Book Review: Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks

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BOOK review

Started on: 19 November 2024
Finished on: 24 December 2024

 

Counting Miracles by Nicholas Sparks

 

Title: Counting Miracles

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Publisher: Random House

Pages: 368 pages / 352 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2024
Price: Rp 492,000 (https://opentrolley.co.id/)

Rating: 3/5

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"How long ago did she forget, she wondered, that life was as much about living as it was about responsibility? Or, as Casey had sort of put it, how long ago had she forgotten how to be happy?"

Tanner Hughes devoted his life to the military and spent most of his time abroad. He's constantly moving on to his next adventure and has no desire to settle down. When his grandmother passed away, her last words were: find where you belong. She also told him the name of the father he never knew—and where he might be found. Tanner immediately went to Asheboro to find out more about his father. While in town, he met Kaitlyn Cooper, a doctor and a single mom who had an immediate connection with him. Meanwhile, an eighty-year-old man named Jasper lived nearby in a cabin bordering a national forest. With a dog as his only company, he lived his life haunted by the tragedy that happened to his family decades ago. As these characters' lives intertwine, a miracle might change their lives forever.

"A whirlwind fling was one thing, but falling for him was another.

Saying goodbye was going to be hard enough already."

Book Review: The Little Liar by Mitch Albom

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BOOK review

Started on: 18 October 2024
Finished on: 16 November 2024

 

The Little Liar by Mitch Albom

 

Title: The Little Liar

Author: Mitch Albom

Publisher: Harper

Pages: 352 pages / 350 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2023
Price: Rp 335,000 (https://www.periplus.com/)

Rating: 5/5

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"You can trust the story you are about to hear. You can trust it because I am telling it to you, and I am the only thing in this world you can trust."

Until he was eleven years old, Nico Krispis never told a lie. On the day the Nazis invaded his home in Salonika, Greece, a German officer found Nico and offered him a chance to save his family. Nico was supposed to convince his fellow Jewish residents to board the trains heading to their new homes. Unaware of this cruel ruse, Nico goes to the station platform and reassures the passengers that the journey is safe. Nico even sees his family loaded into a large boxcar with their neighbors. When Nico realizes he helped send the people he loved to their doom in Auschwitz, it's all too late. Since that day, Nico never tells the truth again.

"When we finish this story, you may say, "That was impossible." But here is the funny thing about truth: the less real something seems, the more people want to believe it."

Book Review: Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life's Most Important Questions by Tony Reinke

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BOOK review

Started on: 29 July 2024
Finished on: 4 October 2024

 

Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life's Most Important Questions by Tony Reinke

 

Title: Ask Pastor John: 750 Bible Answers to Life's Most Important Questions

Author: Tony Reinke

Publisher: Crossway

Pages: 536 pages / 712 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2024
Price: Rp 773,000 (https://opentrolley.co.id/)

Rating: 5/5

*This e-book was received as a review copy from Crossway   

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"Questions are the best steady-state way of creating problems for the mind because a question-free mind is a thinking-free mind and a discovery-free mind. Without this engagement, reading becomes passive entertainment, rather than growth in understanding reality. All learning is the fruit of question-asking and answer-seeking."

The Ask Pastor John podcast was created to fulfill the needs of thoughtful believers who need sound biblical advice for various questions about life in a secular world. The podcast features John Piper, a pastor-theologian and bestselling author who answers life's most difficult questions from the audience. In this book, Ask Pastor John host Tony Reinke summarizes and organizes ten years of their most popular and insightful episodes into thematic sections. Readers can quickly access Piper's insights on Bible reading, career, entertainment, mental health, and more. Through this book, we will realize how asking good questions strengthens faith and grows our understanding of God's word.

"Asking questions is the key to understanding. It wasn't a reminder. It was his brand."

Book Review: Funny Story by Emily Henry

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BOOK review

Started on: 5 June 2024
Finished on: 4 July 2024

 

Funny Story by Emily Henry

 

Title: Funny Story

Author: Emily Henry

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 387 pages / 395 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2024
Price: Rp 410,000 (https://www.periplus.com/)

Rating: 5/5

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"If you don't give other people responsibility for your feelings, you can have a decent relationship with most of them." 

