My Rating: 4.5
Lauren and Ryan met in college and married shortly after. Now they find their marriage at the breaking point and they decide to take a year off. This is a love story about what happens after the love fades.
This was a well written light story of a young couple figuring out their marriage, as well as themselves, after the passion has worn off. It was so well written that parts of it were uncomfortable. You could tell the ending but I enjoyed it all the way through.
My Rating: 4.6
God's timing is always perfect, and there is a distinct and meaningful purpose for this season of your life. Joyce says, "Only a fool thinks they can always do what they have always done." How to Age Without Getting Old equips us to become wise enough to embrace God's changing grace and the evolution of our calling to the next season of life.
I enjoyed this light book. For me, several topics she covered were extremely self evident but, as always with Joyce, I did put up some very good tips.
My Rating: 4.9
When General Stanley McChrystal took the helm in 2004, America was losing that war badly: despite vastly inferior resources and technology, Al Qaeda was outmaneuvering America’s most elite warriors. McChrystal came to realize that today’s faster, more interdependent world had overwhelmed the conventional, top-down hierarchy of the US military. Al Qaeda had seen the future: a decentralized network that could move quickly and strike ruthlessly. To defeat such an enemy, JSOC would have to discard a century of management wisdom, and pivot from a pursuit of mechanical efficiency to organic adaptability.
I didn't want to read this book as I don't enjoy non-fiction books, I don't like business books and I expected it to be dry and boring. That being said, I really enjoyed it. I loved all of the background he gave as to how/why things came to be - in the military as well as in business organizations - and why it is outdated. It left me feeling very empowered.
My Rating: 4.8
1930'S Rome and Elisabetta, Marco, and Sandro grow up as the best of friends despite their differences. Their friendship blossoms to love, with both Sandro and Marco hoping to win Elisabetta's heart. But in the autumn of 1937, all of that begins to change as Mussolini asserts his power, aligning Italy's Fascists with Hitler's Nazis and altering the very laws that govern Rome. In time, everything that the three hold dear--their families, their homes, and their connection to one another--is tested in ways they never could have imagined.
I think with everything going on in our world today, it makes remembering history so important. I also read this understanding the heartbreaking way that many were blind to what was going on, others only realized when it was too late.
My Rating: 4.9
Francesca is a workaholic and struggles to make time for her teenage daughter Allegra. Allegra loves her Grandmother Sophia who is much more patient and understanding of her. When Sophia suggests they all take a trip to Italy, Francesca says she can't get away from work and Allegra isn't interested in spending her summer trapped with her mother. In a quick turn of events, all three find themselves on a trip of a lifetime - that will forever change their lives.
I was pleasantly surprised by the substance that this storyline had. It was a love story - of Italy, of the 3 generations of women as well as with each woman. Thoroughly enjoyable! I highly recommend the audio version.
