Book Review: Blaze of Glory by m. garzon

Katie October 28, 2011 2 Comments

If you have a young adult reader in your life and you are not sure what to get them during the upcoming Holiday season, look no further than Blaze of Glory.  Actually – if you have a reader of any kind in your life – this is the book to get them.

At first I wasn’t sure I was going to like this book.  I’m not particularly into horses. But while the book does kind of revolve around them, it was not enough to bore me by any means.  By the time I got halfway through this book, I could not put it down and by the time I was a couple chapters from the end I was wishing that it never had to end!  Does anyone else get like that? The book is just so good you want to jump inside the story and never leave it?  That’s how I felt with this book.

It took me a while to get into this book and I will tell you why – sometimes I start my review posts before the book is finished and I add in the book info, images, links, etc.  That way once I write my review of the book I don’t have to do all that extra stuff and remember what day I wanted to publish it on (it makes it easier if I end up writing the review somewhere other than my desk where I leave my notes on what is getting posted when).  When I was looking on Amazon one of the reviews gave away what Tea’s forbidden passion was.  While I was a few chapters in and already had a inkling of what was to come – finding out this “spoiler” of sorts, really made me just want to get to THAT part of the book, but it was not to come until much later.

For this reason – I will not be mentioning the other passion.  All I have to say is once it shows up near the second part of the book the story just completely consumes you.  I had my eyes glued to the computer screen for several hours and did not want to deal with anyone who was trying to talk to me.

Seriously this was one of the best books I have read this year – and if you frequent my blog you know that I read a LOT of books.

You can buy the book at m. garzon’s site: http://www.mgarzon.ca/buy.html

Or find out more details at Amazon’s Blaze of Glory page:
http://www.amazon.com/Blaze-Glory-m-garzon/dp/1602648107/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316192214&sr=8-1

About the Book

Some fires can consume you.

Last year, I had it all. Two jumpers on the show circuit, a lot of wins, and a lot of attention – the good kind.  But now I have nothing. My life is circling the drain. The only spark of light that exists for me is my new, forbidden passion.  If my stepfather finds out, he will kill me.  My twin brother, my only blood relative in the world, has already begged me not to. But I can’t help myself. If it can’t be horses, it has to be this…

About the Author

m. garzon rode horses professionally for ten years, until an injury prompted a career change.  She returned to school and completed a BSc; then, for good measure, an MBA.  After several years of toiling as a business consultant, she turned to writing in a desperate bid to regain her sanity.  A mom of two fabulous children, she lives in St-Lazare, QC and is currently working on the sequel to Blaze of Glory.

Her website is www.mgarzon.ca
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Book Review: Healing with Words by Diana M. Raab

Katie October 27, 2011 2 Comments

Healing with Words by Diana M. Raab is a writer’s cancer journey.  Diana chronicles through her diagnosis with breast cancer, all the appointments she had to go to in order to figure out what the best way to combat the cancer would be, second opinions, surgerys, etc.  Throughout the book are poems that Diana has written, which I thought were an interesting addition to the book.  You can really tell from the poems how she felt during each of these stages in her life and I thought that kind of helped me get in to her headspace a bit more and really understand how she felt and what she was going through (although not having had to deal with anything like this in my life, I can never really, truly know how she felt and I am sure that a lot of the diagnosis and things doctors told her were incredibly scary)

After each chapter there are also questions that you can ask yourself (if you have been through a breast cancer diagnosis and treatment) to think about how your reactions and thoughts different or compared to those of Diana’s as mentioned in each of her chapters.

This is a great book for those who have dealt with breast cancer and for those who haven’t as well.

About the Book

Healing With Words: A Writer’s Cancer Journey is a compassionate and wry self-help memoir written by an award-winning prolific author, nurse and poet, who at the age of forty-seven found her life shattered first by a DCIS (early breast cancer) diagnosis and five years later by another, seemingly unrelated and incurable cancer–multiple myeloma. The book includes the author’s experiences, reflections, poetry and journal entries, in addition to writing prompts for readers to express their own personal story. Raab’s journals have provided a safe haven and platform to validate and express her feelings. Raab views journaling to be like a daily vitamin–in that it heals, detoxifies and is essential for optimal health.

