Book Review: 10 Christians Everyone Should Know

Katie October 14, 2012 0 Comments

I have read several of the “Christian Encounters” series books published by Thomas Nelson by various authors.  But when I read those books I tend to choose the biographies on people I am already somewhat familiar with. I am a devout Christian and someone who you can see wearing Christian bracelets and neck pieces. With the book 10 Christians Everyone Should Know, I was able to get a little bit about several christians, some of which I have already read the Christian Encounters book on and others that I didn’t know much about at all.

The book is just shy of 300 pages (with the last 50 of so being Notes that are marked throughout the chapters), devoting a decent chunk of text to each of the 10 people in the book.  While the biographies are not as thorough as reading the book devoted to each individual, it really gives you an idea of who they are, what they stand for as well as their Christian beliefs.  At the end of each short biography, information on the author and full Christian Encounter Series book is mentioned.  There are a few that I hope will pop up on BookSneeze because they have gotten me interested!

This is a great book if you don’t have the time to devote to each individual Christian Encounter Series book, but are still interested in finding out more about the 10 Christians Everyone Should Know.

The 10 Christians Are:

1. Sant Patrick
2. Galileo
3. Anne Bradstreet
4. John Bunyan
5. Johann Sebastian Bach
6. Jane Austen
7. D.L. Moody
8. George Washington Carver
9. Sergeant York
10. William F. Buckley Jr

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book Description

Jane Austen, Sergeant York, Saint Patrick—What did they have in common?

Two thousand years and still going strong: that’s the story of Christianity. And while the Christian martyrs and saints and orators may have gotten more press, the fact is the faith has been carried through history in the hearts and deeds of believers who—though beloved to us now—were simply living ordinary lives of devotion.

“It would be almost impossible to imagine ten people more different from each other than these,” editor John Perry says. “This [is] the first truth of Christian living: anybody, anywhere can be a champion of the faith, an example and inspiration to all who follow.”

There’s no dry biography here, though. Each story teems with fresh insight. D. L. Moody did some of his most powerful evangelizing by befriending ragged street children in Chicago. William F. Buckley never delivered a sermon, yet a Christian worldview informed his erudite, witty, output in print and broadcasting. To compose her poems, Anne Bradstreet had to understand science, history, the Bible, and literature, not to mention the political scene in both Massachusetts and England. You’ll look with new eyes, also, on the lives of George Washington Carver, Jane Austen, Galileo, Johann Sebastian Bach, Sergeant York, John Bunyan, and Saint Patrick. You might think you know their stories . . . but you don’t. Not yet.

For lovers of biography, for homeschool or study groups, for anyone seeking encouragement in the Christian walk, 10 Christians Everyone Should Know is a valuable resource.

Book Review: Psychos

Katie October 9, 2012 0 Comments

Psychos: Serial Killers, Depraved Madmen, and the Criminally Insane contains stories by Neil Gaiman, Lawrence Block, Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Thomas Harris and more and is edited with commentary by New York Times Best Selling author John Skipp.

To be honest, I’m not sure why I chose to read this book. I have an incredibly over active imagination and it does not take much to freak me out.  Reading 600 pages about psycho killers is probably a sure fire way to having nightmares for the rest of my life, but I chose to read it anyway.

The book contains 38 stories – each with a photo that if you are a scaredy cat like me will make you jump out of your skin – even though they aren’t all that scary. (Sometimes I get scared by my own shadow, so you know, it doesn’t take much).  Ultimately I didn’t end up finishing this book because I valued my sanity a bit too much and I was freaking myself out over basically nothing.  I did pick and choose a few of the stories to read though, that I thought wouldn’t be too much for me to handle.

However, if you can handle reading about psychos without completely freaking yourself out (or maybe you LIKE freaking yourself out, I’m not one to judge) then this would be the book for you.  It is 600 pages of stories  about all sorts of crazy guys and the crazy things that they do. The book is a bit of a “greatest hits” and doesn’t claim to have every story out there cataloged, but I’d say 38 is a decent start.  If you check out the book – good luck – and let me know if there are any specific stories you think I should have actually finished…

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

“A staggering thirty-eight-course banquet of literary mania and mayhem, served up by some of the most amazingly astute, deeply disturbing, immensely entertaining chronicles of crazy ever to grace the printed page.” – John Skipp, Introduction.

Stories of serial killers and psychos loom large and menacing in our collective psyche. Tales of their grisly conquests have kept us cowering under the covers but still turning the pages.

Psychos is the first book to collect in a single volume the scariest and most well-crafted fictional works about these deranged killers. Some of the stories are classics, the best that the genre has to offer, by renowned writers such as Neil Gaiman, Edgar Allen Poe, Robert Block, and Thomas Harris. Other selections are from the latest and most promising crop of new authors.

