My Latest Book Reads & Recommendations!
The Snow Angel
by
Glenn Beck
Not sure if this is a product of Glenn's childhood or not. He seems to be very vague on that matter. However, because of his past and the fact that he seems to have dealt with his past, I somehow feel this story is somehow connected to him personally. The same feeling I had with the Christmas Sweater.
This is a story about emotional abuse (and physical abuse) and how it can be passed from generation to generation. Even when we think we are doing everything in our power to protect our children from such abuse, the power to make the past just dissappear can be painful and unstoppable. People become so numb to the abuse, that they believe it and they justify it as to be the truth. They even defend it and make excuses for their abusers. They truly believe that they are in fact worthless, ugly, unloveable and that they deserve what they get. They are made to feel as though they should be so lucky to have the things in their life, becuase they certainly don't deserve it. They also end up distorting the truth. In this case, the daughter can't remember the good in her father. She can only remember that he wasn't there to protect her. She is unable to remember the past for what it truly was.
This book was sad to me, but as Glenn says, it's a story that has to be told. We have to see things for what they really are and make a conscious effort to make a change. No longer suffer the abuse and recognize the pattern. Abuse truly is generational. It can be also unintentional. In this case, the father was unintentional. He couldn't protect her from the real culprit, her mother. I recommend this book to all. If nothing else, just to be able to recognize abuse. See the patterns. See the damage. See the pain that an abused child will feel for all their grown-up lives. The memories of their abuse never fade. The abuse from a spouse or a parent can be outright evil. It has to be recognized to stop the cycle!
Lost December
by
Richard Paul Evans
Loved this book. Started reading it yesterday and finished it today. I love the main character, Luke and I love his father, Carl. It broke my heart, to see Luke break his father's heart. I was pained a little bit to see Luke make so many bad choices. But those bad choices made him into the person he was supposed to be. His humility taught him to be grateful. Something that never occurred to him to do, to be grateful.
His journey is a hard one but the end result was worth all the pain of seeing him destroy everything.
I didn't cry during this book. But I was deeply touched and intrigued enough and captivated to keep reading to see what Luke's fate was going to be! I liked it so much, I think I will read another
Richard Paul Evans book.
Thumbs Up!
Mockingjay
by
Suzanne Collins
Well....hmmmm.....I'm trying not to sound dissappointed. I liked the book. BUT, I didn't like the book. I loved Hunger Games and Catching Fire, and so I thought that there is no way I wouldn't like this book. I hated the ending. The idea that the heroine of the story, the Icon of the Rebellion, the adventurous, nobody-owns-me heroine settles down for a life of mediocrity and sadness. A life of nightmares for all that she has been through with no great consequence for the sacrifices she has made???? Or is it a sacrifice to begin with? I mean she really only does what she has to do to survive. Most of what the people of Panem see of her rebellion isn't rebellion at all. It's survival or protecting. She is a protector. She protects Prim. She protects Peeta. She protects her mother, starting at such a young age, when her father dies. She has spent a lifetime of protecting others. And she fails! She can't protect Prim. She didn't protect Peeta. She is a failure in her own life. However, she is a Protector of Panem. Here she succeeds! She succeeds in the arena and as a Soldier Everdeen. She squashes the Rebellion. The Capitol is destroyed and in the end, she protects Panem from another dictator like Snow, but because of her actions, they have to pretend she is a lunatic. And yet, isn't everyone in the story a lunatic??? The things the characters do in the Seam, the characters in the Capitol, the characters in District 13....aren't they all looney in some way or another?
I guess I would recommend the book so you know how it ends, but I was a little dissappointed in the ending. I didn't want us to lose the Peeta we loved. His "hijacking" was awful. It made him as bitter as Katniss is. The one thing I loved about Peeta was that he was the opposite of Katniss. They balanced each other out.
I just wish we could have seen a little more insight on Katniss and Peeta and the love they had for each other. I guess that is the romantic in me.
So, of coarse, read it! But I would rate this as my least favorite,
and yet I wouldn't have missed reading it for anything.
I am curious, how Mockinjay will play out in the theater. They might want to tie things up in the theater after the "Catching Fire" movie. How do you make a movie of innocent children dying by the hundreds? It's bad enough to try and get around the fact that children are being killed by other children in the Hunger Games.
But!!! I can assure you, I will be one of the 1st at the movie theaters seeing how they do it!!!Go Katniss!!!!
Catching Fire
by
Suzanne Collins
Ok, Ok, Ok....I am busted! Yes, I am officially hooked. This book is the Sequel to the Hunger Games. It's part of a trilogy. Our favorite gal, Katniss Everdeen, is now a Victor of the Hunger Games. But, in doing so, she defied the Capitol and all it stands for. Her punishment: She will have to go back in to the arena!
Out of the two books, I have read now. This one is my favorite. The Hunger Games is like the hook. This book is like the catch. (The 3rd book, the one I am currently reading now, is reeling me in!)