Readers will learn to:

• Understand the importance of early cancer detection and how to take control of their own health
• Discover the power of writing to release bottled-up emotions
• Learn how the process of journaling can facilitate healing
• See how a cancer diagnosis can be a riveting event which can renew and change a person in a unique way

Thumbing Through Thoreau by Kenny Luck

Katie October 23, 2011 2 Comments

Thumbing Through Thoreau is a book of quotations by Henry David Thoreau, compiled by Kenny Luck.  Each of the quotes is accompanied by illustrations done by Jay Luke and Ren Adams.  The quotes are broken down in to 3 sections, Society & Government, Spirituality & Nature and finally, Love.  There is 1 quote to a page and the book is about 300 pages long, so chances are you will find the perfect quote you are looking for in this book.  Each quote also references which works it is from and the page number in case you want to use this book for research purposes!  The end of the book has an index to make it easy to find the quotes you might be looking for or need for that special project based on topics.  While these quotes may have been written 150 years ago, all of them can be put in to play in today’s world as well.  Kenny did a great job selecting quotations for this works and I am sure that it was not an easy task to take on considering all that Thoreau had written!

You can find out more about this book at the books website: http://www.thumbingthroughthoreau.com

Hardcover

Price: $24.95
ISBN: 9780982256541
Pages: 320

Buy links:
Amazon Kindle Nook Google iPad

Kenny Luck’s Bio:
Kenny Luck is a graduate student at Marywood University in Scranton, Pa., and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History and Political Science from the same institution. He writes for The Weekender – an arts and entertainment weekly – and The Independent. He is currently working on his second book. He enjoys recording music, book browsing and travel.

Kenny Luck’s Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=77501977&ref=ts

Kenny Luck’s Twitter:
http://twitter.com/kjluck

Kenny Luck’s Blog:
http://www.kennyluckblog.blogspot.com/

Jay Luke’s Bio:
Jay Luke is a musician and artist from Throop, Pa. A graduate from Marywood University, Jay is very active in all things art, whether it be through painting, performing with his band, or through his day job as a graphic designer. As a project engineer of the Olyphant Coal Miner Memorial Association, he has delved deeply into the origins of the area and the forgotten histories of the towns around him.

Passionate about not letting future generations forget their local origins, he took on this project to reconnect readers to the past. As writer and poet Wendell Berry once said, “The past is our definition. We may strive, with good reason, to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it, but we will escape it only by adding something better to it.”

Jay Luke’s Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jay-Luke/1248717066

Jay Luke’s Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/jay_luke

Ren Adams Bio:
Ren Adams is a professional artist and writer currently living in Albuquerque, N.M. The bulk of her work is done with traditional Chinese brush painting techniques, a centuries-old practice of using ground charcoal and water to create delicate worlds on paper. An ideal brush painting captures the spirit, or “Qi,” of the subject, not just what it looks like. Ren also teaches art & Eastern philosophy courses through the University of New Mexico Continuing Education department. She has been painting and sketching for over 20 years and is a southern California native.

Ren Adams Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/renadamsart?ref=ts

Ren Adams Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/plasticpumpkin

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Book & Movie Review: The Help

Katie October 22, 2011 0 Comments

The Help has been a pretty popular book over the past year or so, and recently was made in to a movie.  Lately I’ve been doing things backwards and seeing the movies and THEN reading the book – but I am finally back on track with having read the book before I saw the movie. (Which is usually how I like to do things so I can picture the characters and then if it gets turned in to a movie, see how close I came to picking similar looking people!)

The book takes place in Jackson, MS and has several different narrators that switch back and forth.  Two are “the help” Aibileen and Minny – black women who are maids for white families.  The third narrator is Skeeter Phelan, a young white girl who was practically raised by her black maid and who sees past the color of skin.  Skeeter wants to work for the newspaper and writes to a publisher but is told that her ideas aren’t good enough.  It is Aibileen who helps her decide that she wants to write about life from the perspective of the help.  Aibileen helps her try and line up several other maids to speak to.  At first, they are hesitant and don’t know what they will do if their employers find out that they are running their mouth.  Skeeter assures them that she is changing names and no one will figure out that “Niceville” is actually Jackson.

In their spare time, the help talks with Skeeter and she gets everything put together.  Skeeter’s contact in New York says at first they want the draft after the new year, but then bumps the deadline up or else it will get lost in “The Pile” during the holidays and won’t ever be read.  Skeeter works hard and makes the deadline but still doesn’t know if the book will be chosen as one to be published.  If you’ve seen any of the commercials for the movie – the book DOES get published and then the help and Skeeter all worry about if anyone from Jackson will figure out it is about their town and what kind of repercussions there may be.

