Tag: book review

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Non-Fiction

Book Review: Seeds of Turmoil – Bryant Wright

_240_360_Book.244.coverOne thing I love about being a BookSneeze.com blogger for Thomas Nelson Publishers is that through this program, I am able to read books that I may or may not normally read.

That was how I came across this book. A theme I am noticing is that actions have consequences, in a previous review, I reviewed The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews. Where The Butterfly Effect takes a look at the positive consequences of a person’s actions, Seeds of Turmoil takes a look at the negative and far reaching consequences of one man’s (Abraham) actions. He goes in depth into how the turmoil that we currently see in the Middle East is the result of decisions made 4,000 years ago. He talks about how because of those decisions, turmoil in the Middle East is inevitable.

Overall, I liked this book and was very impressed by the depth by which Bryant Wright digs into the history of the region and the turmoil that is inevitable. However, it did seem like the book got a little repetitive and could have ended a little earlier than it did. With all this in mind, I would definitely recommend this book to any serious scholar of the Bible (this is the version I use for my study) who wants to understand a little bit more the implications of the Biblical HIstorical Narrative on today’s events.

Categories
Non-Fiction

Book Review: Let’s Do Lunch – Roger Troy Wilson

letsdolunch_coverIf you know me, then you know that since I stopped playing college football at Drake University and entered the “real world” and started driving a desk, I have been waging the battle of the bulge.  So when Let’s Do Lunch was available through Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze program, I decided to get the book to see what the author had to say.

I’ll first say that this is not your normal weight loss book, (I’ve read a few, listed at the end of this post).  Roger Wilson never claims to be a health and/or fitness professional.  What Roger does claim is that he lost 230 pounds using this plan and has kept it off for 15 years.  Another anomaly is that throughout this plan you eat as much food as you want, what matters is the kind of food and when.  The other non-health professional diet book that I have read is The Jerusalem Diet by Ted Haggard and they both share essentially the same approach in that the author is speaking from personal experience as to what has worked for them to lose the weight that they wanted.  Where I feel this book falls short is the lack of medical evidence from a certified medical professional validating what the author is stating.  The author does mention that his doctor’s weighed in and said that he was healthy, but I am a thinker, I want to know why the diet works, I didn’t feel like I got that with this book.

Do I recommend this book, yes, wholeheartedly because let’s face it, America is fat and will this book help people lose weight, yes.  But this gets to my next point.  In reading this book, and talking to people who work for another diet system (a potential customer of mine actually) I am noticing another alarming trend, less and less emphasis on working out or attaining a certain

level of physical fitness.  The author mentions briefly that working out is good, but he doesn’t really recommend working out.  The other diet system actually discourages you from working out…that scares me…because it takes the focus off the real issue.  Are you overweight, yes, but just attacking your weight is not going to solve your problem because you are losing weight to get healthy.  Our bodies are an amazing machine that if properly functioning will heal itself and regulate itself.  So the correct approach should be to get healthy to lose weight which includes exercise for the sheer benefit of making you healthier, that is why while as my schedule starts to become “normal” again as I approach my health and fitness and fight the battle of the bulge while I may borrow some ideas from this book (frozen grapes are amazing) my main tool will be P90X.

Related Books/Materials:

Let me know your thoughts/comments below…

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Non-Fiction

Book Review: You Can Be Everything God Wants You To Be – Max Lucado

You Can Be Everything God Wants You To Be - Max Lucado Have you ever had one of those moments where the events and circumstances in your life created a Perfect Storm?  This book did that for me.  In this book Lucado talks about finding your “sweet spot” in life, finding that thing you were meant to do.  Lucado discusses this concept in his usual inspirational, story filled, and extremely practical manner which has endeared him to so many thousands of readers.  I can’t say what decisions or ideas that came about because of reading this book, but due to me reading this book, a project that came about, and some internal heart stuff God was working with me on, I had a moment where I saw my sweet spot.  There will be a lot of prep to get there and it is not something that will happen right now, it may actually be years away but in that moment of clarity, I saw what I was made to do (for that, I am extremely grateful to Max Lucado for writing this book).  Thomas Nelson recommends this book for graduates, a sentiment I would definitely agree with, but I would not constrain its use to that group either.  I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who has ever asked the question, “What am I supposed to do with my life?”  I can imagine that with the current economic situation there are a lot of people asking this question.  Do them a favor and buy them this book [amazon.com affiliate link].