Daphne is about to marry her fiancé, Peter, who suddenly realizes he's actually in love with his childhood best friend, Petra. This is how Daphne's new chapter begins: stranded in Waning Bay with no friends or family, working as a children's librarian, and becoming roommates with the only person who could understand her predicament: Petra's ex-boyfriend, Miles. With his bright and friendly personality, Miles is the opposite of practical and buttoned-up Daphne—who doesn't let people know much about her. The two of them mainly avoid each other until they decide to form a plan, which involves posting misleading photos of their summer adventure together. They didn't expect their public display of affection to ignite a new chapter in their romantic life because it would be a funny story for Daphne to tell if she fell in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex.

Book Review: Happy Place by Emily Henry

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BOOK review

Started on: 2 May 2024
Finished on: 29 May 2024

 

Happy Place by Emily Henry

 

Title: Happy Place

Author: Emily Henry

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 400 pages / 395 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2023
Price: Rp 260,000 (https://www.periplus.com/)

Rating: 4.5/5

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"I couldn't have imagined being any happier, loving anywhere else as much.

Not until Sabrina brought us here, to her family's summer home on the coast of Maine. Not until I met Wyn."

Harriet and Wyn have been together for almost ten years since they met in college. However, they broke up a few months ago and still haven't told their best friends. After not seeing each other for months, they suddenly had to share a bedroom at the Maine cottage where their friend group had held a yearly getaway for the last decade. It has been their annual escape from the real world, a blissful week when they could leave behind their daily lives and enjoy their time with the people closest to them. This year, Harriet and Wyn had to lie to their best friends while trying to hide the fact that they still desperately wanted each other. And because the cottage is for sale, this will be the last week they'll have together in this place. The two of them couldn't bring themselves to break their friends' hearts, so they decided to fake their relationship for one week in front of the people who knew them best.

"Think of your happy place, Harriet."

Book Review: Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee

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BOOK review

Started on: 21 April 2024
Finished on: 2 May 2024

 

Untethered Sky by Fonda Lee

 

Title: Untethered Sky

Author: Fonda Lee

Publisher: Tordotcom

Pages: 152 pages / 152 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2023
Price: $5.99 (https://subterraneanpress.com)

Rating: 4/5

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"What I would give to return to those days, riding together across the country on a perfect morning, a roc balanced in the air above us like an angel guarding our happiness."

A manticore ruined Ester's life when it devoured her mother and baby brother, leaving her with nothing but her father's silence and the overwhelming need to kill the monster that took her family. And so she begins her journey in the King's Royal Mews, where giant rocs are flown to hunt manticores by trained and courageous ruhkers. Ester was paired with a fledgling roc named Zahra, with whom she found purpose and devoted her life to a calling that demanded absolute sacrifice. Their partnership leads Ester on the empire's most dangerous manticore hunt—which will challenge her perseverance. 

 

Book Review: All That Jesus Commanded: The Christian Life According to the Gospels by John Piper

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BOOK review

Started on: 22 September 2023
Finished on: 4 December 2023

 

All That Jesus Commanded: The Christian Life According to the Gospels by John Piper

 

Title: All That Jesus Commanded: The Christian Life According to the Gospels

Author: John Piper

Publisher: Crossway Books

Pages: 464 pages / 472 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2023
Price: Rp 178,000 (https://www.periplus.com/)

Rating: 4/5

*This e-book was received as a review copy from Crossway

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"The ultimate goal of Jesus's commandments is not that we observe them by doing good works. The ultimate goal is that God be glorified. The obedience of good works is penultimate. But what is ultimate is that in our obedient lives God be displayed as the most beautiful reality in the world. That is Jesus's ultimate goal and mine."

In this book, longtime pastor and author John Piper walks through Jesus's commands that are found in the four Gospels and their meaning for the Christian life. In 50 short chapters, he explained their context and meaning to help readers understand Christ's vision how we should lead our lives. This is a helpful guide and resource for both new Christians as well as veteran believers.

"It deals with every command Jesus gave and how it relates to Christian living today. It draws out the meaning of these commands from the four Gospels themselves not the rest of the New Testament."

