wanted to be a mom and once upon a time wanted to be a stay at home mom. Then I liked working after having my first child so I no longer wanted to be one. Now I wouldn’t change anything because I love being home with my kids. I say all that because not everyone has that type of dream and it was nice to read about a woman who felt a certain way. Virginia Hall did not let the pressure of the times and her family keep her from doing what she felt was best. She did not let things get in her way and she was good at what she did. I don’t want to give away any key stories in the book but she was a strong and smart woman. She had a lot of favor on her side when it came to certain situations.

I personally don’t know a whole lot when it comes to WWII and I’m currently listening to another book called Operation Paperclip. This event was mention at the end of the book I just read but I already had it on my list to read. It’s important on some level to be educated about the past wars mostly so we don’t repeat history. A lot of people played a lot of roles in the war and it was nice to see someone who was so determine to make a difference they did not let anyone or anything get in their way. She is inspiring because even when a major setback happened in her own life before she left to help in the war. She did not let it keep her from moving ahead. If you like to listen to audio books – I recommend to listen to the book.

Reading Challenge Book 2 – Explosive Eighteen

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11746513-explosive-eighteen

2022 GoodRead Challenge – Book 2 of 50

Explosive Eighteen written by Janet Evanovich – this book is number 18 in the Stephanie Plum Series. As I write this I believe there are 28 books written in this series and I am not sure when the author plans to stop writing for this series. The latest book was released in Nov. 2021. Ms. Evanovich also has four books that are considered novella’s that are sandwich in-between a few books. You can get away without reading these books and not really miss a lot of information but I managed to read them in the order she has them on her website.

I am going to be honest the only reason why I have heard of this series was due to a random challenge I gave myself back in 2020. I had to read a book with the number 20 in the title. I had every intention to read another book but never got around to it. I went on Libby and searched the word twenty. I found the twentieth book in the series and I decided to listen to it so I could finish the challenge. I was not a fan at first – I believe the author does a good job of writing the books in a way that you could randomly read one. The thing is I wasn’t really a fan of the characters and I was really confused by some of the random things that happened. I plan on re-listening to the book so I’ll share more in that post.

Clearly how I felt has changed since I am now on book eighteen and plan to continue the series until she is done writing them. I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone who isn’t comfortable with reading books about sexual encounters and language. They are PG-13 but I know this could make certain people uncomfortable. I have found the more you read the easier it is to enjoy the characters and continue on to the next books. My favorite character is Stephanie’s grandmother – she is pretty entertaining. She is a minor character but she is always in the story in some way.

I won’t give anything away from the stories but you can learn this general information on GoodRead – the book starts off with a little mystery of what happen in Hawaii. I will say because I have gotten used to the author and have been following these characters I hit it on the head of what happen before it was revealed in the story. When my husband and I start to watch a show I often spent a lot of time trying to figure out the writers style and how they will handle certain stories lines. I realized after watching a handful of shows over and over again that I often can tell when a show changes writers. Usually I am not a fan of the change and often the show is “ruined” in some way. There are certain shows that I have stopped watching after a certain season and then I later find out that was when they had a writer change.

I may try another series that Ms. Evanovich as written at some point but I’m going to stick with this one until I’m done. I have a lot of other books I am currently reading. This series is a fun listen and I can usually finish a book in a few hours but I usually try to limit my listening until I am in the car. This keeps me from blowing through in no time.

Have you read this series?
What was your first thoughts?
What other series would you recommend?

Reading Challenge Book 1 – The Goblet of Fire

Photo by Quang Nguyen Vinh on Pexels.com

2022 GoodRead Challenge – Book 1 of 50

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling – this would be my second time listening to the book on audio but my third time “reading” this story. I physically read the book the first time but listened to the book back in 2018/2019 and again in 2021/2022. It’s amazing how much I have forgotten as I listened to this book once again. The small details and side stories that I didn’t remember and how it really adds to a deeper appreciation. I would not call myself a super fan but I do enjoy this series. The details that she has in all the books and how she links them together shows how much she really knew this world she has created. I’m pretty sure most people who read a book series and have fallen in love with the characters, storylines, and details wish they could created such a world.

I would like to write a few books one day but mostly non-fiction. I do have an idea for a fiction story that I started to work on years ago but lost all my work due to a computer crash. This was before I had a million ways of backing it up. I remember a lot of the details I had figured out but there were a few things I could not remember and I haven’t taken the time to refigure it out. I do find myself thinking about this story again and coming up with new ideas. I really should start to write them down so if I do ever get to a point of writing this book I won’t have to worry about forgetting anything. I know there are a handful of things before I could even consider writing a book. I also know there are a few things I want to add to the book due to who I am basing the characters on that I have very little inside information. This would take a good amount of time which is another reason why I haven’t started. I remember when I was in high school we had to write a first chapter of a book and I based it on mid-evil times but I do not know how to write in the language so it would be very hard to pursue the story line I have had in my head for almost 20 years. Then again I don’t keep up with a lot of mid-evil stories lines that are written now or shows based off those times. I wouldn’t be surprise if my idea wasn’t already out there.

What would you write about?
What would need to happen in your life for you to take the steps to writing a story?
What’s your favorite thing about the wonderful world of Harry Potter?