{"id":30961,"date":"2021-10-08T06:38:25","date_gmt":"2021-10-08T11:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/?p=30961"},"modified":"2021-10-08T06:38:25","modified_gmt":"2021-10-08T11:38:25","slug":"tale-of-two-cities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/2021\/10\/08\/tale-of-two-cities\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tale of Two Cities (&#038; More September Reads)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/September-Reads-FB.png?resize=1024%2C718&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Tale of Two Cities and More September Reads\" width=\"1024\" height=\"718\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-26644\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I read five books last month: <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3af4j5c\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">A Tale of Two Cities<\/a> plus four others. Below you will find my review of each title, arranged in the order I finished reading them.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3af4j5c\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">A Tale of Two Cities<\/a> by Charles Dickens<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3af4j5c\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Tale-of-Two-Cities.jpg?resize=300%2C462&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A Tale of Two Cities\" width=\"300\" height=\"462\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-30967\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Tale-of-Two-Cities.jpg?w=300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Tale-of-Two-Cities.jpg?resize=195%2C300&amp;ssl=1 195w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Over a decade has passed since last I read Charles Dickens&#8217; <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3af4j5c\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">A Tale of Two Cities<\/a> aloud to my children. In fact, a couple of the ones who gathered around me to listen to the book this time were not even born the last time we read it as a family.<\/p>\n<p>Set during the French Revolution, the political unrest is more than a little foreboding of our present age, where the very definitions of the words &#8220;good&#8221; and &#8220;evil&#8221; are being mixed and muddled and stood on their heads.<\/p>\n<p>But wasn&#8217;t that was the point of the book&#8217;s&#8217; &#8220;best of times, worst of times&#8221; beginning? That no matter what era your life spans, the most vocal and opinionated commentators will simultaneously insist that things have never been so bad or so good?<\/p>\n<p>The story reduced me to tears several times throughout. But the last couple of chapters had me pausing repeatedly to dry my eyes, swallow the lump in my throat, and wipe the tears from my glasses. When I finished the final paragraph, my husband sighed heavily and declared with emotion, &#8220;Dickens was a genius!&#8221; And I&#8217;m inclined to agree.<\/li>\n<li>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3uPEaDo\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Loving My Actual Neighbor<\/a> by Alexandra Kuykendall<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3uPEaDo\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Loving-My-Actual-Neighbor.jpg?resize=300%2C462&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Loving My Actual Neighbor\" width=\"300\" height=\"462\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-30966\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Loving-My-Actual-Neighbor.jpg?w=300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Loving-My-Actual-Neighbor.jpg?resize=195%2C300&amp;ssl=1 195w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Having thoroughly enjoyed Alexandra Kuykendall&#8217;s book <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3oGm8Cr\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Loving My Actual Christmas<\/a> earlier this year, last month I finished <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3uPEaDo\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Loving My Actual Neighbor<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The audiobook prompted many one-sided conversations with the author in my head as I listened while driving and doing laundry. In principle, I agree with much of what Kuykendall has to say in this book. In practice, I often fail at following her suggestions, especially when it comes to listening in silence.<\/p>\n<p>That one is hard for me. The listening part is important, yes. Absolutely. How can we ever expect to connect with our neighbors if we&#8217;re unwilling to hear what they have to say?<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s the &#8220;being quiet&#8221; that gives me trouble. And rightly so, I believe. Because if I know the TRUTH of Scripture, and Scripture speaks directly to the issue under discussion, why wouldn&#8217;t I share it? Fortunately, Kuykendall also covers &#8220;holding a posture of humility&#8221; in chapter one. And if humility infuses our response, perhaps it will be better received.<\/li>\n<li>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3BmsWJa\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">365 Days of Wonder<\/a>\u00a0by R.J. Palacio<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3BmsWJa\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/365-Days-of-Wonder.jpg?resize=300%2C448&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"365 Days of Wonder\" width=\"300\" height=\"448\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-30968\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/365-Days-of-Wonder.jpg?w=300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/365-Days-of-Wonder.jpg?resize=201%2C300&amp;ssl=1 201w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>I&#8217;m not sure whether <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3BmsWJa\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">365 Days of Wonder<\/a> was supposed to be a one-maxim-a-day-for-a-full-year read or not. But that isn&#8217;t the way I consumed it. <\/p>\n<p>The proverbs and precepts collected in this book are a little like a bag of Doritos in that respect: It&#8217;s virtually impossible to stop with just one. <\/p>\n<p>And so, I finished the book in short order, though it did pause often to reflect on the quotes recorded therein, mostly on the topics of courage, friendship, love, and kindness. <\/p>\n<p>A spinoff from R.J. Palacio&#8217;s best selling book <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3AijB3C\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Wonder<\/a> (which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/2013\/08\/30\/two-back-to-school-books-for-reading-aloud\/\">I highly recommend<\/a> you tackle first), <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3BmsWJa\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">365 Days<\/a> is a quick read and one I thoroughly enjoyed.