Book Review: Jade Shards (The Green Bone Saga, #0.75) by Fonda Lee

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BOOK review

Started on: 14 September 2023
Finished on: 21 September 2023

 

Jade Shards (The Green Bone Saga, #0.75) by Fonda Lee

 

Title: Jade Shards (The Green Bone Saga, #0.75)

Author: Fonda Lee

Publisher: Subterranean Press

Pages: 136 pages / 106 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2023
Price: $5.99 (https://subterraneanpress.com)

Rating: 4/5

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In this book, Fonda Lee returns with four prequel short stories that dive into some of the personal histories of the Kaul and Ayt families. The first one tells the story of Ayt Mada before she became the ruthless leader of the Mountain clan, befriending Aun Ure—a renowned assassin who yearns for a simpler life. There's also the story of Kaul Lan as he challenged his grandfather to help a boy who had lost everything. The third story is about Kaul Hilo and Maik Wen, the son of a top Green Bone clan in love with a stone-eye girl from a disreputable family. Lastly, we glimpsed at Kaul Shae's life before she left and returned to Kekon, when she became a secret informer to a foreign country.

 

Book Review: The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games, #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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BOOK review

Started on: 25 June 2023
Finished on: 29 August 2023

 

The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games, #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 

Title: The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games, #3)

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: Little, Brown Books

Pages: 374 pages / 400 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2022
Price: Rp 188,000 (https://www.periplus.com/)

Rating: 3/5

*for those who haven't read the first book, this review may contain spoiler. Review for The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes here.

Review for The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes here.

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"I'd known that someone was playing with us, with me. But this made it so much clearer that Toby's abductor wasn't just playing with me. They were playing against me."

To inherit billions from Tobias Hawthorne, Avery has to survive a few more weeks living in the Hawthorne House. With danger lurking around every corner, the Hawthorne brothers are the ones who helped her get through it all. Her life is now intertwined with theirs as they discover each other's secrets. Nearing the time when Avery is about to become the richest teenager on the planet, an unexpected visitor arrives asking for help and her appearance could change everything. Apparently, there's one last puzzle to solve. Avery and the Hawthorne brothers are suddenly drawn into a dangerous game against an unknown and powerful player from the past.

"Chess," I repeated. "The move—it's called the Queen's Gambit. Whoever's playing white puts that second pawn in position to be sacrificed, which is why it's considered a gambit."

Book Review: The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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BOOK review

Started on: 4 June 2023
Finished on: 24 June 2023

 

The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 

Title: The Hawthorne Legacy (The Inheritance Games, #2)

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 380 pages / 369 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2021
Price: Rp 188,000 (https://www.periplus.com/)

Rating: 4/5

*for those who haven't read the first book, this review may contain spoiler. 

Review for The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes here.

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"If there was one thing I'd learned about deceased billionaire Tobias Hawthorne, it was that he was capable of orchestrating nearly anything, manipulating nearly anyone. He'd loved puzzles and riddles and games."

After unlocking the final puzzle in the tunnels under the Hawthorne House, Avery has to find the man who might hold the answer to all her questions—including why Tobias Hawthorne left his entire fortune to Avery rather than his daughters or grandsons. After doing a DNA test, Avery confirmed that she's not a Hawthorne by blood, but some clues hint at a deeper connection between her and the Hawthorne family. As the mystery grows, threats are lurking around every corner as adversaries emerge trying to see Avery out of the picture by any means necessary.

"I wanted answers. This wasn't just a mystery that needed solving or another layer to a puzzle. It wasn't a game—not to me. 

Not anymore."

Book Review: The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

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BOOK review

Started on: 27 March 2023
Finished on: 12 April 2023

 

The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 

Title: The Inheritance Games (The Inheritance Games, #1)

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Publisher: Little, Brown Books

Pages: 374 pages / 385 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2020
Price: Rp 178,000 (https://www.periplus.com/)

Rating: 3/5

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"I don't think I'm turning anything into a riddle. I don't think I have to. You are a riddle, a puzzle, a game—my grandfather's last."

