Audible Book Review: The More of Less by Joshua Becker

This audiobook added to my motivation to declutter and downsize.
The More of Less
By: Joshua Becker
Narrated by: Joshua Becker

Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
Unabridged Audiobook
Release date: 05-03-16
Language: English
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Genre: Cleaning, Nonfiction, Self Help
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0, Overall, Story and Performance

Publisher's Summary
Most of us know we own too much stuff. We feel the weight and burden of our clutter, and we tire of cleaning and managing and organizing. While excess consumption leads to bigger houses, faster cars, fancier technology, and cluttered homes, it never brings happiness. Rather, it results in a desire for more. It redirects our greatest passions to things that can never fulfill, and it distracts us from the very lives we wish we were living. But it doesn't have to be this way.
In The More of Less, Joshua Becker helps you:
Recognize the life-giving benefits of owning less
Realize how all the stuff you own is keeping you from pursuing your dreams
Craft a personal, practical approach to decluttering your home and life
Experience the joys of generosity
Learn why the best part of minimalism isn't a clean house; it's a full life
It's time to own your possessions instead of letting them own you. After all, the beauty of minimalism isn't in what it takes away. It's in what it gives.
©2016 Becoming Minimalist LLC (P)2016 Tantor

Review:
There are mixed motivations and mixed methods, but the goal is to minimalize the stuff we are responsible for and the time it takes from being with those we love or doing things we would love to do. This was a good resource to go with the decluttering book I read a few weeks ago.

Mr. Becker kept the topic interesting as he shared how he first realized that he was being controlled by his possessions. He decided that having time to spend with his young son was more important than working more, acquiring more and being responsible for more. He explained how some ideas worked and some didn’t and he noted how it is important to discuss steps with your spouse/significant other.

Becker shares how others made a similar decision and how each person can start at their own pace. Some people moved in to ‘tiny homes’ so they could move about more freely. Some sold their possessions so they could travel and explore or go on missions to help others.

This work tends to cover the reasons that people choose to minimalize more than provided details on how to accomplish the goal. He does give some steps that worked for him and others, but he stresses that each person can work in their own way at their own pace. Becker encourages his readers to make the transition a life change, not just a short term project. He shares some Biblical foundations and supports that were fine with me, but might not be comfortable for everyone.

I enjoyed this and think it is handy to have to remind me to keep working on reducing my clutter even if it is a little at a time. I recommend this to readers who are interested in the idea of pursing living with less.

Audio Notes: Mr. Becker serves as his own narrator and I felt he did a fine job. He was clearly comfortable with the material and delivered it in a natural manner. I think listening was easier for me although some people might like have the print version for easier reference back.

Source: January 2017 Audible Daily Deal $2.95. This qualifies for 2019TBR and 2019 Audiobook Goals.

MBS 2019 Reading Goals: Yes – Challenges: Maybe

I’m not sure about posting or officially entering specific challenges for 2019 mostly because I don’t have the time to fully participate. BUT I do have reading goals. I will continue to track TBRs, Audiobooks and NetGalley specifically, even if not part of an online challenge.

I set my 2019 Goodreads Goal at 150. This is less than the last two years so it should be easy enough- I am seeking to minimize stress for the year in all ways possible. This will require about 3 books per week which is very comfortable for reading and review posting.

• I love audiobooks so reading 75 audiobooks a year is easy even if that is half of the scheduled books. By choosing 75 instead of 100 I am allowing for some longer books – like the first for the year: 27 hrs The Name of the Wind. 
• I plan to read at least 100 TBR titles and I plan to do better than last year (less than 24) reading my own ebook TBRs. The goal will be at least 24 or 2 per month.

• I plan to read 40 NetGalley titles.
• I plan to read a book for each season of the year and one for each month - TBR titles if I can.

• I hope to read at least 12 author review titles, whether audio, NetGalley or ebook. I do like to do some tour reviews during the year. I already have 5 author titles lined up so I may do more than 12.
• I hope to read at least 12 nonfiction titles.

