I Like Giving by Brad Formsma

 

It is a great book for the person who says, I wish I could give but I am not sure just where to start or what to do.

 Giving, Formsma points out, is a way of thought that transforms into action. Giving does not always involve vast sums of money. A person can give time and a listening ear and that would be just as acceptable.

  Easily readable and non-threatening, and thought stretching.

The practical ideas and inspiring stories which make up the 12 chapters of the 202 page paperback are laid out in such a way that you are not really aware of the tug on your heart as you will no doubt find yourself responding. At the end of the 202 pages Formsma has included six pages where you can jot down your own ideas of things you can do.

 I found this book to be refreshing. Formsma is not pushing his organization so much as informing the reader of the many ways giving can be expressed. For example, if you feel God leading you to buy a cup of coffee for a person who needs a cup, that is a form of giving. Or if you feel lead to help a person pay his rent, that is giving. Just give a smile to an individual counts as an act of giving.

The slant of the whole book gave me the feeling that I also could be a giver. It is pointed out acts of generosity done anonymously feel good.

This book is recommended for those who want to give but aren’t really sure what can be defined as giving.

This book was sent to me free by Water Brook Press to be reviewed as part of their blog review program. I was not required to give a positive review and any opinions expressed are those of the reviewer and not those of the publisher.

Into The Beautiful North by Luis Alberto Urrea

           This story is in the motif of a quest story, in a way. Not actually in the sense of trying to change the world. But in the sense of self quest for growth and understanding.
            It starts out in a small village in Mexico where the men have all gone norrth to the United States to seek a better life. The women are left behind. The village is not a thriving community.
           Drug dealing bandits are a problem. Someone needs to handle the problem. The new mayor elect is a woman but she is not able to handle the situation.
          But as mayor she is able to bring movies in to the village. The favorite star is Yul  Brynner. But Steve McQueen is a close second. It is the movie The Magnificant Seven that gives out protaginist, Nayeli, the idea to go to the   United States and get seven men to fight the drug dealers. Also while she is up there she wants to find and bring back her father.
         The story concerns itself in the first half with the border problem and the second half is in the United States where she and her followers dodge the border police.
         Nayeli discovers the US is not the friendly place for an illegal to be she had pictured. But since she wants to find seven people to fight the dealers and at the same time find her father, she is unstoppable.
          The tone of the writing is light and in places funny. It is well written and a good read.
           It is summer reading.

          Into the Beautiful North: A Novel

Firstborn By Lorie Ann Grover

             

               In this coming of Age novel written for young adults, we are presented with a society that accepts firstborn males but rejects first born girls. With the girl babies, the priest takes her out and leaves her exposed to die. Only the male is allowed to live because the strength of the tribe is in the first born male. The leadership is invested in him.

                The only way a girl can survive is to be proclaimed a declared male. The father has to do this at the moment of delivery But so far no declared male has ever made it through the initiation process every male has to undergo to become a leader.

`               If she is able to hide her sex and complete the initiation she will be the first to do so and this will open acceptance of girls as firstborns. They will no longer have to hide under the guise of declared males.

                The story was interesting. I felt though that Grover picked too large a subject. I found myself wondering why the males didn’t see Tiadone as female. She didn’t use the latrine at the same time as they. She had to shower at odd times. She couldn’t stop being a female body structure wise. 

                This book is best read by Junior High readers on up.
                 This was sent to be free by Booklook as one of their reviewers. I was not required to give a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own and do not reflect the publishers.

The Book Reviewer

           

               Let's take a breather from all those books reviewed and let me place here in this posting a little article I wrote about my thoughts on book reviewing.

                Just what does it take to be a book reviewer? Have you ever asked yourself that question? It looks like a fine thing to do. Read a book, review it, get the review published.

                A love for books is a big requirement. If you don’t like books and you don’t enjoy reading, than putting yourself forward as a book reviewer is not for you.  So I would say that the primary requirement is that you like books.

                Once you find a book you feel needs to be reviewed you should carefully read it. Notice the genre. Is it fiction or non-fiction? If fiction, notice what type of story it is telling. Is it Mystery, adventure, drama, romance or humor.. all surface genre types.

 What viewpoint is being used? First, second, third. 

                Is the story plot driven or character driven?  By this is meant does the character drive the story or does the plot?

                There are certain genre that always lean itself to one of the other. For example, the mystery genre always has the formula of mystery, sleuth, victim. That would mean it would be driven by the events in the story and not the character.

                Some stories are character driven, but I won’t dwell on them.

                Then there are non-fiction books that you can review. Non-fiction covers biographies, history, religious, how-to-do books, as an example.

                 I was the book reviewer for a paper here in Santa Monica, Ca back in 2007. They would give me the books and I would review therm. I also got hold of the Bethany Book publishers on their website and for a while was doing reviews of their romance books. All these were published weekly in the Santa Monica Press.

                Then there was the blog I started for my book reviews. I started a book blog on blogger. I found I could request books from blogging for books, now Book Lovers, and Multnomah press.

 The requirements for them was I read the book I requested and post the review on my book blog. Also I had to post to a retail site as well before I could request another book to be sent.

                In reviewing a book you should look for the genre.

·         Fiction

·         Nonfiction

·         Historical

·         Mystery

·         Adventure

Then the layout of the book:

1.        How many pages

2.        How many chapters.

3.       How many characters

Ask did they prove their point? Is it something you would recommend to someone else?

                When  you are doing nonfiction you need to say whether it was instructive. Did you learn something new or something that reinforced your opinion? Is it an important addition to a person’s library?

                You, by reviewing the book, are doing a great service. It has been said that of the writing of books there is no end. You, as the reviewer, help people decide where to spend their money.

Futureville by Skye Jethani

 

Your vision of the future will determine your present lifestyle. How we decide what matters today, Jethani postulates, cannot be separated from what we believe about tomorrow. If we see a bright tomorrow we live today with hope. If we don’t see a bright tomorrow we trend to live pessimistically. We determine what is a meaningful life by understanding the present in light of the future.

Yet this book is not so much about the future but the present. Jethani starts with the vision of the future the generation viewing the 1939 World’s Fair had. There was hope offered in what was presented. It shaped the vision that the people had of the present. Their today was defined by the tomorrow they saw.

 Since that day we have been presented with a different picture of tomorrow.

 What happened? We got our eyes off the picture God presents in the Bible.

 Throughout history our viewpoint and understanding for our purpose has changed. The puritans had a view that Christ not labor was man’s highest calling.

 Os Guinness has said, “First and foremost we are called to Someone (God) not to something (such as motherhood, politics, or teaching) or to somewhere ( such as the inner city or Outer Mongolia)

  I found this book to be an idea stimulator and a call to adjust your view of the future.  I like it and recommend it for all who need to reconsider the present meaning of their life.  It will be a welcome addition to the library of counselors who aren’t afraid of presenting alternate viewpoints.

  I received this book free from BookSneeze for review purposes and any viewpoint expressed is mine and not the publisher’s. I was not required to give a positive review.