Book Launch Team Archives - Sustainable Sue

Three 5-Star Reads to Kick Start Your Reading Life

There is a special treat for you today! Three 5-star reads to kick start your reading – all in one post! If this is the sort of good news you want to make sure lands in your inbox every time I read a 5-star book, subscribe here. A few things about all three of these books:

Each a different topic and tone to them, but I think there is something for everyone
I was a launch team member for each book
All three books can be purchased through Amazon so it will be easy to have them here for the long Labor Day weekend

The Apple of My Eye: Trusting God’s Guidance When We Can’t See by Amy Beth Pederson

The first 5-star book to kick start your reading wrecked me at times, I won’t lie. Amy’s husband, Seth, died of eye cancer in March of 2020, and she narrates the path from diagnosis to death in her book The Apple of My Eye. It made me think of the cancer struggles my friends and loved ones had and that was not easy to relive, even vicariously. I felt the mind numbing boredom of hours of tests and waiting Amy described. I felt the helplessness of dealing with the American healthcare system. I felt the heart ache of goodbye.

I met Amy through my Hope*Writers membership and was honored to help her launch this gift into the world. This book is a heartfelt way for her to honor Seth’s life and legacy.

Learning to Roar by Melissa Dyer

The next book to kick start your reading is for any woman who “knows she’s not living as the hero of her own story” and is uplifting and inspiring. I also met Melissa through my membership in Hope*Writers. What a privilege it was to help Melissa launch this book! For years I have stuffed my feelings and words down – I so related to the stories in her book. As I am finding my voice, I can only dream of roaring, but I truly want to surround myself with a group of women I can learn from.

One of the neat things that Melissa did with her book is to create a Courage Persona quiz to go with the book. My Courage Persona is “Perseverance.” I am sure you are not surprised.

The Lazy Genius Way: Embrace What Matters, Ditch What Doesn’t, and Get Stuff Done by Kendra Adachi

I have been a fan of Kendra’s since I started listening to her podcast. And honestly, I really love to get stuff done so why would I NOT get a book that talked about just this thing?! Let me tell you, this book does NOT disappoint.

I have always felt ridiculous trying to make seemingly mundane chores faster/ better/easier. Now I actually have a name and a system for this thinking! Not to mention I think the Lazy Genius is my Petronus.

This book is good for those who love systems as well as those who resist them. It is a book to reference, read all the way through or come back to repeatedly like I plan to!

What are you reading now? Do you have any books cued up to knock out over the long weekend? Tell me all about your TBR – I never get tired of talking books!

The Next Right Thing – Emily P. Freeman

Rating: 5 stars

Cliff Notes Version: I have never highlighted on a Kindle until I read this book. Backlist read completed 3/1/2019.

Full Review: Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) on Kindle. This was the first book launch team I was a part of and it was a great experience! The author is local to Greensboro, where I live so I was grateful to be on a launch team that was also convenient for me to support.

Some parts of this book touched a raw searching nerve in me that made all the hairs on my neck stand up. And I don’t know of any big decisions weighing heavily on my heart and mind right now! Additionally, Emily P Freeman has an online course, “Discern and Decide” that works as a companion piece to this book and also a quiz that helps you decide what your decision-making style is. Apparently I make decisions with my gut, which might be why we buy Tums from Costco.

Some people have commented they are not going to read it bc of the “God focus.” I am here to tell you that is a mistake. I would consider myself a seeker and spent a couple decades angry at God for things that happened in my life and for the people he put in charge of churches. But there is a small part inside of me that knows there is something in the universe that is greater than me and I choose to call it Love. Whenever Emily refers to God, I literally subbed the word Love and it unlocked messages that I really needed to hear. Don’t let your fear of the human mess get in the way of the soul message.