I may still work with the Alphabet Challenge because it helps me pick titles from my huge TBR shelves. If I use this as a guide I plan to only work on 1 title per letter so I have more freedom on other titles.

Sunday Post January 13, 2019/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday January 14, 2019

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading now at The Book Date (at Wordpress).

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

We are starting to see a more normal closing and work schedule at office. This coming week I have several days of court hearings to cover.

I spent a couple of half days this past week moving files and books from one office (to be stripped) to three rooms to be retained. I also met with the workers to move furniture into my warehouse. They have stripped 3/4ths of the carpet and are in the process of removing the floor glue. There should be more insulation and ceiling panels removed this week. It is nice to see progress.

My listening and reading was good, but slower again this week. I finished 1 ebook novel and one children's book. I posted four reviews and my usual memes.

I visited 20 blogs during the week.
Shout Out this week to Every Book its Reader. Kim is a librarian as well as "reader, blogger, geek".
Thank you to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post January 6, 2019/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday January 7, 2019.

• 2018 Book Giveaway Winners

• NG2018- #NetGalley Book Review: The Cat in the Christmas Tree: A Magical Tail by Peter Scottsdale; Cats, Children; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.

• NG2018- #NetGalley Book Review: Owl Love You by Matthew Heroux, Wednesday Kirwan Illustrations; Birds, Children, Family; My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway January 11, 2019. Open Worldwide. Ending 1/17/2019.

• A2019- Audible Book Review: Storm Glass (Harbinger Book 1) by Jeff Wheeler; Epic, Fantasy, Historical; My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0.

• NG2018- #NetGalley Book Review: Fury: An Urban Fantasy & Mystery (The Fae Awakening Book 1) by Will O'Shire; Dark Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.

• Sharing Beyond Books #360 Comment Giveaway January 12, 2019.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement January 13, 2019.

Finished Reading:

1. eBook/Kindle (NG2018)

Talon of Scorpio: A Novel of the Shadowstorm
by G. T. Almasi
I enjoyed the prior books in this series and this is another action packed volume.
Source: 2018 NetGalley.
Click on book title for full description.

2. ADE/PC (NG2018)

Don't Dangle Your Participle
by Vanita Oelschlager
This is cute and I appreciated the reminding lesson. :-)
Source: 2019 NetGalley.
Words and pictures show children what a dangling participle is all about. Young readers are shown an incorrect sentence that has in it a dangling participle. They are then taught how to make the sentence read correctly. It is done in a cute and humorous way. The dangling participle loses its way and the children learns how to help it find its way back to the correct spot in the sentence. This is followed by some comical examples of sentences with dangling participles and their funny illustrations, followed by an illustration of the corrected sentence. Young readers will have fun recognizing this problem in sentence construction and learning how to fix it.

Currently Reading:

1. Audible/Smartphone (A2018)

The Name of the Wind
(Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1)
By: Patrick Rothfuss
Narrated by: Nick Podehl
Series: Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1
Length: 27 hrs and 55 mins
I can get lost in Kvothe's story and emotions.

I have 11 hours still to go of this long story.Source: 2012 Audible.
Click on book title for full description.

2. eBook/Kindle (NG2018)

Summoned to Thirteenth Grave: A Novel (Charley Davidson Series Book 13)
by Darynda Jones
Release date Jan 15, 2019
I am 40% into this and tension is building as the series draws to a close.
Source: 2018 NetGalley.
Click on book title for full description.

3. ADE/PC (NG2019)

A Flicker of Hope
by Julia Cook (Author), MacKenzie Haley (Illustrator)
This is another children's book I selected to enjoy.
Source: 2019 NetGalley.
HOPE is our children's window for a better tomorrow. In terms of resilience and well-being, hope is a critically important predictor of success. This creative story from the best-selling author of My Mouth is a Volcano!, and Bubble Gum Brain, reminds children that dark clouds can be temporary and asking for help is always okay. We all have times when we need to borrow a little hope from someone else.
When your clouds get too dark,
and too heavy to push away,
Reach out and ask, Can I borrow some light?
I'm having a really bad day.
It's always okay to admit to yourself,
I just can't do it today.
Everyone needs somebody sometimes,
to help them find their way.
Sometimes the dark clouds overhead seem too heavy and you feel like giving up. Little candle knows all about this. Bad grades, blasted on social media, worried about making the team, and wondering who her real friends are so many hard things to deal with! All she can see is darkness. But her story begins to change when someone notices she needs a boost of hope. As little candle is reminded she has purpose and her own unique gifts, and that she isn't the only one with dark clouds, her dim light begins to shine brighter.