The book is about 400 pages and tells of the writing of the story so you don’t get to find out ALL of the stories that were told for the book (called ‘Help’).  Although the ones that are mentioned in the book had me laughing quite a bit.

The movie is fairly similar to the book. Obviously a few items are left out, probably for the sake of time. The acting was great and I was crying at several times during the movie, but did not cry at all while reading the book (but I did fall asleep reading the book a couple times but didn’t fall asleep in the movie)

I have to say the little girls that play Mae Mobley completely steal the show. Mae Mo is the little girl that Aibileen watches and she was my favorite character in the book and was absolutely my favorite in the movie as well, though she doesn’t get all that much screen time since she is just a little kid.

I would definitely recommend the book or the movie. But it’s probably best if you read the book first 🙂

Book Review: Peace at the Edge of Uncertainty

Katie October 18, 2011 2 Comments

Peace at the Edge of Uncertainty: Finding Beauty in Mystery Reclaiming Truth From the Myth of Certainty is a book written by Neil Hanson.  I won this book off of another blog and Neil saw that I did reviews and asked if I wouldn’t mind posting about his book.  Since I had been intrigued by the blurb on the blog and therefore knew I would be reading the book very quickly after it arrived, of course I agreed to write something up on the blog to share with my readers!

The book is written from the perspective of Neil, but rather than just him recalling what happened with his father being in a coma, and ultimately passing on,  it is written as a letter to his father.  This was an interesting approach to the book, but I have to say that I think it worked really, really well and I am not sure that the emotion involved with the situation that Neil and his family found himself in would have come across as well if it was written any other way.

I was really drawn to Neil’s writing style, it was descriptive enough to make me feel like I was there right beside him, living through all of these memories with him.  I don’t get like this a lot with books, but something with Neil’s writing and my brain just kind of “clicked” and I ended up flying through reading this book because I just could not get enough!

About the Book

In a poetically elegant and highly accessible story, Neil Hanson provides a moving account of a man who journeys to the edge of death with his father, discovering a mystical surprise there.  Explore the strength of “uncertainty” as a gift through which the magic of Wisdom and Truth might enter our life.

Those blessed with any doubt regarding the spiritual dimensions of life will be richly rewarded with a story that will nurture the search for Truth that is often hidden behind the veil of certainty.  Those who have not yet pushed aside that veil may find in this story a window through which to grasp the blessing of uncertainty.

About the Author

Neil Hanson lives and works in Colorado.  Peace at the Edge of Uncertainty is his first book. He blogs actively and writes articles for periodicals.

You can learn more about Neil Hanson, and join in conversations about subjects that might be of in interest by going to his website:

www.NeilHanson.com

In addition, you can find him on Facebook, and at his blog:

http://neilhanson.blogspot.com

You can follow him on twitter: @NeilMHanson

Book Review: Thunder Dog by Michael Hingson and Susan Flory

Katie October 10, 2011 1 Comments

Michael Hingson became blind due to excess oxygen in the hospital when he was born.  His parents made the decision to not enroll him in any special schools and to treat him as “normal”.   Thunder Dog tells the story of his guide dog, Roselle, and his escape from the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.  It also tells of his life growing up and some of the challenges he has been forced to face due to people not knowing how to deal with someone who is blind. (For instance – his parents let him ride a bike around the neighborhood and a neighbor called up to let them know their blind son was riding a bike around!)

The recollection of them leaving the World Trade Center from the 78th floor and going down 1,463 stairs was incredibly emotional to me.  I liked that the chapters alternated between the events of September 11th and his life growing up because if not I am not sure I could have made it through the entire book if it was strictly focused on the heavy story of the attacks.

Towards the end, there are also several chapters from Mike’s wife Karen’s point of view.  I can’t even imagine what she must have been going through! Mike called her once when the first plane hit, not knowing what kind of explosion had happened and told her he’d call her later to update her.  Of course, later it was nearly impossible to get through on cell phones and Karen watched everything unfold on the television with no idea where her husband was. She also had to field phone calls from friends and family calling to see if Mike was ok, having no idea what had happened since he had first called her.

I purchased a copy of this book on September 11th when Thomas Nelson was doing a promotion selling it for Nooks and Kindles for $1.99.  It retails for $22.99. I was not required to write a review of this book, it was simply something I wanted to share with my readers.

