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Books

Book Review: The Go-Giver – Bob Burg & John David Mann

0907gogiverI received this book from a networking contact of mine who wanted to help me make the best run at my business possible.  It sat on the shelf for quite a while until just recently when I was looking through my book collection looking for a book to read.  I’m really glad that I picked it up.  The Go-Giver is written in the style of such great books as Raving Fans and The Wealthy Barber.  It starts of with the reader meeting the main character, in this case Joe, who is told that he needs to meet with a certain guru to get where he wants to go.  The guru teaches him the 5 principles of stratospheric success and Joe’s life and business are transformed.  While not a new method of teaching I loved this book and learned a lot from it.  The 5 principles are easy to grasp and sink your teeth into, but you don’t feel like you are sitting in a lecture hall.  Ever since reading HTML Goodies in college (the book that taught me how to write my first website…look at me now!) I have always loved books that sought to teach me something that did so through story or conversation.  If I am learning something, I want it to be engaging, I already went to school, I am learning now because I want to, please make it an enjoyable experience.  The Go-Giver delivers, and not only in the business realm, these principles can be applied to all areas of life.  I loved this read and would recommend it to anyone who wants to take their business or their life to the next level.

Overall I give The Go-Giver 4.5 out of 5.0, you should definitely check it out.

Categories
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.

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

Categories
Fiction

The Chronicles of Narnia: A Delightful Journey

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader As I have mentioned on Facebook and LinkedIn before (for those of you who are friends of mine on Facebook or LinkedIn) that November, December, and January are my busiest months of the year.  Even though it is my busiest time of year, I still try to keep my reading habits up.  To do that I usually return to books I have read before, but love to read to help me get away from the stress and busyness of my busiest months.

A little under a month ago, I picked up my copy of The Chronicles of Narnia (amazon affiliate link – to the boxed set, I have the unabridged version) and started reading with The Magician’s Nephew.  I have seen worlds created, worlds destroyed, and voyages had.  C. S. Lewis along with J.R.R. Tolkein (with his Lord of the Rings trilogy) have set the standard for what has become the fantasy genre and it is good to go back and read both series from time to time.


The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader While Hollywood has tried and in my mind succeeded with making movies of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King I still love reading the original books from time to time.  I am also looking forward to the Upcoming Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie which comes out this year and The Hobbit movies which are also coming out soon.

Categories
Movies

Movie Review: Avatar – Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, & Giovanni Ribisi

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You may or may not have already read a review of Avatar, but if you are one of the 3 people in the country who hasn’t seen Avatar, you need to go see it.

Warning: you probably need to get your tickets at least a few hours in advance, then arrive at the theater at least an hour early to stand in line to get a good seat.  I wouldn’t have thought that was the case with a movie that has already been in the theater for a couple weeks with a bunch of other really good movies at the same time, but it is so.

Normally I would save my rating for the end of the review, but due to the nature of my rating, I will go ahead and give it.

Plot: 2 out of 5
Visual Effects/Experience: 5 out of 5

Review – Plot (spoilers – skip to next section after the first sentence if you don’t want to know what happens):
If you have seen Dances with Wolves (amazon affiliate link) you have seen Avatar from a plot perspective.  The movie takes place on a planet called Pandora.  You soon learn that Jake Scully is not the original man for the job, but due to his twin brother being shot while being mugged, he is the only man for the job.  Jake is an ex-Marine who has been paralyzed from the waist down.  Since Jake is an identical twin and the Avatars (genetically created human/Nav’i hybrids) are created for a specific person Jake is the only human available to connect with the Avatar.  Jake is tasked with infiltrating the Nav’i and learning their ways so that the corporation can displace them to gain access to the largest deposit of unobtainium on the planet.  Just like in Dances with Wolves Jake “goes native” as he realizes the horrible intentions that the humans have.

Review – Visual Effects/Experience:
WOW is the best way to describe the visual masterpiece that James Cameron

has created.  Cameron has also partnered with James Horner for the soundtrack as well so the combination of visuals and soundtrack is just amazing.  I watched the movie in digital 3D and while I wasn’t really impressed with the 3D experience I thought the movie was amazing and will probably buy this movie when it comes out on DVD.

