This Is Awkward by Sammy Rhodes

   

There are moments when you feel awkward. It seems you want to mention something but it just doesn’t seem to be the time or place to do so. You feel there is a gap between what you actually are and what you should be.

   You struggle to hide it.

   There are some subjects you feel should not be discussed in public. These subjects include divorce, depression, and pornography. And those were just a few.

   This book is published by Thomas Nelson and is written by a campus minister so it covers issues most young people face.

   Rhodes gently handles with humor subjects that most often are not handled in public. It took humility to do so.

   The area of the pornography addiction often is not spoken about. It needed to be aired. Rhodes does a good service by including it. He tells it like it is. For someone from the millennial generation he is okay.

   Rhodes is a big presence on the Internet and has written for the Huffington Report, Salon and Christianity Today. So he knows how to write. He connects well with his readers.

   This book was sent to me without cost by booklookbloggers.com to be reviewed. There was under no  obligation to give a positive review and I was allowed to express my own opinion.

How To Have a Good Day by Caroline Webb

   

  There is a saying, as a man thinks so he is. Our brain’s perception of things determine how we respond.

   We react autonomic to phrases as never, always, but.. even without thought.  It is part of what is called our automatic brain. We react without thinking.

   We can train our brains to react a certain way. The point of training our self to perceive differently is to make ourselves happier and healthier. There is a right way and a wrong way to handle daily stress.

   Webb suggests there are seven building blocks we encounter each day and she presents three sections on how to transform the tasks you will confront each day into a good day.

   She walks us through to the solution by using scientific evidence along with practical techniques and real examples from real people. She uses behavioral science to point out what can be done.

   The book contains twenty one chapters with three appendix. Suggested readings follow the appendix.

   The main trust is we have a two system brain which contains a deliberate system and an automatic system.  We do our reasoning in our deliberate system. When we react in the area of shortcuts we are using the automatic system.

   I found this book to be very informative and would recommend it for all who are interested in behavior.

   This book was sent gratis from the publisher to me as a member of the blogging for books review team. I was not required to slant my review. All viewpoints are those of the reviewer and not those of the publisher.

The Confessions of X by Suzanne M. Wolfe

In the Confessions written by Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo, a nameless woman is mentioned who was his concubine. No name is given but there was some reason he never forgot her.

This fiction retelling told in first person also follows the custom of not giving her name. It recounts what may have happened. The story line shows  research was needed as to the society of that time period.

Augustine was promised to another. For him to marry a woman from a different social economic was frowned upon. But to take her on as a concubine, that was okay.

You have to understand in that period a concubine was a common law wife. The term was not used for the prostitute.

The story is plausible. Augustine, according to history, did live a self centered lifestyle before he became a Christian and one of what is now known as a Church father. It is known that in his confessions is mentioned an unnamed female.

This is the benefit of fiction. A writer can use imagination in constructing an answer. She still does remain nameless but we see through her actions her love for Augustine.

This is another book to add to the romantic genre. It is well done and female readers will find it enjoyable.

This book was sent to be gratis from the publisher through booklookbloggers.com <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program.to be reviewed and posted to my blog. All opinions expressed are those of the reviewer and not the publisher.

Arab and Jew by David Shipler

Updated and revised, this large book attempts to present the two nations which share the area. God promised the land to Abraham and his offspring. The Arabs are also his offspring.

They both mistrust the other. It is the education they get. Their history books have been slanted in a way to distort history and distort nationalism.

They have diverse cultures even though they exist side by side.  There has to be a way to bring the two nations together peacefully.

If only there could be a way of understanding the other.

This large book contains insightful stories of the inhabitants that are in the land. There is a great socioeconomic divide and prejudice on both sides.

But there seems to be hope. Some people there are questioning. Some minds on both sides are bringing about a healing, the author seems to be saying. It is a slow process.

This book needs to be purchased and read by those who also are hopeful. You need to know the people before you make a judgment. They are just regular folk like us who are confused and wounded.

I found this to be a scholarly look at the question of who are the people involved in the conflict in the land of Israel.  

This book was sent to me gratis  to be reviewed from blogging for book.com as a member of the review group. No requirement was put upon me to give a positive review. All viewpoints reflect the reviewers and not the publishers.

 

The 4 Dimensions of Extraodinary Leadership by Jenni Catron

   

   Leadership is what we need in all areas of our lives today. We need to have someone who has a dream and is not afraid to seek it with a group of others. And others need to have someone who can cast a vision.

   Leadership is a journey taken with others. You can’t be a leader if you have nobody following you. And no one follows a person who has no dream.

   In order for one to be a good leader he must be able to lead himself. Know yourself.

   In the spiritual realm there are four areas of dimensions that are called for: heart, body, soul and spirit. We should be relational and visionary with the spiritual thrown in as well as the managerial. It is a mix that is presented here that comes together in the Style Catron offers.

   Catron offers a chance to assess your style. She infers you journey to leadership. A slow but steady journey through wisdom is what is called for. This is a good starting point for discussion groups to work with.    

   At the end of each chapter is a brief summary of the issue covered in the chapter. This will enable the discussion leader to shepherd the discussion.

   It is published by Nelson Books and is available at book stores near you.

   This book was sent free to me from book look bloggers for the purpose of a review. All viewpoints are those of the reviewer.