Avery Grambs plans to survive high school, win a scholarship, and set herself up for a better future. However, Avery's life changes instantly when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves her virtually his entire fortune. The problem is Avery has no idea why—or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into the Hawthorne House filled with secret passages and rooms full of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately, the Hawthorne House is occupied by the family members that Tobias Hawthorne dispossessed; including the four Hawthorne grandsons, brilliant boys who grew up with the very expectation that one day they would inherit billions. Grayson, the heir-apparent, is convinced that Avery is a con-woman and he's determined to take her down. While his younger brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's twisted riddle and a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself to survive.

"Nothing about my life was normal anymore."

Book Review: Hypnobirthing: Practical Ways to Make Your Birth Better by Siobhan Miller

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BOOK review

Started on: 19 February 2023
Finished on: 10 March 2023

Hypnobirthing: Practical Ways to Make Your Birth Better by Siobhan Miller

Title: Hypnobirthing: Practical Ways to Make Your Birth Better

Author: Siobhan Miller

Publisher: Piatkus

Pages: 272 pages

Year of Publication: 2019
Price: Rp 85,000 (https://www.periplus.com/)

Rating: 4/5

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"Giving birth—however you choose to do it—is truly the most amazing thing you will experience in your life, and meeting your precious baby for the first time is one of life's most unforgettable moments."

Siobhan Miller, an expert hypnobirthing teacher and founder of The Positive Birth Company, has made it her mission to change the way women around the world approach and experience birth. Through her teaching she seeks to educate and empower women so they can enjoy amazing and positive birth experiences, however they choose to bring their babies into the world. In this book, Siobhan Miller debunks common myths about hypnobirthing and explains how it can make any type of birth a better experience. Hypnobirthing is essentially a form of antenatal education, an approach to birth that is both evidence-based and logical. It teaches you how your body works when in labour and how various relaxation techniques ensures you are working with your body, making birth more efficient and comfortable. Siobhan Miller's advice and guidance will change your mindset and enable you to feel relaxed, capable, and excited about giving birth.

"You look forward to the amazing and empowering experience that is giving birth, trusting that you, your body and your baby know exactly what to do."

Book Review: True Life: Practical Wisdom from the Book of Ecclesiastes by Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Whitacre

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BOOK review

Started on: 8 February 2023
Finished on: 18 February 2023

 

True Life: Practical Wisdom from the Book of Ecclesiastes by Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Whitacre

 

Title: True Life: Practical Wisdom from the Book of Ecclesiastes

Author: Carolyn Mahaney & Nicole Whitacre

Publisher: Crossway Books

Pages: 176 pages
Year of Publication: 2023
Price: Rp 331,299 (https://www.bookdepository.com/)

Rating: 5/5

*This e-book was received as a review copy from Crossway

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"This isn't the way my life was supposed to go! we cry. To which Solomon tells us with a shake of his head: this is exactly the way life goes. It's not our life that's gone off the rails but our expectations. We are the ones who got it wrong, who mistakenly thought the "bus of life" was headed on a garden tour instead of into a war zone."

The book of Ecclesiastes offers a guide for life that doesn't always turn out the way we expect. In this book, the authors lay out 14 lessons that can be learned from Ecclesiastes, helping readers see what it looks like to fear and obey God in the day-to-day. It is full of practical advice and encouragement applicable in every season of life. By examining the way life truly is, we can find the wisdom needed to endure life's hardships and enjoy life's pleasures to the fullest.

"It has been said," writes J.I. Packer, "that the Psalms teach us how to worship; Proverbs, how to behave; Job, how to suffer; Song of Solomon, how to love; and Ecclesiastes, how to live."

Book Review: The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

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BOOK review

Started on: 4 January 2023
Finished on: 28 January 2023

The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali

Title: The Stationery Shop

Author: Marjan Kamali

Publisher: Gallery Books

Pages: 312 pages / 322 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2019
Price: Rp 262,000 (https://www.periplus.com/)

Rating: 5/5

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"We do not always get what we want, Roya Khanom. Things do not always work out the way we planned. Those who are young tend to think that life's tragedies and miseries and its bullets will somehow miss them. That they can buoy themselves with naïve hope and energy. They think, wrongly, that somehow youth or desire or even love can outmatch the hand of fate."

