A book of quotations from a variety of authors, each accompanied by a few questions to reflect on. The book is loosely organized around Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (you know, a time to this, a time to that)
Who wrote it
Several different women authors of books published by St. Anthony Messenger Press.
First Impression
I love the cheerful flower on the cover. And I love the concept. As a mom of a very active toddler, I don't often have time to sit and read a whole 300 page book, or even an entire chapter of such a book at one time. The idea of a book that can be read in tiny snippets (I call them bathroom books because my grandma always had little devotional books like this in a hanging magazine rack on her restroom wall!).
Overall Impression
Because of the wide variety found in this book, something is sure to appeal to you and really speak to you. There were several quotations and questions that really captured my heart, like this one by Susan K. Rowland from her book, Make Room for God: Clearing out the Clutter:
Our belongings should not bog us down and make us slaves of us. We should be surrounded with beauty, with things reminding us we are God's children.
Anything else should be removed.
So go ahead and clear out!
This quotation and the accompanying reflection questions really did make me pause and well, reflect! Short, sweet, to the point, and relevant to my lifestlye.
But many of the quotes seemed to me to have been thrown in because that section was too short, or the editor wanted to feature a particular book. And I found it frustrating that they seemed to completely ignore the "negative" sides of some of the pairings. For example, in the section based on the "A time for war, a time for peace" section of the Ecclesiastes verse, all of the quoations and questions are about peace and nonviolence and things like that. None were about, for example, what in life IS worth fighting for. The book would have been fine arranged around more arbitrary themes or even around a calendar as a daily devotional book, so it's a little frustrating that they didn't even bother to follow their self-imposed structure.
Pros
- Lots of variety
- May expose you to another book you'll love
- Something is sure to speak to you
Cons
- Some questions are trite
- Some quotations seem out-of-place
The Bottom Line
An okay gift, but not an intellectually challenging book or one that I would buy for myself.
This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Good Words - Inspiration for Catholic Women. They are also a great source for serenity prayer and baptism gifts. I received a free copy of this book for review purposes but received no monetary compensation and was under no pressure to provide a positive review of this book. This review is my honest opinion of the product in question.
This is a real good review. I got a good image of what the book is about. Thanks.
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