This hopeful story emphasizes for children (and adults) the many different ways to ask for help, and their ability to be a hope builder for others, too.

4. eBook/Kindle (NG2018)

The Winter Mystery an absolutely gripping whodunit
by Faith Martin
This cover and blurb caught my attention.
Source: 2018 NetGalley.
Discover a new series of whodunits by million-selling author Faith Martin. These charming mysteries will have you scratching your head to work out who the murderer is.
“Classic murder mystery story with a twist at the end” Oxford Times
Meet Jenny Starling: travelling cook and reluctant amateur detective.
Please note this book was first published as “A FATAL FALL OF SNOW” under Faith Martin’s pen name JOYCE CATO.
Jenny Starling is spending Christmas in a snowed-in country house cooking all the traditional food she loves. But the family she’s working for are not full of the seasonal spirit. In fact, they seem to hate each other.
On Christmas Eve, someone is found dead on the kitchen table. And the head of the family is blaming Jenny!
But with an incompetent detective called in, and seemingly no motive for the murder, Jenny will have to give the police a hand.
She will stop at nothing to clear her name and find the real murderer.
This is the second of a series of gripping murder mysteries with a great cast of characters and baffling crimes which will keep you in suspense to the final page.
Perfect for fans of classic whodunits by authors like Agatha Christie, LJ Ross, TE Kinsey, and J.R. Ellis.

January 13, 2019 - I have started again with the One Year Bible plan reading through You Version App.
I enjoyed a 4 day reading plan this week: Examen Prayer.
I am continuing to find other shorter reading plans that are uplifting.
[You can check out audio of the One Year Bible Plan on the companion commentary online.]

I only completed two books and posted four reviews. That leaves 3 reviews to post.
I continue to slowly add reviews to NetGalley, Goodreads, Amazon and Audible. I still have older ones to catch up on.
I added/downloaded two more NetGalley titles. My shelf is currently at 9 unread. I now have five author titles in queue that I hope to start next week. Still many through InstaFreebie and many new author requests I haven't replied to.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday. Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and (yours truly). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
I added/downloaded two book titles from NetGalley.
I received one author review title. 
I am adding a book for Ladies Book Club to read Jan-Feb.
I resisted the Audible daily deals but selected one of the free original audible titles.
I didn't purchase any Kindle paid titles and I only picked up 1 (lonely) free kindle titles again. (Note these are in my Amazon library, NOT on my Kindle until I download and transfer them.)
Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

These are two titles I picked up at NetGalley:

A Flicker of Hope
by Julia Cook (Author), MacKenzie Haley (Illustrator)
"HOPE is our children's window for a better tomorrow."
See above under finished reading for book description.

The PVC Pipe Book:Projects for the Home, Garden, and Homestead
by Chris Peterson

"Put that spare PVC pipe to work with more than 50 inventive, step-by-step projects that yield tough and durable storage, furniture, gardening, toys, and much more, with The PVC Pipe Book."

I received this title from the Author.

Reasons to Kill God
by I. V. Olokita
“If you are able to write 180 pages of your memoir without putting the pen down, I might let you live…”



Ladies Book Club January book to be discussed February 9, 2019.

Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit
by Francis Chan (Author), Danae Yankoski (Contributor)
"In the name of the Father, the Son, and ... the Holy Spirit. We pray in the name of all three, but how often do we live with an awareness of only the first two?"

