Why I have this book: I bought it on the Deseret Book reading app quite a while ago. Watching the General Women's Meeting of the LDS Church tonight made me think I should read it.
I'm not sure I can call this a "book" in good conscious. Amazon estimates it to be 25 pages. It certainly didn't take long to read. It's basically the transcript from a Time Out for Women talk, from what I can tell. Nevertheless, it had some good insights and a few things the author said really described some of my challenges in the area of forgiveness perfectly.
There were a couple of references to other resources that I am following up with to continue this topic of study.
Definitely worthwhile to read, but I would not pay Amazon's price for this very short book. I paid less than half of that price when I bought it on the DB app, and that's still a little pricey considering the length.
Clean.
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Simple Things (Lori Nawyn)
Why I have this book: It looked good and after I did the little "Look Inside!" peek at it on Amazon, I bought it.
This is a book of "daily inspiration." It really lives up to it's title... the entries are short in length and simple in concept, but I like the addition they are to my spiritual study.
It's a year-long read (one entry for each day of the year), so I'm not very far through it. I've seen it advertised lately in the local bookstore catalogs, though, so I thought this was a good time to review it. If you're trying to get into a habit of daily scripture study or want some "devotional" time, this is a nice tool. It has a sweet and calming - but thought provoking - feel to it.
Clean.
This is a book of "daily inspiration." It really lives up to it's title... the entries are short in length and simple in concept, but I like the addition they are to my spiritual study.
It's a year-long read (one entry for each day of the year), so I'm not very far through it. I've seen it advertised lately in the local bookstore catalogs, though, so I thought this was a good time to review it. If you're trying to get into a habit of daily scripture study or want some "devotional" time, this is a nice tool. It has a sweet and calming - but thought provoking - feel to it.
Clean.
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore (Robin Sloan)
Why I have this book: It is this month's book club book.
I'm still processing my thoughts on this book. Maybe I'll make a list:
1) I would have never been compelled to buy this book of my own accord. But that's why I like being in a book club... it opens one up to new reading styles and genres.
2) The storyline seems more in line to me as a book written for a young crowd (like Harry Potter) than for adults, but then there was the swearing and a couple of hints about sex. (Although I've noticed from Amazon reviews that swearing and sex are starting to be the norm in books written for the younger crowd.)
3) One thing that bothered me was how the protagonist would say something... "I wondered why this or that was the way it was." Then the next character would answer what he was wondering. It really threw me until I figured out that this was part of the author's writing style. It seemed like the character was thinking a thought to himself, then the other character would be reading his mind. It just wasn't the normal way of writing out conversation and it made me do a double take, even after I figured it out. It interrupted the flow my reading so many times.
4) I thought the premise was creative, fun, and clever. (And if there was no swearing and sexual innuedos, I would recommend it to young readers.)
5) It had a Harry Potter feel to it, although there is no magic or anything like that.
6) The "answer" to the puzzle was great, but it was also anti-climactic in it's unveiling and the affect it had on the searchers. There could have been a little more depth to the ending, which is one of the reasons I think it is more suited to a younger reading crowd. It comes across more as "cute" than "profound."
So, my overall opinion is that I liked it. It would make a good movie, I think, with a little tweaking for a target audience of younger people (although adults would enjoy it, as well) and a little more character development of some of the peripherel characters. Some of it seemed a little too unrealistic, but that's the beauty of fiction, ya? There was enough of a "fantasy" feel to this to pull it off if one isn't going to get too persnickety about it... (I know, that sounds strange coming from me.)
There were quite a few uses of the "S" word... and interestingly, I didn't notice any other swear word being used. There were a couple of suggestions that characters were having sex, but nothing in detail and not a central part of the story. I still wouldn't give it to my teenager to read, just on principle, and it seriously could/should have just been left out of the story. It added nothing to the development of the supposed relationship or the storyline.
I'm still processing my thoughts on this book. Maybe I'll make a list:
1) I would have never been compelled to buy this book of my own accord. But that's why I like being in a book club... it opens one up to new reading styles and genres.
2) The storyline seems more in line to me as a book written for a young crowd (like Harry Potter) than for adults, but then there was the swearing and a couple of hints about sex. (Although I've noticed from Amazon reviews that swearing and sex are starting to be the norm in books written for the younger crowd.)
3) One thing that bothered me was how the protagonist would say something... "I wondered why this or that was the way it was." Then the next character would answer what he was wondering. It really threw me until I figured out that this was part of the author's writing style. It seemed like the character was thinking a thought to himself, then the other character would be reading his mind. It just wasn't the normal way of writing out conversation and it made me do a double take, even after I figured it out. It interrupted the flow my reading so many times.
