Bibliophile and proud of it!

Hand of Fate

2010-04-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

Although I have not read the first book in this series, I will most certainly read it now. Lis Wiehl does such a wonderful job weaving a tale of mystery and suspense, in this book, that I can not wait to read the 1st and 3rd book.

She tells a story from the inside the workings of a radio talk show so well, you are gripped and intrigued within the first few pages of this book. A love-to-hate-him talk show host is killed in front of his co-workers and there is nothing they can do about it.. except watch him die from behind the glass of the soundproof booth.

You can feel the panic and chaos that grips the city after what was suspected to kill Jim Fate was feared to be released into the air. Lis vividly painted this picture of panic for her readers. She gives you a personal connection to each of the characters. THIS is what makes a good book.

I was very shocked as you will be by the end of this book to find out who the killer is (it's NOT OJ)

I highly recommend this book to my fellow mystery, thriller fans.

A Century Turns

2010-03-01T12:47:00.000-08:00

A Century Turns covers the last 20 political years in America. William Bennett tells this amazing tale from his own personal experiences working within the Reagan and George H W Bush administrations as well as from his memory as things happened. He relies on many sources to validate the information that he has provided.

I found the book to be VERY interesting and educational because, up until recently I have not been interested in the political history of the U.S. Not to mention the fact, that 20 years ago, I was just barely 18 and paid no attention to the world around me.

He talks about many things good and bad that have affected Americans and will continue to affect us for years to come. His viewpoints on these subjects are very strong and he can look at them from both the Democratic AND Republican sides.

He can obviously not cover EVERYTHING that has happened in the last 20 years, but everything that he chose to write about is intriguing and it made me check out the extensive sources that he listed so that I could learn more.

This is a book that I would not have chosen if I would have gone to a bookstore, but as a Thomas Nelson book for review, I am glad I chose it. I am now more educated about this great country of ours.

Buried Alive- An absolutely incredible tale of an amazing man

2010-01-27T17:10:00.000-08:00

When I first heard of Roy Hallums' rescue in 2005, I remembered being happy that an American hostage was rescued. It was only after I saw him appear on FoxNews to promote his book Buried Alive about his 14 month ordeal, that I KNEW I had to honor him by reading his book. I had no idea the brutal conditions he survived.

This is not a type of book I normally read, so after seeing him on the news, I was going to go out and buy the book. I did not need to, for as if it were a sign, Thomas Nelson offered it as a review book. I am glad they did.

This book draws you in from the very first chapter and doesn't let go until the very end. The way Mr. Hallums tells his story, with such detail, he puts you right in to that heart breaking God-forsaken hellhole were he was held bound, blindfolded, barely fed and beaten almost daily. Throughout the book, I just wanted to rescue, hug him, feed him and beat his captors and treat them the way he and the other hostages were treated.

Roy was able to keep his sanity by focusing on staying alive and seeing his family again. He took mental road trips that kept him sane, probably had some healing effect and let him escape, if only in his mind, the nightmare he was living.

As he tells his story now, he shows his sense of humor, which I know he probably didn't have during his ordeal. Nevertheless, he is still able to make his reader chuckle here and there through an otherwise heart-wrenching story.

There are few fiction writers out there that can tell a story as intriguing as this one from their imagination, like the real-life agony Roy has suffered. I was so enthralled and absorbed, that when I got to the part about him being rescued by US Special Forces, I cried and smiled through my tears as I know he must have done when he was finally released from that living hell.

I would recommend this book to anyone. It has taught me a lot of things I did not know, about Iraq, the US, and the enduring power of the human spirit.

Thank you to all military, past, present and future for doing EVERYTHING you do for this great nation of ours and taking care of your own.

Fearless

2009-09-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

Fearless by Max Lucado

Max Lucado writes an amazing book showing how living without fear is a wonderful life to live. This is a fabulous book on the power of positive thinking; something I try to use everyday to live a happier life. Throughout the book, he uses scripture, stories from the Bible, stories from present life, things that have happened in the past; stories of his or those of others, to illustrate how fear controls our actions. Within those same stories, he also shows how to overcome our fears, through prayer and positive thinking. He also shows how the love of others can overcome this monster within so that we can live happy, productive lives and keep others happy by example. He uses his humor and wit to help relay these messages.

He illustrates the snowballing effect of fear and the "what if's." For example, one might be afraid of losing their job. "What if I lose my job? My spouse will be upset, my kids will lose respect, no one will want to hire me if I try to apply somewhere else". So they become reserved and withdrawn in the workplace. They are afraid to speak to anyone for fear of saying the wrong thing, or doing the wrong thing, so they say or do nothing at all. This leads to sadness, depression, loss of interest and eventually, quite possibly, to losing the job because of lack of performance. All because of one simple factor... fear. He shows you haw to make a list and keep track of all of your fears and then look back later to see if any of those fears ever saw the light of day. You would be astonished to know, that most fears never come to light.

As I was reading one part of the book, he told the story of a slave family who was woken up everyday to the sound of the rooster. He told of the passing of Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln. The morning after it passed, that family was once again awoken by the rooster. This time though, they took an axe and killed that rooster and had it for breakfast. It was a symbol of their past life. They would deal with it no more. At the same time I was reading that, Alice in Chains' "Rooster" came on the radio. Part of the lyrics are "Here they come to snuff the rooster" Coincidence? I think not. It made me examine my "rooster" and think of ways to get rid of it.

This book really reaffirmed everything I knew and made me remember all I had forgotten about living of life of happiness and positivity. If you are looking for something to raise your spirits, this would be the book to do it. Stop living in fear.