<br \/>\n<strong> <\/strong><br \/>\n<strong> <\/strong><\/li>\n<li>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3FCDW7R\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Real Life Decorating<\/a> by Better Homes &#038; Garden<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3FCDW7R\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Real-Life-Decorating.jpg?resize=300%2C325&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Real Life Decorating\" width=\"300\" height=\"325\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-30965\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Real-Life-Decorating.jpg?w=300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Real-Life-Decorating.jpg?resize=277%2C300&amp;ssl=1 277w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>I found my copy of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3FCDW7R\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Real Life Decorating<\/a> in a thrift store in Branson, Missouri, on &#8220;Book Lover&#8217;s Day&#8221; this summer. It was one of about 30 titles I bought there that day (I got <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/CSX-DkaMm3t\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">all the books I could cram in a bag<\/a> for $5. What a deal &#8212; especially for this <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/2019\/03\/11\/mailbag-our-best-posts-for-book-lovers\/\">book lover<\/a>!). <\/p>\n<p>I love the way this beautiful volume from Better Homes &#038; Garden is laid out. It includes tours of 10 real-life homes in a wide variety of styles, plus timeless tips for making your space your own.<\/p>\n<p>My favorite advice: Pick a palate you love and embrace it. With all due respect to the neutral shades Joanna Gaines has popularized, I love deep reds and greens, blues and yellows. So lots of the rich vibrant photos in this book were right up my alley.<\/li>\n<li>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3iK1aiu\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Count Your Blessings<\/a> by Jennifer Flanders<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3iK1aiu\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Count-Your-Blessings.jpg?resize=300%2C370&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Count Your Blessings\" width=\"300\" height=\"370\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-30964\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Count-Your-Blessings.jpg?w=300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Count-Your-Blessings.jpg?resize=243%2C300&amp;ssl=1 243w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>\u201cBless the LORD, O my soul,\u201d the psalmist writes, \u201cand forget none of His benefits.\u201d That\u2019s good advice for all of us. We should be mindful of the many ways in which God has blessed us. <\/p>\n<p>My devotional journal, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3iK1aiu\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Count Your Blessings<\/a>, is designed with that goal in mind. I read through it again every year about this time, completing as many pages as I can fit in during the days leading up to Thanksgiving (although, of course, gratitude is a virtue we should cultivate all year long, not just on the fourth Thursday of November).<\/p>\n<p>The book is filled with Bible verses, word studies, writing prompts, and beautiful vintage artwork to color. You may use its pages to remember the Lord\u2019s mercies and be grateful for them, to count His blessings and name them one by one, to track His faithfulness to you through the past and, by doing so, to be encouraged to trust Him with the future.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Do you love to read as much as we do? I&#8217;ve gathered all my best resources for bibliophiles into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/2019\/03\/11\/mailbag-our-best-posts-for-book-lovers\/\">this post<\/a>, or you can read more of my book reviews by following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/tag\/book-review\/\">this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/September-Reads-IG.png?resize=1024%2C1025&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Tale of Two Cities and More September Reads\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1025\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-26645\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/September-Reads-IG.png?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/September-Reads-IG.png?resize=100%2C100&amp;ssl=1 100w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/September-Reads-IG.png?resize=600%2C601&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/September-Reads-IG.png?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/September-Reads-IG.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/September-Reads-IG.png?resize=768%2C769&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/September-Reads-IG.png?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I read five books last month: A Tale of Two Cities plus four others. Below you will find my review of each title, arranged in the order I finished reading&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1052],"tags":[273],"class_list":["post-30961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books-2","tag-book-review"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.3 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A Tale of Two Cities (&amp; More September Reads) - Flanders Family Home Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I finished five books in the month of September: A Tale of Two Cities plus four more. Click through to read my impressions of each title.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/2021\/10\/08\/tale-of-two-cities\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Tale of Two Cities (&amp; More September Reads)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I finished five books in the month of September: A Tale of Two Cities plus four more. 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Reads)","author":"Jennifer Flanders","date":"March 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm woefully behind in sharing reviews of the books I've been reading lately. February's list is all ready to go, but I wanted to share my January reads first. I finished five books in the first five weeks of 2020, including Tony Reinke's latest offering, Competing Spectacles. Read on for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Books&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/category\/books-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"January Reads","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/January-Reads-Instagram.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/January-Reads-Instagram.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/January-Reads-Instagram.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/January-Reads-Instagram.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37075,"url":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/2023\/05\/10\/essentialism-and-other-april-reads\/","url_meta":{"origin":30961,"position":5},"title":"Essentialism (and Other April Reads)","author":"Jennifer Flanders","date":"May 10, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"I finished reading five books in April: Greg Mckeown's Essentialism plus four others. Read on for my impression of each, given in the order I completed them. 5 Books I read last month Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder We finished listening to Little House in the Big Woods last\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Books&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Books","link":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/category\/books-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"April Reads","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/April-Reads-IG.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/April-Reads-IG.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/April-Reads-IG.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/April-Reads-IG.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30961"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30979,"href":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30961\/revisions\/30979"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flandersfamily.info\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}