What are your thoughts on Avatar?

Categories
Fiction

You Make the Call!

I hope to do more “You make the call!” posts in the future as I want to have more interaction involved on my site with the loyal readers that I have.  But, they don’t work if you don’t interact so please make a comment.

My wife is reading a book (by an undisclosed author) that she received for Christmas.  It is a fiction book, but the reason that Mandy likes it so much is that it deals with real life issues.  She has not finished yet, but tonight was talking to me about the book.  The reason she talked to me about it is because she wanted to hear what I think the characters should do in their given situation.  Here’s where you come in…I am going to lay out the scenario, but I will change the names of the characters (and some of the irrelevant details) and I want to know what you think should happen.

Scenario:

Katherine is the main character in the book, she is married to Tom.  Katherine is a very busy business woman, Tom is a college professor who is also a journalist.  For the last year, Tom has felt like Katherine doesn’t have time for him and when young Tina, one of his students, shows interest he begins pursuing her, to the point that he falls in love with her, tells Katherine that he wants a divorce and proceeds to move in with Tina and has lived with her for the last 3 months.  In an effort to get Tina out of his mind before he leaves Katherine Tom makes love to Katherine and now Katherine is 3 months pregnant with their first child.  About a month after Tom leaves Katherine runs into Jeremy, the man who she has known since they were 12 (they are now 28).  They were childhood sweethearts and had dated for several years until when Jeremy was injured during a professional game (he is a professional athlete) and Katherine went to the hospital to visit him the nurse told her that Jeremy was in with his girlfriend.  When Katherine heard this, she never entered the hospital room. Now, during the current situation, the mixup is uncovered and they realize that Jeremy never was unfaithful to her, he was in with the team trainer and had told the nurse he couldn’t wait to see his girlfriend (Katherine).  Katherine starts to let herself fall for Jeremy when Tom finds out that she is pregnant with their child and asks their pastor for a meeting between the pastor, Katherine, and himself because he has realized all that he is leaving behind.

We don’t know yet whether or not Tom wants to come back, but here is the question for you to answer, let’s assume Tom does want to come back and he leaves Tina, what should Katherine do?

A couple of Bible passages come to mind as I think about this:

  • The book of Hosea
  • Malachi 2:16
  • Matthew 5:32
  • Matthew 19:1-12

Remember, don’t just be a spectator, let me know what you think…

Categories
Non-Fiction

Book Review: 5 Cities that Ruled the World – How Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, London, & New York Shaped Global History – Douglas Wilson

5 Cities that Ruled the World“Jerusalem represents the soul set free.  Athens established the ideal of free inquiry.  Rome passed on to us liberty of movement, liberty under law.  London was the place where literary imagination was set free.  And New York, with its commercial success, has shown us freedom to trade, and the subsequent freedom from want.” p. 189.

This book is not my normal cup of tea.  Typically, I tend towards fiction or non-fiction that addresses Christian living, but when I read the synopsis for 5 Cities I was intrigued.  The quote by George Santayana “Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.” ran through my mind so I signed up to receive it.  I am extremely glad that I did.  Not only was 5 Cities an engaging read but I found myself educated in ways that I did not expect.  I appreciated the author’s in depth analysis of how each of these cities helped shape the world we live in today.  I also appreciated how as opposed to many history books that I have read (mostly from my school days) the author was not afraid to bring the Biblical narrative into the discussion and relate how these cities were affected by people of faith as well as how these cities affected people of faith.  One of the most stunning discoveries for me in this book was the fact that within a few paragraphs the author brought into focus a part of the Old Testament that has been blurry for me for years.  I can’t in good conscience tell you what that revelation was as it would rob you of the opportunity to glean a lot of great information from reading 5 Cities yourself.

Overall I give this book a 4 out of 5, happy reading.

Please feel free to comment or share your thoughts below.

