I appreciate having my complacency stirred. Hatmaker asks important questions about the status quo that is western consumerism. She dives beyond theory and finds responses through practical, month-long practices.

The writing moves along -- so closer to a 3.5, but the humor can feel contrived, even forced. ( )

I did not love this book.... that is not to say there are not some things I gleaned from it because there were. I just did not like the tone throughout the book. It is like reading a blog or online journal in many ways. It was not super deep throughout much of it. It even seemed shallow and trite at times. Her tone was one that poked fun at herself but it also poked fun at other things, too, and sometimes it was a bit uncomfortable like when you are in a group and someone says something a little bit inappropriate and you think, "Hmmmm... that was uncomfortable." There were some parts that grabbed me... the adoption story was beautiful and the media chapter spoke to me pretty strongly. I picked this book up on recommendation but I am not sure I would have chosen it on my own. There were times I was thinking that she was giving up many things that I have already given up because we don't have the luxury to do many of the things she was laying aside. I am also not a huge fan of the mystic/contemplative movement so some of the authors she referred to are not people I would read. Maybe I have become jaded to some degree in this realm but I am very picky about Christian books because I think many are misleading in this mystic spiritual realm. I don't think she, in particular, really said anything that I questioned but I have questioned many of the authors she reads regularly. Interesting read.... thought provoking to a some degree but not deep and theological by any stretch of the imagination. This is certainly not C.S. Lewis or Tozer. If you want to read something a little more impacting from modern Christianity I would recommend David Platt or Francis Chan. ( )

I was not impressed. She was upset after only 2 1/2 weeks on her 7 diet (a week and a half to go?), and then couldn't bake a loaf of whole wheat bread with a bread machine! Bread is not that hard to bake, especially with a bread machine. I lost patience and stopped reading it, sorry. Maybe I'll pick it up again at a later time (when I have more patience...). ( )

This book changed me. I started giving away many possessions to bless others and free myself for ministry. ( )

For 7 months, Jen Hatmaker wages a war against excess. She experiments by eating only 7 foods, wearing only 7 articles of clothing, giving away 7 items each day, and praying 7 times a day. Although Hatmaker's experiments are extreme, she raises awareness of the excesses present in our homes and our lives. ( )