Right Thinking in a World Gone Wrong
By John MacArthur
Harvest House Publishers
Retail price $14.99
Amazon Price: $10.19


Book description:
John MacArthur, along with the leadership team at Grace Community Church, where John has been the pastor for over 40 years, addresses one of the greatest challenges facing all believers: the powerful influence of secular culture on their hearts and minds. When it comes to every issue imaginable, Christians face a constant barrage of unbiblical worldviews, making it very difficult to know what they should think or where they should stand.
This book will equip believers with a biblical perspective on today’s most talked–about issues—enabling them to see the controversies and concerns of this world through God’s eyes. The subjects include:

~in vitro fertilization
~the cult of celebrity entertainment
~political activism
~environmentalism
~radical terrorism
~the economy
~disasters and epidemics
~God and the problem of evil
~homosexual marriage

Also included is a topical guide to Bible verses that speak to contemporary issues, arming readers with right thinking and biblical responses to challenging questions.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Reading Room Review

First off, I have to say I'm a huge fan of John MacArthur. I began listening to his teaching on the radio over 20 years ago when I first became a Christian. Much of my theology was learned faithfully listening to his sermon series. I don't always agree with what he says, but one thing Dr. MacArthur stresses is for the individual to study and search out the Bible for themselves.

With that said, I think this book is a wonderful resource for pastors and church leaders, including Sunday School teachers or small group leaders. It addresses various social issues from a biblical perspective and helps the reader to look at contemporary issues from a Christian worldview.

For such a wide range of topics, it is a rather small book, so each topic is given only a general overview, but enough info to spur the reader on to deeper research if their interest is piqued.

I think this is a much needed book in a culture that lives in the gray, and nothing is black and white. I highly recommend it.

My Little Read Book
By Rachel Kauder Nalebuff
Twelve
Retail Price: $14.99
Amazon Price: $10.19

Book Description

MY LITTLE RED BOOK is an anthology of stories about first periods, collected from women of all ages from around the world. The accounts range from light-hearted (the editor got hers while water skiing in a yellow bathing suit) to heart-stopping (a first period discovered just as one girl was about to be strip-searched by the Nazis). The contributors include well-known women writers (Meg Cabot, Erica Jong, Gloria Steinem, Cecily von Ziegesar), alongside today's teens. And while the authors differ in race, faith, or cultural background, their stories share a common bond: they are all accessible, deeply honest, and highly informative. Whatever a girl experiences or expects, she'll find stories that speak to her thoughts and feelings.

Ultimately, MY LITTLE READ BOOK is more than a collection of stories. It is a call for a change in attitude, for a new way of seeing periods. In a time when the taboo around menstruation seems to be one of the few left standing, it makes a difficult subject easier to talk about, and helps girls feel proud instead of embarrassed or ashamed. By revealing what it feels like to undergo this experience first hand, and giving women the chance to explain their feelings in their own words, it aims to provide support, entertainment, and a starting point for discussion for mothers and daughters everywhere. It is a book every girl should have. Period.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Reading Room Review


I wish I had a book like this when I was a teenager! It's such a brilliant idea, I can't believe nobody has put together stories like these before. For most girls, getting your period is something you talk about in private, if at all. It's embarrassing. It's scary. It's funny. You wonder if you're "normal." Did you get it too early? Too late? In the wrong place at the wrong time?

But now, with these hilarious and moving true stories, women of all ages can relate to the mix of gross-out, pride, and confusion of that very first period, something almost every woman remembers in vivid detail but doesn't often discuss.

The editor is a teenager herself, and what makes this even more unique is that she's collected stories from celebrities to your average girl, and from people who are now grandmothers to those who just purchased their first tampon.

I highly recommend these wonderful stories for everything from book clubs to school discussion groups to, of course, slumber parties. A must-read for mothers and daughters alike.

~Reviewed by Loren G.

Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross
By Nancy Guthrie
Crossway
Retail price $12.99
Amazon Price: $10.39


Book Description:

This collection of readings, drawn from the writings and sermons of 25 classic and contemporary theologians and Bible teachers, focuses on the wonder of Christ's sacrifice.