John Skipp, who is also the editor of Zombies, Demons, and Werewolves and Shapeshifters, provides fascinating insight, through two nonfiction essays, into our insatiable obsession with serial killers and how these madmen are portrayed in popular culture. Resources at the end of the book include lists of the genre’s best long-form fiction, movies, websites, and writers.

Selections from Neil Gaiman, Thomas Harris, Ray Bradbury, Lawrence Block, Bentley Little, Edgar Allen Poe, Simon McCaffery, Mehitobel Wilson, and more.

Book Review: Albert Einstein and Relativity for Kids

Katie October 8, 2012 0 Comments

I am all for teaching kids more about science. And this book certainly does just that.  In addition to being a biography on the life and times of Albert Einstein, it also includes little experiments that kids can do that help illustrate some of Einstein’s theories.  There are also short write ups on other great scientists as well.

It is part biography, part text book and part hands on activities. I think that the hands on part is the most important – I could always read all I wanted on different theories but actually seeing it in person in a relevant example was what I needed for things to make sense.

I really like how this book is written and I wish that something like this was around to help me out back when I was in school!  This is a great book if you are looking to supplement your child’s learning of science or even if you are an adult and feel like your knowledge on science is sub-par.

I received a free e-copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in order to write this review.

About the Book

Best known for his general theory of relativity and the famous equation linking mass and energy, E = mc², Albert Einstein had a lasting impact on the world of science, the extent of which is illuminated-along with his fascinating life and unique personality-in this lively history. In addition to learning all about Einstein’s important contributions to science, from proving the existence and size of atoms and launching the field of quantum mechanics to creating models of the universe that led to the discovery of black holes and the big bang theory, young physicists will participate in activities and thought experiments to bring his theories and ideas to life. Such activities include using dominoes to model a nuclear chain reaction, replicating the expanding universe in a microwave oven, creating blue skies and red sunsets in a soda bottle, and calculating the speed of light using a melted chocolate bar. Suggestions for further study, a time line, and sidebars on the work of other physicists of the day make this an incredibly accessible resource for inquisitive children.

Jerome Pohlen is a former elementary school science teacher, an engineer, an editor, and the author of a dozen award-winning science kits, including Famous Experiments,Microscopic World, and Wild Weather. He lives in Chicago.

Book Review: Sharp Objects

Katie October 7, 2012 0 Comments

After seeing all the hype over Gone Girl and reading it for myself, I had to get the other 2 books that Gillian Flynn wrote.  Although I didn’t really like the ending of Gone Girl, I really liked Gillians writing style so I got her other 2 books – Sharp Objects and Dark Places.  I read Sharp Objects first and it did not disappoint.

The book is about a girl Camille, who moved away from her small town to Chicago to become a reporter.  When 2 girls turn up missing / killed in her small home town, she decides to go back home to write a story on it.  While there she gets wrapped up in all the rumors and ends up befriending one of the detectives on the case and they share some of the leads they are working on – and share a bit more than that as well.

Meanwhile, at home, Camille tries to get to know her young sister, Amma.  Camille’s other sister, Marian, passed away when she was young.  She was very sick and it seemed like her mother was believing that Amma was sick a lot as well.  It turns out that Amma has many sides to her and Camille was trying to figure her out as well as work on what little relationship she may have with her mother at the same time.

I assume the book gets the title because Camille was a cutter.  She cut all sorts of words in to her body.  Some negative, some positive.  She doesn’t want anyone to see them and always keeps herself hidden.

Throughout the book I had an idea of who I thought this killer was.  I bounced back and forth between two people.  I think it was written in such a way to purposely keep you questioning who you thought like I was.  I won’t say if I was right or not, but I will say that the ending of this book was a lot more satisfying than the ending of Gone Girl.  I very much so enjoyed the book and hope that Dark Places is just as good.

I was not asked to write a review for this book, it is one I read on my own time and thought that I would share with my readers.

About the Book

WICKED above her hipbone, GIRL across her heart Words are like a road map to reporter Camille Preaker’s troubled past. Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille’s first assignment from the second-rate daily paper where she works brings her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls.

NASTY on her kneecap, BABYDOLL on her leg Since she left town eight years ago, Camille has hardly spoken to her neurotic, hypochondriac mother or to the half-sister she barely knows: a beautiful thirteen-year-old with an eerie grip on the town. Now, installed again in her family’s Victorian mansion, Camille is haunted by the childhood tragedy she has spent her whole life trying to cut from her memory.

HARMFUL on her wrist, WHORE on her ankle As Camille works to uncover the truth about these violent crimes, she finds herself identifying with the young victims—a bit too strongly. Clues keep leading to dead ends, forcing Camille to unravel the psychological puzzle of her own past to get at the story. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming.

With its taut, crafted writing, Sharp Objects is addictive, haunting, and unforgettable.