About The Book

A blind man and his guide dog show the power of trust and courage in the midst of devastating terror.

It was 12:30 a.m. on 9/11 and Roselle whimpered at Michael’s bedside. A thunderstorm was headed east, and she could sense the distant rumbles while her owners slept. As a trained guide dog, when she was “on the clock” nothing could faze her. But that morning, without her harness, she was free to be scared, and she nudged Michael’s hand with her wet nose as it draped over the bedside toward the floor. She needed him to wake up.

With a busy day of meetings and an important presentation ahead, Michael slumped out of bed, headed to his home office, and started chipping away at his daunting workload. Roselle, shivering, took her normal spot at his feet and rode out the storm while he typed. By all indications it was going to be a normal day. A busy day, but normal nonetheless. Until they went into the office.

In Thunder Dog, follow Michael and his guide dog, Roselle, as their lives are changed forever by two explosions and 1,463 stairs. When the first plane struck Tower One, an enormous boom, frightening sounds, and muffled voices swept through Michael’s office while shards of glass and burning scraps of paper fell outside the windows.

But in this harrowing story of trust and courage, discover how blindness and a bond between dog and man saved lives and brought hope during one of America’s darkest days.

Book Review: The Soul Reader by Gerard D. Webster

Katie October 9, 2011 0 Comments

I thought this book was great.  Apparently it is a sequel, but I didn’t realize that until I had went over to Amazon to review the book there.  I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything by not having read the book previous to this one.  Ward and Carrie are writing a book together (it is Carrie’s, but she ask’s Ward for help) about some bad things that have gone down.  3 men were killed and all were thought to be accidents, however, Ward and Carrie believe there is something else behind it and they were just made to look like accidents.  The two enlist the help of some others as well and try to crack the case on the Culbera.

There is some drama when Ward reveals to Carrie that he can see people’s souls (hence the title, The Soul Reader) about 3/4 of the way through the book.  He doesn’t like one of the men that she has aligned herself with and thinks he is evil.  Carrie thinks that Ward may just be jealous (as they used to date, but are currently exes) and doesn’t feel threatened at all when this guy asks to meet her on his yacht.  Was Ward right about being able to read people at such an intimate level? You’ll have to read The Soul Reader to find out.

Although the book has 40+ chapters, I managed to read it in just one day.  I was riveted to this murder mystery and could not put it down!! I think anyone who enjoys a good mystery novel will really enjoy this book.  Also – I usually can figure out what the heck is going on in these type stories early on.  NOT the case with this book! It kept me completely in shock with every plot twist and turn.

About the Book

In The Soul Reader, Ward McNulty is a man torn between seeking justice or forgiveness. It is in discovering the true identity of his father’s murderer while protecting the woman that he loves that he finds both.

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 Review: Hermie, a Common Caterpillar by Max Lucado

Katie October 7, 2011 0 Comments

Hermie a Common Caterpillar is by Max Lucado and is intended for children who are just learning how to read. However, I am a big baby and the cover was cute so I judged a book by its cover and decided I would read it.  Hermie is a common caterpillar, he has no spots or stripes he is just solid colored.  His friend Wormie, is the same.  Except both Hermi and Wormie can talk to God.  Usually, they are ok with being common because they can talk to God, but sometimes they see other bugs who are strong or with a cozy house on their backs and again wonder why they are so plain.  God continues to tell them that he is not done with them yet and that he loves them just the way they are.  Just when Hermie finally accepts that he is common, he goes to sleep and wakes up as a beautiful butterfly!

This was a really cute book and obviously a really quick read. It is a great way to teach the lesson that God made you how you are for a reason and just because you think you might be plain  – he just might not be finished with you yet and in time you will also become a beautiful butterfly. The book also had great illustrations to go along with the story.

Book Description

This Max Lucado’s Hermie & Friends® best-selling story now available in easy-to-read format!

Hermie and his friend Wormie have always felt common. They don’t have stripes or dots, they aren’t very strong, and they can’t find anything special about themselves. But every time they pray, God tells them that He loves them all the time just as they are and that He isn’t finished with them yet. When Hermie becomes a beautiful butterfly, he realizes just how special God’s plan is for him!

This classic story has been revised for kids to read and enjoy on their own as a Lever 2 Reader. With fresh new art and a story kids can read themselves, plus a new, low price—this classic story will find a whole new generation of kids who love Hermie and his garden friends!

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.”