In a culture where crosses have become little more than decorative accessories and jewelry, how easy it is for even the most well-intended Christian to rush from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday without thoughtfully contemplating the cross and all that it means. Yet we miss out on spiritual riches when we do.

So that we all may linger at the cross during the Lenten season—and stay near it the whole year through—editor Nancy Guthrie has compiled this special anthology. It draws from the works and sermons of classic theologians such as Luther, Edwards, Spurgeon, Ryle, and Augustine, and from leading contemporary communicators such as John Piper, R. C. Sproul, Francis Schaeffer, John MacArthur, Skip Ryan, and Joni Eareckson Tada to help readers enter into an experience of Christ’s passion and anchor their hope in the power of his resurrection.

Each essay in this collection holds to a high view of Scripture and expounds on a particular aspect of the Easter story using the appropriate Scripture passage from the ESV Bible. These readings are sure to prepare people’s hearts for a fresh experience of the cross each and every Easter season.

About the Author

NANCY GUTHRIE has a passion for sharing God’s Word through her growing national and international Bible-teaching ministry. She has worked in the Christian publishing industry for more than two decades and is the author of Holding On to Hope, The One-Year Book of Hope, Hoping for Something Better, and Crossway’s Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Reading Room Review

I read Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus for Christmas and just loved it, so I decided to get a copy of Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross for my readings for lent. I wasn't disappointed. This book is a collection of essays from such heroes of the faith as Charles H. Spurgeon, Augustine, John Calvin as well of some of today's contemporary Christian leaders like John Piper, Joni Eareckson Tada, and Timothy Keller. These Easter readings helped me to really think on the cross and resurrection and gave me a new appreciation of the sacrifice and gift Jesus gave to us at Easter.

I am going to read it aloud throughout the Lenten season as my family devotions. I highly recommend it.

~Reviewed by Tricia C.

Age Before Beauty

Age Before Beauty
by Virginia SmithRevell
Retail price $13.99
Amazon Price: $11.19
Book Bargains Price: $11.19

Book description: Desperate to stay home with her baby, Allie Harrod launches a new career. Sure, she dropped out of Girl Scouts because she was lousy at cookie sales, but makeup is different, right? She'll do anything to make enough money to cover her share of the household bills, but how can she focus on her business when her list of problems is growing? None of her pre-baby clothes fit, her checking account is dwindling, and her mother-in-law has decided to move in! To top it off, her husband's attractive coworker suddenly needs his help every weekend. Middle sister Joan insists that God has the answers to all her problems, but Allie isn't so sure. Can she really trust him? A lighthearted contemporary tale of family, faith, and fun, Age before Beauty is the second book in the Sister-to-Sister series from well-reviewed author Virginia Smith.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Reading Room Review

This is a delightful book about love within the family and how families can overcome little problems before they become large ones with the help of faith in God. It was well-written which, made for pleasant reading.

~Reviewed by Alice B.

The Real Enemy

The Real Enemy
By Kathy Herman
David C. Cook
Retail price $14.99
Amazon Price: $10.19

Book Description:
Brill Jessup would rather work than deal with the bitterness she feels about her husband Kurt's infidelity. They've made a fresh start with Brill taking a job as the new police chief in a small East Tennessee town. Kurt is genuinely contrite and making every effort to show his commitment to Brill. Meanwhile Emily, their nine-year-old, is being the perfect little girl, as if she can make everything okay again. So why can't Brill get over this anger? Work presents the perfect distraction as rumors and superstition are running rampant in the wake of the disappearances of seven people in seven days. As fear rises in the community, Brill works desperately to solve the mystery... until it threatens her family and she is forced to confront the real enemy.

About the Author
Kathy Herman has written fourteen novels, including CBA bestsellers Tested by Fire and All Things Hidden. Now retired from her family’s Christian bookstore business, Kathy and her husband, Paul, have three grown children and five grandchildren and live in Tyler, Texas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Reading Room Review


This is a great book; the best Kathy Herman has written yet. In addition to the suspense and mystery, the book covers the issues of marital infidelity and forgiveness. It deserves more than 5 stars!

~Reviewed by Mark L.