June was an uneventful month for the most part, until I broke my middle finger on my right hand on the 28th. I have now entered July with another surgery added to my tally and a bright purple cast the size of a club. Besides the pain, the nausea, and the dizziness that I get from reading (due to my medication), I don’t feel much the worse for wear.

More Books…

Breaking a finger wasn’t in my schedule for the beginning of July; however, it justifies all the books I bought last month! I now have the perfect excuse to take a break from my real-life job and just read…that is, except for the small problem that narcotics make me dizzy and turn reading into an expedition of trying to avoid puking my guts out. 🙂

I bought a grand total of three books last month (which hardly sounds like enough to call it a book “haul”), but I also have four more sitting in my Amazon cart waiting for confirmation. I’m going to share these titles with you along with short descriptions of their content and reasons why I decided to buy each book.

Susie: The Life and Legacy of Susannah Spurgeon, Wife of Charles H. Spurgeon by Ray Rhodes Jr. and R. Albert Mohler Jr.

To be perfectly honest, I know almost nothing about this woman of God beyond the fact that she was married to Charles Spurgeon, the famous pastor and preacher. If I remember correctly from hearing snippets about this book, I believe she spent most of her adult life dealing with various sicknesses and physical pains.

I found the book on Amazon HERE. I thought $17.10 was a pretty good deal for a biography, as many non-fiction books seem quite pricey these days! I actually am splitting the cost with my old roommate because we both want to read it, so I ended up only paying $8.55 which is an even better deal.

Aside from the fact that I am trying to further my way from ignorance with almost every book I pick up, I had to read this book because of the number of women who are raving about it. Nearly all the women in my church have read this biography and they simply can’t stop talking about it. My curiosity has been piqued and I can’t ignore it for much longer.

The reason I decided to buy this book is two-fold. First, I enjoy building up my resource library of Christian non-fiction and biographies. I believe it was Charles Spurgeon who said you must “give yourself to reading. The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves he has no brains of his own. You need to read.” Although the Bible holds the most important place on my bookshelf, great works both of and about the men and women who came before are very precious books indeed.

Second, this is a wonderful book to donate to my church’s library. We have a rather small library in our church, so a donation of a commonly loved and well-known biography may draw more readers into our library and open eyes to other hidden jewels on our shelves.

Leuchtturm 1917 Bullet Journal

I know what you’re thinking…bullet journals aren’t really books! I would have to admit that you are partially right…or write in this case. This doesn’t really count as a full book, but I put it here because I want to explain one of the purposes I have in using bullet journals.

I use bullet journals for several things (I might write a full post detailing everything I use them for in the future), but there’s one specific usage that pertains to books themselves. I like to write down at the beginning of each year a list of books I want to read within that year. Next to that list I like to draw a bookshelf. As I finish books off the list (and other books that weren’t specifically on my to-read list), I draw the spine of the book onto the bookshelf and write in it’s title on the spine. On the actual book list next to my bookshelf I like to draw in my rating of how good the book was with 1-5 orange stars, along with the date I finished reading the title.

I love the Leuchtturm1917 brand! Their notebooks are beautifully designed and come in a wide variety of colors and sizes. They also give you choices between blank, lined, squared, or dotted pages. The wide range of styles fit to everyone’s needs or wants in a journal! The ways in which you can choose to use one of these notebooks is nearly endless.

I chose to buy mine on Amazon HERE, but you can also find them on the Leuchtturm1917 website and directly support their business. Amazon was a few dollars cheaper and came with free shipping because I have Prime; however some people prefer to buy directly from companies they like even if it is a little more expensive.

Biblical Doctrine: A Systematic Summary of Bible Truth by John MacArthur and Richard Mayhue

I have wanted to buy this book ever since it was published in January 2017, but didn’t pull the trigger until just last month! I was encouraged by an older woman at my church who mentors me to buy this book as a resource to help me in a few areas of life.

The main reason I purchased this tome of biblical doctrines was to help me explain Christianity and the gospel in a more full and practical way. This summer, one of the students from my class in college that I grew close to is staying with me during the weekdays so that she can finish her clinical hours at the hospital where I work. She is not a believer and that means God has placed a very unique opportunity in front of me to directly and practically minister to her need of the gospel daily. She has a Catholic background and so has some mixed up ideas when it comes to certain doctrines. MacArthur and Mayhue have a solid view of God’s word that I can stand behind and use as a resource to explain the truth.

The other reason I bought this systematic work is to help myself better understand the great doctrines of the word. As a study resource and aid, MacArthur and Mayhue have outdone themselves in putting together a student’s next best friend after the Bible. I have only begun reading the first chapter and already find a greater appreciation for God and His word stirring in my heart.

I also found this book on Amazon HERE; however, the price was .49 cents cheaper on the Grace to You store website and GTY also had free shipping like Amazon Prime. I ended up buying it from Amazon because it seemed easier to me, but in hindsight I would prefer GTY to receive all the money from my order.

Your turn!

What books and bargains did you find last month? Do you have a cheaper find on one of the books I mentioned? Let me know in the comments below!

Until the next book haul.