Roya is a teenager living in 1953 Tehran amidst the political upheaval of the time. She finds a literary oasis in Mr. Fakhri's stationery shop. In that place, she met Bahman, who has a burning passion for politics and wants to change the world. Within a short time, their romance blossomed in that stationery shop which became their favorite place in all of Tehran. Nearing their wedding day, the two agreed to meet at the town square when violence suddenly erupted—a result of the coup d’etat that forever changed Tehran's future. During all the chaos, Bahman never showed up. Roya desperately tried to contact him but her efforts were fruitless. With a sorrowful heart, she decided to move to a different country and gave up hope of seeing Bahman ever again. More than sixty years later, fate led her back to Bahman and gave her a chance to ask him the question that haunted her for decades.

Book Review: Reactivity: How the Gospel Transforms Our Actions and Reactions by Paul David Tripp

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BOOK review

Started on: 26 November 2022
Finished on: 9 December 2022

 

Reactivity: How the Gospel Transforms Our Actions and Reactions by Paul David Tripp

 

Title: Reactivity: How the Gospel Transforms Our Actions and Reactions

Author: Paul David Tripp

Publisher: Crossway Books

Pages: 170 pages
Year of Publication: 2022
Price: Rp 381,874 (https://www.bookdepository.com/)

Rating: 5/5

*This e-book was received as a review copy from Crossway

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"For most people, the gospel is a means of past justification and future destination. Gloriously, the gospel is both of these things, but it also provides for us, right here, right now, a way of seeing, a means of interpreting, a guide to understanding, and a way of living."

Social media and technology have slowly altered how people act and react toward each other. These days, criticism, outrage, and controversy dominate social engagement. Sadly, Christians are no exception. In this book, Paul David Tripp invites believers to view digital media and technology through the lens of the gospel and directs them toward a biblical framework for communication. He further explains how God wants us to engage with one another and encourages Christians to be wise in their interactions. Through this book, the author hopes that more believers will become a beacon of light in an age of toxicity and destructive reactivity.

"There are many things the Bible is not a source of information for. But your Bible is comprehensive; while not telling you everything about everything, it gives you a lens through which to look at everything."

Book Review: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

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BOOK review

Started on: 4 November 2022
Finished on: 25 November 2022

 

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories by Ken Liu

 

Title: The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

Author: Ken Liu

Publisher: Saga Press

Pages: 464 pages / 464 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2016
Price: Rp 321,000 (https://www.periplus.com/)

Rating: 3/5

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"In the face of the inevitable, the only choice is to adapt."

Ken Liu, the author of an epic fantasy series, The Dandelion Dynasty, shares his finest short fiction in The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories. This mesmerizing collection consists of 15 stories that have won him many awards, including Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards. These stories have various genres, such as sci-fi, fantasy, and even historical fiction. Even though each story is unique, some have common recurring themes that involve differences between eastern and western cultures, racial prejudice, and the impact of advanced technology on human lives. This collection of short stories displays Ken Liu's beautiful writing style that's both thought-provoking and can tug at the reader's heartstrings.

Book Review: Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

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BOOK review

Started on: 10 October 2022
Finished on: 3 November 2022

 

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng

 

Title: Our Missing Hearts

Author: Celeste Ng

Publisher: Penguin Press

Pages:  335 pages / 352 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2022
Price: Rp 265,000 (Periplus)

Rating: 4/5

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"So now, out of the blue: a letter from his mother. It looks like her handwriting—and no one else would call him that. Bird."

Twelve-year-old Noah 'Bird' Gardner lives a quiet life with his father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. Bird has always been told not to ask too many questions, stand out too much, or stray too far. In the past decade, their lives have been governed by PACT, laws written to preserve "American culture" after years of economic instability and violence that they call the Crisis. The authorities are now allowed to relocate children of dissidents, especially those of Asian origin, and libraries have been forced to remove books that are deemed as unpatriotic—including the work of Bird's mother, Margaret, a Chinese-American poet who left the family when he was nine years old. Bird has no idea what happened to his mother and why she left, but when he receives a mysterious letter containing a cryptic drawing, he is suddenly pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him to many places where he meets a lot of people and to a city where a new act of defiance may be the beginning of a much-needed change.