I still am fascinated with the numbness of the people in Panem. They view death with such an indifference. They are so willing to give up their lives and not cherish thier life. Being under a government that has so much control over the people and where there are no such things as "rights" and "free-will" and "freedom", must be where this indifference comes from. But Katniss, poor girl, no matter how she sets out to get her "job" done, she is determined to oversee and control the outcome, she finds herself a puppet in a game she knows nothing about. Here she will meet other victors. See their pain, and she comes to know why Haymitch is the way he is. She too now has the pain and the nightmares that accompany the victors of the Hunger Games.
Yes, her family is fed and well taken care of, but her pain never ends. So, really, why wouldn't she want to die in the Hunger Games??? But once inside the arena, that instinctive "will to survive" kicks in. She now becomes the hunter again. Determined to die and save Peeta in the process. If you haven't read these books, I highly recommend them! My 13 year old son is reading it and he loves it too.
Thumbs up!!!!
The Hunger Games
by
Suzanne Collins
I loved this book! I did not think I was going to like it. I did. I like suspense thrillers. I love how the right suspense can grab my attention. Once that happens, I can't put the book down. Maybe about 1/4 the way in, I couldn't put this book down past that point. I really like Katniss (the main chartacter). I love how Collins captures the spirit of the people and the indifference they feel about death or killing. To feel the way the people do, they must be kinda dead inside already, just a little. But the same characters are also people who do know how to feel love. Katniss's love for Prim and her father, are an example that the people of this time still have human emotions, feelings and love for other people. And yet, she can't quite feel what everybody thinks she should feel for Peeta. Showing emotions to outsiders are not easy to do. Even her relationship with Gale is an unspoken one. They don't discuss their friendship or status of their relationship either.
I think this was a book categorized as a Young Adult Fiction. I would say that any adult would like it as well. Now I am thrilled to wait for the movie which will be released this month, (March 2012). While I am waiting to go see the movie, I have now moved on to the second book in this trilogy.
So far, I can't put it down either!!!
How Do You Kill 11 Million People?
by
Andy Andrews
This is a really fast read! Why? Because the answer is so simple! It's simplicity doesn't take a genius to understand, therefore, there isn't a whole lot to write about. The question is:
What do YOU do about it???
Here is an Andy Andrews (Author) YouTube link
Thumbs up on this book! Makes me want to read more from this author.
The Breakup Artist
by
Shannen Crane Camp
This is such a cute book. It is a clean young adult teen book. I have met the author once. I met her in like the first few weeks of her and her husband's courting. Her husband is a family friend, who my family loves dearly and owe him much gratitude for all he has done for my family many, many, many moons ago! They are both lucky people to have each other. Ok, so back to the book...I thought it was well written and suspenseful. It's not a suspense-thriller so to speak, but it will grab your attention and it will keep you reading so you can find out what happens next! Amelia, the Breakup Artist, is a loveable character. I love how she doesn't sugar-coat what she thinks of other people and yet is completely clueless and out-of-touch with her own situation.
I like that because, isn't that how some people are??? It's hard to see your own faults and take a deep look at yourself when you are so busy judging other people.
Thumbs up!!! Loved it!
For more on Shannen Crane Camp and her books:
Shannen's Book Blog (Click here)
For more on Shannen Crane Camp and her books:
Shannen's Book Blog (Click here)
Being George Washington
by
Glenn Beck
I loved this book! I wasn't going to write a Review on this until I saw someone else's blog on this. It was so out of touch of the intent on this book and was written by some professor/teacher critic whose blog is nothing but reviews of anybody that might be considered "on the Right", or "Tea-Party" or even "Republican". It was grossly taken out of context so bad, I felt someone should write a normal review. YES, Glenn Beck talks about God! If you don't like it, then don't read it! YES, Glenn Beck talks about the Divine Providence that George Washington credits everything to and he uses George Washington's own words about "The Great Author" and Washington's own beliefs in Divine Providence and Divine Intervention. If you don't like your history mixed with religion, then don't read it. But the truth of the matter isn't about what you believe, the book is about what George Washington believed. George Washington believed in God. Get over it.
I thought this book had great insight and once again, done in Glenn Beck style, comes with a Bibliography where his facts and statements can be verified. (you know....that place where critics actually forget to check for themselves before they criticize his book and his facts.)
And NO Glenn Beck doesn't claim to be George Washington. He claims he wants to BE LIKE George Washington. His rhetoric about his admiration for Washington is being taken out of context as usual.
Tearing down Glenn Beck is a novel idea. It's popular to do so. But in reality, if Beck hadn't written the book, these same critics would not have even bothered reading it.
So thumbs up from me on this book!!!
I like it so much, I bought 2 more copies for a friend and a family member.
Impractical Grace
by
John S. Bushman
This book is written by my current Bishop. So I will contend I do have a little bias. He has a great family that I love! But the book really was a good read to me. It's deceiving though. It looks, "not long". For some people, it's just a day read. I thought I would breeze through fairly quickly too, however, I got emotionally vested in this book with Bushman's description of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, his sacrifice, his "grace" and what does it really mean to me and how should we apply it to our own lives to get out of all that the Atonment meant. Forgiveness is a hard road!
"The Lord will never ask you to forgive more than He forgives you", John S. Bushman. He might have borrowed that quote, but I borrowed it from his book. (:
Thumbs up! Loved it!