About

About Me

I’m a follower of Christ, military spouse, mother and farm-maker. Originally from Indianapolis, I joined the Air Force at 17 and added nearly 10 years of military service to my name. After spending 4 years on active duty at the Air Force Academy I moved to Alaska and joined the Air National Guard. Alaska is also where I met and married my husband Jay (Leap Year Day 2004). We’ve been stationed in Alaska, Arkansas, Illinois, and back to Arkansas again (when Jay joined the Arkansas Air National Guard, January 2013). Lately, we’ve been enjoying life on the farm with our two children, pound puppy, and 27 spoiled #LitChicks.

In addition to being a farm-maker, I’m also book clubber and avid reader. Originally, Christian Shelf-Esteem was established as a way of sharing my favorite books with the Women’s Ministry at church. Since then the blog has taken on a life of it’s own. I enjoy posting reviews and hearing what other readers have to say about titles we have in common.

Thank you for being here, for reading and commenting on my reviews, and connecting on social media.

Blessings,

Amanda Geaney

10 Random Things

1. I am every bit of the ISTJ Meyers-Briggs says I am.
2. Vacuum lines in the carpet make me happy.
3. National Parks occupy most of my bucket list.
4. I’m a reluctant s⚽️ccer mom. (It’s so… social.)
5. There’s always a song stuck on repeat in my head. 🎶
6. I judge books by their covers.
7. The Mark of the Lion series by Francine Rivers won me to Christian fiction.
8. I was raised Catholic, but after a lengthy break from the church was led to Christ by a co-worker (2003). In the years (and multiple moves) since, I’ve attended non-denominational, Presbyterian, and Southern Baptists churches.
9. Lately, I’ve been geeking out over church history, heavily theological podcasts, and classic Christian literature.
10. I’m currently reading the Bible cover to cover for the 3rd time. (Our 9 year old daughter is reading with me.)

Me in 3: Temperance “Bones” Brennan {literal}
Hermione Granger {bookish}
Lucy Pevensie {Friend of Aslan}

Ratings System

I’ve moved away from a star-based review system on the blog. By doing so I hope to shift the focus away from the rating and back to the author’s originality, character development, and writing style.

⭐️ Value System (I used in older posts)

5: I bestow this rating on books that are EXTRAORDINARY — they move me deeply, strike me as being unique for their genre, or stick with me long after I put them down.

#didntseethatcoming   #tearjerker   #SUSPENSE!    #pageturner     #riveting    #MustRead    #bookclub    #TopPick    #Bestof2016

Bottom Line: These are books I expect to read again and again.

4: I really enjoyed the book and/or thought it was VERY GOOD — the likelihood of me re-reading the book is favorable.

3: It was GOOD — I liked it/found it to be entertaining.

(This rating is not meant to be a slight against the author or the book.)

2: FAIR — What we have here is failure to connect. In most cases I will only post these reviews on Goodreads and Amazon.

Updated 6/23/2017

Requests for Review

My 2017 review schedule is full. However, I do have dates available for guest bloggers (authors).

To have your book considered for review in 2018, please read on to determine our reader/author compatibility.

Types of Christian books I enjoy most:

• Books with strong Christian themes – forgiveness, repentance, restoration, mercy, sacrificial love
• Biblical Fiction – #biblicalfictionfriday
• Historical Fiction
• Suspense!
• Cozy mysteries
• Children’s & YA fiction and non-fiction
• Non-fiction: Church history, apologetics, prayer, discipleship, parenting
• Bible Studies

I ❤️ print copies and audiobooks!

I WILL NOT READ:

• Charismatic / LDS / New Age
• Graphic Violence
• Paranormal
• Profanity
• Romance w/explicit sexual content or excessive pinning 😛
• Sci-fi (just really not my thing)

Are we a good fit? If so, please send me a message through the blog’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/christianshelfesteem/.

Disclosure

Books that I review come from a number of sources to include: my local library, book stores, blogger programs, and authors. I am not paid to do this. However, in exchange for a copy of the book I agree to post my review here and elsewhere on the web.

I am not a member of any affiliate program.