Categories
Movies

Movie Review: X-Men Origins: Wolverine – Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Will i Am, Dominic Monaghan, Taylor Kitsch, Ryan Reynolds

X-Men Origins: WolverineAs most of the people who know me are aware, I love comic book movies.  I was never really collected comics as a kid, my brother did, but I loved watching the cartoons and always loved the super hero stories.  I remember the day when I went to see the original X-Men in Des Moines with my dad and brother and how stoked I was to see the movie.  I have faithfully watched all three of the previous X-Men movies as well as just about every other comic book movie that has come out.  The fact that Marvel Studios was created is just icing on the cake.  The movies they have put out so far have been great.  Add to that the fact that Disney bought Marvel Studios and now you have the mouse funding great movies.

Anyway, off my soap box.  X-Men Origins: Wolverine begins with a young boy learning he has bone like claws that come out of his hands which he uses to kill the man he learns is his father.  At this point his brother Victor (Liev Schreiber) and he take of running and they don’t stop until William Stryker (Danny Huston) finds them after they were supposed to have been killed by firing squad.  They join an elite unit that also includes Wade Wilson/Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds, here he is again) and other mutants.  I won’t give too much away, but the movie follows the story that eventually leads to Logan (Hugh Jackman) becoming the metal boned mutant that we know and love.  Including his memory loss.

One thing to note, if you saw it in the theater you may need to see it again, or at least the scene after the credits.  According to Unrealitymag.com there were multiple alternate scenes after the credits.  I’ve seen 2 different endings, one in the theater and one on DVD.

To break it down simply, I loved the movie.  I know I can be biased when it comes to comic book movies, but I thought this movie was really well done.  It is at least worth a rental if not a buy.  I’m planning on buying it this weekend.  I thought the special effects were tastefully done and there was actually a story line.  They even paid attention to the small details, like how much Logan would weigh after having his skeleton coated with adamantium (something before the movie I hadn’t even considered).  I thought how he lost his memory was a little shady, but it wasn’t too bad so I’ll let it pass.

Rating: 5 out of 5

If you want to buy it, head on over to Amazon.com.

Categories
Fiction

Book Review: Green – Ted Dekker

Ted Dekker - GreenTed Dekker both starts and finishes what he set into motion with Black. In a world where the spiritual is physical Thomas Hunter must keep the Circle from breaking apart as the world careens towards the final showdown between good and evil, between Elyon and Teelah.

I was extremely excited to begin reading Green because I loved Black, Red, & White. I don’t know if it was because I held unrealistic expectations or if the book wasn’t as good as the previous books but I was disappointed when I finished Green. My disappointment was mainly due to the way Dekker closed the loop, I felt he could have done it in

a way that was more satisfying. I will say that Dekker’s grasp of the Biblical narrative is amazing, what really threw me though was his shifting back and forth between Biblical allegory and more direct Biblical example. Throughout the series he has had definite Biblical allegory, but in Green he throws in some scenes where they really aren’t allegory, I basically knew how the scene was going to end even as it started. He even names one character Ba’al which immediately paints the character in a certain light for most readers. It was also disappointing that with the current vampire infatuation in our culture that Dekker decided to go there.

Note: In the material that I have read for Green the book is grouped with Black, Red, & White and left at that. There are parts in Green that refer to the Lost Books Series (Chosen, Infidel, Renegade, Chaos, Lunatic, & Elyon) as well as the Paradise Novels (Saint, Sinner, & Showdown). As I was reading Green, I wished that I hadn’t stopped reading the Lost Books at Chaos because there is are parts within Green that I am assuming a reader who has read the Lost Books and Paradise novels would understand the backstory a little better.

I’m willing to give Dekker the benefit of the doubt though and give Green a 3 out of 5 rating.

Related Reading:

  • Black, Red, & White
  • Chosen, Infidel, Renegade, Chaos, Lunatic, & Elyon
  • Saint, Sinner, & Showdown

Note: due to a quirk in WordPress I am unable to hyperlink all of the books referenced in this post…I sincerely apologize.