"He doesn't remember much about his mother, but he remembers this: she always had a plan. She would not have taken the trouble to find their new address, and the risk of writing him, for no reason."

Book Review: Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks

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BOOK review

Started on: 22 September 2022
Finished on: 30 September 2022

 

Dreamland by Nicholas Sparks

 

Title: Dreamland

Author: Nicholas Sparks
Publisher: Random House

Pages: 367 pages / 359 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2022
Price: Rp 265,000 (Link: Periplus)

 

Rating: 3/5

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Colby Mills had to give up on his dream of having a music career when a tragedy struck his family. Now the head of a small family farm in North Carolina, he spontaneously accepted a gig playing at a bar in St. Pete's beach, Florida, seeking a break from his usual farming routines. When he met Morgan Lee, his world turned upside-down, making him wonder whether the responsibilities he has shouldered need to dictate his life forever. Within a few days, their relationship grew deeper as they connected through their love of music and songwriting. While they are falling in love, Beverly is on a heart-pounding journey of another kind. Running away from an abusive husband with her six-year-old son, she's trying to start a new life in a small town far off the beaten track. In the course of a single week, fate will draw all three of them together in a web of life-altering connections, forcing each to wonder whether the dream of a better life can ever survive the weight of the past.

 

Book Review: The Epic Story of the Bible: How to Read and Understand God's Word by Greg Gilbert

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BOOK review

Started on: 1 September 2022
Finished on: 9 September 2022

 

The Epic Story of the Bible: How to Read and Understand God's Word by Greg Gilbert

 

Title: The Epic Story of the Bible: How to Read and Understand God's Word

Author: Greg Gilbert

Publisher: Crossway Books

Pages: 176 pages
Year of Publication: 2022
Price: Rp 265,873 (https://www.bookdepository.com/)

Rating: 4/5

*This e-book was received as a review copy from Crossway

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"A trek. That's exactly what it is when you decide to read the entire Bible. After all, it's sixty-six different books with thirty-some different authors, written over the course of a millennium and a half. And it's long—almost 1,200 chapters and three-quarters of a million words, meaning that if you decided to read the entire thing aloud, all at once, it would take you just under three days to do it—about seventy hours and forty minutes if you're an average-speed reader."

Each year, many Christians set out to read through the Bible using one of many reading plans, only to eventually abandon these plans after the detailed narratives, seemingly antiquated laws, and confusing prophecies leave them feeling lost. How can we make sense of a book written thousands of years ago? This book serves as a guide for readers embarking on a journey through Scripture. Written in an easy, conversational style, Greg Gilbert examines major themes woven throughout the Bible and shows readers how to understand its various genres, illustrating how the Bible is meant to be understood as one sweeping story. This book hopes to help both new and seasoned Christians to feel better equipped to read the Bible from beginning to end.

Book Review: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

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BOOK review

Started on: 7 August 2022
Finished on: 25 August 2022

 

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

 

Title: Pachinko

Author: Min Jin Lee
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Pages: 490 pages / 490 pages (e-book)
Year of Publication: 2017
Price: Rp 161,500 (Link: Periplus)

 

Rating: 4.5/5

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"For a woman, the man you marry will determine the quality of your life completely. A good man is a decent life, and a bad man is a cursed life—but no matter what, always expect suffering, and just keep working hard. No one will take care of a poor woman—just ourselves." 

It was in the early 1900s in Korea when Sunja was born. At the age of sixteen, she met a wealthy fish broker named Koh Hansu who's attracted to her. After spending time together, Sunja's unplanned pregnancy threatens to shame her family. Feeling betrayed by Hansu, Sunja finds unexpected salvation when a young minister named Baek Isak offers to marry her and bring her to Japan to start a new life. And so begins the story of many different people in exile from a homeland they never knew and got caught in the arc of history. In Japan, Sunja's family had to endure harsh discrimination, catastrophes, and poverty—yet they also encounter great joy as they pursue their passions and rise to meet the challenges presented to them. Through desperate struggles and hard-won triumphs, they are bound together by deep roots as their family faces questions of faith, family, and identity.

"Man, life's going to keep pushing you around, but you have to keep playing."