Choose Words Wisely - A Parental Responsibility

In his post, Guard your children's spiritual growth, Author Rick Warren shares how the words we use make a huge impact on our children, and can either hurt or heal. This is an excellent post on our responsibility as parents to be mindful of the words we choose when speaking to our kids. We can build up or we can tear down, and it's important we choose words that affirm our kids and let them know they are loved and valued.

Here's the link. . .
Guard your children's spiritual growth

I welcome your thoughts and comments.

Book Review - Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory

Dinner with a Perfect Stranger: An Invitation Worth Considering by David Gregory

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The premise of Dinner with a Perfect Stranger sounded interesting enough. A man, Nick Cominsky who is consumed by work and the demands of life, is invited to and has dinner with Jesus. Initially, Nick believes it to be a prank. But their conversation touches on everything from faith, religion, punishment of sin, and more, and leaves Nick a changed man.

Dinner with a Perfect Stranger is a very quick and easy, sometimes thought-provoking read. It was relatively basic and not terribly deep, and some of what was presented I do not completely agree with. In fact I almost quit reading when on page 52, Jesus said "...God has to punish sin, because if he doesn't, he lets all creation be sabotaged." But in the end, I am glad I read on.

Book Review - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Honestly, I couldn't remember if I had read To Kill a Mockingbird when I was younger or not. Having just finished now, I know that I clearly had not previously read this book.

The small fault I found with To Kill a Mockingbird is that it is a bit slow to start. There were pages upon pages of story that occurs before the real story starts for me - and that is when the lawyer, Atticus, is called upon to defend the black man charged with raping a white girl. But then, the story comes alive!

What I enjoyed most were the true to life characters and strong emotions, it's portrayal of the racial prejudices in the deep south, and the overall message that most people, if you just take the time to know them, are good.

Book Review - The Shack by William P. Young

The Shack by William P. Young

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Weird. But good.

The Shack is a book that will make you think about God and your relationship with God, as well as your relationships with other people. It will get you thinking about what is truly important in life. You just have to get past some of the imagery – for instance, I have never contemplated God as a black woman flipping pancakes. But somehow William P. Young pulls it off with an entertaining, thought-provoking story.

Reading The Shack wasn’t “life changing” for me, or the best book I’ve read this year, or any of the other myriad of descriptions I’ve heard. It isn’t a preachy book, although there are some sections of long dialog that come close, and it certainly isn’t the Bible. What I really enjoyed most about The Shack is how real and authentic God’s relationship is with the character Mack.

Packed with emotion, this is a comforting book and full of hope. It leaves you feeling good and yearning for the simplistic love portrayed.

Book Review - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What's left to be said? (Most everyone has already read this book). J.K. Rowling does a remarkable job of wrapping up the loose ends in this final book of the Harry Potter series. Like the rest of her work, this is a page turner full of incredible imagination, suspense, and true-to-life characters.

My favorite part is finally knowing the true allegiance of Severus Snape. He has been an interesting character throughout the series, and his swaying between good and bad is finally explained.

For anyone left out there that hasn't yet read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, this is a great read! For everyone else, what was your favorite part of this final book in the series?

Book Review - The Manufactured Identity by Heath Sommer

The Manufactured Identity by Heath Sommer

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Initially confusing, this novel has multiple characters that at first seem disassociated, but later are pulled together and explained through multiple identities. Perhaps because of the multiple identities, I never felt as though I got to know any of the characters well. They felt superficial.

The storyline was compelling however, and I did find myself wanting to read more to understand who these people were and how they were all connected. Heath Sommer opens the book with an interesting prologue and first chapter that make the reader instantly begin searching for answers.

The Manufactured Identity was provided to me complimentary in exchange for a book review; however I have never met the author who I understand has a 2nd and 3rd book forthcoming. My thanks for the opportunity to read The Manufactured Identity.

Book Review - The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand


My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Beautifully set in Nantucket, this story encompasses the lives and lusts of four best friend couples. But when Greg and Tess MacAvoy die in a boating accident on their wedding anniversary, the three remaining couples have to sort through their emotions and relationships as they try to determine what happened on that boat.

Best friend characters, but perhaps too much alike as I kept losing track of who was married to whom and who was in love with whom, which one had the farm, who was the real estate tycoon, etc. About the only character that felt truly unique to me was the Chief. I kept finding myself flipping back to figure out who each character was when the point of view shifted in the story. The story itself had some interesting twists and turns, making it an enjoyable enough read.

I received this book complimentary. Unfortunately, I am not sure who sent this book to me, and the shipping label did not provide any information. Several other books were forwarded to me at around the same time, and I am very behind on posting my reviews. I hope to remedy that soon. My thanks to whomever sent this book.

Book Review - Son of a Dog by Jacqueline K. Howard

Son of a Dog by Jacqueline K. Howard

Son of a Dog is a work of fiction based largely on real-life events, but it reads very much more like a memoir or slice of life through a series of humorous, and sometimes outrageous, stories about a woman and her rescued Greyhound dog. While reading the book, I couldn't help myself but wonder what had actually happened to the author, and what had not.

Unfortunately, I did not feel a connection with the characters in the book, and so it was hard for me to stay fully engaged. Some of the tales in the book were so ludicrous that it was hard to imagine they were anything but true, and I kept questioning what was fiction and what was not. This was a big distraction to me.

An easy and quick read, Son of a Dog is a recounting of some quirky happenings between a dog and his owner.


                                                      
I received my copy of Son of a Dog as a complimentary gift from Story Institute for my participation in a community forum discussion (thank you!), and I am acquainted with the author through social forums including participation in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo).