Book Review(ish) - One Thousand Gifts

My dear Twitter/Bloggie/hopefully one day real life friend Michelle Pendergrass recommended this read for me.

One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are - Ann Voskamp

What I read was the egalley/pre-published version of the book.

What follows is not so much a book review as it is my reaction to the words themselves.

From the very first words of the book I was drawn in. The beginning paragraph was captivating, engrossing, and so very poetic, I knew I wanted to read more.

By the end of the 1^st chapter, I’m already in tears. But fully, completely involved in the story, in the pain, and in the questions…I want to read more.

By page 40 I can’t seem to stop reading, I lose sense of all around me and am completely immersed in her words, her beautiful, mesmerizing prose.

By page 122, I’m feeling filled up, inspired, excited to participate in my own life with the vigor the author is expressing in hers. I have all the same questions, all the same doubts, all the same struggles. I have all the same hopes, all the same desires, all the same grains of faith.

By page 141, I’m making a list. No, not a list of graces, though that will surely come soon enough, but a list of names. Names of people I will be gifting this book when it is released next year.

By page 167, I am craving that childlike wonder, and professing to live like a child. Every day. To see the world through the innocent and joyous eyes of a child.

By page 188, I’m in tears once again, and wanting to thank God for my friend, the one I call The Disciple, because she won’t hesitate to stop and hug a homeless person on the street.

By page 201 I realize I’m nearing the end, and I don’t want it to end…so I stop for the day, save the last 40 pages for another day’s grace…

By the last page, the acknowledgements, the Thank You’s…I am again in tears. Feeling blessed for having shared in these intimate moments with the author. And I am ready to begin my own list of One Thousand Gifts…and beyond.

This book is beautiful, full, enriching.

EVERYONE should read this book. Everyone.

Word of Promise - Audio Book Review

The Following is an Audio Book Review for the Thomas Nelson Book Publisher website. Thomas Nelson provided me with a complimentary copy of this audio book for reviewing purposes, and I have actually had this book for a VERY LONG TIME, and am beyond way overdue on this review. To be honest, I sort of forgot it existed until I was cleaning out my office and found the cd's and remembered I'd already reviewed it,but never posted it, so....without further ado:

The book:

The Word of Promise: Next Generation New Testament Audio Youth Edition. Finally the entire New Testament is ready for the wired generation! Now you can get into the Word as never before with this highly dramatized recording of the New Testament. The accomplished cast includes Sean Astin as the Narrator, AnnaSophia Rob as Mary Magdalene, Marshall Allman as Paul, Emily Osment as Mary, Mother of Jesus, Cody Linley as Jesus, Jordin Sparks as Elizabeth, Corbin Bleu as Peter, and many others. Set includes a bonus Behind-the-Scenes DVD with cast interviews, recording sessions, and more! Get the kids something that will be uniquely theirs!

The Word of Promise is a New Testament Audio Bible, dramatized by an all−star cast of actors, including Jim Caviezel as Jesus, with Marisa Tomei, Louis Gossett Jr., and many more. This audio Bible is produced with state of the art audio technology, including sound effects and an original musical score. This is a new experience in audio Bibles like none before. Take a listen today!


My Review:

Tell me, how does one review an Audio Bible? I mean, it’s not like I can dissect the story lines and criticize or praise them. That just feels wrong. It’s the Bible! As I sit here staring at a blank page I’m beginning to question the wiseness of my choice of “The Word of Promise: next Generation” as my review book of choice for Thomas Nelson Publishers. It seemed like a good idea at the time, after all, I’m a fan of audio books, I’m a Christian, and I’m a youth leader, this seemed like the perfect project to delve into. But doing the actual review? Well, that’s been a bit more challenging.

Yet, here’s the thing, I absolutely loved this audio book. I think the idea is ingenious, and the execution was fantastic.

The Word of Promise: Next Generation is the New Testament in Audio, the Youth Edition. From the Thomas Nelson Publishers website: Now the entire New Testament is ready for the Wired Generation.
Today's youth ingest media at a faster rate than any previous generation. And they can't get enough! The Word of Promise: Next Generation - New Testament is the perfect way for young multi-taskers to absorb Scripture. This ambitious recording makes the Word accessible to more kids than ever before.

This audio book is not just an out-loud reading of the Bible, it is an all-out dramatization of the gospels and stories we, as Christians, have grown up listening to. Dramatized by an all-star cast of some of hollywood’s most promising up and coming young stars, it is enganging, entertaining, and inspiring. Narrated by Sean Astin (of Lord Of The Rings fame), and starring Cody Linley as Jesus, Jordin Sparks as Elizabeth, Corbin Bleu as Peter, and Anna Sophia Rob as Mary Magdalene, among others, it is an inspired and engaging retelling of the one book we should hope all our youth have a chance to read (or hear), regardless of their faith. The actors do a wonderful job of capturing the emotions and nuances of the stories, and a soundtrack of Hollywood special effects adds just the right amount of atmosphere and realism to pull the listener into the world. Wind, water, birds and background noises which serve to make the telling not just a reading, but a living prayer.

As a youth leader myself, I was excited to get my hands on this audio book because I wanted to see if it was something I could utilize with the group of teens at my church. Would it be enganging enough, interesting enough to play for them at meetings, to have them hear a bit of “the word” and not lose their interest? In this day and age of technology, flashiness and blockbuster movies, it is easy for a book such as the bible, written in language not entirely accessible to the “texting” generation, to come across as boring, irrelevant, and not at all something our teens have the slightest interest in delving into. So as youth leaders, we are constantly looking for new ways to introduce the teens to the bible. This, in my opinion, is a fantastic option.

I’ll be honest, I myself am guilty of the lack of attention span necessary for traditional bible reading. And being an avid reader, if I can’t do it, then I can easily see how a teenager who doesn’t like to read can easily be distracted. But I took this audio book on my mp3 player with me everywhere, and whether I was on the elliptical at the gym, or stuck in traffic in my car, I was able to follow along and get pulled into the words. Some of the stories that perhaps had not always made sense to me or “reached me” on paper, suddenly came to life and grabbed me. I was there, with the characters, and it was a beautiful thing.

I am very much looking forward to utilizing this audio book as a learning and prayer tool with the youth in my group.

The book comes with a plan to read the entire new testament in 40 days. It is a plan I plan on somehow incorporating into some sort of bible study with the youth, and one I believe they will not only accept, but enjoy and embrace.

If you have young kids, tweens, or teens in your house or group, I highly recommend this book to you. And even if you don’t, check it out for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.

What Happens at Twilight?

The following is not so much a review of the Twilight series as it is a quick synopsis of what I thought of them. I tried really hard not to put any spoilers in this post, so I’m leaving pretty much all details out, so feel free to read on, even if you didn’t read the books, I give nothing vital away. In fact, I don’t give anything at all away, I kept it very basic and superficial to avoid all spoilers. I’m also including at the end my thoughts on the movie Twilight.

I knew as soon as I heard of the Twilight books that I would be reading them. If you don’t know by now, let it be known that I am a fan of all things vampire. My love affair with vampires began many many years ago when I became obsessed with the Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles, and then grew exponentially with the 8 seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I have read serious, scary and funny vampire books, including some chick lit/paranormal romance books that surprised me with their wit and charm. I have watched everything from the Blade movies, to the Underworld series to The Lost Boys and True Blood. If there are vampires or other mythical creatures involved, odds are, I’m intrigued by it.

So, of course, I knew I’d be reading the Twilight books. But I kept putting it off. Mostly because…well, have you SEEN the size of these books? I don’t exactly have a ton of free reading time these days, so tackling a book of that size was off putting, to say the least.

But, eventually, a few months ago, I gave in. Watching the previews for New Moon, the second movie in the series, I knew I could no longer put off reading these books if I wanted to read them before the secrets were all spoiled for me.

So I dug in. And I got sucked in almost immediately.

I have to admit that I’m not entirely sure what it was about the books that sucked me in, because for the most part, while reading Twilight, I was mostly just annoyed with both Edward and Bella. But I was also curious. Curious as to where it was all going to lead. Curious about this vampire world Stephanie Meyer created that was so different and unique from all the other vampire worlds we’re accustomed to. I had to know more.

By New Moon I was beyond irritated with Edward, and just about ready to slap Bella upside the head. I was being reminded why I stopped reading chick lit a while back, the weak and hopeless/helpless female protagonists annoy the inner feminist in me to no end. But then there was Jacob. And I very quickly became a member of Team Jacob. He was just the right amount of comic relief and carefree attitude to loosen up the book a bit, and suck me right back in.

As I dug into Eclipse, I became completely absorbed. Finally Bella stopped frustrating me, and I even began to take a liking to Edward. And Jacob? Oh how I adored him. Now, more than ever I NEEDED to know what would happen.

With Breaking Dawn it was cemented for me. Without a doubt, the best book of the series, it tied together all the loose ends, made sense of everything and told a story like no other. In this book I finally “got” Edward, finally enjoyed Bella and yes, still remained on Team Jacob.

And then with the ending? Fully satisfying. And yet, leaving me wanting more. Just like a good book should do.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the movie “Twilight”. Having finished the book, I decided to pick up a blue ray copy of the movie and watch it one night. Now, as a disclaimer I suppose I should say that I am that person that is ALWAYS disappointed in a “book to movie” movie. It’s just never as good as the book. BUT, knowing this, I went into the movie with an open mind, expecting the disappointment of missing scenes or changes from the book. What I wasn’t expecting, however, was such a poorly made movie.

Let me explain. In terms of cinematography (and remember I watched this in blue ray on my HDTV), I thought the film was beautiful. Simply gorgeous. But that’s where the good review ends for me. I thought it was choppy, incomplete, jumping from scene to scene in a completely disconnected and unnatural manner. I felt like I was watching a cliff’s note version of the cliff’s notes of the book. For the first 45 minutes of the movie there was no story line, there were just “scenes”. It was like a “clip show” of moments from a season of a television series. The characters are here, and now they are here, and now they are there, but let’s not tell the viewers how they got from point A to point B, let’s just put them there. I’ve heard complaints that there is no chemistry between Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart in this movie, but I can’t blame it on the actors. There was no story line to allow them to build chemistry. They were just pushed together and the audience was expected to just KNOW there was a chemistry and a “something” there. If you hadn’t read the book, how could you possibly understand the depth of their connection? You couldn’t. I will say that having read the book, it was nice to see some of the images come to life on screen, so I enjoyed the movie from that perspective, but it was not a “story” it was just images. I thought the movie got a little better towards the end, but I sure hope they do a better job with New Moon.

And there you go…my thoughts on both the books and the movie.

Spicy and Sweet - Book Review

(click on the photo to be taken to the Amazon page for the book)

the Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banarjee Divakaruni

It’s been a while since I’ve done a book review here on the blog, but this one I had to tell you about. Expect some more reviews as the month moves on.

“Her potions can heal the sick, calm the vexed, or inflame the heart…But, will she trade all her magical powers for true love?” – From the book jacket.

In my former life, WAY back in my college years, I worked in a book store. Talk about your dream job for an avid reader, working all day long among isles and isles of books. I loved that job.
One of the perks of this job was that once in a while, we’d get our hands on advance copies of books. The other obvious perk was the employee discount, which I used steadily and freely.

From those days, I amassed a tremendous collection of books which have sat for years unread. I have a bit of a book buying addiction, so I continue to collect books at a steady pace, leaving those older books still unread.

Recently, however, in the midst of my decluttering craze, I have forbidden myself from buying any more books until I read some of these older ones just lying around my house in boxes.

And this is how I came to read “the Mistress of Spices”. My copy is one of those advance reading copies. The book, however, was published way back in 1997.

I am glad I waited until now to read it, because I’m not sure I would have appreciated it as much had I read it back then.

This is the tale of a young woman, Tilo, who is not quite from this world we live in. Her past is of a mysterious nature, from a long ago time in a faraway place. But she is trained in the ancient art of the spices, and transformed into the body of an old woman, transplanted into America, to run an Indian food/spice market, and heal the ails of her customers. But even in her old body Tilo maintains a bit of the mischievous spirit of her former young self, and is caught up in a web of getting too close to some of her customers, falling for a handsome American man, and fighting with the urge to break all the rules and give into temptation.

This is a story that is beautifully told, with vivid language and imagery. The reader immediately sympathizes with Tilo, this faulty heroine, and wants to know more about her and those around her. Each character woven into the story fully enriches Tilo’s own story, and yet carries a power all on their own. You want to know Haroun, Getta, Jagjit, Kwesi, and of course, Raven. Raven, he of the mysterious name, and even more mysterious origins. This man Tilo calls “my American” who walks into her store and turns her life inside out. The reader is both fascinated and confused by him. Instantly understanding Tilo’s inner conflict, her pull toward this forbidden fruit, her mistrust of his appearance, his intentions.

There is a certain magic in this novel, and it is not the magic of the spices alone. The words are woven beautifully together, painting a picture that stayed with me even when I put the book down, which I didn’t want to do at any time.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the characters, so much so, in fact that I didn’t want to book to end, and felt a certain amount of sadness when I reached the last page. That, to me, is always the mark of a good book.

I give it 4 out of 5 Martini Glasses.

As an added bonus, while trying to find the book on Amazon so I could provide you with a link, I came across this:

Yes, they’ve made a movie. Yes, that is Dylan McDermott. (click on the photo to be taken to the Amazon page for the movie).

Through The Storm - A Book Review

Through The Storm – A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World – Lynne Spears with Lorilee Craker

I’ll admit it, along with everyone else, I was glued to my computer screen watching the footage and following the gossip of Britney Spears’ downward spiral. At the time, I was slightly addicted to a few of those “celebrity gossip” blogs, and I would faithfully check in every day, to see what craziness that girl had gotten up to while I’d been asleep the night before.

But, as much as I love celebrity gossip, I am also a sensitive person, and after a while, my heart ached for her. Something was obviously wrong with Britney, and she was obviously not getting the help she needed. All I kept thinking was where in the world was her mother in all this? Because my mom? She would have moved mountains to save me from the self-destruction Britney was imposing upon herself.

So, when I heard the rumor everyone else heard that Lynne would be writing a parenting book, I was outraged. THAT woman? She’s writing a parenting book? What the hell does she have to say about parenting? And then her youngest daughter Jamie Lynn got pregnant at 16. Well, then it just sort of became a joke, didn’t it? Lynne Spears, mother of the year.

And yet, I was curious, because there had to be more to the story.

So, when I was presented with the opportunity from Thomas Nelson Publishers to read and review the real Lynn Spears book, I jumped on it.

For the record, this is not a “parenting” book. And no, this is also not a “tell all” about Britney book.

It is a mother’s book.

The story of a woman, a small town girl, a mother, a Christian, struggling to find her footing, again and again, in a world that threw more curveballs her way than the average person should ever have to deal with.

The story is told in a very personal way, and reads as if you are sitting with Lynne, having a cup of coffee and she’s recalling events from her life.

It is sweet, it is sad, it is even funny at times. There is anguish and pain, but there is also much joy, and pride. Pride for her family, her three beautiful children, who she obviously loves more than life itself. This is obvious. Her story is also surprisingly (to me, because I was unaware of her faith) an extremely spiritual one. I found myself more than once nodding with agreement and understanding at her words. There were also moments I found myself wiping tears from my eyes.

I’ll be honest, the book was not at all what I expected it to be, and I for one, was pleasantly surprised. I have new found respect for not only Lynne Spears, but for the entire Spears clan. I know I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes, not for one minute. We’re quick to say that there’s a price to pay for fame, but sometimes we forget that “they” the rich and famous, are only human. And their families? They didn’t sign up for this, they’re just part of the machine that grinds them up, and spits them out.

And yes, if you are curious, you will learn a few more details about the whole Britney ordeal. But that is not what you will take away from this book.

Will this book keep me from following celebrity gossip? No. But it will remind me to think twice before I jump to judgment. To try and see the “story” behind the “story”. Because there is always more to the story.

My March in Books

I haven’t done my March Book Review yet, mostly because I’ve been busy, but also because I didn’t read that much in March. Well, I did, but it doesn’t appear like I did.

Here’s why:

I read the ENTIRE Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, but they were all collected in ONE book, so I felt like I took forever reading just one book. In truth, I read the following:

1. The Magician’s Nephew
2. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
3. The Horse and His Boy
4. Prince Caspian
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6. The Silver Chair
7. The Last Battle

About 900 or so pages later, I had managed to read the complete series. I won’t review each book individually, simply because they really are a series and should be read as such. If you have not done so yet, now is the perfect time to do so, because they’re selling these Volumes with all seven books in one all over the place. Mine was a Christmas gift.

My review: I absolutely loved these stories. In a time of Harry Potter and other sophisticated “children’s” books that adults can’t get enough of, the Chronicles could have been too “simple” for readers of the present. At first, while reading the Magician’s Nephew, I sort of had that reaction. The reaction of “This is a kid’s book, and written in a very childlike and fairy tale voice”. But as I got more into the books, and forgot about more grown-up style we’re used to, I began to lose myself in the stories. In a way, they are fairy tales, but they are wonderful. The stories of human children wandering through and adventuring in this wonderful world of Narnia are fantastic, they are fun, they are creative, and extremely entertaining. There is also no doubt of the Christian undertones. I have read about the “debates” about whether or not these tales were in fact meant to be religious-like, and I don’t understand the debates, because there’s no question about it. All seven stories center around some moral lesson, and The Last Battle hides nothing in its relation to a higher being, and an afterlife. For those who are religious, this is a pleasant turn, and a wonderful way to introduce children into the “good versus evil” moral debate. For those who are not, the stories stand on their own as just wonderful tales of a wonderful (and sometimes not so wonderful) world.

RATING: 4/5

The above took up most of my month, but I did also read:

See How they Run, by Bethany Campbell (in paperback)
This is the story of Laura Stoner, who works at a school for children with special needs. When Trace and Ricky, autistic twins, witness a murder, all three of them wind up in protective custody, under the watchful eyes of Montana. This being a romance novel, sparks fly, but so does the gunfire, the violence, the fear and the twisted world of the mafia, government corruption, and a run for their lives.

I picked this book up for 25 cents at a Salvation Army store. I really enjoyed it. It had just the right amount of mystery, romance, drama and intrigue.

RATING: 4/5

In Audio, I “read” Book IV of the Dark Tower Series by Stephen King: The Wizard and The Glass. This audio book is 27 hours long, so it pretty much took me the entire month, and into the first week of April to finish it.

In The Wizard and The Glass, the adventures of Roland, Susanah, Eddie, Jake, and Oy, the billy bumbler continue. Only here they must stop for a while, because it is time for Roland to tell them his story. Most of the book takes place then, during Roland’s time as a teenager, dealing with his entry into his role as a gunslinger, and his first love. King does a wonderful job drawing the reader in to this world of young love and corruption, and the end of a time, the beginning of the “world moving on”.

Again, I am really glad I’m “reading” these books. Never having been a Stephen King fan (I don’t like horror books), this series is surprising me in delightful ways.

A note about the narrator, Frank Muller: In Audio books, a lot of time, for me at least, a narrator can really make or break a book. If the story is compelling enough, I can get over the narrator if I don’t exactly like them, but in a story that is not as strong, narrator’s have made me HATE a book. However, if a narrator is good, he or she can turn a mediocre story into a work of art. (Audio book “creators” should take that to heart). That said, Frank Muller is without a doubt the BEST narrator out of all the audio books I’ve “read” to date. The Wizard and The Glass has a large cast of characters, and not once did I have to wonder who was “speaking” at any one time. Mr. Muller had a different voice for each character and was not just reading their parts he was living them. This novel therefore was a play, a story, a film.

RATING: 5/5

My February in Books

I started off the month in a futuristic Los Angeles, now known as Crimson City (by Liz Maverick). I struggled with Fleur DuMont a vampire, as she met and fell in love with Dain Reston a human, in their Romeo and Juliet style relationship. The struggles between the races, not black and white, but Vampire, Human and Werewolf, and the impending race war, set up an interesting mystery and just enough conflict to keep me on the edge of my seat.

I continued on the vampire streak, but moved on to a much more lighthearted read with Bitten & Smitten by Michelle Rowen. Here I met Sarah Dearly, a contemporary chick lit protagonist, who is set up on a blind date, but instead of meeting Mr. Right, she meets Mr. Man of the Night. Suddenly thrust into this world she never even knew existed, Sarah is forced to reconcile her ideas about Vampires, which she’s gathered from watching Buffy and Angel, with the reality in front of her. There is of course a little romance, and some mystery and good guys v. bad guys thrown in for good measure. This book was funny and entertaining.

From vampires to humans with magical powers I went. In “A fistful of sky” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Gypsum is a member of a family which comes into their magical powers around the time they hit puberty. Unlike the rest of the clan, Gypsum doesn’t go through her “transition” as expected, and is then forced to accept her life as a non-magical member of society. Just as she’s beginning to make peace with her fate, something happens, and everything changes. But is getting the one thing she always wanted more than Gypsum bargained for? I found this story extremely creative, unique, and sweet. Without the magical element, this could be any “coming of age” tale of a young woman trying to find her place in the world. Throw the magic back in, and it was a fantasy filled whirlwind of spells, strange creatures and beautiful imagery.

Although I spent the better part of the month with fantasy creatures, most of them still lived in our very familiar world. I took a trip into distant fantasy lands however, with my next read. I started the “Chronicles of Narnia”, reading first the “Magician’s Nephew” which is the tale that introduces Narnia and explains how it came into existence, and then “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe”. I had never before read these books, and am finding them very entertaining, if a bit simple, and childish. I have to keep reminding myself that they were written for children of the 1950’s, unlike the Harry Potter fans of today, which as we know, kids are very different today. Still, I am enjoying the series so far. I am now halfway through the next tale “The Horse and His Boy” and expect to be done with the complete series very much in advance of next month’s review.

Throughout all this reading in “real” book form, I have also been listening to “Wicked: The Life an Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” by Gregory Maguire on audio book. This audio book is about 19 hours long, so it’s taking me a while to get through it. I’ve also had that ear ringing/head buzzing thing going on, so haven’t been able to listen as much as I’d like. I should finish the book by next week, so I’ll save the actual review for March, but I am thoroughly enjoying it.

All in all, I’d say it was a very enjoyable reading month for me. I had not realized that all I read this month was fantasy, but it’s fitting, considering I needed an escape from my reality in which my head was zooming half the time.