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Categories
Non-Fiction

Book Review – What’s in a Word? – Webb Garrison

_240_360_Book.160.cover In my time reviewing books for Thomas Nelson publishers through their Book Sneeze program I have tried to make sure that I review several different types of books.  I continued with that trend when I picked out What’s in a Word? by Webb Garrison.  I was intrigued because I love random trivia so I thought this would be an engaging read.  As I write this, I am torn.  There were parts of the book that I really enjoyed but at times the book was kind of a drag.  Garrison breaks the words up into 17 different categories then discusses the roots of over 350 words.  Am I more enlightened because of reading this book.  Yes.  But would I recommend this book as an engaging read for someone to sit down and plow through in a couple sittings?  No.  This book would make a great coffee table or bathroom reader.  The type of book that you read in bits and pieces.  Overall it was a good book, but you have to approach it with the right attitude.  Some of my favorite definitions are:

  • Character – p.37
  • Bring Home the Bacon – p.117
  • Cheese – p.121
  • Crisscross – p.201

If you are a trivia buff or random fact buff then I would recommend What’s in a Word? to you, but otherwise, I would recommend a pass.

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You Make the Call!

Book Review(s) – Baxter Family Drama – Karen Kingsbury

Baxter Family Drama Well that was a wild ride…

It all started one night when I walked into our room and my wife asked me a question that led to the first You Make the Call post.  After watching my wife voraciously devour the first few of these 14 books and having the discussions that these books inspired, I had to try them for myself.  I was not disappointed.  These were great books.

Disclaimer: these books are chick books so guys, there is not a whole lot of action in them.

The books start with Redemption a book about Kari Baxter and the troubles she is having (this is the situation that I discussed in the You Make the Call post).  In this book you meet the Baxter family and through the course of the next 13 books, you learn all about them.

To try and review each individual book would give away too much information (I am surprised however how much information about the series is given away by the covers), but the 14 books are broken up into 3 different series:

The thing I liked most about this series is that it made you deal with issues of faith and morality that you may not normally deal with because you can imagine the Baxters living down the street from you.  Karen Kingsbury does a really good job of setting the scenes in a way that you can believe they are really happening.  For instance, book 3 deals with the Baxters (and friends) dealing with the events of September 11, 2001.  There are a couple topics that Kingsbury talked about that hit almost too close to home.  I can’t spoil the books, but Mandy and I read Summer right around the time we attended a friend’s memorial service a situation that if you know where Mandy and I have been with a couple very close friends of ours and you know what happens in Summer you can understand why Mandy was bawling at the end of the book and I was brought to tears as well.  Parts of Summer are some of the most powerful chapters I may have ever read.  Reading Summer brought healing for both Mandy and I.

Mandy asked me a question when I had about 3 books left in the series was whether or not I liked the Baxter Family Drama series more or books by Dee Henderson (O’Malley Series & Uncommon Heroes Series).  It was a tough call for me.  I like the Dee Henderson books because for chick books there is a lot of action in them…mainly because of who the characters are.  But the Baxter Family Drama really hit home on issues and make you deal with them.  I told her that I think I liked the Dee Henderson books better, but after finishing the Baxter Family Drama I think it may be a tie.  Either way, I hope you give both authors a chance to entertain you.

Overall rating for the Baxter Family Drama Series: 5 out of 5

Categories
Non-Fiction

Book Review: Living Life In The Zone – A 40-Day Spiritual Game Plan for Men – Kyle Rote Jr., Dr. Joe Pettigrew

lifeinthezone I love being a part of the BookSneeze program, it allows me to read great books like Living Life In The Zone – A 40-Day Spiritual Game Plan for Men. This is the fourth book that I have reviewed for Thomas Nelson Publishers and with each one I have tried to pick a different genre to review.  I have reviewed the following books:

I took a risk when I signed up for this book, but it was a risk that I feel really paid off.  I am not usually the type of person that likes to have his hand held while studying the Bible, but figured I would try this devotional.  I am extremely glad that I did.  The authors hit on all the major topics facing men today (life, wife, kids, friends, work, and the future) in a format that was easy to read, easy to follow, filled with good examples and scripture, and with homework.  It also helped that it used sports as the vehicle to convey the information.  A typical devotional for a day followed this format:

  • Thought for the Day – a short idea to ponder
  • The Coach’s Corner – Discovering the relevance of God’s Word in your life
  • The Game Plan – What the Word of God has to say about the day’s topic
  • Playmakers – Real-life examples of real men in the real world
  • Time Out – Questions for personal reflection
  • Today’s Assignment – Action items for the day
  • Home-Field Advantage – Praises and concerns you want to bring before God

I would completely recommend this devotional for any male who likes sports and is trying to live his life for God.  As I went through this devotional I felt on several occasions that it was speaking directly to a situation that I was facing at that moment in time.  Hopefully, you find this devotional as thought provoking and inspiring as I did.

Rating: 5/5