4) I thought the premise was creative, fun, and clever. (And if there was no swearing and sexual innuedos, I would recommend it to young readers.)
5) It had a Harry Potter feel to it, although there is no magic or anything like that.
6) The "answer" to the puzzle was great, but it was also anti-climactic in it's unveiling and the affect it had on the searchers. There could have been a little more depth to the ending, which is one of the reasons I think it is more suited to a younger reading crowd. It comes across more as "cute" than "profound."
So, my overall opinion is that I liked it. It would make a good movie, I think, with a little tweaking for a target audience of younger people (although adults would enjoy it, as well) and a little more character development of some of the peripherel characters. Some of it seemed a little too unrealistic, but that's the beauty of fiction, ya? There was enough of a "fantasy" feel to this to pull it off if one isn't going to get too persnickety about it... (I know, that sounds strange coming from me.)
There were quite a few uses of the "S" word... and interestingly, I didn't notice any other swear word being used. There were a couple of suggestions that characters were having sex, but nothing in detail and not a central part of the story. I still wouldn't give it to my teenager to read, just on principle, and it seriously could/should have just been left out of the story. It added nothing to the development of the supposed relationship or the storyline.
Monday, March 17, 2014
The Burnout Cure (Julie de Azevedo Hanks)
Why I have this book: It was on my wish list and I bought it. (Do you always have to have a compelling reason to buy a book???)
I liked this book quite a bit. Lots of bright yellow highlights on my Kindle app screen with this one. There isn't anything earth shatteringly new, but she shares good thoughts that help the reader think through the decisions we make and the thoughts we create that can either help us be balanced or burned out.
Clean.
I liked this book quite a bit. Lots of bright yellow highlights on my Kindle app screen with this one. There isn't anything earth shatteringly new, but she shares good thoughts that help the reader think through the decisions we make and the thoughts we create that can either help us be balanced or burned out.
Clean.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Twitterpated (Melanie Jacobson)
Why I have this book: I bought it for my daughter a year or more ago at a local LDS bookstore.
Like another of this author's books (The List), this is a romantic comedy. It fit the bill perfectly for the day of "escape" that I needed. I read it in just a few hours (because I ignored everything else I should be doing) and I'm not gonna lie... it helped me decompress.
There was one cringe-worthy quote, but that's to be expected in this genre. As I've mentioned before, I'm a romantic comedy cynic. But sometimes you just need a mindless, lighthearted, unrealistic fantasy (is that redundant?) for pure escapism.
Clean.
Like another of this author's books (The List), this is a romantic comedy. It fit the bill perfectly for the day of "escape" that I needed. I read it in just a few hours (because I ignored everything else I should be doing) and I'm not gonna lie... it helped me decompress.
There was one cringe-worthy quote, but that's to be expected in this genre. As I've mentioned before, I'm a romantic comedy cynic. But sometimes you just need a mindless, lighthearted, unrealistic fantasy (is that redundant?) for pure escapism.
Clean.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
The Splendour Falls (Susanna Kearsley)
Why I have this book: I borrowed it from the e-book library.
I think I liked this book. It just took me so long to get through it. I'm not sure if it was because it was hard to get into, or if it was because my life has been hectic and my brain has been too busy to concentrate.
I have enjoyed the author's other books better... and this one had a different feel to it than the others. It was still good, though. I would like a do-over... I think if I read it straight through when I had more time, I would have stayed more connected to it. In some ways, the story is sticking in my mind, so I think it probably was much better than I'm making it sound.
(Can you tell my life is still hectic and my brain is somewhat tired??? I'm not sure I'm even making sense!)
There may have been a swear word or two, and there was some murder involved in the storyline. Nothing graphic or gory.
I think I liked this book. It just took me so long to get through it. I'm not sure if it was because it was hard to get into, or if it was because my life has been hectic and my brain has been too busy to concentrate.
I have enjoyed the author's other books better... and this one had a different feel to it than the others. It was still good, though. I would like a do-over... I think if I read it straight through when I had more time, I would have stayed more connected to it. In some ways, the story is sticking in my mind, so I think it probably was much better than I'm making it sound.
(Can you tell my life is still hectic and my brain is somewhat tired??? I'm not sure I'm even making sense!)
There may have been a swear word or two, and there was some murder involved in the storyline. Nothing graphic or gory.
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