Won

NONE

Purchased

I selected one credit title from Audiobooks.com:
Apex
by Mercedes Lackey

Free

1/13/19 First of two choices for January Audible Original
The Spies That Bind
A Gallagher Girls Prequel
By: Ally Carter
Narrated by: Rebecca Soler
Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
Release date: 06-25-18

I only added 1 free titles to my Kindle library over the past week. I didn't spend much time adding free books again this week.  Titles found linked through Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Ignite Your Book, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement January 13, 2019

This morning we had another good Sunday School lesson. This week’s lesson was titled The Love Factor and focused on 1 Corinthians 10:24 which states “No one should seek their own good, but the good of others” The lesson concluded with what is often known as ‘the love chapter’ 1 Corinthians 13.

We had nice praise and worship and then Pastor shared his message titled Forward.
We look forward because it's the only way we can go. Looking forward engages our work ethic and allows for future successes. Looking forward we generally perceive that something is waiting for us. God's blessings are waiting for us. Who doesn't want to be blessed by God? Being blessed by God is always in front of us except when we are living under God's blessing.
Granted, God’s blessings may not always match what we would expect; we may get mixed result. But if we go it alone we are assured of mixed results.

God's blessing is more than physical, financial. There is no blessing without submission.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 'Those who are blessed by God, make the Lord their hope.'
Jeremiah 17:5 ‘cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans…’

The point: If you want God’s blessing, seek His presence.

Seek His Presence; Seek Him first.
Deuteronomy 30:11-20 provides an Offer of Life or Death.

19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.

You make the choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying, and committing yourself to Him.
We don't need a grocery list seeking our idea of blessings. The Holy Spirit leads us to surrender and submission. In submission we Love God and Love people.
Are you living in the blessing of God? Seek His Presence.

Here is a song that is new to me but I think fits this message.

Verses for Today:
Deuteronomy 30:19-20
19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.

Lord, please help me to seek Your Presence, draw closer to You and submit to Your Will.

Sharing Beyond Books #360 Comment Giveaway January 12, 2019

Hello again and Welcome back to the first Sharing Beyond Books, SBB, of 2019.

Thanks to everyone who commented last week.
I enjoyed reading what books you have read as children and some choices show our diverse ages. :-) Black Beauty was named three times, Charlotte's Web named twice, and - from the younger folks - Harry Potter was named twice. Ashfa listed Enid Blyton books and I had to look those up - they look like fun reading for children.

The Winner from SBB #359 comments is: #12 Alina who can make a GC choice if international or book choice from the Updated (**Finally!) ARC/Review titles or (recently updated) Love and Christmas titles - all linked near the end of the post. -- [12/15/18 I am pulling out some new Christmas and Love titles to add to the Win box choices. I had to move the books due to the water threat in office. I will dig them out again soon.]

**NOTE: I did post an Updated ARC and Other books for Giveaways. I have to go back and list the titles -- someday.
Please let me know your choice by completing the WINNER FORM.

WEEK #360

(One Question.)

Natalija asks: What is your least favourite chore??

I need to preface this answer with the disclosure that we have a house cleaner come in every two weeks so I no longer have to clean. I actually enjoy dusting, vacuuming and laundry. I still do the laundry. If I had to do chores the one I would like least would be cleaning the bathrooms.

Image found at Cozi.

Thanks to those who are sending in Questions. DON'T BE SHY! Surely everyone has a Q or two you'd like to ask. Input suggestions in this Suggested Question Form. At the end of each month I draw from the suggestions I used during the month and that person will get a book choice or GC. I thank everyone for submitting questions. Thanks for sending in questions! The supply of questions is dwindling so share some if you think of any -- even if they are duplicates I'll weed through or try to modify.

Your turn to share. Natalija asks: What is your least favourite chore??

SBB Comment Winners can choose a selection from the Updated ARC and Other books, including the "Love" and Christmas titles all in one post.

SBB Rules:
a) Must be a follower.
b) Share a comment on the question above.
Open internationally and an international winner may get a smaller book or a $5.00 GC if I decide the mailing is too much.
I will pick a Comment winner from all comments made through Saturday January 26, 2019 at 5 PM central.